10 Heidi Swain Books to Make You Swoon

Swain’s first published book, The Cherry Tree Cafe, is like a Hallmark Christmas movie set in the summer instead. Lizzie Dixon gets a surprise break up when she thought she was getting an engagement, and after losing her job in a similar fashion, decides to move back to her hometown to start anew. 

Her best friend Jemma has just purchased a little cafe, and is delighted to have Lizzie’s sewing skills back in town to help her with the grand opening. Things are looking up for Lizzie; but can she overcome this broken heart? Perhaps there’s an old flame in town who’s ready to help…

Christmas is tough for Hattie this year, and there’s not a lot of cheer to go around. Her lavish hotel job let her go just weeks before, and her boyfriend has landed his dream job…but in Abu Dhabi. And he wants her to go with him. Her long-time friend Dolly is determined to make Hattie’s last Wynbridge Christmas one to remember. 

When Hattie arrives, Christmas prep has commenced, but she is too wrapped up in her dilemma to allow for any holiday cheer. Dolly’s determination is stronger than Hattie’s worries though, and after creating a wishlist of all the things the season can bring (and enlisting help from Wynbridge’s resident handyman, Beamish) Hattie’s heart swells. But now she must decide: will she really be able to leave all of this behind?

There are many things Beth loves about her job looking after the elderly residents in a care facility, but the cramped and dirty house-share she lives in is not one of them. So it’s no wonder that she jumps so quickly at the chance to move into Nightingale Square (though it may have something to do with getting to share the house with the lovely Eli too). 

Her new community is delighted to have her, and they even show their support when Beth needs help with a fundraiser for the care facility. It’s then that she discovers The Arches, a center for the creative arts, has closed and it needs her fundraising help to keep their doors open. Music was once an important part of Beth’s life, but there are reasons she doesn’t practice anymore–will her new friends be able to help her rediscover her passion?

Upon the passing of Lottie Foster’s grandmother’s best friend Gwen, Lottie discovers that Gwen has left her home, Cuckoo Cottage, to Lottie. It’s a charming little cottage, but Lottie has had a difficult time enjoying it, as Matt the local builder claims it’s falling apart (though makes himself available to help with all the repairs) and Will, Lottie’s closest neighbor, thinks Matt is full of it. 

Lottie has enlisted Jemma from The Cherry Tree Cafe to help her launch her dream business renovating vintage caravans. She plans to revamp Gwen’s old one and turn it into a mobile tearoom. But she hasn’t told anyone else about her plans yet, and she can’t do so until she can decide who she can trust. With two men competing for her attention, will she ever be able to find love and success in her new home? 

Overburdened by her high-stakes job and her demanding father, Tess Tyler has already had enough…but then she learns of a shocking discovery, and it sends her far enough over the edge that she flees to Wynmouth, a seaside town she’s loved since her adolescence, to spiral in solitude. 

As soon as her toes hit the sand, Tess feels alive again. And the feelings only improve after befriending the local barman Sam and daring to dream that she could live here forever. But then a familiar face returns to town, and Tess remembers that Wynmouth has secrets too, and her own past runs faster than she can…

Freya Fuller became estranged from her parents and has been gardening ever since, living her dream. She is delighted at the opportunity to design a winter garden at a Victorian home in Nightingale Square, but the delight doesn’t last long. Though most of the residents have been friendly and welcoming, Finn, a local artist, has been quite the opposite, almost as if he’s determined to exclude her. And then to make matters worse, Freya’s family arrives surprisingly, and it seems like Freya’s new life is about to be ruined just as quickly as she originally freed herself. 

There’s no better place to hide than a charming little cottage in Nightingale Square…especially when what you’re running from is an almost-divorced husband who is determined to win you back. Not expecting anything more than a hiding place, Kate soon befriends bossy but lovely Lisa, her new neighbor, and is swept up into the charm of Nightingale Square. 

Everyone in Wynmouth knows about Wynter’s Trees; it’s where everyone gets their Christmas tree after all. But for Liza Wynter, it’s gone from a winter wonderland to the bane of her existence. After losing her father last year, she wants nothing to do with his business, as all it does is make her sad. 

But then her father’s business partner decides to retire, and she must return to Wynmouth to assist in transitioning the business to his son Ned. When she arrives, she’s surprised to find a well-loved business that is booming thanks to Ned’s ownership, and she finds herself sticking around to help out for the Christmas season. But will being in her hometown make her realize that perhaps, everything she’s ever wanted is right in front of her?

Poppy’s efforts to heal and improve her craft have finally paid off when she moves into a cottage in Nightingale Square where she can live her dream of making preserves and pickles in the local community garden. Though her family relationship is difficult, she’s made some loving friends here–even Jacob, her grumpy new neighbor, whom she believes has a fluffier interior than he lets on. 

But when Poppy’s troubled younger brother suddenly arrives out of nowhere, he threatens her new-found happiness and her chances of helping the garden team win community space of the year. She’ll have to decide what her priorities are and what she’s willing to fight for.

One of Swain’s most popular stories, Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market is a great cozy read by the fireplace. In it, we meet Ruby, a fresh university graduate who is heading home for Christmas so she can save money for her world-wide trip in January. Though her father advised her not to, she sets up a stall at the local market and prepares to sell all sorts of cozy holiday things. 

But with the opening of a new retail park in their own backyard, the market is threatened; so Ruby enlists all the stallholders to help her ensure that the market is equipped to be everyone’s holiday one-stop-shop. The only thing standing in her way? Steve, her ex. It’s difficult to save a market when you still harbor unexpected feelings, after all…