Holiday World

Hotel Portofino has been open for only a few weeks, but already the problems are mounting for its owner Bella Ainsworth. Her high-class guests are demanding and hard to please. And she’s being targeted by a scheming and corrupt local politician, who threatens to drag her into the red-hot cauldron of Mussolini’s Italy. To make matters worse, her marriage is in trouble, and her children are still struggling to recover from the repercussions of the Great War.

The year is 1938 and Austria has been annexed by Nazi Germany. Klaus Lehner plays first violin for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and when the concertmaster is amongst other Jews expelled from Philharmonic, he sees the opportunity for a position he covets He is bitterly disappointed when he is passed over. In the wake of his disappointment, Klaus’s lover Eva, a virtuoso cellist, urges him to become a soloist.

Christmas Everywhere takes you on an amazing Christmas journey. Our story travels around the world looking at how different countries and cultures celebrate Christmas. Did you think that everyone celebrates the same way you do? While some themes at Christmas such as family, generosity and celebration are constant, the way people enjoy Christmas across the globe can be very different

September 1941. Mary arrives in war-torn London nursing a broken heart and a painful secret. When she is offered her dream post as an assistant in the fabric department at Liberty store, she knows this is the fresh start she needs. Amid the store’s vibrant prints and sumptuous interiors, Mary finds a new family who can help her to heal. But not everyone will give Mary such a warm welcome, and the trauma of her past will soon catch up with her. As Mary and the Liberty Girls endure the heartache and uncertainty of war, it will take a steady heart to keep the magic of Christmas alive.

A forgotten letter in a secret drawer brings one night in the Great War vividly back to life. Writing home from the front, a soldier has an incredible story to tell.

"Thankful Around the World: How Children Celebrate Gratitude Around the Globe" is a heartwarming children's book that explores how kids from different cultures express gratitude through their unique traditions. This delightful story introduces young listeners to the diverse ways people give thanks across the globe. Follow a group of children as they share stories about their homes and celebrations, highlighting the universal message of thankfulness. Whether it's through food, festivals, or family gatherings, this book shows that no matter where we live, gratitude is something we all share.

In this collection are found stories of gay romantic love, the love between a father and his gay son, and old lovers returning from the beyond. There are stories within this book about a magical Christmas tree that appears of its own accord every year, angels, ghosts, and a century-old hotel that miraculously reappears during the holiday season. Most of the stories are written for gay listeners, but some are just cozy Christmas tales. There are stories in this volume for all true lovers of Christmas.

I came here for peace. To escape. But the woods have other plans. Thalion. Mysterious. Powerful. Fae. A prince, bound by his own twisted magic. And he’s here. Watching me. Desiring me. I shouldn’t want him. I shouldn’t even be near him. But I am. The nights grow colder. The pull between us stronger. Every touch, every kiss burns. And it’s too much. Too fast. Too dangerous. He tells me we can’t be together. His world and mine don’t mix. I shouldn’t be here. But I am. Christmas is coming. A time for miracles. A time for fates to collide. And I’m not sure we’ll survive this. ...

Close your eyes and imagine the world is your oyster... And now imagine never seeing it. Welcome to Harriet Langton's world. All her life she's dreamt of travelling the globe – fate always got in the way. Working as a travel agent, the closest Harri comes to her dream destination of Venice is booking the trip for someone else. But everything changes when travel fanatic Alex drops in. With her boyfriend Rob tied up with work, Harri is persuaded to help Alex in his quest for love. But in her attempts to help, Harri soon discovers that she's alienating those around her.

Norma Hayes has always tried to make Christmas special for her family, but 1944 will make that more difficult with money being tight and wartime rationing making everything hard to come by. Aware of his mother's hardships and the worry from having her eldest son at war, Norma's second son, Dennis, is determined to buy his mother a special gift this Christmas: a lavender blue dress he hopes will bring her comfort.

Annie Pearson is working on Emmerdale Farm, while her love, Edward Sugden is at the front line. Lily Dingle has found purpose in joining the ATS, though she may get more than she bargained for. And Meg Warcup, now teaching at the local school, has taken in two children evacuated from Hull. They have adjusted to their new way of life until one day a German plane comes crashing down in the village....and changes everything in the village of Beckindale.

Join a group of families as they follow Rabbi Jamie into Moab, Utah to celebrate a most unusual Passover seder in the desert.

Set in a sun-drenched Sicily, among the decadent Italian aristocracy of the late 1950s, Steven Price’s Lampedusa explores the final years of Giuseppe Tomasi, last prince of Lampedusa, as he struggles to complete his only novel, The Leopard. In 1955, Giuseppe Tomasi was diagnosed with advanced emphysema; shortly after, he began work on a novel that would fail to be published before his death four years later. When The Leopard at last appeared, it won Italy’s Strega Prize and became the greatest Italian novel of the century.

Chelsea's family is celebrating Chinese New Year! Chelsea gets to stay up late. She watches fireworks and a parade with a dragon! She and her family have a big feast. Find out the different ways people celebrate this special day!

Kerana is spending the summer with her grandmother while her mother is busy with work. Keeping with old traditions, Baba (the grandmother) initiates Kerana as a znahar, an herbal healer, who people often call a witch. Things go wrong when she disobeys her grandmother's warning.

Book Two in the Miss Christmas series - The Christmas children bring all of their Christmas gifts to help a little girl who has lost her Christmas magic.

In these three stories, Alice wants a pig for her birthday, Alice competes with her brother in the Alphabet Game, and Rosie isn't so sure that Mum & Dad are doing the right thing in training Rosie to tell the truth.

Lori Maddox chooses to spend the year after university travelling and visits China, where she finds casual work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester her parents, Joanna and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog. When Joanna and Tom hear nothing for weeks, they become increasingly concerned and travel out to Chengdu in search of their daughter.

The First Christmas Children’s Book provides an annual Christmas storytelling tradition of the greatest birthday in history - the birth of Jesus! A memorable storyline that intertwines a family experience with biblical and historical truths. You now have a fun and helpful resource for when asking, “How do I introduce my children to Christmas?”

Miss Christmas - Where does your Christmas Tree come from? This is the story of one little Christmas tree.