AustLit

'Hollywood isn't all sunglasses and autographs.

'Abby Taylor is heading for the hills - the Hollywood hills. All she has to do first is exorcise some old demons, namely Cassie Carmichael, the character she has been playing on Australia's number one television drama for the past three years.

'Wanting to escape the fear of typecasting and malicious magazine covers, Abby is in desperate need of a change. With a new city, new friends and a sweet new condo in West Hollywood, it's time to take her career to the next level. But with disastrous auditions and countless rejections, Abby is going to need to numb the pain in the hope that her next big break comes along, and it does. She just never dreamed that it would be in the form of waiting tables and splitting tips at one of the hottest nightspots on the strip.

'Action-packed late nights and VIP parties are a sure distraction, but nothing distracts her quite like her new boss, the infuriating Jay Davis. Suddenly living the dream takes on a whole new meaning, but when something in Jay's past is revealed, Abby has to question, who is the greatest actor of them all?

'In the land of broken dreams, all Abby can do is hope that hers is not going to be one of them.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sarah Williams is a spirited, independent Aussie who has always dreamed of New York City. So when a job opportunity arises to become an au pair for a successful businessman in the heart of Manhattan, Sarah jumps at the chance to follow her dream.

'What she didn't bet on was a beautiful newborn and a distant, abrasive man whose eyes hold a million anguished secrets. Determined to care for his daughter and face the challenges of the impossible Ben Worthington, Sarah was always prepared to follow her heart; she just wasn't prepared to lose it to a complicated man like Ben.' (Publication summary)

'Like so many of her university friends, Kate Brown is London bound, but unlike her friends - who had the chance to enjoy the beer, sights and attractions of the UK - Kate is instead visiting her grandmother (who may or may not be the devil).

'Wanting nothing more than to be a normal, independent twenty-something living it up in ol' London town, Kate finds herself a prisoner in her grandmother's Kensington terrace, daydreaming about the holiday that could have been. But when Kate is almost run over by posh,smirking playboy Henry Baker, it leaves her wondering if being out and about is such a good idea after all, especially when she catches herself laughing at his jokes.

'One thing Kate knows for sure is that she has to avoid Henry at all costs. But with her balcony facing his, you can pretty much guarantee Kate's London adventure is going to be anything but boring . . . ' (Publication summary)

'How did a self-orchestrated gap year turn into a less-than-enthralling lifestyle as a couch potato at her parents' house? Determined to get motivated and join life again, Sammi Shorten books a budget Bellissimo Tour to Rome, the Eternal City. What she hadn't signed up for was being stuck with an eclectic group of binge-drinking foreigners in a bed-bug-infested hostel from hell. Things in Rome really couldn't get much worse . . . could they?

'When plans go completely awry Sammi's left with only one place to turn, and it's the one place Sammi really doesn't want to turn - to the man who might very well get her into the worst trouble of all: the gorgeous local tour guide, Marcello Bambozzi.' (Publication summary)

''You're breaking up with me!'

He was silent.

'In Paris.'

Eyes dropping.

'Under the Eiffel-fucking-Tower!' I screamed.

'Twenty-five-year-old Claire Shorten had looked forward to spending a romantic weekend in Paris for as long as she could remember, and now it was here - three blissful days of strolling through cobbled streets arm-in-arm with her beloved, eating copious amounts of baked goods and soaking up the culture through each and every pore of her body. Well, at least, that was how she'd pictured it . . .

'Even after her boyfriend dumps her rather unceremoniously in the most romantic place on earth, Claire is determined not to give up on her dream altogether - with or without a boyfriend. She finds herself a job in the kitchen of a small hotel; Michelin-starred it most certainly is not, but somehow Claire makes a place for herself amidst the dirty dishes and the foreign misfits who run the place.

'When the restaurant attracts the attention of the enigmatic - if not slightly terrifying - tycoon Louis Delarue, and Claire manages to survive his high-powered business luncheon from hell, she knows that she can survive anything, surely. But all bets are off when Louis makes a game-changing decision: he's coming back for a second course . . .' (Publication summary)

'You see there’s this boy.

'He makes me smile, forces me to listen, serenades me out of tune and keeps me sane, all the while driving me insane. He's really talented like that. But for the first time in since, well, forever, things are about to change. The question is, how much am I willing to lose in order to potentially have it all?' (Publication summary)

'Max Henry thought he’d left the dusty flats of Ballan behind, but when the past slams into his present, suddenly there is no escaping – even if he wanted to.

'Melanie Sheehan didn’t set out to be a liar, but her last lie landed her in big trouble. Now Mel must suffer a harsh consequence – she’s not allowed out of her father’s sight.

'No friends, no parties, no life.

'Since impeccably good behaviour is now all she’s about, her dad, renowned Ballan local ‘Bluey’ Sheehan, is about to finally cut Mel some slack. The catch? While he heads out of town on business, she has to stay at the Onslow Hotel, and he’s entrusting Max Henry, the eldest son of Bluey’s best mate, to look out for her.

'He just doesn’t know it yet.

'Max, the new head barman at the Onslow Hotel, is the one boy Mel has been crushing on since forever. At a time when Mel plans to go on the straight and narrow, she is about to tell the biggest lie of all. Will Max be able to handle the fiery farm girl or should he be considered the last boy in Onslow to trust?' (Publication summary)

'After a year on the coast, Lexie Atkinson can't settle back into country life. She's missing the glitzy, gritty nightlife of the big city and the group of misfit friends she'd loved to hate. She knows to move forward she has to go back - back to face the guy who stole her heart.

'But when Lexie arrives in Paradise City to work out if her future includes bad-boy surfer, Luke Ballantine, he is nowhere to be found. With no home, no money and no Luke, Lexie gets a job slinging drinks at the wild Wipe Out Bar. Soon her heartache is eased when broody bar owner, Dean Saville, starts taking an interest and stirs more than just her drinks. But nothing is ever as it seems in Paradise City and when Luke Barrels back into town, Lexie has a choice to make. But who will end up with the broken heart: Luke, Dean...or Lexie?' (Publication summary)

'When her parents decide a change will be good for her, seventeen-year-old Lexie Atkinson never expected they'd send her all the way to Paradise City. Coming from a predictable life of home schooling on a rural Australian property, she's sure that Paradise will be amazing. But when she's thrust into a public school without a friendly face in sight, and forced to share a room with her insipid, hateful cousin Amanda, Lexie's not so sure. Hanging out with the self-proclaimed beach bums of the city, sneaking out, late night parties and parking with boys are all things Lexie's never experienced, but all that's about to change. It's new, terrifying . . . and exciting. But when she meets Luke Ballantine, exciting doesn't even come close to describing her new life. Trouble with a capital T, Luke is impulsive, charming and answers to no one. The resident bad-boy leader of the group, he's sexier than any boy Lexie has ever known. Amidst the stolen moments of knowing looks and heated touches, Lexie can't help but wonder if Luke is going to be good for her . . . or very, very bad?' (Publication summary)

'Ringo ‘Ringer’ James has a no-strings-attached policy.

Love them, leave them, and remain the eternal bachelor.

After a summer in which every one of his mates has succumbed to settling down, or so it seemed, Ringer is on the lookout for a quick exit. Having had enough of the stomach-turning love fest witnessed over the past three months, Ringer jumps at the opportunity to help out his mate, Max, by heading to Max’s dad’s property for a working holiday.

It’s just what he’s looking for. A remote, dusty homestead in Ballan, with only hard work, a cold beer and a comfy bed to worry about – no women.

'Until Miranda Henry.

'The privately educated daughter of his boss has returned home from overseas and things are about to get very complicated, very fast. As summer draws to its end, Ringer is about to learn that sometimes attraction defies all logic, and that there really is such a thing as ‘enemies with benefits’.' (Publication summary)

'Stan Remington is the go-to man. What he doesn’t know about Onslow means one of two things: it doesn’t exist or it hasn’t happened yet.

And when it comes to Onslow, for Stan, being an only child means a guilt-riddled sense of duty to help out at his parents’ caravan park every summer of his life: same old town, same old story.

'Until Belinda Evans.

'The wild and insipid doctor’s daughter who spends summer holidays with her family at Remington’s Caravan Park, but she’s not Stan’s problem; that is, until she sabotages his planned weekend escape. Now Stan finds himself not only caretaking the caravan park on his own, but responsible for Bel as well.

'Just the two of them.

Under the one roof.

For one long, long weekend.

'In a world built by mundane routine and small-town boredom, this summer promises to be anything but boring.' (Publication summary)

'Loving Chris Henderson would be wrong. Diabolically disastrous. I mean, what is there about him to love? He’s moody, bossy, brooding, a control freak, and that’s on a good day … but there was one achingly obvious fact that haunted my every thought, every minute of every day …

'He sure could kiss.

'As the countdown to the new millennium begins, there is one thing everyone agrees on: no one wants to be in Onslow for New Year’s Eve.

'So that can only mean one thing: road trip!

'No longer the mousey, invisible, shy girl from years ago, Tammy Maskala is finally making up for all those lost summers. A new year with new friends, which astoundingly includes the bossy boy behind the bar, Chris Henderson.

'She likes her new friends (at least most of them), so why does she secretly feel so out of place?

'After chickening out on the trip, a last-minute change of heart sees Tammy racing to the Onslow Hotel, fearing she’s missed her chance for a ride. The last thing she expected to meet was a less-than-happy Onslow Boy leaning against his black panel van.

'Now the countdown begins to reach the others at Point Shank before the party is over and the new year has begun. Alone in a car with only the infuriating Chris Henderson, Tammy can’t help but feel this is a disastrous start to what could have been a great adventure. But when the awkward road trip takes an unexpected turn, Tammy soon discovers that the way her traitorous heart feels about Chris is the biggest disaster of all.

'Fogged up windows, moonlight swimming, bad karaoke and unearthed secrets; after this one summer nothing will ever be the same again.' (Publication summary)

'After a rebellious summer night that almost claimed her life, Amy Henderson – the Onslow publican’s only daughter – is sent away to suffer a fate far worse than any other punishment:

'Boarding School.

'Three years on, a now nineteen-year-old Amy returns to Onslow for the summer. What once was a cauldron of activity with live bands, hot meals and cold beers, the Onslow Hotel now lies dark, deserted and depressing. All fond childhood memories of loitering on the hotel stairs and eavesdropping on customers’ colourful conversations are in the distant past.

'How had her dad let it come to this?

'With the new threat of putting the Onslow up for sale, Amy reluctantly turns to a local tradesman for help: Sean Murphy, the very same Onslow boy who saved her life all those years ago. With his help and that of some old friends, the task is clear: spend the summer building the hotel back up to its former glory or lose it for good.

In an endless summer, Amy soon realises that sometimes in order to save your future, you have to face your past, even if it’s in the form of a smug, gorgeous Onslow boy.' (Publication summary)

'Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

'To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

'How did she let her friends talk her into working?

'After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

'All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

'It will be a summer she will always remember. ' (Publiation summary)