Rural Life

On the same day Bells Walker learns that her IUD has failed, her husband Harry is denied tenure at his Manhattan university. So Bells, Harry, their two adolescent children, and her baby bump move to New York’s Hudson Valley, where Harry has landed a job at Dutchess College in the town of Pigkill. When the farm-to-table utopia Bells envisioned is anything but, she turns to the blogosphere. Under the pen name the County Dutchess, she anonymously dishes about life in Pigkill, detailing the activities of hypercompetitive parents and kombucha-drinking hipsters.

When the arguing reaches a fever pitch, is it time to admit feelings that have been bubbling under the surface all along? Madison Taylor can’t forget the huge argument she’d had with her brother’s best friend. Technically he was her friend, too, but now that they were older they couldn’t seem to get along. And a year after their unforgettable fight, he’s trying her patience again. Alex Clark is determined to become a cowboy by the end of their dude ranch vacation. He wants the accomplishment, but he also wants to impress his friend Madison. Even though she’s a little prickly ...

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life—boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies—he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door.

Allan Krokkos,an ex-pat arrives at a small, remote Greek town.to find a mixed batch of other foreigners already domiciled there .As daily life in the proceeding weeks turns to months and then years the towns dramas,dilemmas and guarded secrets slowly unfold in this drifting, dreamy escape into the every day lives of a sleepy ,insular town in Arcadia

A fake engagement leads to fireworks… When Fox Wilde lands an interview for head chef at the famous Rutland’s Restaurant in Auckland, there’s only one problem… the old-fashioned boss prefers his staff to be married. Put on the spot, Fox mistakenly invents a fiancée. Now, he just has to convince his friend Caitlin to go along with the ruse. Caitlin is happy to help out a friend—especially one she’s had a crush on since she was sixteen. But it entails pretending they’re a couple, which means sharing a room. And that’s never going to end well. Tropes: Fake Fiance, fling, one-...

When local real estate shark Edgar Coleman is murdered and "good riddance" is the response from every Pecan Spring resident, China Bayles quickly learns that Coleman was no stranger to adultery and blackmail. China's fiancé, the interim police chief, is immersed in the investigation, and the suspect list grows steadily longer. China puts her honeymoon plans aside and starts hunting for the killer. As her investigation gets underway, she digs up dirt and secrets on people she knows.

For decades J.J. Tucker has brought laughter and sunshine to the Sandbar Sisters. But her life has spiraled out of control. A disaster has turned Irish Hills upside down and has left J.J. alone and unsure. She can't bear to look back on her life and moving forward hurts too much. Her future, once bright and filled with love, feels lonely and hopeless. J.J. faces a very different future than she had planned and one she's not sure if she wants. She will have to face her fears and her past if she wants to find the laughter in her life again.

During 1927, Thea, only nineteen, married in a white framed country church which smelled of peonies and sprigs of lilac flowers. The wedding rites were recited on a Sunday afternoon in late May so none of the farmers, including her father and her groom, missed a day from field work. Thea raised her eyes to the heavens and prayed. Please help me be a good wife. She and her family would face the Depression, grasshoppers, the Dust Bowl, and near poverty. However, it was the kitchen that challenged Thea. It became a personal war that challenged her very sense of being. The young bride didn't ...

Evie Austin, native of Hatteras Island, North Carolina, and baddest girl on the planet, has not lived her life in a straight line. There have been several detours - career snafus, bad romantic choices, a loved but unplanned child - not to mention, her ill-advised lifelong obsession with boxer Mike Tyson. Evie is not plucky, but when life's changes smash over her like the rough surf of the local shoreline, she muddles through - until that moment of loss and longing when muddling will no longer suffice.

When Marina Moore decides to expand her farmers market and pop-up dinner business, the next step is a cafe on the shores of Summer Beach. But challenges loom, and Marina must quickly become more creative than ever, especially when her children need help. Her sister Kai's position with a musical theater troupe forces more changes. Their sister Brooke is having marital challenges, while grandmother Ginger continues to contribute her advice on the life well-lived—if only her granddaughters will listen.

In the vein of The Lovely Bones and The Little Friend, Ghosts of the Missing follows the mysterious disappearance of a 12-year-old girl during a town parade and the reverberations of this tragedy throughout the town.

In midwinter in an English village, a teenage girl has gone missing and everyone is called upon to join the search. The villagers fan out across the moors as the police set up roadblocks, and a crowd of news reporters descends on what is usually a place of peace. As the seasons unfold and the search for the missing girl goes on, there are births and deaths, secrets kept and exposed, livelihoods made and lost, small kindnesses, and unanticipated betrayals. Reservoir 13 explores the rhythms of the natural world and the repeated human gift for violence.

It's an invitation Steph can't refuse when she's handpicked to compete at the prestigious National Trust property Coleton Fishacre. With the country's top garden designers as rivals and a stunning historic estate for inspiration, it feels like a dream come true. But things quickly turn thorny when the youngest competitor falls mysteriously ill and Steph suspects foul play. Her fears are confirmed when a scream echoes through the gardens, leading her to the horrific sight of a dead body at the foot of the cliff.

Sarah Turner's led a very sheltered life. So when her parents pass away tragically, suddenly she’s left in charge of the family ranch with little know-how but plenty of will to keep it afloat. Determined not to lose her parents’ legacy or her newfound independence, she needs a hero fast - not to save her, but to show her how to save herself. But she’s unprepared for the ruggedly handsome cowboy who answers her ad. “Cowboy for Hire,” the ad said, and Cade Walker's quick to respond. Betrayed as ranch manager by his former boss, he’s looking for a new place to put down roots.

Abandoned by his father after his mother drowns in a frozen Minnesota lake, fifteen-year-old Wes Ballot is stranded with coldhearted grandparents and holed up in his mother’s old bedroom, surrounded by her remnants and memories. As the wait for his father stretches unforgivably into months, a local girl, whose own mother died a brutal death, captures his heart and imagination, giving Wes fresh air to breathe in the suffocating small town.

Rosa Galvez’s attraction to Officer Wyatt Townsend is as powerful as the moon’s pull on the tides. But with her past, Rosa knows better than to act on her feelings. When Wyatt and his adorable son become Brambleberry House’s newest tenants, Rosa finds her resolve slipping. Her solo life slowly becomes a sun-filled family adventure - until dark secrets threaten to break like a summer storm.

When 21-year-old Christopher’s life in the city becomes unbearable, he decides to spend the summer with his distant step-grandfather, Percival, on his farm. In the quiet of the countryside, Christopher finds himself drawn to Percival in ways he never expected. Percival, a rugged man with a commanding presence, has spent years keeping others at a distance. But Christopher’s arrival stirs unfamiliar interest in him, and as the two navigate the rhythms of farm life together, their connection grows. Christopher and Percival must grapple with the lines they’re tempted to cross—and the ...

In this fourth installment of the poignant stories of the McCray family and their lovable canines in rural Kansas, matriarch Mary Ann McCray is determined to shake up Christmas by accepting the role as Crossing Trail's first woman Santa Claus. Mary Ann, always a bit of a rebel, is looking to offer a more progressive voice in the staunchly conservative town at Christmastime and has a few ideas up her red velvet sleeves.

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn 80. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen. Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire....

When Leonie Baxter finds herself out of a job and out of a relationship, she’s at her wits end. Her life has just been turned upside down and she needs a plan, fast. By chance, on a walk with her rescue puppy, Leonie stumbles across a striking house in the woods; fully furnished but unoccupied. As a journalist, she is determined to find out more, after all, reporting is in her nature. But her attempts are thwarted by Lily Cruickshank who lives in the cottage next door.