Most Popular Books by Erica James

Harriet Swift thinks she has the perfect life - a satisfying career, her own flat and a new boyfriend who respects her need for her own space. But then her only sister is killed in a car crash and Harriet is forced to give up her well ordered life and to help look after her orphaned niece and nephew. Moving back to her childhood home in Maple Drive, and sacrificing so much, doesn't come easy and before long Harriet discovers things about her family she never believed possible. Meanwhile, the shabbiest house in Maple Drive has a new occupant. Will Hart also thinks he has the perfect life. Having swapped his successful career as a lawyer for that of an antiques dealer, he believes in living for the moment and is entirely happy with his lot. Then from nowhere tragedy strikes and he faces the biggest challenge of his life. Harriet and Will have no choice but to piece together a new future for themselves, but can they see it through?

From Lake Como in Italy to Oxford, a wonderfully compelling novel about lost love, fate and second chances from the Sunday Times bestselling author. Lake Como - beautiful, enchanting, romantic... For Floriana, it is the place where the love of her life is getting married to another woman. And she's been invited to the wedding. For Esme, it is where, over sixty years ago, she fell in love for the first time. So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart - and changed the course of her life. Adam is in danger of burying himself entirely in his work after his girlfriend left him. Could a trip to Lake Como be the distraction he needs? Now it's time for each of them to understand that the past is not only another country, it can also cast haunting shadows over everyone's lives...

What happens when your best hope for the future is through the past? Voice-over artist Alice avoids telling the truth. It's not lying, exactly, and the freedom of reinvention makes those tough years in the past a little easier to bear. So when she meets writer Clayton Miller, she recognizes the suspicious signs of someone who wants to shrug off his old life. Untangling the web of secrets they've constructed creates an unlikely friendship-until Alice discovers that Clayton has betrayed her in the worst possible way. The author of fifteen international bestsellers, Erica James deftly explores infidelity, bereavement, and the bonds of family with a sparkling voice that will resonate long after the book is finished. Praise for Erica James "Intense, compelling stuff." -OK! magazine "The author writes with a sturdy, feel-good optimism." -Sunday Times "It is a captivating read: beautifully written." -Daily Telegraph "You know you have made it as a storyteller writer when readers simply cannot put your book down...Erica James has this page-turning ability in abundance...I wouldn't have thought this writer could get any better, but she has!" -Welsh Country

'A beautifully crafted and hugely uplifting tale of friendship, history and love. A real gem' HEAT magazine 'A captivating tale of love and loss' SUNDAY EXPRESS magazine 'A stunning book, brilliantly written ... THE SONG OF THE SKYLARK will totally captivate you and your emotions, impossible to put down' Kaye Thorne Lizzie has an unfortunate knack for attracting bad luck, but this time she's hit the jackpot. Losing her heart to her boss at the radio station where she works leads directly to losing her job, and with no money in the bank she's forced to swallow her pride and return home to her parents. As if that wasn't bad enough, her mother finds her work at the local care home for the elderly, and it's there that Lizzie meets Mrs Dallimore. In her nineties, Mrs Dallimore also finds herself in a situation which she's reluctantly coming to terms with. Old age has finally caught up with her, and with her life drawing to a close she gives in to the temptation to relive the past by sharing it with Lizzie. She tells Lizzie of the day when, as a young girl, and shortly before the outbreak of World War II, she left her home in America to cross the Atlantic to England where she hoped to meet her English grandparents for the first time. At best she hoped for a family reconciliation, but before long her visit turned into so much more. As Lizzie listens to Mrs Dallimore's story, she begins to realize that she's not the only person to attract bad luck, or make mistakes, and maybe things aren't so bad for her after all . . .

Recapture the summer sunshine this autumn with the Sunday Times bestseller that readers are calling ‘captivating’ and ‘a treasure of a read’... 🌼🌻

From Erica James, bestselling author of Summer at the Lake, comes an enchanting tale of one family coming together and finding their way. It's the summer of 1939, and after touring an unsettled Europe to promote her latest book, Romily Temple returns home to Island House and the love of her life, the charismatic Jack Devereux. But when Jack falls ill, his estranged family are called home and given seven days to find a way to bury their resentments and come together. With war now declared, each member of the family is reluctantly forced to accept their new stepmother and confront their own shortcomings. But can the habits of a lifetime be changed in one week? And can Romily, a woman who thrives on adventure, cope with the life that has been so unexpectedly thrust upon her?

A gorgeous tale of friendship and love from Sunday Times bestseller Erica James. Ashcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl. A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood. Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love...

A woman living in Venice sees a face that recalls a difficult period of her childhood and causes her to return to London to face the past.

Praise for Erica James 'A wonderfully humorous novel following the dysfunctional Baxter family' Woman's Own 'Completely absorbing' Sarah Morgan 'A brilliant and gripping family drama ... full of heart' My Weekly 'A captivating read' OK! Home is where the heart is... Paradise House, with its gorgeous views of the sea, was the perfect home for the Baxter girls to grow up in - that was, until their mother ran away to 'find herself'. Since then, it's been down to Genevieve to keep the family-owned B&B afloat - which hasn't always been easy, when her father spends most of his time hiding away from the flirtatious local women! And there's little help from her sisters, either. Nattie is too busy offending her long-term admirer and Polly spends most of her days with her head in a book. But when Genevieve hears that a nearby tumbledown barn has been sold, she's forced to take a bittersweet trip down memory lane. Because sometimes coming home means facing the secrets of the past...

Mia Channing appears to have everything, including a perfect family-life, but when the family gathers for her son's 30th birthday it becomes an evening that marks a turning point in all their lives, when old resentments and regrets surface, and the carefully ordered world Mia has created begins to unravel

‘Wonderful on characterisation and family dynamics, and done very deftly, with that wry humour of hers. I was very entertained by her clever, tongue-in-cheek plotting.’ Marian Keyes

This heart-warming tale set among the gardens of Italy finds keen gardener Helen tempted by the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful gardens on Lake Como, but is it only the gardens that will tempt her?

Charlotte Lawrence is consumed by guilt - after months of agonising, she finally asked her workaholic husband Peter for a divorce. The very same day, he was killed in a tragic accident, and Charlotte's only wish is to return home to the idyllic Cheshire village of her childhood. Ivy Cottage and Hulme Welford are all Charlotte remembered. Her interfering sister Hilary hasn't changed either, organising everything. Hilary is determined that Charlotte should find love anew, and what better place to start then the eligible bachelor next door?

A captivating story about friendship, making changes, and learning to live life to the fullest from SUNDAY TIMES bestseller Erica James A cherished home, a circle of friends and a summer that will change everything... Linston End has been the summer holiday home for three families for many years. A rambling thatched house nestled on the water's edge on the Norfolk Broads, it's a haven of long, lazy picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the garden; a place to spend time together. But this year, the friends are rocked by unexpected news, and it seems that Linston End will never be the same again. For some, this summer feels like the end. For others, it might just be the beginning. . . 'Joyously readable' Woman & Home 'I wanted it to go on forever' Cathy Bramley

A terrific novel of love, life and friendship from the Sunday Times bestselling author. In the heart of the Cheshire countryside, Cholmford Hall Mews, a converted eighteenth-century barn, is far more than an exclusive home to its new inhabitants. For Jessica Lloyd, it is a haven where she can recover from a love affair long past its sell-by date; Amanda Fergusson, whose marriage is one of straightforward convenience, is determined to get the most out of the situation; for Kate Morris it offers a fresh start where her love for newly divorced Alec can flourish; and for Josh Crawford, his new home offers a sanctuary where he can come to terms with the most devastating news of his life. In their different ways, all the newcomers to Cholmford Hall Mews are searching for something - love, peace, a sense of belonging. But will they find rather more than they bargained for...?

'A captivating novel of love, deception and misunderstanding' WOMAN Dan and Sally Oliver and their friend Chloe Hennessey are lucky to be alive. Three years on, after surviving one of the world's biggest natural disasters - the Boxing Day tsunami - their lives have changed dramatically. Dan and Sally are now parents. Dan is enjoying being a stay-at-home father taking care of their young son, and Sally is the breadwinner and loves her job as a partner in a Manchester law firm. The arrangement has so far worked well, but when Dan starts to question whether Sally has got her priorities right, the cracks in their marriage begin to appear. Dan and Sally have everything Chloe wishes for in life - a happy marriage and a beautiful child. Dumped by her long-term boyfriend just weeks after the tsunami, she's been on a mission ever since to find the perfect father for the child she craves. When she meets Seth Hawthorne, she thinks she may have hit the jackpot. But is Seth the man she thinks he is? IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS is a moving, compelling story of how a life can change in a heartbeat.

Katie Lavender has always thought she was pretty unshockable, until a year after her mother's death she receives a letter from a solicitor telling her that the man she thought was her father, in fact wasn't. Her real father, a man named Stirling Nightingale, has for years been building a trust fund for her. And now she's of an age to collect it. But Katie's not interested in the money. She wants to know about the man instead. So decides to do some snooping. She tracks him down to a beautiful riverside home on the night he's hosting a birthday party for his 90-year-old mother. And as she's hovering outside, Katie is mistaken for a replacement waitress an opportunity just too good to miss. And so Katie discovers that the Nightingales are far from your normal family. But what makes a normal family anyway?

Promises you make to yourself are the hardest to keep ... Maggie Storm, who spends her days cleaning houses for people who often have more money than manners, promises herself that from now on she's going to stand up for herself. Married to a man with as much sex appeal as a recliner, she dreams about someone who can sweep her off her feet. Ella Moore, an artistic interior designer, promises herself that after seven wasted years with the man she thought she'd marry, relationships won't derail her life again. Ethan Edwards, a repeat offender when it comes to turning to women for sexual consolation, promises himself there will be no more women. But when Ella appears unexpectedly in Ethan's life, he find s himself turning to her for very different reasons. And when Maggie's romantic hero appears on her doorstep, she wonders which path she's really supposed to follow. International bestselling author Erica James weaves a delightful tale of three people daring to challenge their dreams. What readers are saying: "Endearing ... pure escapism. Loved it!" "It grips you right from the start." "Brilliant book; could not put it down."

Dulcie Ballantyne knows that creative writers' groups attract an unlikely mix of people, so when she starts up Hidden Talents, she is well prepared for the assortment of people she is bringing together. Beth King is facing empty-nest syndrome as her only son, Nathan, leaves home for university. Jack Solomon, a local estate agent, is having trouble coming to terms with the shock of his wife leaving him for his best friend. Jaz Rafferty is an intensely private seventeen-year-old girl who writes to escape her large, boisterous family. Victor Blackmore is a know-it-all, who claims to be writing the blockbuster novel every publisher will be clamouring for. What they all have in common is a need to escape, as well as a desire to keep their lives as private as possible. As they grow more confident in their writing skills, friendships develop, and gradually they come to realise that a little openness isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Ellen has been living on her own in a picturesque if damp cottage in Cheshire since her husband abandoned her to go and live with another woman in Provence. Having married once for love, she is now determined that the second time around it will be for money. Close at hand is Duncan, her not unattractive, and enticingly single, divorce lawyer... But then two new people enter her life: Jo-Jo, a homeless girl several months pregnant, and Matthew, an artist who paints murals in country houses and who, on first meeting Ellen, openly criticises her for being mercenary and devious. But, as hostility gives way to friendship, Ellen realises that she has wavered off course from her original plan and has to remind herself very strongly indeed that Duncan is the man for her...

When Izzy is invited to spend the summer on Corfu and is offered the chance of a no-strings-attached holiday romance with the irresistible Theo, what should she do? Just when she thinks she's made up her mind, along comes Theo's closest friend, Mark.

A sweeping family drama of old secrets and new beginnings... ‘A satisfying treat’ Adele Parks, Platinum ‘A compelling family drama’ Sarah Morgan ‘Wise and warm with plenty of twists and turns’ Rachel Hore ‘Emotional and uplifting’ Veronica Henry ‘Captivating and vivid’ Miranda Dickinson

Lizzie has an unfortunate knack for attracting bad luck, but this time she's hit the jackpot. Losing her heart to her boss at the radio station where she works leads directly to losing her job, and with no money in the bank she's forced to swallow her pride and return home to her parents. As if that wasn't bad enough, her mother finds her work at the local care home for the elderly, and it's there that Lizzie meets Mrs Dallimore. In her nineties, Mrs Dallimore also finds herself in a situation which she's reluctantly coming to terms with. Old age has finally caught up with her, and with her life drawing to a close she gives in to the temptation to relive the past by sharing it with Lizzie.

After tragedy, how do you find love again? The brilliant first novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author. Charlotte Lawrence, widowed at thirty-four, decides to return to all things pre-Peter, and that means moving back to the Cheshire village of her childhood. It also means exchanging a clinical company flat for the pretty but overgrown garden of Ivy Cottage, and the constant attentions of her interfering sister Hilary. Most of all it means Alex, Ivy Cottage's drop-dead-gorgeous tenant, with whom Hilary is determined Charlotte should find love anew, and whose charming exterior hides his own secret tragedy...

Dette er en av Erica James' beste romaner hittil: En dypt fengslende historie om familiehemmeligheter og kjærlighet! Vakre Larkspur House er omgitt av en magisk hage, skapt av den anerkjente hagedesigneren Elfrida. Sammen med sin livsglade venninne Bess driver hun den majestetiske eiendommen. I London opplever unge Libby sitt verste mareritt da hun finner forloveden i seng med bestevenninnen, bare uker før de skal gifte seg ... I sin fortvilelse rømmer Libby til sin grandtanten, i håp om å finne en måte å komme til hektene på. Libbys ankomst til Larkspur House bidrar imidlertid til å rive opp i Bess og Elfridas fortid, og før de to kvinnene kan hjelpe Libby med å stake ut en ny kurs, må de tak i sine egne uuttalte hemmeligheter og tapte kjærlighet ...

Engeland, 1981. Libby brengt de zomer door in het huis van haar oudtante, maar haar verblijf in Larkspur House rakelt oude familiegeheimen op... In de zomer van 1981 is heel Engeland in de ban van de bruiloft van Prins Charles en Diana, maar Libby is met andere dingen bezig. Nadat ze haar eigen verloofde in bed heeft aangetroffen met haar beste vriendin, verruilt ze Londen voor het platteland van Suffolk. Daar staat Larkspur House, het huis – en de tuin – van de bekende tuinontwerper Elfrida Ambrose, en van Libby's oudtante Bess. Maar als levenslange vriendinnen Bess en Elfrida hun geliefde Libby willen helpen een nieuw pad voor de toekomst te vinden, moeten ze eerst de geheimen in hun eigen verleden onder ogen zien. En die geheimen brengen zo hun eigen gevaren met zich mee...

Zoals Floriana, Esmé en Adam ontdekken, die ene zomer aan het Comomeer: de mooiste dingen in het leven beginnen soms met het kleinste toeval... Het begon allemaal met een bruiloft. Als Floriana niet net de uitnodiging had gekregen waarin de liefde van haar leven aankondigde te gaan trouwen, dan had ze wellicht die auto niet over het hoofd gezien. Als ze die auto niet over het hoofd had gezien, dan hadden twee volslagen vreemden nooit haar hand vast hoeven houden (Esmé, gepensioneerd bibliothecaresse) en de ambulance hoeven bellen (Adam, projectontwikkelaar). Als ze Esmé en Adam niet had leren kennen, dan had ze nooit de moed op kunnen brengen om naar die bruiloft in Italië te gaan. En als Esmé niet haar nieuwe vrienden had willen helpen, dan was zij nooit teruggekeerd naar de plek waar ze zestig jaar geleden haar eerste liefde ontmoette. Esmé heeft altijd willen weten wat er is gebeurd met de man die haar hart veroverde, en nu is het tijd om eindelijk dat hoofdstuk van haar leven af te sluiten. Aan het Comomeer in Italië ontdekken Floriana, Adam en Esmé dat je je verleden los moet kunnen laten om je toekomst te omarmen.

Kan den første kjærligheten vare livet ut? Vakre Venezia har vært britiske Lydias hjem i mange år, og er stedet hun har funnet ro. Inntil hun en dag skimter ansiktet til en ung mann i folkemengden som truer med å endre alt. Han er en påminnelse om en fryktelig hemmelighet Lydia trodde hun hadde begravd i fortiden ... Nå, 28 år senere, blir Lydia overtalt til å etterlate det trygge, nye livet hun har skapt for seg selv i Italia. Hun vender tilbake til England for å ta et oppgjør med fortiden. Og kanskje møte sin egen fremtid? "Del det med skyene" er en tankevekkende og rørende roman om hemmeligheter, kjærlighet og forsoning, og det motet det krever ågå videre og omfavne fremtiden.

New edition of the SUNDAY TIMES bestseller. 'A captivating read: beautifully written and heartrendingly sad' Daily Telegraph 'A poignant story, written with humour and emotion' Daily Mail 'Heartbreaking, gripping novel about one woman's attempt to sort out her best friend's marriage' Woman & Home It's almost Christmas. But for Ali, the season of good cheer is the anniversary of her baby's death. As she stands at her son's grave, she is poignantly aware of how dramatically her life has changed. Determined to stand on her own two feet and get through Christmas alone, Ali turns down her ex-husband's unexpected invitation to spend the holiday with him and his father, only to give in to her best friend's cajoling to share the festive season with her. The only trouble is, it means having to be nice to Sarah's awful husband, Trevor. Sarah may be a saint for putting up with Trevor, but Ali is no such thing, and as his cranky behaviour escalates, she takes it upon herself, in an extraordinary act of daring impetuosity, to play God with her friend's incomprehensible marriage. But Ali's meddling has consequences even she could not have foreseen...

After her husband abandons her, Ellen is determined to marry for money. Two people, an artist and a homeless girl, enter her life and make her change her mind.