The Duchess and the Dreamer

As the oldest daughter of a baroness with a quite superior attitude, Bronte de Lacey was brought up in privilege and expected to follow a traditional path. Make a good marriage and settle down to the business of making a family. But making a family isn’t what Bronte wants at all. Instead, she’s dedicated her life to saving animals as an animal rehabilitator. The Rosebrook village trust may give her the chance to finally live the life she wants and help others in the process.

Griffin Harris was brought up by her single mother in a poor housing estate. Finding out she is the sole heir of a large English estate catapults her from poverty to riches in one day. Her good-for-nothing father was never part of her life, so Griffin resents the money but uses it for her mother’s comfort while she travels the world, wandering, hoping to find her true place. When an old friend asks for a favor, she agrees to help restart a brewery in Rosebrook. It seems like a fine, and temporary, idea to Griffin.

When Bronte comes to the village, Griffin is drawn to her strength. Their connection creates a safe haven for the wanderer. But when Griffin discovers the truth about her father, all she wants to do is run.

Poppy King wants to save the world, but if she can’t do that, then she’ll save her own little corner of it. The realities of a career in the fashion industry leave her disillusioned and, after years working with UNICEF to improve the working conditions of families exploited by the unethical garment industry, Poppy returns home to start her business degree and create her own ethical clothing brand.

Undercover reporter Casey James has spent her career exposing the worst vices of humanity. After witnessing so much corruption, greed, and death, she’s losing sight of who she truly is. When Casey is tasked with a royal exposé on the court of Denbourg, she only has one way in, the Crown Consort’s sister, Poppy. 

Poppy meets Casey during her night classes and is instantly annoyed, distracted, and intrigued. When they’re grouped together for a class assignment, Poppy’s enthusiasm for life and love may just save Casey’s soul. But will she ever forgive Casey for using her to expose royal secrets?

Flora Buchanan doesn’t think a relationship is an option. A variety of mental health issues—anxiety, OCD, and PTSD—make it seem impossible to find love. Instead, she seeks joy in the one thing that is safe and ordered: her sweetshop in Glasgow.

Mack Sharkey is ready to start a new life after being released from jail. As part of the infamous Sharkey family, she took care of business on the edge of the law for the once criminal, and now legitimate, empire. After being sentenced to jail time her cousin should have shared, she’s promised a quiet life running her dream barbershop.

Flora and Mack are bound together by a night that changed their lives two years before and never thought they’d ever see each other again. But when Mack opens up her barbershop right next to Flora’s sweetshop, their connection comes roaring back.

Content advisory: This book contains instances of violence against women. 

Ashling O’Rourke has always seen love through the prism of her vintage romance novel collection. The dukes, the duchesses, and the corsets and carriages help her to experience different kinds of love. She’s content living a sheltered life in a small village and even gets a job working for the Rosebrook Village Trust. Ash’s newly exciting life is only marred by the arrogant Archie, who thinks she’s the office tea girl.

Steff “Archie” Archer is a Townie who never likes to be more than a mile away from a coffee, sushi, or juice bar. Despite being an avid environmentalist and working for Rosebrook Village Trust, she never wants to live there. She’s lived the country life before and vowed never to return.

When unsentimental Archie falls for the hopeless romantic Ashling, Archie needs to learn how to make her sweetheart swoon, but will she be able to settle in the village and make her home where her heart is?

For Veronica Clayton, the sudden death of her mother has turned her naturally bright and happy-go-lucky view of the world bleak. As the Police Protection Officer for the Queen’s children, she has purpose, but for the next six months, the Queen’s family is the focus of a documentary on royal life. The last thing Clay wants is a camera pointed in her face.

Katya Kovach, a refugee to Britain, knows all about death and grief. She saw her family shot in front of her and has never recovered from those dark memories. Now trained at London’s most prestigious childcare school, she’s happy as the nanny to Queen Georgina and Queen Bea’s children.

Clay is usually good-natured, but the rule-oriented Katya is not only a pain, but annoyingly beautiful, and they find themselves facing the awkward reality that everyone else is a couple except them while their every move is being filmed. Loss has defined both their lives, but guarding their hearts may prove to be the biggest heartbreak of all.

Davina Trent lives for work. She spends her days at her prestigious family law firm, ending her clients’ marriages in divorce court and negotiating their hefty payoffs. Marriage is destined to fail, and family can’t be trusted. But when Trent’s cousin dies unexpectedly, Trent is the only relative left to care for his two small children. She needs a nanny fast.

All Wendy Darling ever wanted was a family. When her fiancée left her and cleared out her bank account, she didn’t think her heart would ever mend. After years abroad as a nanny, she returns to Britain to finish her degree and finally get her life back on track.

Wendy falls in love with the children, but her heart aches at the distance between Trent and the kids. Wendy’s determined to show Trent how fulfilling family life can be, and soon love begins to blossom. But will Trent have the courage to embrace her desire for Wendy and her unexpected family?