Starr's Fall

Just like the whole town of Starr’s Fall, thinks Laurie Ellis – as she and her beloved dog Max head to collect the store keys. Maybe she has seen better days, too, but she’s certainly ready for a new start—and to leave her past behind. Still Laurie wonders whether she made a terrible mistake in coming to lovable but shabby Starr’s Fall. Will she even find customers for her pet store and bakery, never mind a community to welcome and accept her?

As the frozen earth gives way to the first spring crocuses, pushing their way into the warmer air, Maggie arrives in Starr’s Fall. She’s looking for a new start, with her lovable but painfully shy teenaged son in tow. It feels like the odds are against her, but she’s determined to come out winning this time, and to fulfil her dream of opening up a board game café. But not everything’s a game, and when she finds herself attracted to a man who’s known as a different sort of player, she worries she’s setting herself up to lose. Zach is funny, surprisingly geeky, and bonds with her son.

Jenna has lived in Starr’s Fall for most of her life, and has run the general store for over ten years. Secretly she might dream of love and romance, but she’s happy as she is. Really. That is, until Starr’s Fall’s newest resident—ex-New Yorker, millionaire investment banker—Jack Wexler breezes into Jenna’s store, seemingly furious they don’t stock smoked salmon. Jenna is as amused as she is annoyed. Who is this ridiculous guy, and doesn’t he realize he’s not in Manhattan anymore?

Running the town's only ice cream shop—The Latest Scoop—she should be the most popular person in town, at least every day that the sun's shining. But, in spite of growing up in Starr's Fall, Zoe has reached the age of twenty-eight without letting anyone deeply into her life. When she gets home to realise Sophie and Dan are in fact also her new neighbors, she knows she has to make nice. That is, until fourteen-year-old Sophie comes into her store, and tries to steal something.