The burden of responsibility lies heavily on Lady Katherine Charlton’s shoulder. Since the sudden death of her merciless husband, she’s been lurching from one financial crisis to another, is constantly worrying about her brother’s dependency on alcohol and whether he’s looking after his young son properly and has to somehow find a way of reining in her ditzy sister in law’s excessive spending. Katherine cannot help but wonder whether she’ll ever find the happiness and security which she has craved ever since she was a little girl. For far too long, Katherine has only had bittersweet memories and painful heartache to keep her company at night but all that is set to change when a face from her past returns to the windswept Yorkshire moors with revenge on his mind and vengeance in his heart: Heath Montanha.

Heath had sauntered into her life and captured her heart when she had been only a girl. Young Katherine had been fascinated and enthralled by the exotic gypsy boy whom her father had brought back with him after a trip to Liverpool. Katherine has never managed to forget the heart-wrenching pain in his dark eyes, the way he had taken her under his wing and protected her and the anguish and emptiness she had felt when she realized that he had disappeared from her life forever. But unbeknownst to Katherine, Heath had left Yorkshire all those years ago determined to make something out of himself and to wreak revenge on her family, who had almost destroyed him!

The penniless stable hand Katherine had known has gone forever and been replaced by a suave, sophisticated and extremely successful tycoon who holds her future in the palm of his hand. Now a multi-millionaire who can have anything he wants, Heath vows to make those who made him suffer as a child pay for all the misery they put him through – and he plans to start with Lady Katherine Charlton.

But when Heath claps eyes on Katherine after ten years, he is ill prepared for the powerful passion her tempting kisses unleash within him…

Kate Walker has taken Emily Bronte’s classic novel of greed, passion and revenge and made it her own. The Return of the Stranger is a dramatic, tempestuous and immensely enjoyable tale packed with intriguing characters, searing emotion, heart-breaking conflict and breath-taking romance. Kate Walker has raised the bar and totally outdone herself with this mesmerizing story of sacrifice, redemption and everlasting love.

Wonderfully written and powerfully told, The Return of the Stranger is an outstanding achievement for this exceptional writer of contemporary romantic fiction.

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When I was eleven, I was at a very small junior school that was in an old building, where the wiring wasn’t very reliable. This was in West Yorkshire where the weather was often wild, and storms could break over the hills with great drama and force. One day there was a huge thunderstorm, great flashes of lightning, and the lights in the whole building fused. We were sitting in darkness, with a lot of the girls getting scared and screaming when the thunder roared and the lightning flashed. (Not me – I have always loved storms and still do.)

To distract us from getting worried and while waiting for the electricity to be restored, the teacher – a Mr Grogan – told us to sit quietly and he would tell us a story. The story he told was about a man who returned home to his farm, high on the Yorkshire moors, bringing with him an orphan gypsy boy he found in the streets of Liverpool. The farmer already had a son and daughter, Hindley and Catherine – and the gypsy boy’s name was, of course, Heathcliff. This story was the beginning of the classic romantic novel – Wuthering Heights.

I never got to hear the end of the story that day because the lights came back on before my teacher had got past the point where Heathcliff and Cathy fight, and Heathcliff runs away to go and make his fortune. I never learned what happened when he came back – because it was obvious that he did come back – and I always wanted to know. The story stayed with me and I wanted to know so much about it. It was some years later that I found a book on my mother’s bookshelf and, opening it, saw the names I remembered so well. I started to read – and didn’t put it down until I had finished. It was an amazing story – but it never had the happy ending that I had hoped for. The happy ending I’d tried to make for it in my head and never quite managed to make it fit!

The idea for writing part of the mini-series The Powerful and The Pure based on classic books of romantic fiction was originally put to me by my editor. The mini-series was to take four of the great classics of romantic fiction and use them as inspiration for Modern Romances (Presents/Sexy) The Senior Editor wanted me to do Wuthering Heights – and I think I would have been terribly jealous of anyone else who got a chance to work on this one!

The other books and authors chosen were – Jane Eyre (Sharon Kendrick), Emma (Kate Hewitt), Pride and Prejudice (Cathy Williams). Iconic romantic stories that everyone who loves romance remembers – with heroines and specially with heroes that have set the ‘dark and devastating’ standard for all time to come.

Writing this particular book was fun and a challenge. In many ways Wuthering Heights was a problematic novel to work on as a romance writer. It’s not really a love story – it’s more a novel about passion and possession and power than a long-lasting love that would translate easily into the happy-ever-after ending romances promise their readers. It’s interesting that the real love story – that between younger Catherine and Hareton – seems so mild in comparison that in so many film adaptations it gets left out completely and yet this is a love of real strength that flowers in spite of the very rough ground it grows on.

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Years ago, Dr. Michaela Landon had trusted neurosurgeon Lewis Beck with her heart – and the charismatic and handsome doctor had betrayed her trust and nearly destroyed her life. Michaela had vowed never to let anybody put her through all that pain and heartbreak ever again, so she had sworn off relationships and thrown herself completely into her work. Michaela does not want a man nor does she feel compelled to be in a relationship. She’s perfectly happy with her life and has a fulfilling job that consumes her. However, little does Michaela realize that a face from her past is about to saunter back into her life and turn her entire world upside down!

When Michaela had heard that Lewis had accepted a job at St. Benedict’s, she wasn’t exactly overjoyed. But Michaela is a professional and she will not allow personal feelings to jeopardize the well-being of her patients. However, when she claps eyes on Lewis again, all those old feelings which she had tried so hard to bury and suppress come rushing back with a vengeance! Lewis is still as good-looking, talented and magnetic as ever. Every single woman at the hospital is lusting after him, yet Michaela knows that she cannot trust this man again.

Regrets and recriminations are Lewis Beck’s constant companions. Persecuted by demons which he just can’t seem to vanquish, Lewis buries himself in his work and hopes to silence the taunting voices in his head by working as hard as he can. Now one of the world’s most talented neurosurgeons, Lewis has decided to return to Australia and to work at St. Benedict’s – and to hopefully get close to the one woman he has never quite managed to forget: Dr. Michaela Landon!

Michaela is adamant that she will not succumb to Lewis’ seduction ever again. But as fate continues to throw her in close proximity with Lewis, Michaela quickly finds her resolves melting as she finds herself falling in love with her former lover again.

Are Michaela and Lewis willing to give love a second chance? Or will the past continue to come between them and push them even further apart?

I love Melanie Milburne’s books. Whether she’s writing Medical or Modern romances, this outstanding Australian author can always be relied on to deliver an emotional, compelling and captivating read that keeps me engrossed from beginning to end – and her latest Medical Romance, The Surgeon She Never Forgot is certainly no exception.

A wonderfully poignant tale of old passions, second chances and everlasting love, The Surgeon She Never Forgot is an exceptional romance that will touch your heart and make you shed a tear.

Moving, uplifting and feel-good, The Surgeon She Never Forgot is another keeper by Melanie Milburne!

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When she was a teenager, Jade Sommerville had a massive crush on Nic Sabbatini. The youngest Sabbatini brother had been the object of the impressionable sixteen year old’s fantasies. But when Nic had spurned Jade’s advances, she had seen red. Vowing to make him pay for rejecting her, Jade decided to show Nic what he had been missing by becoming the ultimate party girl. Frequently snapped by the paparazzi stumbling out of parties and hotel rooms in short designer dresses and sky-high stiletto heels, the spoiled socialite’s life is a wild whirl of parties, unsuitable relationships and scandal. But there’s more to Jade than meets the eye…

Jade has never had to worry about money. Her wealthy family have been subsidizing her lifestyle for years, but when her father decides to stop her allowance and dissolve her trust fund, the high maintenance socialite realizes that the time has come for her to take action – which is where her childhood crush, Nic Sabbatini, comes in. In order to continue living in the manner which she has grown accustomed to, Jade needs Nic to honour his late grandfather’s dying wishes: to marry her or else risk losing a third of the Sabbatini assets!

Nic might not have spoken to Jade in years, but he knows that she is the last person he would ever consider marrying. The proud Italian is disgusted by her hedonistic lifestyle, laidback manner and indolent approach to life. Jade is the opposite of everything he’s ever wanted in a wife, yet Nic cannot lose such a substantial part of the family assets, so he consents to her demands. But Nic is not about to let Jade make a fool out of him…

Knowing about his betrothed’s penchant for scandal and outrageous behavior, the sexy Italian is adamant that his soon-to-be-wife should behave in an appropriate manner and that she doesn’t embarrass him or the family name in front of the world’s press. Jade cannot risk incurring Nic’s wrath…especially as she has found herself falling head over heels in love with him!

Nic has made it perfectly clear that theirs can only be a convenient marriage. Yet, when sparks begin to fly and wild passion is unleashed, the powerful Italian cannot help but wish their marriage was the real deal. But has too much water gone under the bridge for the two of them to ever have a future together?

A red-hot Harlequin Presents novel that sizzles with explosive chemistry, steamy sex scenes, breathless emotional intensity and affecting pathos, The Wedding Charade is a fantastic contemporary romance which will keep readers riveted from beginning to end! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Nic and Jade’s fiery romance and I am sure readers will love feisty and confident Jade and brooding Alpha hero Nic.

Sexy, moving and irresistible, The Wedding Charade is the latest gripping, tempting and highly readable contemporary romance by Melanie Milburne.

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Maya had been unable to stop herself from falling madly in love with Italian billionaire Giorgio Sabbatini. Although they came from different worlds and moved in completely different circles, Maya had been unable to resist Giorgio, and when he had proposed to her, she had thought that all of her dreams had come true. Yet, Maya’s hopes and dreams for a fairy tale life, spent by her husband’s side, were dashed when she realized that she couldn’t give Giorgio the one thing which he wanted more than anything else in the world: a baby! Determined not to spend the rest of her life married to a man who would grow to resent her, Maya had decided to pack her bags and to walk out on her marriage. But little did she realize that forgetting a man like Giorgio Sabbatini was no picnic! Constantly assailed by memories of the man who had captured her heart, Maya decided to throw herself into her work and to try and move on with her life. However, Giorgio is never far away from her thoughts…

When a chance encounter pushes the two of them together, old feelings resurface and temperatures begin to soar. A night of sizzling passion quickly ensues – only this time Maya cannot simply pack her bags and walk out on her husband because she is now carrying Giorgio’s baby!

Marriage had never been on Giorgio Sabbatini’s list of things to do. He had only decided to marry Maya as a means to an end, yet the feisty teacher had got under his skin and managed to breach some of the defenses which he had built around his heart. When she had walked out on him, Giorgio had been absolutely furious. Nobody made a fool out of Giorgio Sabbatini and lived to tell the tale. The sexy Italian playboy is determined to make Maya pay for her defection – and what better way is there to make his errant wife pay than by forcing her into pretending to being his lover?

Maya knows that she should refuse to have anything to do with this mad plan of Giorgio’s. But now that she is carrying his child, she is well aware that she’s got no other option but to pretend that they’ve patched things up. However, when pretend passion gives way to the real deal, Maya wonders whether she can run the risk of falling in love with her husband again – or whether he will break her heart one more time?

Will it be second time lucky for Maya and Giorgio? Or are the two lovers destined to remain apart?

Melanie Milburne continues her captivating Sabbatini brothers mini-series with One Last Night, a poignant, passionate and highly engaging contemporary romance that is sure to hold readers spellbound. A story of second chances, powerful secrets and forbidden passion, One Last Night is a mesmerizing read that is sure to strike a chord with readers everywhere. Maya was a spirited and believable heroine we can all relate to and it’s impossible not to fall for Giorgio, who was a kind, caring and compassionate hero.

An enjoyable romance from a writer who never disappoints, One Last Night is another unmissable treat from Melanie Milburne’s talented pen!

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