Melody Carlson

Carol Langstrom hates Christmas. Growing up in a dysfunctional home, with a birthday on December 25 and too many dashed childhood expectations, she would rather avoid the holiday season.

When Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is to sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself....

Christmas should be celebrated with family. But for Vera Swanson, that's not an option this year. Widowed and recently relocated, she is lonely in her condo-for-one—until little Fiona Albright knocks on her door needing help....

When she receives the news in late 1944 that her baby's father was shot down in the South Pacific, Amelia Richards loses hope. Jobless and broke, she has nowhere to turn for help but her infant's paternal grandparents....

After years abroad, Garrison Brown returns home to Vancouver to build a new life. When his beloved grandmother passes away a few weeks before Christmas, he goes to her house to sort out her belongings—including six cats who need new homes....

Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. She just can't seem to find Christmas in her heart. Her new neighbor just adds to the problem. But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn a very important lesson about what Christmas is all about....

Kate Burrows has a life many would envy—a good job at a design firm, a huge house, beautiful memories of the late husband who gave her everything, and two grown kids doing well for themselves....

It's official: Brynna Phillips is done with men. They only break your heart. But just when she makes this declaration, her friend Jan convinces Brynna to join her on a camping vacation in Sonoma Wine Country....

After a time of heartache and loss, Simone Winthrop discovers a tantalizing letter from her French great-grandmother that seems to suggest that she is heir to a family treasure. Ever practical, Simone assumes the claim is baseless, but her best friend encourages her to find out for sure....

Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life after false accusations landed her in prison, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent....

Tia D'Amico is thrilled to move to San Francisco to help her aunt transform an old luxury yacht into an upscale floating restaurant. What's not to love? Sunset dinner cruises, upscale wedding receptions - the possibilities are endless....

High-school art teacher Nicole Anderson is looking forward to a relaxing summer in Savannah, house-sitting and managing an art gallery for a family friend. Yet it isn't long before her ideal summer turns into more than she bargained for....

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident....

Mix six teenaged girls and one ’60s fashion icon (retired, of course) in an old Victorian-era boarding home. Add guys and dating, a little high-school angst, and throw in a Kate Spade bag or two … and you’ve got The Carter House Girls, Melody Carlson’s chick lit series for young adults...

Inspired by their late friend's gifts for them, four members of a book club each decide to become someone's Christmas angel - and find their own lives are changed....

When Wendy Harper inherits her family's beach-side cottage in Seaside, Maine, she sees it as a way to finally pay off the debts that have mounted since her husband died. But before it can be sold, the neglected property must be renovated....

Home is the place to heal, right? That's what Dillon Michaels is hoping, at least, as she leaves her disappointing career and nonstarter love life behind to help her grieving and aging grandfather on his small Oregon farm....

When fun-loving artist Willow West meets buttoned-up George Emerson, it's not exactly love at first sight - more like an intriguing project at first sight. Willow makes it her mission to get the obsessive-compulsive, newly retired English teacher to loosen up and embrace life....

All Emma Daley wants this holiday season is a white Christmas. But the young teacher and struggling musician sure can't find that in sunny Arizona. Luckily, there's someone living in a perfect mountain home in the Colorado Rockies looking to make a vacation trade this year...

A trip to Hawaii turns into an emotional opportunity for the housemates to confront their deeper fears and work through the most troubling aspects of their relationships....