MAY PUBLICATIONS

Louise Allen: A Proposal to Risk Their friendship

Historical Romance
Harlequin Mills & Boon
Paperback & ebook
27 May 2021

(The Liberated Ladies Book 5) Melissa Taverner has literary ambitions and is determined to remain a spinster. When she meets Lord Henry Cary she soon discovers he is not at all what he seems. Before long she is not only friends with the man, but she is embroiled in his hazardous secret world. She thinks she can continue with her independent way of life, even in the face of scandal, but then Melissa finds herself asking the last question she ever imagined would pass her lips…

Jill Barry: Love in Lavender Lane

Romance
Ulverscroft Ltd
Large Print Paperback
1st May 2021

Fiona exchanges her quiet suburban world for 1970s London when she inherits a marriage bureau. But as she has never been truly in love, arranging perfect pairings for her starry-eyed clients will be challenging. While Fiona’s busy playing Cupid, how will she ever find time to make her own dream come true?

Jennifer Bohnet: Summer at the Château

Women’s fiction
Boldwood Books
e-bk; pb,hb,audio
13th May

Buying a Château was a dream come true for Pixie and her husband, but when Frank dies leaving behind a tangled web of secrets, how can she possibly move to France and fulfill those dreams?

Sharon Booth: The Whole of the Moon

Contemporary romance
Green Ginger Publishing
Kindle ebook (paperback to follow)
28th May 2021

Return to the North Yorkshire coastal village of Kearton Bay one last time. Rhiannon and Harry have both made mistakes in the past, causing them to lose the people they love most. Is it too late for them to find happiness, or will they discover that every moment is a chance to start again?

Chrissie Bradshaw: Rose’s Ever After

historical romance
Vallum Publishing
ebook and paperback
May 11th 2021

Rose has a promising future stretching out before her, until a cruel twist of fate seizes it. She returns to the safe haven of Linwood colliery rows and makes a surprising discovery. Will Rose overcome her heartache as she tries to build a new life?

Philippa Carey: To Love Again

Regency Romance
Ulverscroft
Soft cover, Large print
1/5/2021

It is December, 1813. Two small girls are bored, lonely, and travelling to their grandmother’s house for Christmas. Their father is a widower, barely able to walk after fighting Napoleon, their nursemaid is not very bright, and their governess has no enthusiasm or imagination. Then, at a coaching inn, some of their horses are stolen. Their only comfort is from a widowed lady who is also stuck there…

Deborah Carr: Mrs Boots Goes to War

Historical Fiction
One More Chapter
Paperback
13th May 2021

(Mrs Boots, Book 3) When Florence’s son announces that he has enlisted, she is horrified. She has no intention of sitting back on her laurels while others fight for King and country. She knows what needs to be done…

Eva Carter: How to Save a Life

Contemporary
Mantle/Pan Macmillan
hardback, audio, e-book
May 28

A love story that starts when one heart stops: It’s nearly midnight on the eve of the millennium when eighteen-year-old Joel’s heart stops. A school friend, Kerry, performs CPR for almost twenty exhausting minutes, ultimately saving Joel’s life, while her best friend Tim freezes, unable to help. That moment of life and death changes the course of all three lives over the next two decades, in an epic story inspired by the author’s own experiences.

Sophie Claire: Summer At The French Olive Grove

Women’s fiction
Hodder & Stoughton
paperback, ebook & audiobook
publication date: 27 May

Adventurous filmmaker, Lily, breaks her arm and must return home to France while she recuperates. She hasn’t seen childhood crush Olivier since the devastating fire that changed her life and they have unfinished business.

Carol Cooper: The Girls from Alexandria

Historical Fiction
Agora Books
paperback
April 29.

How do you find someone when nobody believes they’re missing?

Kiley Dunbar: The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday

Romantic Comedy
Hera Books
eBook
5 May 2021

Jude rents a tumbledown bookshop by the sea in Clove Lore, Devon, for a fortnight. When fellow bookseller-holidaymaker Elliot turns up unannounced, she discovers she’s not the only one running away from real life. Only one bed, bookselling and blossoming romance.

Liz Eeles: A Letter To The Last House Before The Sea

Women’s Fiction
Bookouture
e-book and paperback
May 19th 2021

Short three-line summary: High on the clifftops, Lettie takes a deep breath of salty air and opens the letter. There is no signature, and the old-fashioned handwriting is faint against the yellowed paper. The message, and the tiny gold key inside, will turn her life upside down…

Jeanine Englert: The Highlander’s Secret Son

Georgian Highlander Romance
Mills and Boon
ebook and paperback
25 May 2021

His first love, but now his sworn enemy. Laird Brandon Campbell can’t believe Fiona MacDonald dared cross into his lands after her clan’s brutal attack on his people a year earlier, especially with a baby he didn’t know existed in her arms . . . his son.

Clare Flynn: Sisters at War

Historical (WW2)
Cranbrook Press
Ebook,
1st May 2021

1940. With her new husband, Will, deployed on dangerous Atlantic convoy missions, Hannah needs her sister Judith more than ever. But when Mussolini declares war on Britain, Judith’s Italian sweetheart, Paolo is imprisoned as an enemy alien, and Judith’s loyalties are divided. A heart-wrenching story of the bravery of ordinary people in wartime. From heavily blitzed Liverpool to the terrors of the North Atlantic and the scorched plains of Australia, Sisters at War will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart.

Jean Fullerton: A Ration Book Daughter

WW2 Saga
Atlantic
Paperback & kindle
6th May

Cathy was a happy, blushing bride when Britain went to war, but her violent husband Stanley crushed her youthful dreams. When a telegram arrives declaring he is missing in action, Cathy only has to wait 6 months before she is legally a widow and can move on with her life, possibly with the dashing Sergeant Archie McIntosh of the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Squad. But with Stanley’s fate unclear, and the Blitz raging on over London’s East End, will Cathy ever have the love she deserves?

Daisy James: Escape to the Hummingbird Hotel

Romantic Comedy
ebook
27th May 2021

Welcome to the Hummingbird Hotel!
Escape to the sun-drenched island of Corfu this summer with this gorgeously uplifting romantic comedy, the first in a brand-new series from the author of the Cornish Confetti Agency and the Villa Limoncello trilogy.

Lynn Johnson: Wartime with the Tram Girls

Saga
Hera Books
Paperback
6 May 2021

1914 – Hiding her privileged background and suffragette past, Constance signs up to be a clippie and soon makes fast friends with lively fellow Clippies, Betty and Jean, and grows closer to Inspector Robert Caldwell. But another secret haunts Connie. If it comes out, it could destroy her new life.

Gwen Kirkwood: Scottish Destiny

Saga
Ulverscroft
Large Print
April 2021

(4th book in series)

1920 Marie Sinclair travels from Yorkshire to Scotland for a short visit to her brother but her visit becomes prolonged when his wife, Rina, is rushed to hospital. She met Mark Blackwood on the train to Strathlinn and he also seeks Marie’s help with his problems running his Estate.

Emily Kerr: Duvet Day

Romantic Comedy
One More Chapter
e-book
27th May

Young lawyer Alexa Humphries has had enough. Worn down by the endless demands of her suspicious boss and her competitive housemate, Alexa barely recognises herself. But today is different. Today, Alexa just can’t face the world. Everyone deserves a duvet day, don’t they?

Name Gwen Kirkwood: Love Has No Borders

Saga
Ulverscroft
Large Print
April 2021

5th book in series. Marguerite Sinclair is training to be a nurse but Rick Fortescue loves her and asks her to marry him before going to war. She refuses, although she cares deeply. Later she is injured and is sent home from France. She takes the opportunity to remain in Scotland nursing wounded soldiers. They both long for the war to end so they can be together.

Leonie Mack: Italy Ever After

Romantic comedy
Boldwood Books
Ebook, paperback, large print, audio
Date: 11 May 2021

Divorced mum Lou accompanies her daughter Edie on a music camp by Lake Garda, determined to discover her own talents while Edie develops hers. In a series of misadventures, she finally gets to know Edie’s seriously hot but very reserved violin teacher, Nick Romano, and she learns she doesn’t need a talent to be loved for who she is.

Sarah Mallory: Rescued by her Highland Soldier

Historical Romance
Mills & Boon
Paperback and ebook
1 May 2021

In the aftermath of Culloden, Grant Rathmore cannot go home and sets out to help Madeleine escape to France. Things do not go to plan! A tale of romance and adventure set in the Scottish Highlands. Book 2 in the Lairds of Ardvarrick series.

Mairibeth MacMillan: The Viking’s Warrior Bride

Historical Romance
Tirgearr Publishing
Ebook
May 11th

Bjorn and Ylva. Two warriors who fight side by side. Two lovers who avoid commitments. But their convenient relationship just got complicated. After a series of attacks, they travel up the River Clyde to gather information. But as their journey progresses they soon learn that something’s not right. When a stowaway puts their lives in danger, they must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for their future?

Sue Moorcroft: Under the Italian Sun

Commercial fiction
Avon HarperCollins
Paperback, ebook and audiobook
13th May 2021

Zia’s search for her father and the truth behind why she apparently has two mothers will sweep you off to a rocky plateau above an Italian vineyard. There, at sunny Buena Vista, Zia finds a woman who shares her name and Piero Domenicali, who’s fighting to keep his home.

Kathleen McGurl: The Lost Sister

Dual timeline
HQ
Ebook
12th May 2021

When Harriet comes across a photo of her grandmother that shows a third sister she hadn’t known her grandmother had, it leads her on a trail of discovery that spans a century. Three sisters, three ships, one heartbreaking story.

Lucy Morris: The Viking Chief’s Marriage Alliance.

Historical Romance
Harlequin Historical
Paperback and ebook
27th May 2021

A challenging wife For a warrior Viking: When Thorstein Bergson rescues a beautiful woman from a storm-tossed long-ship he little expects to broker a powerful marriage alliance with her. This high-status ice queen is not the comfortable wife this warrior chief is seeking. But maybe the bitter-sweet pain in Gyda’s eyes hides another woman beneath? The one he tasted that first night when she’d kissed him with such pent-up longing…?

Maddie Please: The Old Ducks Club

Women’s humorous fiction.
Boldwood Books.
Digital, paperback audio.
Date of Release. May 18th 2021

About to turn sixty, Sophia doesn’t recognise the old woman staring back at her in the mirror. Where has her life gone so wrong? How has it come to this? A quiet holiday in beautiful Rhodes is the perfect chance for her to find herself again.
Until she meets the Old Ducks.

Jessica Redland: Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow 

Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Boldwood Books
eBook for Apple, Kindle, Kobo, PB, HB, large print, audio, audio download, streaming services
4th May 2021

(Hedgehog Hollow Book 3) Every family has its secrets. Samantha is now running Hedgehog Hollow Rescue Centre full-time but the hedgehogs aren’t the only ones requiring attention. When her self-absorbed cousin, Chloe, unexpectedly turns up at the farm – swiftly handing over her baby to Samantha to care for – trouble is definitely brewing. Especially as Chloe won’t tell anyone why she’s left her husband, James…

Tanya Jean Russell: A Summer of Dreams

Contemporary Romance
Sapere Publishing
e-book and paperback
18th May 2021

A secret dream, two lonely souls, and a life-changing summer… Can Susie and Dean face their demons? Will they be able to rekindle their friendship? Is this the summer when Susie’s dreams come true…?
A SUMMER OF DREAMS is a contemporary summer romance full of secret hopes, missed opportunities and new beginnings.

Astrid Sharpe: The Hunter’s Heart

Science Fiction Romance
Totally Bound Publishing
Ebook
18th May 2021

Love After Earth Book One: Five Earth women are left stranded on the Relicai’s rainforest planet. They’re determined to live independently, but their seven-foot panther-men neighbours are on the verge of extinction and are desperate to claim their mates.

Sarah Swatridge: Turpin’s Apprentice

Historical Romance
Ulverscroft Large Print
Paperback
1st April 2021

Turpin’s Apprentice by Sarah Swatridge is set in 1761. Charity Bell is determined to find the culprit behind the most recent highwayman ambush. And by catching the highwayman she aims to persuade Sir John to bring his family, and his wealth, to her village. It may also bring her to the attention of the handsome Moses.

Linda Tyler: The Laird’s Secret

Historical romance (1953)
Bloodhound Books
audiobook
1st May 2021
In 1950s rural Scotland, English photographer Christina holidays on the wild and beautiful north-east coastline of Aberdeenshire. There she meets the enigmatic local laird, Alex, who has a secret he wishes to keep from Christina.

Glenda Young: The Miner’s Lass

Historical saga
Headline
Hardback, audiobook and book
May 13 2021

A life of poverty in a decript pit cottage is all that seventeen-year-old Ruby Dinsdale has known. When charming miner Gordon begins to court Ruby it seems as though happiness is on the horizon, until she uncovers a deeper betrayal than she could ever have imagined.

Sheila Riley. author of The Mersey Mistress brings New Releases to you every month. A member of the RNA since 2003, Sheila is a member of the Society of Authors and The Liverpool History Society. Published by Boldwood Books, she is represented by Felicity Trew at The Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.