The School Gates

Ruby Matthews has a plan - 12 jobs in 12 months, until she finds the one of her dreams.... After an unexpected redundancy, Ruby begins to question her priorities. Inspired by a quote from Kahlil Gibran about loving your work, she launches her mission to find the ideal job. Her year of gainful (and sometimes painful!) employment includes nannying for clients in the South of France, dealing with embarrassing ailments in a Harley Street clinic, waiting tables in a buzzy Soho cafe and meeting the celebs of years gone by in a home for retired actors. 

Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy. While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he - or she - has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it. Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own?

Dull security or risky freedom - which would you choose? With her marriage in pieces, Cali Summers is faced with this decision and hits the world of fast love on an Internet dating app. Using room 102 in the hotel where she works as her dating 'lair', she opens herself up to a world of sex, lies and deception as well as personal discovery and passionate love. With a charming F1 engineer, a handsome army officer and her adulterous ex all on the scene, a predictable love match is far from on the cards.

One twinkling winter's night, Ruby wakes her sleeping children and escapes for a new life in the countryside. It's a choice that will change her life beyond all recognition. Arriving at the cosy little rental cottage as the first snow begins to fall, Ruby doesn't regret leaving her bully of a husband for a moment, but she does feel guilty about uprooting her kids so close to Christmas. She can only wish that one day soon her son will forgive her.

When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose - no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better.... Her grumpy but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting. Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas.

Nestled in the quiet countryside sits the cosy village of Little Monkham, home of the Star and Sixpence, a renovated pub owned by sisters Sam and Nessie. As the locals welcome the new season, it appears that change is afoot in their tiny community, and not all of it for the better...Nessie is moving in with her boyfriend, leaving Sam alone in the pub. But with the arrival of new chef Gabriel causing a flutter among the women of the village, it seems that Sam might not be so lonely after all. 

Hetty Longden's mother thinks that looking after Great Uncle Samuel's crumbling stately home will be just the thing for Hetty's broken heart. Hetty doesn't mind; at least she can be miserable in private. But 'private' is a relative term in a village which revolves around the big house. Particularly when you are expected to thwart Great Uncle Samuel's awful heir and his nefarious plans for his inheritance. Pitchforked into the community's fight to save the manor, Hetty has no time to wallow.

Summer is on the horizon, and the people of Porthmellow are eagerly awaiting the annual food festival. At least, most of them are. For Sam Lovell, organising the summer festival in her hometown is one of the highlights of her year. It’s not always smooth sailing, but she loves to see Porthmellow’s harbour packed with happy visitors, and being on the committee has provided a much-needed distraction from the drama in her family life (and the distinct lack of it in her love life). 

The heartwarming new novel from the Sunday Times best-selling author, perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Milly Johnson and Cathy Bramley. 

Return to Porthmellow Harbour in this gorgeous festive romance. Christmas in Cornwall is just around the corner. But after last Christmas revealed a shocking family secret, Scarlett’s hardly feeling merry and bright. All she wants this Christmas is to know who her real father is. So Scarlett heads to the little Cornish town of Porthmellow, where she believes the truth of her birth is hidden. She just didn’t bargain on being drawn into the Christmas festival preparations - or meeting Jude Penberth, whose charm threatens to complicate life further.

Beth Martin is 31, newly divorced and wondering just what life holds for her.... Best friend Heidi is adamant that all the answers lie in Corfu - the island where the girls partied away their youth. So cue a trip to a sun-drenched Greek island, ouzo cocktails, a trip down memory lane...and Alex Hallas, the man Beth has never quite forgotten. As they dance under the stars, the sand beneath their toes, old feelings begin to resurface, and Beth might just have a chance to take back her life. If they can learn to love the people they've become....

Meg is definitely not in the Christmas mood. She’s never gone in for tinsel, baubles and mistletoe, and right now she’s still getting over an illness. Yet when she’s invited to spend the run-up to Christmas in the snowy countryside rather than dreary London, she can’t refuse. Arriving at a warm and cosy family home in a small hilltop village, Meg soon begins to wonder what a proper Christmas might be like. But just as she’s beginning to settle in, she spots a familiar face. Lex. 

Dragonfly Farm has been a home and a haven for generations of Melchiors - arch rivals to the Culbones, the wealthy family who live the other side of the valley. Nestled amidst soft, rolling apple orchards in the depths of the Somerset countryside, life there is dictated by the seasons and cider-making. The farm is idyllic and everyone falls under its spell. But its thick stone walls hold many secrets, and this summer everything will change for the family living there....

Can a trip away lead you home? After a bad breakup, eternal optimist Evie Miller has moved to the small village of Willowbrook to finally pursue her dream of opening a craft shop. Unfortunately, with money worries and an ex-boyfriend determined to track her down, her fresh start isn't going entirely to plan. Jake Hartwood is also looking to escape his past. Haunted by the loss of his wife, he's determined not to get close to anyone again - and the last thing he wants is to be celebrating this December. 

The brand-new Christmas romance from the Sunday Times best-selling author Heidi Swain! Perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Sarah Morgan and Cathy Bramley.