If you love the TV shows The Great British Bake-off and Escape to the Country, and if you think the world really is a better place with tea and scones, you'll love this charming and heart-warming series.
From the fictional village of Brookford in the heart of England's Cotswolds to New Zealand's Queenstown with its remarkable landscapes, you'll meet and fall in love with the characters who live there, the fabulous food they cook and the stories they have to tell.
Are you ready to escape to the country?
Imagine a quintessential Cotswolds village nestled between gently rolling hills; with a High Street full of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, independent and quirky shops, pubs and restaurants serving world-class food and local produce; a Norman church, and curving streets lined with cottages built from the local honey-coloured stone.
It’s a place where bluebells grow wildly in the woods, where it’s not unusual to see children herding a gaggle of geese down a country lane, and it’s a place where you’ll want to settle in and get to know the locals.
Welcome to Brookford.
Sometimes home is a person, not a place...
Max Henderson loves her life in the idyllic English village of Brookford. Her family is nearby, and her job allows her to indulge her passion for growing, cooking and writing about food.
When Max’s husband, James, tells her he’s been transferred to New York, Max is thrilled for him ‒ it’s the role he’s always aspired to. But as excited as she is for James, she’s torn between the thought of leaving her home, the people she cares about and her own ambitions, and the possibility of a new start for her and James. To complicate matters, the New York move is just the first in a series of blows that leave Max reeling.
If Max follows her heart, will she have to leave her dreams behind? Or can they guide her home to the man she loves?
From village life in The Cotswolds to the lakes and mountains of Queenstown in New Zealand, Wish You Were Here is heart-warming foodie fiction and the first novel in the Escape to the Country series.
Because life is better with tea and scones...
Claire Mansfield is the host of the popular reality baking TV show Time For Tea and possibly the nicest person on British television – until a secret from her past ignites a media storm.
Seeking shelter, Claire runs to Brookford, the small English village she left behind nearly twenty years ago. Also back in town is Owen Gallagher, the man who broke her teenage heart and who is now one of the hottest chefs in the country.
Just when Claire thinks she might have a second chance with both Owen and a new TV show, that too is threatened. Someone wants to see her destroyed – and they’re not going to rest until the job is finished. Claire, and her new friends – the women of The Cotswolds Culinary and Cookbook Society – must find the truth before it ruins her career for good, and with it, any chance of happiness with Owen.
If you love Great British Bake Off, Escape To The Country, and cozy culinary mysteries with a feel-good side-serve of romance, you'll love Escape To Curlew Cottage.
Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell, Carole Matthews, Cathy Bramley, Lucy Diamond, Katie Fforde, Milly Johnson and Erica James.
Let's journey to Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island.
It’s a place where The Remarkables soar behind Lake Wakatipu. Where fabulous food and wine mix with equally fabulous scenery. It's home to The Routeburn Track and The Milford Track, and now it's also home to Beach Road Cafe and the characters who gather there.
Welcome to Queenstown.
Sometimes home is a person, not a place...
Max Henderson loves her life in the idyllic English village of Brookford. Her family is nearby, and her job allows her to indulge her passion for growing, cooking and writing about food.
When Max’s husband, James, tells her he’s been transferred to New York, Max is thrilled for him ‒ it’s the role he’s always aspired to. But as excited as she is for James, she’s torn between the thought of leaving her home, the people she cares about and her own ambitions, and the possibility of a new start for her and James. To complicate matters, the New York move is just the first in a series of blows that leave Max reeling.
If Max follows her heart, will she have to leave her dreams behind? Or can they guide her home to the man she loves?
From village life in The Cotswolds to the lakes and mountains of Queenstown in New Zealand, Wish You Were Here is heart-warming foodie fiction and the first novel in the Escape to the Country series.
Do you only get one chance at a happy ever after?
Kate and Neil met at a protest march in Sydney in August 1985 – Kate was marching, Neil wasn’t. It was love almost at first sight.
Over thirty years have passed, their children have grown, and Kate and Neil have gone from being happily married to being happily separated. That is until Neil’s girlfriend falls pregnant, Neil asks for a divorce and another wedding brings up feelings they’d both thought were long gone. Kate and Neil fall in love all over again, but it’s complicated – and the repercussions are unexpected and far-reaching.
Will Kate be able to overcome a whole new set of challenges to find her happy ever after?
From suburban Sydney to Queenstown, New Zealand, Happy Ever After is a heart-warming second chance at love later in life romance.
A finalist in the Romance Australia Romantic Book of the Year - RUBY Awards - Romantic Elements in 2019, Happy Ever After is the second book in Joanne Tracey’s Escape To The Country series.
The sequel to Wish You Were Here and Happy Ever After...
Richie doesn’t think he’s ever been as happy as he is right now. He and Maxine are about to have a baby and move into their new home on the shores of Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu. His garden design business is booming and everything he ever dreamed of is within his reach.
Richie’s sister Jess is also feeling on top of the world. She’s about to be an aunt for the first time, is running a campaign to be nominated as godmother, and her Queenstown café, Beach Road, is going from success to success. To put a cherry on top of her already beautifully iced cake, her boyfriend Nathan is showing no signs at all of going back to his job in Australia and for the first time in her life she’s in a relationship with someone who doesn’t seem to be just in it for the season.
As for Millie, she’s overjoyed at the thought of being a grandmother and can’t wait for the baby to arrive. With Richie and Max back in Queenstown to stay, and even Jess looking like she could be settling down at last with a man who is perfect for her, she and her husband Cam can finally begin to ease into retirement and maybe even take a trip or two.
But then a stranger arrives in town – and he brings with him secrets that Millie had thought were buried forever, secrets that threaten not only her happiness but that of Richie and Jess too.