Lakeland Novels Series by Kate Hewitt

Welcome to Hartley-by-the Sea, a windswept village on the Cumbrian coast, where second chances are always possible…. For as long as she can remember, Rachel Campbell has had to dedicate her life to taking care of her family: her two younger sisters, her disabled mother, and her three-year-old nephew. When Rachel's not struggling to look after all of them, she makes her living cleaning the houses of wealthy families—including the Wests, the home of her old childhood friend Claire. .. moreWelcome to Hartley-by-the Sea, a windswept village on the Cumbrian coast, where second chances are always possible…. For as long as she can remember, Rachel Campbell has had to dedicate her life to taking care of her family: her two younger sisters, her disabled mother, and her three-year-old nephew. When Rachel's not struggling to look after all of them, she makes her living cleaning the houses of wealthy families—including the Wests, the home of her old childhood friend Claire. .. . A lifetime of drifting in other people's currents has finally left Claire West high and dry. First it was her parents, then the popular crowd in school, and finally her fiancé. Now she's returned to Hartley-by-the-Sea to figure out her next steps as best as she can. But running into her old friend Rachel brings back memories of past mistakes, and Claire wonders if she now has the courage to make them right, especially when no one seems to think she has the strength… except maybe Dan, the surly post office master who becomes an unexpected friend. When Claire's brother, Andrew, asks Rachel to keep an eye on Claire, it is the last thing either woman wants. But as their lives threaten to fall apart, both Claire and Rachel begin to realize what they need most is a friend. The kind of friend they once were to each other long ago and perhaps can be again…. if they can find the courage. less

Welcome to England's beautiful Lake District, where a reluctant reunion forges a new bond between a daughter and her wayward mother . . . Abby Rhodes is just starting to get her life back on track. After her fiance's unexpected death, she has returned with her young son to the small village where she grew up and is throwing herself into helping her ailing grandmother run the town's beach cafe... moreWelcome to England's beautiful Lake District, where a reluctant reunion forges a new bond between a daughter and her wayward mother . . . Abby Rhodes is just starting to get her life back on track. After her fiance's unexpected death, she has returned with her young son to the small village where she grew up and is throwing herself into helping her ailing grandmother run the town's beach cafe. Then one evening, her estranged mother, Laura, unexpectedly shows up in Hartley-by-the-Sea and announces her shocking plan to stay. After twenty years away, she says she wants to focus on the future-and has no intention, it seems, of revisiting the painful past, and all that Abby struggles to forgive. Laura Rhodes knows she has made a lot of mistakes, and many of them concern her own daughter. But how to atone for the sins of the past? How to explain what she hates to remember? Slowly, Abby and Laura start making tentative steps toward each other, only to have life become even more complicated when an unexpected tragedy occurs. Together, the two women will discover truths both sad and surprising that draw them closer to a new understanding of what it means to truly forgive someone you love. less