Book excerpt: The charming community of Applewell is waiting to welcome you! Includes all three books in the Applewell Village series; Waste Not, Want Not in Applewell, Make Do and Mend in Applewell and A Stitch in Time in Applewell. Waste Not, Want Not in Applewell: George Nightingale is a hoarder with a house full of junk. For years he’s kept it a secret, rarely leaving his house and keeping social interactions to a minimum, but his carefully balanced system is now under threat... Nessa Millbrook can’t wait to get settled into her new home in quaint, rural Applewell. Everyone in the village is so friendly – except her neighbour, George, who wants nothing to do with her. But Nessa isn’t one to back down from a challenge and she’s determined to win George over. The years have taught George to shield his heart and trust no one. Yet Nessa keeps reaching out to him – does he have the courage to take a chance, and reach back? Make Do and Mend in Applewell: Lottie has always been thrifty. As a mother of three, it's even more important that she stretches the household budget as far as possible. Luckily, Lottie’s penchant for taking broken items and upcycling them has worked wonders for living on a shoestring. Henry can’t face telling Lottie he’s been made redundant. Instead, he pretends to go to work as usual while frantically job hunting. The race is on to find another role before Lottie discovers he’s another useless item for her collection – one that is beyond repair. Christmas is a time for giving, but will Lottie give Henry another chance if she learns about his lies? And can Henry give Lottie and their kids the life he so desperately wants them to have? A Stitch in Time in Applewell: Gracie rescues old clothes and cast offs from Applewell’s charity shop, making them into cute and fresh outfits, which she then sells in her little shop. Turning a profit is hard at the best of times, let alone when new arrival Lucas appears. After running away from the village in his teens, Lucas has finally returned to an uncomfortable amount of fanfare and gossip. His job requires him to streamline homeless charity, UnderCover, and his plans to do so risk putting Gracie out of business. The pair of them exchange harsh words but when Lucas’ niece cuts up his sister’s wedding dress, there’s only one person he can think to turn to. Along with repairing the dress, will Gracie patch up her relationship with Lucas? Or is that a stitch too far? A gorgeous romance series with characters readers will fall in love with, perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Phillipa Ashley and Portia MacIntosh. Praise for Lilac Mills ‘Such a cosy heart-warming read... I loved it! Another corker from Lilac Mills!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘Wonderful. I'm not normally a person who gets emotional while reading, but there were several points during the book where I started to connect with the characters so much that I started to cry.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘The cutest, most heartwarming romance novels I have read.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘Plenty of emotional and heart-warming moments and the ending was perfect.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘I was in the mood for something light and uplifting, and this gave me exactly what I needed. It made for very easy and enjoyable reading.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review ‘Friends, family and nosy but nice neighbours all looking out for each other, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure – what more could you want? A definite must read series.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review ‘Applewell feels like home. I have genuine love for these books, the characters, and the setting... beautifully written.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review