Thirty-year-old Elise Andrews couldn’t bring herself to marry Griffin, her childhood friend-turned-sweetheart, so she let him walk away. Eight months after their break-up, she arrives in her hometown of Chicago on Christmas Eve and hears a voice from the past calling her name in the grocery store. It’s Griffin’s mother Janice, who invites Elise over for a neighborhood gathering of eggnog and carols.Walking into Janice’s house sends Elise tumbling headlong into memories of her relationship with Griffin — and with Janice, who exudes the kind of warmth Elise ached for after her own mom passed away when she was six. But Griffin has moved on, and suddenly Elise doubts her decision to give him up, and lose her chance at being folded into his wonderful family. Confused and reeling, she goes in search of an answer to a universal question: How do we say good-bye to people we’ve loved without losing everything they’ve meant to us? Heartwarming and witty, All Is Bright is a charming story about coming home for the holidays — and finding gifts in the most unexpected of places.

A phone call and an estranged father’s dying wish has forced Alexis Williams in the last place she has ever wanted to be—the wilderness. Backpacking for seven days while climbing a 14,000-foot mountain is not her idea of a good time. Luckily, the handsome hiking guide, Graham Neelson is there to make life a little more bearable. His support and words of wisdom has not only engaged her mind, but also her heart. However, as the summit grows closer, Alexis reaches her breaking point. Can she find the strength and courage to ascend the mountain and embrace love? Or will she let fear taint her path?