House of Christmas Secrets

House of Christmas Secrets
Author: Lynda Stacey
Publisher: Choc Lit Limited
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2017-12-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1781893756

A mystery adds to the chill of the holidays as an enigmatic family gathers to celebrate the season—and discovers that no secrets can be hidden forever. Last year’s Christmas at Wrea Head Hall didn’t quite go as planned. So Jess Croft is determined this festive season will be one to remember. And she has plenty of reasons to be hopeful: She’s going to marry the man of her dreams, Jack Stone, just a week after New Year’s Eve. However, as family confidences are revealed in hidden letters and two unexpected guests turn up on the doorstep, Jess is left not only wondering what happened to her Christmas dreams—but whether her life will ever be the same again. Can Jess and Jack still have the peaceful holiday season they imagined, or are there some problems that even Christmas can’t fix?

House of Secrets

House of Secrets
Author: Chris Columbus
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062192485

Hailed as “a breakneck, jam-packed roller coaster of an adventure” by J. K. Rowling, this New York Times bestseller is the first installment in the explosive tween fantasy series by famed Hollywood director Chris Columbus (of Harry Potter fame) and bestselling author Ned Vizzini (It’s Kind of a Funny Story). Siblings Brendan, Eleanor, and Cordelia Walker once had everything they could ever want. But everything changed when Dr. Walker lost his job. Now the family must relocate to an old Victorian house, formerly the home of occult novelist Denver Kristoff—a house that simultaneously feels creepy and too good to be true. By the time the Walkers realize that one of their neighbors has sinister plans for them, they’re banished to a primeval forest way off the grid. Bloodthirsty medieval warriors patrol the woods around them, supernatural pirates roam the neighboring seas, and a power-hungry queen rules the land. To survive, the siblings will have to be braver than they ever thought possible—and to fight against their darkest impulses. The key may lie in their own connection to the secret Kristoff legacy. But as they unravel that legacy, they’ll discover that it’s not just their family that’s in danger . . . it’s the entire world.

The Christmas House

The Christmas House
Author: Victoria James
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1643857738

The New York Times and USA Today–bestselling author of the Wishing River series delivers a heartwarming Christmas romance “worthy of a Hallmark adaptation” (Booklist). As the spirit of Christmas lights up Silver Springs, three generations of women gather at their dysfunctional family’s B&B, hoping to reconcile in time for the holidays. It's Christmas in the small town of Silver Springs which is bursting with holiday spirit. The downtown shops boast twinkling lights, and the town square features an enormous Christmas tree. Every Christmas Eve for the past fifty years, Ruby Harris, the owner of the historic B&B, The Christmas House, has opened her doors to strangers in need, showing them the compassion once denied to her. When Ruby invites her family home for the holidays, including her two adult grandchildren, Charlotte and Olivia, she hopes they will be able to put the past behind them. However, her plans for reconciliation implode as the women unravel secrets from the past that force them to confront the impact they've had on their dysfunctional family. As Charlotte grows closer to Wyatt, the neighbor next door and a friend from the past, old memories resurface that the women would rather forget. They're reminded of a man they want to forget. As the clock inches closer to the New Year, can the magic of the season bring the family closer? Or will a surprise guest threaten their tentative truce and test newly formed bonds? This light-hearted Christmas tale draws inspiration from Victoria James’s own historical fixer-upper, offering plenty of warmth and holiday cheer.

House of Leaves

House of Leaves
Author: Mark Z. Danielewski
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 738
Release: 2000-03-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0375420525

“A novelistic mosaic that simultaneously reads like a thriller and like a strange, dreamlike excursion into the subconscious.” —The New York Times Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children. Now this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and second and third appendices. The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.

Secret Library of Hummingbird House

Secret Library of Hummingbird House
Author: Julianne Negri
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1922400408

Hattie Maxwell is trying to make sense of her life since the Big Split. It used to be the four of them - Mum, Dad, Ivy and Hattie- against the universe. But lately it feels like she's a lone star in a big galaxy. Her one escape is Hummingbird House, an old mansion with a giant mulberry tree just perfect for climbing to hide from the world. So when Hattie learns that the house is going to be demolished, she is determined to save it. A midnight visit becomes a step back in time, and Hummingbird House reveals its secrets: a hidden library, a mysterious new friend, and a lost treasure that could help stop the development. Can the past help Hattie to fix her present? A brilliant time-slip novel with a contemporary twist, The Secret Library of Hummingbird House celebrates standing up, speaking out and letting go of the past.

Santa Claus: The Book of Secrets

Santa Claus: The Book of Secrets
Author: Russell Ince
Publisher: Russell Ince
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2018-11-21
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1545743010

After centuries of closely guarding ancient secrets, Santa Claus has decided that the time has come to share the magical mysteries behind Christmas. All of the miraculous happenings that contribute towards making Christmas the most remarkable time of the year are finally to be revealed to the world.

House of Secrets

House of Secrets
Author: Lynda Stacey
Publisher: Choc Lit Limited
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2016-07-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1781892911

A woman struggles to escape her past in a thriller boasting a “fabulous setting, gripping suspense and a masterful hero” (Milly Johnson). Madeleine Frost is finally free. After enduring her boyfriend’s increasingly controlling and bullying behavior, she has finally had enough. For her safety—and that of her young daughter—she is leaving. But where to? With little choice, Maddie ends up at her estranged father’s hotel, where she meets the rough-edged Christopher “Bandit” Lawless—an ex-marine and gamekeeper of the grounds—who hides his own painful past behind a hard exterior. After discovering the diary of a previous landowner, Maddie and Bandit find themselves immersed in the history of the old house, uncovering its secrets, scandals, and tragedies—and the truth about each other. But when Madeleine’s ex shows up, determined to reclaim what he believes is his, Maddie and Bandit will have to stand together and fight for the love they have only just found . . .

The House without a Christmas Tree

The House without a Christmas Tree
Author: Gail Rock
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 69
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 149767381X

It’s Christmastime in 1946, and all Addie wants is a pair of cowboy boots and a Christmas tree Ten-year-old Addie lives in Clear River, Nebraska, population fifteen hundred, with her stoic but loving father and quirky grandmother. Carla Mae is her neighbor and best friend in the fifth grade. Carla Mae’s house is different than Addie’s—she has five siblings and another on the way, while Addie is an only child. It’s the week before Christmas, and shopping lists are at the front of the girls’ minds. Addie’s house doesn’t have a tree—her dad says they are a waste of money, and they’ll be opening presents at Uncle Will’s anyway. Uncle Will has a tree, but to Addie, it doesn’t feel like Christmas without a tree of their own. Then she comes up with the perfect plan. Will it make this the best Christmas they’ve ever had, or will her father never forgive her?

The Wish Book Christmas

The Wish Book Christmas
Author: Lynn Austin
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2021-09-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496452542

From the bestselling author of If I Were You comes a nostalgic and endearing holiday story that reminds us that sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones we least expect and dont deserve. Best friends Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in postwar America, thrilled at the prospect of starting new traditions with their five-year-old sons. But when the 1951 Sears Christmas Wish Book arrives and the boys start obsessing over every toy in it, Audrey and Eve realize they must first teach them the true significance of the holiday. They begin by helping Bobby and Harry plan gifts of encouragement and service for those in their community, starting by walking an elderly neighbors yellow Labsince a dog topped the boys wish list for Santa. In the charming tale that follows, Audrey and Eve are surprised to find their own hearts healing from the tragedies of war and opening to the possibility of forgiveness and new love.

His Mistress by Christmas

His Mistress by Christmas
Author: Victoria Alexander
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2011-10-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1420128159

For three years, Lady Veronica Smithson has been perfectly happy as a widow—and thoroughly independent. Still, the right gentleman could provide the benefits of marriage without the tedious restrictions. And in Sir Sebastian Hadley-Attwater, renowned explorer and rogue, Veronica is sure she has found him. Sebastian will come into his inheritance in a matter of weeks—if his family deems him responsible enough. There's no better way to prove his maturity than with a wife. But though Veronica will share his bed, she refuses to marry. However, Sebastian has a plan: An intimate sojourn at his new country house will surely change Veronica's mind. For Sebastian never takes no for an answer. And he intends to persuade his Christmas mistress that they belong together—in this, and every season to come. . . "This Victorian yuletide romance provides erotic sizzle and delectably clever dialogue on every page." –USA Today