The Summer Cottage


Book Description

A USA Today Bestseller! “Every now and then a new voice in fiction arrives to completely charm, entertain and remind us what matters. Viola Shipman is that voice and The Summer Cottage is that absolutely irresistible and necessary novel.” — New York Times Bestselling Author Dorothea Benton Frank From the bestselling author of The Charm Bracelet and The Recipe Box comes the perfect summer escape about the restorative power of family tradition, small-town community and the feel of sand between your toes Adie Lou Kruger’s ex never understood her affection for what her parents called their Cozy Cottage, the charming, ramshackle summer home—complete with its own set of rules for relaxing—that she’s inherited on Lake Michigan. But despite the fact she’s facing a broken marriage and empty nest, and middle age is looming in the distance, memories of happy childhoods on the beach give her reason for hope. She’s determined not to let her husband’s affair with a grad student reduce her to a cliché, or to waste one more minute in a career she doesn’t love, so it becomes clear what Adie Lou must do: rebuild her life and restore her cottage shingle by shingle, on her terms. But converting the beloved, weather-beaten structure into a bed-and-breakfast isn’t quite the efficient home-reno experience she’s seen on TV. Pushback from Saugatuck’s contentious preservation society, costly surprises and demanding guests were not part of the plan. But as the cottage comes back to life, Adie Lou does, too, finding support in unexpected places and a new love story on the horizon. One cottage rule at a time, Adie Lou reclaims her own strength, history and joy by rediscovering the magic in every sunset and sandcastle. Don't miss bestselling author Viola Shipman's enchanting new novel, FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN—a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose! Other books by Viola Shipman: The Secret of Snow A Wish for Winter The Edge of Summer The Heirloom Garden The Clover Girls




Wanted! Mountain Cedars


Book Description

This controversial, eye-opening book by Elizabeth McGreevy suggests a different perception of Mountain Cedars (also called Ashe Junipers). It digs into the politics, history, economics, culture, and ecology surrounding these trees in the Hill Country of Texas from the 1700s to the present. Since the 1920s, reporters, writers, scientists, landowners, politicians, and cedar fever victims have characterized the trees as a non-native, water-hogging, grass-killing, toxic, useless species to justify its removal. The result has been a glut of Mountain Cedar tall tales. Yet before the 1890s, people highly respected Mountain Cedars. The Mountain Cedars they reported were large timber trees with strong, decay-resistant heartwood. Most were cut down and sold to boost the young Hill Country economy. The clearcutting of old-growth forests and dense woodlands and the continuous overgrazing of prairies that followed led to mass soil degradation and erosion. Acting as nature's bandage, Mountain Cedars morphed into pioneering bushes and spread across degraded soils. This book tracks down the origins of the tall tales to determine what is true, what is false, and what is somewhere in between. Through a series of revelations, the author replaces anti-cedar sentiments with a more constructive, less emotional approach to Hill Country land management.




Larkspur Cove (The Shores of Moses Lake Book #1)


Book Description

Adventure is the last thing on Andrea Henderson's mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life, she's struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker. Perhaps in doing a job that makes a difference, she can find some sense of purpose and solace in her shattered faith. For new Moses Lake game warden Mart McClendon, finding a sense of purpose in life isn't an issue. He took the job to get out of southwest Texas and the constant reminders of a tragedy for which he can't forgive himself. But when a little girl is seen with the town recluse, Mart and Andrea are drawn together in the search for her identity. The little girl offers them both a new chance at redemption and hope--and may bring them closer than either ever planned.




The Secret Lake


Book Description

A lost dog, a hidden time tunnel and a secret lake take Stella and Tom to their home and the children living there 100 years in the past. A time-travel adventure for ages 8-11 enjoyed by over 500,000 children. The long-awaited sequel now out!




The Warm Days of Autumn Series Books 1-3


Book Description

Three delightful and heartwarming autumn-themed romantic comedies from CP Ward, much loved author of the Delightful Christmas series. Autumn in Sycamore Park Having fled a relationship and a previous life she would rather forget, young teacher Jennifer Stevens throws herself into a demanding new job at Brentwell Primary. Charged with marshalling a group of unruly eight-year-olds to the autumn harvest festival, her only solace is the peace of nearby Sycamore Park. As the evenings draw in and the leaves begin to fall, will new friends, delicious autumn treats, and a possible new man on the orange-tinted horizon help Jennifer finally come to terms with her past and begin to look forward into the future? Autumn at the Willow River Guesthouse Lily Markham is having a hard time of things. In the space of a week, she loses her job, breaks up with her cheating boyfriend, and is kicked out of her London flat. With her world crashing down, Lily does the only thing she can: retreat to her charming hometown of Willow River to lick her wounds. There, Lily takes a job in her uncle’s guesthouse, develops a friendship with a reclusive novelist, and starts to rebuild her life. And when she meets someone from her past, love could be floating on the cool autumn breeze … Autumn in Sunset Harbour When her grandmother’s death brings Rachel Castle back to her Cornish hometown of Porth Melynos—known to locals as Sunset Harbour—she has no idea of the run of bad luck that is coming. Finding herself homeless, carless, and in a doctor’s waiting room, she wonders what else can go wrong. With her schooldays sweetheart now living with the girl who bullied her, Rachel wants nothing more than to get out of Sunset Harbour and never come back. But small towns have a way of holding on to you, and when Rachel meets a young and mysterious fisherman with a twinkle in his eye, her luck starts to change.







The Lake House


Book Description

A heartwarming debut novel about the unlikely friendship between two outcasts of different generations who, in struggling to move on from the past, discover love, healing, and family in a charming New England lakeside community. Achingly tender, yet filled with laughter, The Lake House brings to life the wide range of human emotions and the difficult journey from heartbreak to healing. VICTORIA ROSE. Fifty years before, a group of teenage friends promised each other never to leave their idyllic lakeside town. But the call of Hollywood and a bigger life was too strong for Victoria . . . and she alone broke that pledge. Now she has come home, intent on making peace with her demons, even if her former friends shut her out. Haunted by tragedy, she longs to find solace with her childhood sweetheart, but even this tender man may be unable to forgive and forget. HEATHER BREGMAN. At twenty-eight, after years as a globe-trotting columnist, she’s abandoned her controlling fiancé and their glamorous city life to build one on her own terms. Lulled by a Victorian house and a gorgeous locale, she’s determined to make the little community her home. But the residents, fearful of change and outsiders, will stop at nothing to sabotage her dreams of lakeside tranquility. As Victoria and Heather become unlikely friends, their mutual struggle to find acceptance—with their neighbors and in their own hearts—explores the chance events that shape a community and offer the opportunity to start again.




The Summer Tree


Book Description

Taken to a realm of magic and war, five men and women from our world embark on an epic journey in the first novel in Guy Gavriel Kay’s classic, critically acclaimed fantasy trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry. It begins with a chance meeting that introduces the five to a man who will change their lives: a mage who brings them to the first of all worlds, Fionavar. In this land of gods and myth, each of them is forced to discover what they are and what they are willing to do, as Fionavar stands on the brink of a terrifying war against a dark, vengeful god...




Publication


Book Description




Welcome Home Again This Christmas


Book Description

Welcome Home Again this Christmas: A delightful romantic comedy set against the magical backdrop of Christmas in the Scottish Highlands, from CP Ward, author of Autumn in Sycamore Park, I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas, and Christmas at the Marshmallow Café. When Brentwell Public Library closes over Christmas for renovations, young librarian Lizzie Cotton finds herself unexpectedly unemployed. With a credit card bill to pay, she finds herself googling for a Christmas miracle, and it comes in the form of a little secondhand bookshop desperately seeking a new manager. There’s only one problem. It’s in Scotland, at the other end of the country, in a little village that Lizzie can’t even locate on a map. A little village called Hollydell … With her chinchilla Albert in tow, Lizzie sets off for what she hopes will be a nice steady income over the Christmas season. What she’s not expecting is an adventure, one with large helpings of Christmas pudding, copious mince pieces, lashings of humour, and maybe even a little dash of romance … CP Ward’s fans have long awaited a return to Hollydell, the delightful Christmas village in the Scottish Highlands first visited in I’m Glad I Found You This Christmas. Now, their Christmas wish is about to come true.