A cherished home, a circle of friends and a summer that will change everything... Linston End has been the summer holiday home for three families for many years. A rambling thatched house nestled on the water's edge on the Norfolk Broads, it's a haven of long, lazy picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the garden; a place to spend time together. But this year, the friends are rocked by unexpected news, and it seems that Linston End will never be the same again. For some, this summer feels like the end. For others, it might just be the beginning. . .

For Floriana, it is the place where the love of her life is getting married to another woman. And she's been invited to the wedding. Esme fell in love there for the first time - over sixty years ago. But what happened to the man who stole her heart, and changed the course of her life? Adam has buried himself in work to distract from his broken heart. A trip to Lake Como might just be the fresh start he needs... Even in the dazzling summer sun, the past casts a poignant shadow... But can the magic of the Italian lake finally set them all free?

In order to spend more time with her four-year-old son Ned, Clara Costello trades in her secure, well-paid job and two-seater sports car for a camper van called Winnie and sets off in search of adventure. Of course, her friends and family think she's gone mad. But when they arrive in Deaconsbridge, a small market town on the edge of the Peak District, Clara and Ned become drawn into the lives of the locals. Two in particular seem destined to get under Clara's skin: Gabriel Liberty, a cranky widower who terrifies his family; and Archie Merryman, a local dealer in second-hand furniture, who possesses a heart of gold. Then Clara finds herself having to confront a dilemma much closer to home and one she had hoped she would never have to face...

Dulcie Ballantyne knows that creative writers' groups attract an unlikely mix of people, so when she starts up Hidden Talents, she is well prepared for the assortment of people she is bringing together. Beth King is facing empty-nest syndrome as her only son, Nathan, leaves home for university. Jack Solomon, a local estate agent, is having trouble coming to terms with the shock of his wife leaving him for his best friend. Jaz Rafferty is an intensely private seventeen-year-old girl who writes to escape her large, boisterous family. Victor Blackmore is a know-it-all, who claims to be writing the blockbuster novel every publisher will be clamouring for. What they all have in common is a need to escape, as well as a desire to keep their lives as private as possible. As they grow more confident in their writing skills, friendships develop, and gradually they come to realise that a little openness isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Maggie Storm promises herself that she will stand up for herself more. She spends her days cleaning houses for people who often have more money than manners. Married to a man with as much sex appeal as Mr Blobby, she dreams of a life straight from the pages of a romantic novel. Ella Moore promises to let her head rule over her heart. She is recovering from seven wasted years of failing to win over the daughter of the man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Ethan Edwards promises that there will be no more women. To distract himself from the depressing sham of his marriage, he is a repeat offender when it comes to turning to other women for sexual consolation. But when Ella appears unexpectedly in his life, he finds himself turning to her for very different reasons.

Torn between struggling to live up to the expectations of being a Modern Woman and ridding herself of the effect of a repressed upbringing, Izzy Jordan would be the first to admit that it's time to take stock of her life. She's thirty-one, with a teaching career on the skids - not surprising, really, given that she harbours a strong desire to lock her pupils in the art room cupboard and throw away the key. She also has a manipulative mother and an ex-boyfriend whose parting shot was to tell her she was boring in bed! So when she's invited to spend the summer on Corfu and is offered the chance of a no-strings holiday romance with the irresistible Theo, what should she do? Go for it, or listen to the voice of Modern Woman and tell him to sling his hook? Just as she thinks she's made up her mind, along comes Mark, whose turbulent past sets in motion a series of dramatic events...

Home is where the heart is... Paradise House, with its gorgeous views of the sea, was the perfect home for the Baxter girls to grow up in - that was, until their mother ran away to 'find herself'. Since then, it's been down to Genevieve to keep the family-owned B&B afloat - which hasn't always been easy, when her father spends most of his time hiding away from the flirtatious local women! And there's little help from her sisters, either. Nattie is too busy offending her long-term admirer and Polly spends most of her days with her head in a book. But when Genevieve hears that a nearby tumbledown barn has been sold, she's forced to take a bittersweet trip down memory lane. Because sometimes coming home means facing the secrets of the past...

Evie loved the house. The bright, sunny rooms looking across the river. The terraced gardens with fruit trees growing against the high stone walls. The scent of lavender at the end of a hot day. It was a family house. As summer beckons, Evie’s family gathers once more at the beautiful old riverside house they all adore. But when Evie discovers a secret that threatens their future, a shadow falls over them all: this summer by the river could be their last together . . . For Charlie, a visit home to see stepmother Evie is an escape from his unhappy marriage in London. Until a chance encounter changes everything: in the space of a moment, he meets a woman by the river, falls in love, and his two worlds collide. As Evie and Charlie struggle to keep their secrets safe, they long for the summer to never end . . . Can the happiness of one summer last for ever? Marcia Willett writes heartwarming and captivating novels set in the West Country - perfect for fans of Erica James, Santa Montefiore and Victoria Hislop

Harriet Swift thinks she has the perfect life - a satisfying career, her own flat and a new boyfriend who respects her need for her own space. But then her only sister is killed in a car crash and Harriet is forced to give up her well ordered life and to help look after her orphaned niece and nephew. Moving back to her childhood home in Maple Drive, and sacrificing so much, doesn't come easy and before long Harriet discovers things about her family she never believed possible. Meanwhile, the shabbiest house in Maple Drive has a new occupant. Will Hart also thinks he has the perfect life. Having swapped his successful career as a lawyer for that of an antiques dealer, he believes in living for the moment and is entirely happy with his lot. Then from nowhere tragedy strikes and he faces the biggest challenge of his life. Harriet and Will have no choice but to piece together a new future for themselves, but can they see it through?

It's almost Christmas. But for Ali, the season of good cheer is the anniversary of her baby's death. As she stands at her son's grave, she is poignantly aware of how dramatically her life has changed. Determined to stand on her own two feet and get through Christmas alone, Ali turns down her ex-husband's unexpected invitation to spend the holiday with him and his father, only to give in to her best friend's cajoling to share the festive season with her. The only trouble is, it means having to be nice to Sarah's awful husband, Trevor. Sarah may be a saint for putting up with Trevor, but Ali is no such thing, and as his cranky behaviour escalates, she takes it upon herself, in an extraordinary act of daring impetuosity, to play God with her friend's incomprehensible marriage. But Ali's meddling has consequences even she could not have foreseen...

Ellen has been living on her own in a picturesque if damp cottage in Cheshire since her husband abandoned her to go and live with another woman in Provence. Having married once for love, she is now determined that the second time around it will be for money. Close at hand is Duncan, her not unattractive and enticingly single, divorce lawyer... But then two new people enter her life: Jo-Jo, a homeless girl several months pregnant; and Matthew, an artist who paints murals in country houses and who, on his first meeting with Ellen, openly criticises her for being mercenary and devious. But, as hostility gives way to friendship, Ellen realises that she has wavered off course from her original plan and she has to remind herself very strongly indeed that Duncan is the man for her...

Mia Channing appears to have an enviable life: a beautiful home, a happy marriage, a job she enjoys and three grown-up children to whom she's devoted. But appearances can be deceptive. . . When the family gathers for her son's 30th birthday, he brings with him his latest girlfriend who, to their surprise, has a nine-year-old daughter. Then, before the birthday cake has even been cut, Mia's youngest daughter Daisy has seized the opportunity to drop a bombshell. It's an evening that marks a turning point in all their lives, when old resentments and regrets surface and the carefully ordered world Mia has created begins to unravel.

'Someone had made a perfect job of creating a place in which to hide a notebook . . . there was no address, only a date: September 1943 . . .' Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling cottage on the edge of a Suffolk village, it provided a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood. Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to broken and battered books, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a hidden notebook - and realises someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love.

The Gardens of Delight brochure promises the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in the Lake Como area of Italy. For Lucy, the chance to go to Italy offers more than just gardens. Lake Como is where her father lives and the last time she saw him was when she was just a teenager. Recently married Helen and her wealthy husband have just moved into the Old Rectory. With her husband spending so much time away from home, Helen throws herself into caring for the garden. But Helen needs help - and friends - and so decides to take the plunge and join the local Garden Club. Conrad isn't the least bit interested in gardening. Widowed for five years, his life revolves around work and humouring Mac, his elderly uncle who lives with him, and who has expressed a desire to go on the Gardens of Delight tour. Reluctantly, Conrad agrees to accompany him. 'Anything for a peaceful life,' he concedes. But a peaceful life is the last thing any of them are in for...

Even happy families have their secrets… Anchor House is the coastal home where Naomi and her husband raised their two girls. Now widowed, Naomi is building a new life alone, but the arrival of Ellis next door is bringing some long-awaited fun back too. Naomi’s daughters are very different: Martha is determined and driven like her father, while Willow is a free spirit. The three women have always been close, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have secrets of their own. There are things Naomi has kept from her girls, like the fact that her marriage to their father wasn’t quite what it seemed… The Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James returns with this gloriously compelling tale of mothers and daughters, secrets and love.

Erica is eighteen and ready for freedom. It's the summer of 1960 when she lands on the sun-baked Greek island of Hydra where she is swept up in a circle of bohemian poets, painters, musicians, writers and artists, living tangled lives. Life on their island paradise is heady, dream-like, a string of seemingly endless summer days. But nothing can last forever.