Cynthia Ellingsen

A woman faces the past she fled in a heart-stirring novel about unforgettable love and indomitable courage by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Rainey’s grandmother makes a startling request: Take me home. To Ireland, the country she fled post–World War II. Though they’re inseparably close, Rainey knows few of her grandmother’s secrets. Until they arrive at Aisling—the majestic estate on the southern coast of Ireland where her grandmother was raised—and Rainey discovers a collection of seventy-year-old letters in a trunk. Dublin, 1945. The Germans surrender, celebrants crowd the streets, and fourteen-year-old Evie meets her best friend, the spirited Harding McGovern. Years on, they are more like sisters when rumors begin that Harding works in the black market trade—a source of wealth that could give her a dream life in America but could also cause great danger. Evie is uncertain of the truth but will stand by Harding, whatever the cost. As Rainey uses the letters to reunite her grandmother with the past, what unfolds is a never-forgotten story of family, friendship, and love, and the healing that comes from letting go of secrets.

A mysterious, heartwarming tale of small-town intrigue, family secrets, and the possibility of new love from the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Emma Laurent has always preferred helping others to asking for help. But now, she’s the one in need. Her stepmother is selling her late father’s candy shop, her grandmother’s assisted-living facility has become a financial burden, and the anniversary of her fiancé’s death is quickly approaching. Rather than face her problems, Emma does what she does best—finds someone else to help by offering a mother and son with nowhere to go somewhere to stay. So when a couple visiting Starlight Cove suddenly offers to pay $20,000 for the old painting that has hung on the candy shop’s wall since Emma was a child, it seems like fate has stepped in to help Emma in return—but the more she thinks about it, the more suspicious the offer seems. Determined to uncover why the couple is so interested in the painting, Emma begins to investigate, unknowingly wading into a sea of old family secrets. At the same time, a new flirtation has her feeling guilty and confused. As Emma uncovers more about the past, can she find the courage she needs to save the candy shop and give herself permission to open her heart to love again?

Dawn Conners’s parents are famous for finding historic treasures, but she has a knack for losing things—her job, her boyfriend, and now, her reputation. Thanks to a mud-slinging exposé, Dawn’s late great-grandfather is assumed guilty of stealing silver from a century-old shipwreck. Hoping to clear his name, Dawn returns to Starlight Cove, her idyllic hometown on Lake Michigan, where the doomed vessel sleeps beneath the beam of a ramshackle lighthouse. Her plan: remodel and sell the lighthouse while untangling the perplexing family mystery. Neither task is easy, especially once her well-meaning parents and the quirky locals—including nautical researcher and Starlight Cove’s most eligible bachelor, Kip Whittaker—get involved. Despite their attraction, Dawn is reluctant to trust Kip, or any of the close-knit townsfolk. But as she pieces together the truth, Dawn’s once-shuttered heart opens up. And if she’s willing, the lighthouse might guide her to a place she never expected to find, where the past entwines with a bright new beginning.

Two sisters who haven’t spoken for twenty years. One summer to bring a family back together. Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together. So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back. At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship. But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal? An emotional and uplifting read about sisters, secrets and the family bonds that hold us together no matter how complicated they are, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe will love this.

Someone is out to destroy the family vineyard—and expose its secrets—in this atmospheric novel from Cynthia Ellingsen, Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Abby Harrington’s family has dedicated their lives to cultivating the family vineyard and collecting vintage wines. But it takes only one night for the priceless collection to vanish, stolen during Abby’s grandparents’ sixtieth anniversary celebration. Then a devastating plane crash leaves her grandfather clinging to life in intensive care. Desperate to take action, Abby sets out to discover who stole the precious wine—and why. The clues lead her to dark truths about her family she is not prepared to face. Soon Abby begins receiving threatening messages and doubting those closest to her. Making things even more complicated, the attractive doctor who saved her grandfather’s life offers her a shoulder to lean on just as the man she once loved returns to the vineyard. The more truths Abby is forced to confront, the more her world spins off its axis. Can she unravel the secrets of the past in time to save the vineyard’s future—and her own?

One day you will understand that the heart is only as fragile as the choices we make. I tell you this now – we all make surprising decisions for love. Ones that can tear our heart out and leave us begging for answers. The most painful choice I’ve ever made, my dearest, was to say goodbye to you. When Julie’s mother falls ill, she has no choice but to return to her parents’ Wisconsin resort, Wood Violet, for the summer. Away from the pressures of their corporate jobs in the city, Julie hopes she and husband Tristan can start to heal after another failed pregnancy. But, on arriving home, Julie discovers resort life is anything but peaceful. She has to focus more on saving the business than her marriage, and the appearance of childhood sweetheart Chase throws her into disarray. Then Julie stumbles upon an eighteen-year-old girl hiding out in an abandoned cabin. The girl, Margaret, seems lost in the world, and Julie takes her under her wing. But Margaret has her own reasons for coming to Wood Violet, which threaten to expose a long-buried secret that could tear Julie’s family apart. As the summer draws to the close, Julie must make a choice: will she return to Chicago with the man she married, or stay and fight for her family with the man she once loved? Lose yourself in a life-affirming tale about love, betrayal and finding your true home, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Barbara O’Neal and This is Not How it Ends will adore Cynthia Ellingsen’s captivating novel.

It's a man’s world—but in this outrageous debut, the girls aren't playing by the rules...For lifelong friends Jackie, Cheryl, and Doris, life hasn't turned out according to plan. But after a drunken night sampling the delights at a strip club for women, the ladies stumble upon an ingenious idea and open up The Whole Package—the world's first restaurant staffed exclusively by very attractive men. Mixing business with pleasure can be risky, but for these three best friends, getting a little bit outrageous just might be what it takes to make their mark in the world.