Carole Matthews

When Jake tells Lyssa it's not working, she knows he's not talking about the toaster. In a bid to escape, she embarks on a trekking holiday in Nepal....

Molly Baker is living her best life. Thirty-eight years old, she lives on the 25-acre Hope Farm in Buckinghamshire, surrounded by (mostly) four-legged friends and rolling hills. An ex-teacher, Molly runs the farm as an alternative education for kids who have special needs....

For Lucy Lombard, there's nothing that chocolate can't cure. From heartache to headaches, it's the one thing she knows that she can rely on - and she's not alone....

Single mum and all-round superwoman Sally Freeman wants a better life for herself and her son, Charlie, so she sets about improving things for them. Just as her mission begins, enter Spencer Knight, who's offering Sally a ticket to a new life....

Grace has been best friends with Ella and Flick forever....

Kate Lewis is 35 and feeling restless. She's fed up of worrying about the ironing and would like her husband, Jeffrey, to pay more attention to her than to his golf clubs....

Fay Merryweather runs her cake shop from her beautiful garden. She whips up airy sponges and scrumptious scones while her customers enjoy the lovely blossoms and gorgeous blooms....

Christmas is just around the corner, but the women of The Chocolate Lovers' Club have more to worry about than present shopping....

Louise Young is a devoted single mother whose only priority is providing for her daughter, Mia....

Fern has the voice of an angel, but as an underpaid barmaid and pub singer, she's going nowhere fast....

Can the imperfect family really have the perfect Christmas? Juliet Joyce adores Christmas....

A Christmas fling, or has Janie found the real thing? Thirty-something hairdresser Janie Johnson's single status is a constant source of gossip for her friends and clients....

Survival tips for times of stress: 1. Take deep breaths. 2. Count to 10. 3. Eat chocolate....

Fay and Danny are madly in love, and it's all Fay's ever dreamed of. But she left everything - including the delightful cake shop she used to run - to be with Danny on his cosy canal boat....

The ladies of the Chocolate Lovers' Club should be gearing up for the wedding of the year, but life keeps getting in the way....

Lily and Laurence had it all: the money, the car, a beautiful home in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Then Laurence loses his job, and everything disappears....

When Rose escapes from London and her handsome and charming ex-lover, she has no idea her occupation as an aromatherapist will cause such a scandal....

Ali Kingston is happily married with three children. She isn't the type to have her head turned - but then it isn't every day that a gorgeous younger man falls at her feet....

Juliet Joyce has been happily married to Rick for 25 years. But with two children who treat the house like a hotel, a mother who's moved in with them and a father who's announced a radical life change, Juliet and Rick have little time for themselves, let alone romance....

Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents; writing cards; tree-decorating....