by Kate Hewitt
Milly has always dreamed of being a mother. Adopted, she longs for a powerful connection with a child of her own. So, when she and her husband Matt are told they can’t have children, she’s heartbroken.
Milly can barely believe it when her best friend and Matt’s brother offer be donors. With everyone accepting and open, Milly believes nothing could go wrong.
But none of the four are prepared for their feelings when Milly gives birth to beautiful baby Alice.
Then, when Alice is still a little girl, she receives a devastating diagnosis. Milly’s whole world falls apart, and each of them is forced to face what it means to be a parent, and make impossible choices… for themselves, and for Alice.
An unputdownable, heart-breaking, but ultimately uplifting story about the power of love and the true meaning of family. Fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, and Gracie’s Secret will never forget Not My Daughter.
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The Secrets We Keep
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My whole body aches. I trawl memories of her, now so precious… my darling child. I can’t lose her…
When Tessa arrives at the little house by the lake with her two children, it is an escape. The rental house may be a bit small – but it’s theirs for the summer. A place to hide…
However, their isolation is disrupted by the family from the big house next door. Three children and their glamorous mother Rebecca – who seems determined to invite Tessa into their lives.
Rebecca, however, is harbouring a dark secret. And when it becomes too much for her to bear, Tessa seems to be the only person she can turn to.
But as powerful bonds form between the two families, choices will be made that can never be undone. And as the summer comes to an end, nothing can keep everyone safe. And one family will pay the ultimate price…
A gripping, powerful emotional page turner with a heartbreaking twist, for fans of Jodi Picoult, Emily Bleeker and Diane Chamberlain.
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A Mother’s Goodbye
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‘My arms ache with the need to reach and hold my precious child, and then to never let go. But I can’t. I know I can’t.’
Heather is devastated. There’s no way she can keep her baby. She can barely pay the bills as it is. But when she meets Grace, a wealthy, single career woman, who wants a baby more than anything, Heather believes she has found the perfect adoptive mother.
As Grace and Heather’s lives become entwined, they are tested to breaking point, though neither can deny the other’s love for the child. But just when they think they are learning how to live with each other, they receive devastating news that turns their fragile world upside down.
Will either mother know what is the right thing to do for the child they both love?
An absolutely gripping, emotional drama with a tear-jerking twist. If you love Jodi Picoult, Kelly Rimmer or Diane Chamberlain, this will warm your heart, make you cry, and stay with you forever.
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The Orphan’s Island
Amherst Island Trilogy: Book 1
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1904: Ellen Copley is still a child when she leaves behind the sooty rail yards of Glasgow, and crosses the Atlantic Ocean with a heart full of dreams. Yet within weeks of their arrival in America, her father has disappeared—leaving Ellen with resentful relatives, feeling alone and scared for her future.
But then her kind Aunt Rose invites Ellen to stay with her large family, in their rambling house on beautiful Amherst Island, which nestles like a jewel in the blue waters of Lake Ontario.
There Ellen finally begins to find the love and acceptance she has long been craving—both from Aunt Rose’s boisterous family, and from the boys next door, Jed and Lucas Lyman. It’s Jed she’s drawn to… the one with the twinkling eyes, who teases her, and laughs with her, and soon steals her heart…
But does Jed love her back? Because—even though Amherst Island feels like home—Ellen knows she can’t stay there with a broken heart…
This is the first book in the unmissable Amherst Island Trilogy that follows the life and love of Ellen Copley from the magic of Lake Ontario to the bloody battlefields of the First World War and beyond. Perfect for fans of The Oceans Between Us, The Orphan Sisters, and My Name is Eva.
Previously published as Down Jasper Lane.
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Dreams of the Island
Amherst Island Trilogy: Book 2
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Henry McAvoy leaned forward. “I have been looking for an artist just like you—a diamond in the rough, so to speak. And really, Miss Copley,” he said gently, “what do you have to lose?”
1911, Amherst Island, Canada: When a chance encounter takes Ellen Copley away from the beautiful island she has called home since she was orphaned as a child—she believes it is the new start she has been waiting for.
She settles into an exciting, creative new life in Glasgow, feeling like she’s finally finding her independence. And even though she left a part of her heart back on the island, she’s flattered by the attentions of her handsome, charming benefactor, Henry McAvoy.
But tragedy strikes their fledgling relationship, and soon after war looms over Europe. Emboldened by all she has loved and lost, Ellen leaves Scotland to become a nurse on the front line. And, as she finds herself having to choose between love and duty, desire and bravery, her courage is tested as never before.
The war rages on—and familiar faces appear on the front line, including her childhood sweetheart Jed Lyman and his brother Lucas. Coming face to face with her past, Ellen will learn what she is made of. But can she finally decide where her heart truly belongs?
Previously published as On Renfrew Street.
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Return to the Island
Amherst Island Trilogy: Book 3
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What would her life look like without her beloved island in it? Where would she go? Ellen had come back here—to the place she felt she belonged—thinking she would stay here. But was it home… or just a place to hide?
1918, Canada: The First World War is over and those who have been fighting in Europe are heading for home, forever changed. Amongst the lost, the damaged and the broken, is former nurse Ellen Copley; who finds herself returning—not to her house in Glasgow, but to her childhood home on Amherst Island.
There—she feels sure—in the warm embrace of the McCafferty family, with her beloved Aunt Rose and her cousins, she will feel safe and loved. She will be able to escape the ghosts of the past and her loss, and find peace.
But the island is a changed place too. The war has affected life the world over, and Aunt Rose is struggling to keep their small farmstead going. The family’s only hope is asking their neighbours, the Lymans, to help. But Jed Lyman is a broken man—both physically and emotionally, and his once-adoring brother Lucas is now more distant than ever.
And as Ellen fights to save the farm, she has to ask: what makes somewhere a home? And—when help comes from an unexpected place—she wonders, has the man she’s destined to love been waiting for her out there all along?
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The Heart Goes On
Far Horizons Trilogy: Book 1
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He drew in a deep breath. “I know it’s much to ask. I ask it anyway, for love of you and believing the love you have for me. Will you wait for me, Harriet?”
1819, Isle of Mull, Scotland: When Allan MacDougall tells his sweetheart Harriet Campbell he loves her on the eve of his departure to the New World, it breaks her heart. Because there is no way for her to go with him. She promises to wait for him, even though it could be years before they are reunited.
They vow to write, but when crucial letters go astray, they feel further apart than either could have imagined. Allan finds himself battling for his independence and future, and ultimately for his life. Whilst Harriet’s family fortunes take a turn for the worse, leaving her with an impossib
le choice—stay faithful to the man she loves… or save her family from destitution?
Their fortunes are to have a chance to collide once again. But is their love strong enough to survive? Or will the time—and oceans—that have separated them for so long keep them apart forever?
An absolutely heart-wrenching, powerful, epic story about love, courage and betrayal for fans of Laura Frantz, Tamera Alexander and Poldark.
Previously published as Far Horizons.
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Her Rebel Heart
Far Horizons Trilogy: Book 2
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Caroline sighed. She longed to be away from here, from the rain and barren hills and bitter winds, with nothing ever happening. It was as if she’d spent her whole life waiting for something truly exciting…
1832, Scotland: When Caroline Reid is offered the chance to travel to America to live with her estranged uncle, she has only two things on her mind: to become the belle of Boston society and to make an enviable—and financially advantageous—match.
But from the moment her journey begins, things do not go as she expects. From the seasickness on her Atlantic crossing, to the unexpected friendship she strikes up with a young widow named Eleanor, the Caroline who set sail for the New World isn’t quite the same person who arrives there…
Then she meets Eleanor’s brother, Ian Campbell, and her rebel heart cannot help but beat faster. Even though he doesn’t have a fortune, her feelings overwhelm her earlier ambitions. However, her uncle—who had so gallantly invited her to live in his house—has other plans. And he will stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wants…
An unmissable story about friendship, courage and impossible choices for fans of Diana Gabaldon, Tamera Alexander and Poldark.
Previously published as Another Country.
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This Fragile Heart
Far Horizons Trilogy: Book 3
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“Isobel, you are not thinking clearly. You are not considering all you would be sacrificing, all you would endure! And to be the wife of a stranger…”
1838, Boston: Once upon a time Isobel Moore was thought to be one of Boston’s most eligible young women. But, after a marriage proposal gone wrong, she is now at threat of being labelled a spinster. And, though her work at a small school for impoverished immigrants brings her great joy, she can’t help but wish for more in life.
When her dream of finding love fails to come true, she knows—if she’s to have the family she dreams of—it will take desperate measures.
Her parents wish for nothing more than Isobel to find happiness too. But when she announces she’s traveling to Burma to meet and marry a missionary she’s never met, they think she must have taken leave of her senses.
Isobel believes fate will guide her to a man she could one day love. But the paths we take do not always lead us where we expect… And Isobel’s dream of true love may be more fragile than she had ever imagined.
An incredible story about bravery, broken hearts and the powerful forces of fate, perhaps for fans of Colleen McCullough, Laura Frantz and Colleen Coble.
Previously published as A Distant Shore.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks must go as always to the wonderful Bookouture team, in particular Radhika, who worked on this book, as well as my editor Isobel, and all the other staff who work tirelessly to bring my books out into the world—Jenny, Alexandra, Alex, Kim, Sarah, Alba and Rhianna.
Thanks also to my family and friends, who are always supportive of my writing, and recognize it’s a “real job”! Thanks especially to my dear mom, who is always willing to hear about my stories, and has read most of them. Love you, Mom!
We – both author and publisher – hope you enjoyed this book. We believe that you can become a reader at any time in your life, but we’d love your help to give the next generation a head start.
Did you know that 9% of children don’t have a book of their own in their home, rising to 13% in disadvantaged families*? We’d like to try to change that by asking you to consider the role you could play in helping to build readers of the future.
We’d love you to get involved by sharing, borrowing, reading, buying or talking about a book with a child in your life and spreading the love of reading. We want to make sure the next generation continues to have access to books, wherever they come from.
Click HERE for a list of brilliant books to share with a child – as voted by Goodreads readers.
Thank you.
*As reported by the National Literacy Trust
Published by Bookouture in 2021
An imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Kate Hewitt, 2014, 2021
Originally published as The Other Side of the Bridge
Kate Hewitt has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-80019-908-8
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.