Catching the Light

Everything is going great for Lily. She and Sam are more in love than ever, and she is about to open her very own bakery, but she soon discovers that no matter how much time you spend perfecting delicate pastries, running your own business isn’t always easy. When Sam announces he is moving to New York for work, Lily is miserable...but when he surprises her with a proposal life is perfect, right? But Lily finds it hard to let go of old hurts, and when Sam eventually loses patience, Lily is left devastated. Can she finally learn to leave the past in the past, or will she let it ruin the future? 

In Nell Lillington's small Midwestern town of the 1870s, marriage is the obvious fate of a young woman of some social standing. Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark. Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted.

Maeve Binchy's best-selling novels not only tell wonderful stories, they also give an insight into how Ireland has changed over the decades but how people remain the same: they still fall in love, sometimes unsuitably; they still have hopes and dreams; they have deep, long-standing friendships, and some that fall apart. From her earliest writing to her most recent, Maeve's work has included wonderfully nostalgic pieces and also sharp, often witty writing which is insightful and topical.

It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour Catherine Ross. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man – loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when police insist on opening out the investigation a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbours nervously lock their doors, whilst a killer lives on in their midst.

As a child, Elizabeth was sent from her war-torn, rather loveless home in London to stay with a big, boisterous family in a small town in Ireland. There she meets Aisling, and begins what becomes a long-lasting friendship. Over the next 20 years, Aisling and Elizabeth's paths will cross and re-cross. As they face their loves, their marriages, and their disappointments, they realise that not all problems will be solved, nor all wishes granted by lighting a penny candle.

The life of 79-year-old pensioner Peggy Smart is as beige as the décor in her retirement village. Her week revolves around aqua aerobics and appointments with her doctor. The highlight of Peggy's day is watching her neighbour Brian head out for his morning swim. Peggy dreams of inviting the handsome widower - treasurer of the Residents' Committee and one of the few eligible men in the village - to an intimate dinner. But why would an educated man like Brian, a chartered accountant no less, look twice at Peggy? As a woman of a certain age, she fears she has become invisible, even to men in their 80s. 

A heartbreaking letter. A girl locked away. A mystery to be solved. 1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave. Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret's. Before it is too late.

Cath had 25 perfect days with her newborn daughter before Mia's deadly illness was diagnosed. As her life implodes, Cath’s despair drives her to a parental support group where she meets a father in a similar situation, the dangerously attractive Richard - charming, handsome and adamant that a cure for their children lies just over the horizon: everything Cath wants to believe.

She’ll never forget...I’ll never forgive. People always notice my daughter, Isobel. How could they not? Incredibly beautiful...until she speaks. An unsettling little-girl voice, exactly like a child’s, but from the mouth of a full-grown woman. Izzie might look grown up, but inside she’s trapped. Caught in the day it happened...the day that broke her from within. Our family fell apart that day, and we never could pick up the pieces....

I am missing. Held captive by a blue-eyed stranger. To mark the 12 days of Christmas, he gives me a gift every day, each more horrible than the last. The 12th day is getting closer. After that, there'll be no more Christmas cheer for me. No mince pies, no carols. No way out.... But I have a secret. No-one has guessed it. Will you?

In postwar Tarabeg, two women are waiting for ambitious Michael Malone to return home. Rosie is the local schoolteacher, and most people think she is promised to him. Just a few have guessed that he has secretly begun to woo Sarah, whose brutal fisherman father would kill her if he knew. Both Rosie and Sarah love Michael, both hope to become his wife and their lives will interweave in a tale of tangled secrets, old promises and new feuds. Michael Malone's choice will have fateful consequences for everyone - especially, in due course, for his young daughter....  

A brand-new audiobook by the number one best-selling author Katie Fforde containing never before published Christmas short stories. Perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings.

The Sheedy sisters had lived in Stone House for as long as anyone could remember. Set high on the cliffs on the west coast of Ireland, overlooking the windswept Atlantic ocean, it was falling into disrepair - until one woman, with a past she needed to forget, breathed new life into the place. Now a hotel, with a big, warm kitchen and log fires, it provides a welcome few can resist. Winnie is generally able to make the best of things until she finds herself on the holiday from hell.

Returning to Penfleet after years in New York, Kate can't help but feel a pang of affection for the little town by the sea where she grew up. If only she were returning in happier circumstances. This last trip is full of farewells: to her childhood home, her once best friend and the life she left behind. Kissing the widow of the richest man in town wasn't one of Nathan's best ideas. Now he can't get Vanessa out his mind.

The perfect Christmas book from the best-selling author of The Secret of Orchard Cottage and The Great Christmas Knit Off. Sam Morgan knows he messed up with his wife, Chrissie, and daughter, Holly - he wasn’t there when they needed him most, but now he’ll do anything to put his family back together again. Until then, he's back living in the picture-postcard village of Tindledale. Jude Darling is coming home for good this time. She's taking over the antique shop in Tindledale, the place where she grew up, and she's going to make sure she's there for her friend, Chrissie, and goddaughter, Holly. They certainly need her right now.