Ev Bishop

Random circumstances brought them together. Love made them family. Never in Chef Stevie Fox's life, or not since being taken in by her foster mom Maddie anyway, has she imagined that she'd ever dread Christmas. But here she is . . . Seven years ago, she said "I do" to the sizzling love of her life, Jackson Bassett. Their first years together were a delicious stew of happy hormones, new parent bliss, and thriving business buzz. Now, while her passion and commitment are as hearty as ever, she fears Jackson's has become watered down. And then there's the pretty assistant manager he spends way too much time with. Stevie may be a dreamer extraordinaire, but she's also a realist. With her early childhood and the things she and her loved ones have survived and overcome, how could she be anything but? No matter how she wants to believe otherwise, her marriage is in trouble. She knows whatever happens, she'll be okay. She has her precious son, Joey. Her mom, Maddie. A surprisingly healed relationship with her birth mother, Marilyn. She has her beloved soul sisters and a network of family ties that she could never have even begun to fantasize about as a kid. She is beyond grateful for all she has. And yet . . . and yet. The idea of losing the love she believed in, counted on, and still so deeply feels fills her with sorrow too deep for comfort. Christmas will come as it always does, and Stevie will work hard like she always does to make it special for her son and family, but oh, how she dreams, yearns, and longs . . . Falling in love is only ever the beginning of a story. Staying in love is the ongoing series. If you're a fan of heartwarming second-chance holiday romance and sister sagas, you'll love this new addition to the Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge series ✓ Don't miss a Soul Sisters book - Get them all today Book 1: Christmas Sisters - perma-FREE prologue bookBook 2: Christmas Kisses by Judith KeimBook 3: Christmas Wishes by Tammy L. GraceBook 4: Christmas Hope by Violet HoweBook 5: Christmas Dreams by Ev BishopBook 6: Christmas Rings by Tess ThompsonBook 7: Christmas Surprises by Tammy L. GraceBook 8: Christmas Yearnings by Ev BishopBook 9: Christmas Peace by Violet HoweBook 10: Christmas Castles by Judith KeimBook 11: Christmas Star by Tess ThompsonBook 12: Christmas Joy by Judith KeimBook 13: Christmas Shelter by Tammy L. GraceBook 14: Christmas Secret by Violet HoweBook 15: Christmas Longings by Ev BishopBook 16: Christmas Promise by Violet HoweBook 17: Christmas Comfort by Ev BishopBook 18: Christmas Hearts by Tammy L. Grace

Random circumstances brought them together. Love made them family. Marilyn Fox is three years clean and sober but a life-long loser-in her mind, anyway. It doesn't matter that she's finally holding down a job, providing for herself, and trying to make amends with those she's hurt. Her past haunts her. What kind of mother abandons her own child? No kind, that's what. She yearns for connection and love but knows that she doesn't deserve it, not even from Millie, the big old dog who's become her best-maybe only-friend. When a chance encounter with a man as lonely as she is sparks dreams of things she's long since given up on-okay, never thought possible for someone like her-she is more than stunned. She is . . . utterly baffled. Even more surprising, Jamie is deluded enough to think she is valuable, loveable, even. Her daughter Stevie shows her unbelievable and completely undeserved grace-even going so far as letting her have a relationship with her precious grandson. Millie gives her the most gentle and effusive unconditional love-and much laughter. Jamie is bent on trying to get her to see herself the way he sees her. . . . But none of that is enough. If the yearnings of Marilyn's heart will ever be met, she needs to know for herself: can she-has she-really changed? And even if other people can forgive her, can she ever forgive herself? If you're a fan of small towns, heartwarming holiday romance, second chances, and furry dog friends, you'll be rooting for Marilyn and hoping her heart's deepest longings can be met in Christmas Yearnings, Book 8 in Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge, from USA Today bestselling author Ev Bishop.

How do you find the strength to start again? Madeline's world caves in when her husband, daughter, and sister are ripped away in one fell swoop. Trapped in a limbo of grief and loneliness, she realizes that to survive, she needs to fight her way back to some kind of life. She throws her belongings into storage, sells her house, and heads to a new-to-her small town. There she invests every dime she has to open what had been her and her daughter's shared dream: an upscale secondhand, consignment, and upcycling store. It has to work, or else-No. She can't think about that. It has to work. The birth of Madeline's heart-healing Second Chance Shop is not without pain. And the clock is ticking on whether the shop can support her. Still, she is floored to find things she'd lost hope of ever experiencing again: laughter, dear friends-including a fat, slightly cantankerous cat and a distinguished old yellow lab-and surprising moments of joy. She even has a second chance for love. If she's brave enough-and if she can come to terms with her loss, shed her guilt, and fully embrace living. If you enjoy emotionally compelling stories about family relationships, women's friendships, romance for women over forty, and the pets who bring us so much joy, you're going to love USA Today bestselling author Ev Bishop's The Second Chance Shop, a brand-new small-town contemporary romance series about overcoming heartbreak, starting over later in life, and finding home again. . . .

Random circumstances brought them together. Love made them family. Hailey Kirby plans to spend a wonderful Christmas holiday at the Cedar Mountain Lodge with her family, celebrating her sister's wedding as Maid of Honor. Things go awry when the wedding is called off. Hoping to comfort her sister, her mother and three sisters decide to go ahead with their winter vacation plans at the Lodge. Hailey works in town as the children's librarian, and under the pen name of Lee Merriweather is secretly the author and illustrator of picture books. Young children adore the stories of Charlie and his dog, Zeke, including Regan, the niece of Nick Hensley, a rock star musician who's recently moved back to Granite Ridge. When he reaches out to the author to seek permission to write songs to go with the stories, Hailey is forced to confess who she is and the painful reason why she's been hiding behind a pseudonym. As Hailey and Nick put their creative minds together, they form a friendship that quickly grows to much more. Hailey learns to trust and discovers some chances in life are worth taking. If you're a fan of small towns, heartwarming holiday stories, and second chances, along with a few furry friends, you'll fall in love with Hailey and her soul sisters in CHRISTMAS KISSES, Book 2 of Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge, from bestselling author Judith Keim. Don't miss a Soul Sisters book - download them all today Book 1: Christmas Sisters - Prologue bookBook 2: Christmas Kisses by Judith KeimBook 3: Christmas Wishes by Tammy L. GraceBook 4: Christmas Hope by Violet HoweBook 5: Christmas Dreams by Ev BishopBook 6: Christmas Rings by Tess Thompson More Books by Judith Keim The Beach House Hotel Series, The Salty Key Inn Series, The Hartwell Women, The Seashell Cottage Books and more...

It's been two years since Sophie was dumped at the altar, and she's scarred, but wiser. She has a career she loves, good friends, and a caring family. It should be more than enough, and she wants to vanquish the part of her that still craves something more. This year, unable to bear one more "festive" get together where everyone gives her sad eyes and asks how she's doing, she heads to River's Sigh B & B, a picturesque spot she discovered online. It will be a New Year's celebration for one, a place to unwind and kick off her new resolution: to embrace single life as a permanent choice. Jesse Ales has found the perfect way to avoid the world this holiday season. He'll be the caretaker at River's Sigh B & B and enjoy a break from well-meaning friends who think he should be over his ex-wife. The whole place will be deserted, except for some eccentric old woman holidaying alone in the wilderness. Even after making her breakfast every day, he'll have plenty of time to plan his new life: committed bachelorhood. When chance throws Sophie and Jesse together in a pub, a night of alcohol, food, and laughter-infused lunacy almost leads to a one-night stand. They're both shaken, but doubly resolved to remain single. And then they meet again at River's Sigh and realize they're about to spend a week alone together-twenty miles from their nearest neighbor. They'll each have to face their worst fears: their own unacknowledged yearnings for a love that lasts. Can love tempt them to commitment a second time around? Maybe. If they're brave enough . . .

Aisha Bailey has been deeply afraid of change ever since she was a pregnant teenager mourning the loss of her mother. This newly recognized truth clashes with how she's always seen herself: fiercely independent, spontaneous and willing to take risks, an entrepreneur bent on doing something important and creating a financially secure, permanent home for her and her daughter. If she's none of those things, who is she? If she's happy living and working at River's Sigh B & B for the long haul, does that make her weak? But if she only pushes herself to change in order to avoid seeming weak, isn't that worse? Her whole future is up in the air and it's driving her crazy. Then she meets Jase, the big, gentle, crazy-sexy new groundkeeper. Suddenly, her regular routines and homebody life are even more satisfying and pleasurable than usual, and she catches herself dreaming of a life partner and more children. It's . . . terrifying. Talk about things with the power to hurt you-and to derail your plan to make plans Plus, she has enough people to worry about, thank you very much. Drifter Jase Scott is homeless and always has been. It was a constant source of pain as a kid and doesn't hurt less with age. Thankfully, he has construction skills and knows how to work hard. He's not broke and he can take care of himself and his responsibilities. When he and his foster brother Colton hire on for a couple months' labor at River's Sigh B & B, Colton is bored, but Jase finds himself in the kind of home, amidst the type of family, he's always longed for. And best of all, there's Aisha, a woman like no-one he's ever known. He's not deluded. Guys like him don't end up at places like River's Sigh B & B permanently, no matter how hard they work. And someone like Aisha could never truly belong with the likes of him-something she'll be the first to say if she ever finds out the secret he's keeping. Choosing to love is choosing to embrace change and risk pain. That's always the catch, isn't it?

Mia Grant, a one-time pop star, still bears emotional scars caused by a stalker who terrorized her for years-a person she inadvertently welcomed into her inner circle. She has come a long away in learning to manage the crippling fear and anxiety his savage attack left her with, and she books into River's Sigh B & B to begin the grueling task of what she hopes will be the final step in her recovery. Determined to reclaim her old independence and sense of adventure and possibility, she vows to never let anyone get close enough to fool or injure her again. The disfiguring scars on Gray Robertson's body are nothing compared to those marring his damaged heart and psyche. A loner by nature, the brutal murder of his young wife and son made him a hermit. He lives off-grid in the wilderness of northern Canada with only his dog for company, finding isolation far easier to survive than loving people and having them torn away. When his closest neighbor, Jo at River's Sigh B & B, ropes him into giving self-defense lessons to some washed up musician, Gray figures it's a safe way to make a bit of cash to see him through winter. As Mia and Gray get to know each other, neither are prepared for the tumultuous, conflicting emotions that leave them reeling. In him, a convoluted mix of desire, protectiveness, and misplaced fury. In her, a complex stew of appreciation, longing, and apprehension. Then a foolish decision puts Mia's life in peril and forces a question she and Gray are both scared to answer. Can love heal old wounds, or are they too damaged to risk further hurt?

There's an extreme heat wave at River's Sigh B & B, but things have never been colder between Noelle Archer and her husband Cade. Dragged there for a reunion with Cade's screwed up family, Noelle is confused, resentful-and considering divorce. Noelle never would've predicted she'd be trapped in a loveless marriage, but Cade's more distant and aloof than ever, plus she's sure he had an affair. What other choice does she have? Husbands who cheat don't become faithful, and wives who put up with it become bitter and lonely. She won't have that for herself, and she won't model that for her children. Cade has always clung tightly to Noelle, his beloved daughters, and their life together. He's not good at expressing himself, but he's been confident, even cocky, that if he's strong enough, works hard enough, provides well enough, Noelle will know how he feels. But now one moment of stupidity that wasn't what it appeared has wrecked everything. He wants her to believe in him the way his parents and brothers never have, with no explanations necessary-but maybe that's unfair. He'll swallow his pride. He'll find the words. He'll do anything to fix their relationship. But what if it's too late? Can shattered love ever be restored?