AustLit

'A slick city boy with a mission. A free-spirited country girl with a cause. Fireworks are guaranteed...

'Upstanding principal Jay Atherton dreads the next four weeks. As punishment for crossing his bosses, he's been lumped with the inglorious task of assessing Acacia Haven's tiny school with its, dare he say, 'hippie' curriculum. With the lowest test scores in the state, it's no wonder shutting it down is practically a forgone conclusion. But then he crosses paths with a spitfire who knocks him for six - pity he's already public enemy number one...

'Teacher Summer O'Reilly loves her small town nestled along the beautiful coast. Returning was the best decision she ever made. The intentional living community of Serenity is thriving, and the children are its future. No way will she allow a jumped-up suit - no matter how good-looking - to close the school her precious students need.

'For Rayne O'Reilly, Acacia Haven has always been serene on the surface, but there's a dark secret she's kept from everyone for decades, including her daughter, Summer. But after reviving old friendships and reconnecting with the past, will she finally have the courage to tear down the walls that have kept her trapped?' (Publication summary)

'When you swear off men for the foreseeable future, that means no dating. Hookups don’t count, right?

'Harper Ryland has been on a self-imposed man ban for the last twelve months, after a particularly horrible breakup. Instead, she’s focusing on the one thing she can control: her career as an up-and-coming food stylist. Harper’s latest gig is her best friend’s wedding, and she receives glowing praise throughout the night. When the Best Man, Manny Gomes, belittles her hard work, she wants to stab him with skewers from the buffet table, but she can think of something much better: to lead him on the entire wedding and then humiliate him in sweet revenge.

'When the handsome Anglo-Indian doctor shows up in New Zealand a week later, while Harper’s on her first international job, it’s the last thing she needs. Everything about him rubs her the wrong way, but when suave Manny steps in to help after an unfortunate disaster, his chivalry gets under her skin a little, and Harper discovers lifting her ban while overseas is exactly what the doctor ordered.

'Manny isn’t looking for anything but fun either–especially not marriage, like his grandmother Izzy keeps pushing on him. But there’s something about Harper that makes him want more, even though she keeps her distance, and they’re about to discover how far he’s willing to go to be with her...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Hardworking Kara Roberts will do anything to help save her surrogate mother’s dating agency stay afloat…including agree to pose as her first crush’s fake girlfriend!

'The guy she kissed and ditched at eighteen is now a successful, sexy lawyer. But Matt Byrne’s playboy reputation is threatening his quest for partnership and he needs an image overhaul. Matt proposes a deal to his idea of the perfect woman: be his public girlfriend for secret benefits.

'Bohemian, free-spirited Amber Lawrence owes her father, big time. So when he’s on the verge of losing the family’s carnival, she agrees to an outlandish proposal from the shark trying to rip apart her father’s dream.

'She’ll marry the uptight lawyer, in exchange for enough money to save the carnival and open her dream aromatherapy shop.

'Kate Hayden will do whatever it takes to secure her dream job as chief editor at a hip LA magazine. Including bid for her ex at a bachelor auction!

'Tyler James walked away from Kate and their engagement six years ago, a Navy SEAL at the top of his game. Now, Tyler has secrets he must protect.

'So what’s an honorable guy to do, when he’s bound to Kate as her PA for a week, all in the name of charity?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Tamara Rayne is on a mission: travel to India, the land of her mother’s birth, and rediscover her identity. But the food critic doesn’t expect to run into Ethan Brooks, the one man who’s a potent reminder of a past she’d rather forget.

'Ethan, a wealthy restaurateur, has wanted Tamara since he met her. And he’s waited long enough.

'As the couple travel on the luxurious Palace on Wheels through Rajasthan, and spend a decadent week in Goa, can the magic of India and their burgeoning relationship be sustained back in Melbourne?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'For almost a decade, successful 37-year-old Samira Broderick has used her bustling LA practice as an excuse to avoid a trip home to Australia. She still resents her meddling Indian mother for arranging her marriage to a man who didn't stick around when the going got tough, but now with a new job Down Under, she's finally ready to reconnect with her. And while she's there, a hot international fling might be just what she needs to get out of her recent funk.

'Aussie stuntman, Rory Radcliffe, has been hiding his stutter for years by avoiding speaking roles. When a job he can't refuse comes up as a reality show host, he knows he'll need some help for the audition: a dialect coach. But he finds himself at a loss for words when he discovers it's the same sexy woman with whom he just had a mind-blowing one-night stand...

'Samira can think of many reasons why Rory is completely wrong for her: he's ten years her junior, for one, and he's not Indian—something Samira's mother would never approve of. Even if things were to get serious, there's no reason to tell her mother ... is there?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The sunroom at the back of the house is just as I remember. I can't taste homemade lemonade or smell oatmeal cookies without thinking of home, of the beautiful cliffs of Martino Bay, and I feel welcomed. But all thoughts of a happy family reunion are destroyed the moment I see him...

'He's as handsome as I remember: broad shoulders, piercing blue eyes, hair the colour of burnt toffee.

'The man who once meant the world to me. The reason I fled eleven years ago. I've never told anyone the terrible mistake I made that night. The secret we share. I'm still haunted by the crashing waves at the bottom of the cliffs, the blood...

'But what is he doing at my sister's house?

'And then I see her. My baby sister. She smiles, she tips her hand so I can see the ring. And his arm slides around her waist, pulling her close...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When the past crashes into the future, there's more than hearts on the line.

'Natasha Trigg leads a simple life in small-town Brockenridge. She works at the roadhouse, has good friends, and at the centre of her world is her daughter, Isla. She knows dumping musician Kody Lansdowne thirteen years ago by misleading him about her pregnancy was best in the long run. She drove him away so he could achieve his dreams but has always felt guilty. When a matchmaking Isla invites a surprise new neighbour to dinner, Tash and Kody come face to face once again...

'Now a bona fide rockstar, Kody's in hiding to sort through the mess his life has become after a concert resulted in devastation. The last thing he needs is discovering he has a child. Especially as it means the one woman he's never been able to forget is now permanently part of his life. Pity he's so furious with her...

'For Jane Jefferson, who has deliberately fooled townsfolk into believing her reputation is worse than it is for years, a second chance is something she thought she'd never get. Reconnecting with friendships she thought lost forces her to face the question: do past mistakes define you forever?

'While navigating the troubled waters of forgiveness, friendship and love, will these three Brockenridge residents discover everyone deserves a second chance?' (Publication summary)

'Trusting his family was her first mistake.

'All Ria ever wanted was a family. Growing up alone in foster care, she imagined just how it would be. So when she fell in love with Grayson and had their daughter Shelley, she was determined to make his family love her too. She knew she’d never fit in with her glamorous sisters-in-law, or at the exclusive picture-perfect Chicago parties her mother-in-law threw, but with Grayson’s arm around her waist she tried her best to be a Parker.

'Everything changed when Grayson disappeared.

'Until one morning, Grayson leaves the house for work and never comes home. Left to raise Shelley alone, Ria is forced to turn to her husband’s family, to let her intimidating mother-in-law into her life, allow her to babysit Shelley, and accept her financial support. She tries to ignore the feeling that her sisters-in-law never thought she was good enough. They say they have no idea what happened to Grayson, and she tries very hard to believe them.

'But Ria is about to learn that every Parker wife has secrets.

'And protecting her daughter might come at a terrible price…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ever since her twin girls left home, Marisa has felt there’s something missing from her life. Her sprawling mansion is no longer filled with laughter and chaos, and she’s desperate to feel needed... and to be distracted from the secret she’s been hiding from her husband for all these years.

'Coffee with her best friends might be the only thing holding Marisa together. But Claire and Elly have their own secrets. Like why Claire hasn’t been to work in weeks, or why Elly won’t tell anyone who’s buying her flowers.

'When Jodi, a pregnant young girl, turns up at Marisa’s doorstep, Marisa is quick to come to her aid. She sees herself in Jodi and she knows how devoting yourself to looking after others can take up all your time in the most marvellous way.

'But Jodi’s arrival quickly pushes everyone’s lies to the surface. The father of her unborn child is someone the women know very well, and Marisa starts to wonder if her obsession with helping Jodi might come at a devastating price…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

  (Publication summary)