The Heart of Winter by Emma Hannigan

Chosen by Gill

With the promise of December in the air and the hedgerows laced with frost, Huntersbrook House has never looked more beautiful. Once the Craig family's beloved home, the house has been transformed into a magnificent countryside venue. And its first booking couldn't be more perfect - the Christmas wedding of a well-known film actress.

Yet, behind the scenes, the Craig children are feeling the chill. Pippa is skating on thin ice with her reckless personal life; Joey, preoccupied with the business, is blind to his fiancé's struggles. And Lainey's future is dealt a cruel blow. As the wedding approaches, everyone hopes the house will weave its magic. But can the Craigs put their differences aside and pull together as a family once more?

A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Chosen by Pat 

At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots - neighbours who can't reverse a trailer properly, joggers, shop assistants who talk in code, and the perpetrators of the vicious coup d'etat that ousted him as Chairman of the Residents' Association. He will persist in making his daily inspection rounds of the local streets.

But isn't it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so?

In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible...

The Good Girl by Fiona Neill

Chosen by Angela 

No one can believe it when straight A student Romy Field finds herself at the centre of a scandal, least of all her mother Ailsa - who is also the head of her new school.

Ailsa is quick to hold Romy's new boyfriend and his parents responsible for what has happened. But as mother and daughter reveal their very different version of events, a much darker truth emerges. It soon becomes apparent that Romy isn't the only member of her family harbouring secrets and her disgrace becomes the catalyst for the unravelling of all those around her.

It takes a split second to make a decision that can alter the course of your life.

And a lifetime to undo the consequences

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Chosen by Wendy

On a beautifully restored barge on the Seine, Jean Perdu runs a bookshop; or rather a 'literary apothecary', for this bookseller possesses a rare gift for sensing which books will soothe the troubled souls of his customers.

The only person he is unable to cure, it seems, is himself. He has nursed a broken heart ever since the night, twenty-one years ago, when the love of his life fled Paris, leaving behind a handwritten letter that he has never dared read. His memories and his love have been gathering dust - until now. The arrival of an enigmatic new neighbour in his eccentric apartment building on Rue Montagnard inspires Jean to unlock his heart, unmoor the floating bookshop and set off for Provence, in search of the past and his beloved.

Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh

Chosen by Tracey

Mikey was born into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back.This is something Mikey knows only too well.Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world.

But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture his family's legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse.Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision - to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong.