The Town That Built Us

Wisdom is knowing which battles are worth fighting.

Sophia Lamont is the youngest representative her state has ever seen. She’s determined to leave her mark on day one. Old school politics won’t dare stand in her way.

As a prison guard, Reggie Northrup has seen the system fail to provide healing for families or rehabilitation for offenders. She closes herself off emotionally to do her job, but it costs her more than she knows.

When Sophia and Reggie are chosen for the governor’s new community design team and tasked with tackling substance use and mental health issues, battle lines are drawn even as sparks fly. Do Reggie and Sophia have the wisdom to set aside the things they cannot change and fight courageously to change what they can? Love just might depend on it.

For some, first love is never forgotten—even when left behind. A story of queer love that never ends, new beginnings, and the town that steals two hearts from award-winning author Ana Hartnett.

Tanya Brees enjoyed an idyllic childhood in the small coastal tourist town of Coral Bay, skimboarding, racing ATVs through sandy trails, and getting into mischief with her small band of friends. Things are clear: stick with the locals and hope the high-rises don’t take over their small fishing community.

When Tanya is thirteen, Juliette Peralta walks into the restaurant at the Coral Bay Inn with her parents and catches the eye of all the teens in town, especially Tanya. Every summer Juliette spends in Coral Bay brings them closer until first love blooms. But Juliette always leaves, her parents keep acquiring property to develop in town, and Tanya can’t take it anymore. No matter how much she loves Juliette, their family values are too different, and they lose touch as adults. That is, until a hurricane forces Juliette to return to Coral Bay indefinitely.

What’s worse than still being attracted to your first crush? Realizing the storm that tore you apart has gotten a lot more complicated.

Elena Murphy tried to escape the ghosts by moving as far away from Owen Station as she could get. It didn’t work. So when her dad asks her to manage the front-of-the-house at Murphy’s Mortuary Funeral Services, which her cold-as-ice brothers are burying, she packs up her art studio and comes home. This time, though, she’s not the town weirdo but an up-and-coming photographer who has embraced her sixth sense—and learned how to use it.

Allison Jones is the charismatic new assistant fire chief—and maybe the only person not happy Elena’s back. Not only is Al the first woman to hold this post in Owen Station, but she is up to her eyeballs in swirling conspiracy theories that are thwarting efforts to prevent wildfires during a record-breaking Southwest summer. The last thing she needs is somebody with Elena’s profile telling ghost stories.

Elena’s not too wild about the chief, either. No one can be that upbeat all the time and not be hiding something, right? But when Elena needs Al’s help to solve a 70-year-old mystery and finally give her tortured family peace, sparks fly. Will it be enough to melt the ice between them and let love ignite?

Leighton Vaughn’s prestigious fine art atelier—and her life—appear to be settling down after a messy divorce. She prioritizes her daughter, art, and, teaching—that is until gifted Casey Norford joins the close-knit New York academy.

Casey didn’t receive the artistic education she expected from her degree, but a spot at Atelier Vaughn will remedy that. Even more than the opportunity to study with the famed Leighton Vaughn, Casey wants to give her son a stable childhood that won’t resemble her own. She’s not sure of the true extent of her artistic talent, but she’s keenly aware of her attraction to her instructor, and that attraction appears mutual.

Their sticky teacher-student relationship puts the future of the atelier in jeopardy, and Leighton’s obsessive ex tracks her down. Will they sacrifice everything to be together?

Content advisory: This book contains instances of domestic violence. 

Hoping to leave her past behind after ending her emotionally abusive relationship, Cally Pope moves to Halesbrook, a sleepy town in Gloucestershire. Content with her plans to open a glamping business in the forest and live a quiet life, she’s sworn off any kind of romantic entanglement.

Laurie Flanagan has lived in the forest all her life and has her dream job working for the forestry commission. She longs for the kind of relationship her parents have, but she hasn’t met someone who fits the bill. When she meets Cally, she feels an instant connection, only it seems Cally doesn’t feel the same way at all.

When increasingly violent acts of sabotage threaten to derail the opening of Forest Glamping and put Cally in grave danger, Laurie is the only one who believes the violence isn’t random. Together, Laurie and Cally try to figure out what’s going on, but the closer they get to answers the more Cally can’t shake the feeling her ex, Jules, has something to do with it. But Jules is dead. Isn’t she…?

Nicki Russell has never been smooth. More like a bumbling, awkward mess always falling short of her dreams. Good college? She never had the money. Post-grad? She’ll get around to it someday. Happy ever after with the perfect woman? One major heartbreak is enough to have her swearing off love forever. Current life plan? Avoid all unnecessary human contact. That goes double for Carter, the hot new butch in town.

Unfortunately, Carter works at the town’s pick-your-own pumpkin patch and Nicki's niece is obsessed with Halloween. So obsessed she ropes her favorite aunt into organizing the school Halloween festival, hosted by Carter Farms. Volunteer weekends are scary enough, but Carter seems to be everywhere Nicki goes, and it’s just a matter of time before she discovers Nicki's more likely to trip over a chair than successfully flirt.

But Carter can’t seem to get enough of her company, and as their accidental encounters slowly simmer into romance, Nicki begins to believe she’s not a complete disaster after all. The date of the festival is fast approaching, and this pumpkin spice season is turning out sweeter than expected.