About Last Night...

Newly widowed Poppy Shilling should be feeling distraught at the death of her husband, Phil. But, instead, she can’t help feeling relieved. No longer will she have to endure Phil’s iron fist ruling over her and their two young children, or his unfortunate penchant for Lycra cycling wear. And when a secret is revealed after his death, Poppy’s memories of their life together are turned upside down. Freed from her loveless marriage, Poppy is determined not to make the same mistakes again. As she embraces village life to the full, will Poppy have the courage to follow her heart? It’s time for a new beginning, and a chance to discover what real love feels like…Alison Reid reads this hilarious, heartwarming novel from bestselling author Catherine Alliott.

When Flora, James, and their two teenage daughters are offered the holiday of a lifetime in a chateau in the South of France in return for one simple good deed, they jump at the chance. But Flora didn't anticipate a mysterious guest and a whole heap of family baggage coming along too… Their dream holiday suddenly takes some very unexpected turns.

Separated in every way but distance, Sebastian resides in an outhouse across the lawn from his ex-wife Ella's ramshackle farmhouse. With a home crowded by hostile teenaged children and gender-confused chickens, Ella finds comfort in the company of the very charming gardener, Ludo. Then Sebastian decides to move on, catching Ella horribly unawares. How much longer can she hide from what really destroyed her marriage... and the secret she continues to keep?

On the one hand, if Essie hadn't written that letter - the one that only her best friend was meant to see - then she'd still be living like an actual proper grown-up, tucked up with Paul in his picture-perfect cottage, maybe even planning their wedding.... On the other hand (if her true feelings hadn't accidentally taken the Internet by storm, that is), she never would have met Zillah and Conor - not to mention Lucas. And she'd never have found out just how much life there is to be lived....

Isobel is eight years old and marrying Andrew Parker, the boy of her dreams, on the school playground. Life is perfect. Then the ceremony is over, and a week later so is the marriage. Twenty years on and Isobel is dressed as a prawn handing out promotional fliers. Her career is going nowhere, and her love life leaves a lot to be desired. Then she catches sight of Andrew, her first husband, and wonders if she can rekindle a playground romance.

On moving to Brighton, Georgie finds throwing herself into the city's delights fun and exciting, but before she knows it, she's sliding into all kinds of trouble. Charlotte is in the city for a new start, hoping to keep her head down. A terrible revelation sent Rosa running from London, but could her passion for food lead her to more interesting places? As the three tenants find each other, it's as if a whole new chapter of their lives has begun....

Marnie Salt has made so many mistakes in her life that she fears she will never get on the right track. But when she 'meets' an old lady in a baking chatroom and begins confiding in her, little does she know how her life will change. Arranging to see each other for lunch, Marnie finds discovers that Lilian is every bit as mad and delightful as she'd hoped - and that she owns a whole village in the Yorkshire Dales, which has been passed down through generations.

Every Summer has its own story.... For Ava Fisher, the backdrop to all her sun-drenched memories - from her first taste of chocolate-dipped churros to her very first kiss - is her grandmother's summer house in the sleepy Spanish seaside town of Mariposa. Returning for one last summer, Ava throws herself into a project her grandmother would be proud of. Café Estrella - once the heart of the sleepy seaside village - now feels more ramshackle than rustic. Just like Ava, it seems it has lost its sparkle.

Dan and Gemma have found their dream first home, but the asking price is the stuff of nightmares. The only way they'll ever save for a deposit is by returning, rent free, to Dan's childhood home. Obviously no one wants to move back into a bedroom still adorned with Kylie posters, with a mother whose culinary skills are noted for their spectacular gastrointestinal effects. But it's for only six months. Even they can manage that. Surely.

Emily is happy with her life just as it is. She has a career as a midwife that she loves . She enjoys living on her own as a single woman. But she also feels it's time for a change and a spot of some sea air. So when her best friend, Rebecca, asks whether she'd like to spend the summer cooking on a 'puffer' boat just off the Scottish coast, she jumps at the chance. But she barely has time to get to grips with the galley before she finds herself with a lot on her plate.

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier: She is about to marry her ideal man. But in one afternoon, everything begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill, but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations and mysterious phone calls, she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

Abby Rogers has been on health kicks before - they involve eating one blueberry muffin for breakfast instead of two. When Abby is encouraged to join her sporty best friend's running club - by none other than its gorgeous new captain - she finds a mysterious compulsion to exercise. Then her colleague, Heidi, turns up at work and makes a devastating announcement, one that will change her life - and Abby's - forever.

Emma has a job in television which is distinctly less glamourous and exciting than it sounds. She's managed to claw her way up the ranks from Tea Maker and Rubbish Collector to Second Assistant Director (heavy on the assistant. Even heavier on the second.). So when she finds she's accidentally very pregnant and at the same time accidentally very sacked (well, less accidentally: she did tell her boss to stick his job up his bum), she knows things are going to have to change.

It's a beautiful day in Manchester, and four friends are meeting for a birthday lunch. But then they witness a shocking accident just metres away which acts as a catalyst for each of them. For Laura, it's a wake-up call to heed the ticking of her biological clock. Sensible Jo finds herself throwing caution to the wind in a new relationship. Eve, who has been trying to ignore the worrying lump in her breast, feels helpless and out of control. And happy-go-lucky India is drawn to one of the victims of the accident, causing long-buried secrets to rise to the surface.

When Lucy Fellowes is offered a dream house in the country she leaps at it. It's hard enough living in London on an uncertain income, but when you're widowed with two small boys it's even harder. And anyway, a rural retreat will bring her closer to Charlie, the only man in four years to make her heart beat faster. Perfect. Or it would be. If only he didn't belong to someone else.