Michael Symmons Roberts’s fourth book of poetry, Corpus, was the winner of the 2004 Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Griffin International Prize. His sixth collection, Drysalter, was the winner of both the Forward Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize in 2013. He collaborated with Paul Farley on Edgelands (Cape/Vintage) and will do so again in The Deaths of the Poets (Cape, 2017). He has also worked many times with the composer James MacMillan. He has published two novels, and is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Michael Symmons Roberts

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Rowan Coleman

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella, this is a funny, warm-hearted novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
Sophie Mills has worked her Manolo Blahniks off to reach the near-top of her profession. And she's very happy with her priorities in life - her job, her neurotic cat Artemis and her passion for shoes. After all, relationships only get in the way. And as for children? She hasn't even begun to think about them yet. Until one day an unexpected visitor brings news of a strange inheritance and Sophie is suddenly, out of the blue, in sole charge of two children under the age of six. But motherhood can't be all that hard, can it? 
 
Within twenty-four hours, her make-up is smeared all over the bathroom, Artemis has taken up residence on top of her wardrobe, and Sophie is in despair. And all her unconventional mother can suggest is Dr Roberts' Complete Dog Training and Care Manual. 
 
Determined to rise to the challenge, Sophie soon realises that she'll need more than a business plan to cope with all this...

The Accidental Mother

Lauren Layne

A crush gone wickedly wrong 
What you want isn’t always what you need... 
 
Growing up in New York, Michael St. Claire never expected to spend his twenties wearing cowboy boots. But that was before he learned about his real father, a total stranger with a family in Cedar Grove, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State, Michael meets Kristin Bellamy, who is exquisitely refined and everything Michael always thought he wanted in a woman. The only problem is that Kristin is dating Michael’s new half brother, Devon. 
 
Kristin’s mouthy, curvy sister Chloe has always been in love with Devon Patterson. So when Michael offers to help Chloe break up Devon and Kristin, Chloe agrees to a deal that seems too good to be true. Before long, Chloe finally gets her man, only to make a startling discovery: She no longer wants the guy she had to fight for—she wants the one who stood by her side. 
 
After all he and Chloe have been through, Michael swears he’s damaged goods. Can Chloe convince him that love is worth the risk?

Crushed: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

She needed a place to live. He needed a girlfriend. The rules were clear... until they were broken... 
 
The only thing Ethan Price and Stephanie Kendrick have in common is their screenwriting class at the NYU Film School. Ethan's family is loaded and expectations are high for his stepping into the family business one day, while Stephanie is the class outcast and from the other side of the tracks. 
 
When a project brings this unlikely pair together, Stephanie becomes the fake girlfriend who plays a part similar to that of the character in their screenplay. What Ethan didn't expect was to fall in love with her - but has he fallen for the real her? Or just the version he created...? 
 
Isn't She Lovely is a modern take on Julia Roberts' Pretty Woman and is perfect for fans of Jessica Sorenson and Tammara Webber.

Isn't She Lovely: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

Regina Cole

After her parents pull the plug on her college fund, Hailey Jakes is desperate to pay her own way and finish her degree in graphic design. She can hardly believe her luck when the sexiest guy she’s ever seen hires her to be the receptionist at his tattoo shop. With sea-blue eyes, jet-black hair and full sleeves of tattoos on his muscular arms, Neill Vanderhaven looks like the kind of guy who wouldn’t give her the time of day. In fact, he’s mesmerized by her – and it doesn’t hurt that she’s talented as hell. 
 
But Hailey and Neill have more in common than instant chemistry: They’re both carrying serious baggage. But what they have is more than skin-deep. Hailey and Neill will need to decide whether the kind of love that lasts forever is worth such exquisite pain.

Draw Me In: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

Ruthie Knox

An accomplished lawyer and driven single mother, Ellen Callahan isn’t looking for any help. So Ellen’s more than a little peeved when her brother, an international pop star, hires a security guard to protect her from a prying press that will stop at nothing to dig up dirt on him. 
 
But when the tanned and toned Caleb Clark shows up at her door, Ellen might just have to change her mind. Back home after a deployment in Iraq , Caleb finds that guarding the wilful beauty is harder than he imagined - and he can’t resist the temptation to mix business with pleasure...

Along Came Trouble: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

Scarlett Bailey

Amy Tucker is single. So single in fact she hasn’t had a man in her room for three years and her idea of a good time is buying new kitchenware at Ikea. So when she wakes up on Christmas Eve to find a strange man at the end of her bed, she is more than surprised. 
 
Least of all, when the beautiful man claims to be Santa and has sexy stubble to rival George Clooney. 
 
Santa whisks Amy on an exciting and unforgettable journey around the world through time and space. But can he really make Amy's Christmas dreams come true?

Santa Maybe

A self-confessed Christmas queen, Sue Montaigne prides herself on organising the annual nativity pageant in her small Cornish village of Poldore. 
 
But this year, what with having to deal with the repairs on Castle House after it was wrecked by a terrible storm, training a new – and frankly flighty – Virgin Mary and managing a Joseph who is allergic to sheep, she is distinctly lacking a little bit of ‘me time’. 
 
And then there are the auditions for the new Santa. But nothing prepares her for the beautiful man who turns up, a twinkle in his eye and a promise to make her Christmas dreams come true…

Secret Santa

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella, this is a funny, warm-hearted novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
MEET THE BABY GROUP 
 
Natalie ran her own design company until baby Freddie unexpectedly came along. Now the capable person she once was is trapped inside a crazy woman's body, longing for just one decent night's sleep and words of more than one syllable. 
 
Meg is onto her fourth child but still feels she has to take notes. 
 
Meg's sister-in-law Frances organises her little boy like he's a private in the army, but underneath her prickly façade she longs for the kind of friendships others seem to find so easy. 
 
Former career girl Jess sees danger lurking in every corner, doubting she'll ever be a good mother. 
 
Stay-at-home house-husband Steve is just glad to have the opportunity to spend time with his daughter. 
 
And sixteen-year-old Tiffany is the youngest - yet possibly the wisest - of them all. 
 
Six very different parents. Six very different lives. But when Natalie's dodgy wiring leads to a series of chance encounters they rapidly discover that there's safety in numbers...

The Baby Group

Cora Carmack

Jackson Hunt hasn’t been out of the military for a long, but he needs to get a job and find a sense of normalcy if he is going to keep his own demons at bay. 
 
Bodyguard (and babysitter) to spoiled-rich-girl Kelsey Summers isn’t exactly what he’d been looking for, but it’s a chance to travel, to get away. The catch: Kelsey’s father doesn’t want Kelsey to know she’s being followed. 
 
She’s vibrant and infuriating, exciting and reckless, mysterious and familiar - and she's falling into the same patterns he suffered years ago. Jackson vows to help her, which is more difficult than he thought, especially because the more he knows her, the more he wants her...

Seeking Her

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Dorothy Koomson and Liane Moriarty, this is an uplifting and heartfelt novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
Kitty Simpson is a firm believer in fairy tales. And when Fergus Kelly kisses her under a shooting star (or perhaps a banking airplane), she simply knows that he must be The One. 
 
But eighteen months, a storybook wedding and an adorable but accidental baby later, Kitty's life isn't the perfect idyll she thought it would be. She has her Prince Charming, her lady-of-leisure lifestyle and her longed-for escape from city life, but Fergus spends most of his time commuting, looking after Ella is surprisingly exhausting, and a quiet life in the country has her pining for London. 
 
Suddenly confident, self-assured Kitty isn't sure who she is any more. Cracks are appearing in her fairy tale. And when they're compounded by her unexpected attraction to another man, happily ever after seems a long way off...

After Ever After

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Dorothy Koomson and Liane Moriarty, this is an uplifting and heartfelt novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
For five years, Maggie has known what her life is all about: her satisfying job in a small catering company, her boyfriend (and boss) Christian, and the future they're building together. Christian is the man Maggie's destined to be with forever, she fell in love with him the moment they met, their love runs River Deep, Mountain High - until Christian comes home one night and says the terrible words 'it's over'. 
 
Numb, shocked and disbelieving, Maggie moves home to her parents' pub. Jobless and single, living in a bedroom still papered with A-ha and Take That posters, she's back to square one. The life she spent five years building is over. Or is it? Convinced she knows Christian better than he knows himself, Maggie sets out to win him back. But when she enlists the help of Pete, temporarily abandoned by his fiancé, she starts to wonder just how broken her heart really is...

River Deep

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella, this is a funny, warm-hearted novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
Six months ago, city girl Sophie Mills gave up everything to move to Cornwall. All to be with the man she thinks she loves, and his two daughters who she knows she loves. 
 
But adjusting to life as a semi-permanent mother in the countryside isn't quite as easy as Sophie imagined it would be. Designer shoes aren't nearly so readily available - not that she ever has any occasion to wear them - and her best pair of vintage Manolo's have already found their way into the girls' dressing-up box. Sometimes Sophie doesn't recognise herself; which most of the time makes her happy but every now and then scares her to death. 
 
The hardest thing of all is making that final commitment to actually move in with Louis and the girls - she's been the longest paying guest of the Avalon B&amp;B, St Ives in the history of the establishment. And as she tries to adapt to country life, her newly adopted family and discovering more about Louis's past, she begins to wonder if she's got what it takes to make it all work...

The Accidental Family

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Dorothy Koomson and Liane Moriarty, this is an uplifting and heartfelt novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
Willow and Holly are identical twins. They are everything to each other. Holly calls Willow her rock, her soul mate, her other half. And Willow feels the same about Holly. They are alike in every respect except one - Willow is afraid on the inside. And all because of a secret - one that binds the sisters closely together and yet has meant their adult lives have taken two very different paths. 
 
Willow often feels there are large parts of her missing, qualities she only knows she's lacking because she sees them in her sister. For a very long time Willow has felt separated from Holly by one terrible moment in time - a moment that meant Willow's life was never the same again. And when the past catches up with her, Willow realises it's finally time for her to face her fears, and - with Holly's help - learn to laugh out loud once more...

Lessons in Laughing Out Loud

Sheila Norton

PART ONE of a serialised novel - a heartwarming and inspiring story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
Working as a receptionist in a London vets, Sam is living far from her idea of a simple life. She’s always broke, rents a tiny flat, and is constantly arguing with her boyfriend. But the worst part is that her career is going nowhere. She wants to be a vet, but the most contact time with the animals she has is a quick hello when she books in their next appointment. 
 
Something’s got to give, so when her parents suggest visiting her Nana Peggy in a small quiet picturesque village, she agrees, thinking a bit of R&amp;R could do her good. 
 
But rest and relaxation may not be the order of the day. Poor Nana Peggy’s lovely dog Rufus is unwell, and Sam can’t help but grow fond of him. With the help of Joe the local vet, a charming yet strangely distant man, Sam sets out on looking after him, despite her London life trying to call her back… 
 
Note: this is part one of a four part serialised novel. The full length paperback will be available in June.

The Vets at Hope Green: Part One

Escape to the Country

PART TWO of a serialised novel - a heartwarming and inspiring story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
Working as the receptionist at her local London vets, Sam dreams of escaping to a quieter life in the country. Spending time with her Nana and her lovely but elderly dog Rufus has sparked something within Sam, and all she wants is to start afresh. But her boyfriend Adam is in London, and something tells her that it won’t be an easy conversation. 
 
But then something happens that makes her going-nowhere receptionist job seem much more appealing: she finds a little stray cat called Ebony, in need of love and nurturing back to health. Faced with a dilemma, she must choose between her heart’s desire and the little ball of fluff burrowing her way into Sam's heart… 
 
Is it possible to have it all? 
 
Note: this is part two of a four-part serialised novel. The full length paperback will be available in June.

The Vets at Hope Green: Part Two

Follow Your Heart

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Dorothy Koomson and Liane Moriarty, this is an uplifting and heartfelt novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
Jenny, Rosie and Selin have been best friends since school. Their teenage years were spent drinking too much wine in the park, dressing up for Friday night, and making the wrong choices with the wrong men because tomorrow seemed a very long way off. 
 
Eleven riotous years later, Jenny realises something. After more than a decade of waiting for her real life to begin, nothing has really changed. Here she is, still hung-over in the park, still dressed up in Friday night clothes and about to make her most inappropriate choice of man yet . 
 
But Jenny's not the only one waiting for real life to begin. And when tragedy turns their world upside down, all three friends are forced to realise that the real growing up is still to come...

Growing Up Twice

The star columnist of Stiletto magazine will do anything for a story. 
Anything . . . except fall in love. 
 
Julie Greene loves flings, steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and - every now and then - that first sexy romp between the sheets. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career - a first-person account of the shift between dating and "I do" she'll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more. 
 
Mitchell Forbes, a devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, is the perfect subject for Julie's "research." But what Julie doesn't know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose and that Julie, notorious for avoiding love, is exactly the type of no-strings fling he's looking for... 
 
A romantic comedy perfect for fans of Julie James, Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson

After the Kiss: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

(Sex, Love & Stiletto #1)

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella, this is a funny, warm-hearted novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard &amp; Judy book club 2014 
 
'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian Keyes 
 
Alison James thinks she might be living the wrong life. She loves her husband Marc and their three children but somehow, in the process of building a perfect life for her family, she seems to have lost herself. And sometimes she worries that she's being punished for how it all started - for the day she ran away with her best friend's boyfriend. 
 
Catherine Ashley knows she's living the wrong life. She adores her two daughters, but she'd always thought that at thirty-one she'd be more than a near-divorcee with a dead-end job. In those dark middle-of-the-night moments that come all too often these days, her mind still flicks back to the love of her life: Marc James.And she still wonders whether Alison stole her life as well as her boyfriend. 
 
Alison and Catherine have been living separate lives, a hundred miles apart, for fifteen years - since Alison and Marc ran away together. But now Alison's moving back to Farmington, the town in which they both grew up. And they're about to find out just how different both their lives could still be ...

The Accidental Wife

Cassie Mae

In this electrifying novel from Cassie Mae, two close friends surprise themselves by shifting from platonic love to sexual attraction. 
 
Eric Matua has one friend - his best friend and childhood sweetheart, who needs a place to stay for the summer. 
 
Mia Johnson has thousands of friends - who live in her computer. When she starts receiving supersweet messages from a stranger who thinks she’s someone else, Mia begins to believe that real love is possible outside her virtual world. 
 
When the two friends become roommates, Mia finds herself falling harder than she ever thought she could. As her advances are continually spurned, Mia splits her time between Eric and her computer. But she soon realizes she’s about to lose the only real thing she’s ever had...

The Real Thing: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

Katie Clark needs a fresh start. Returning home after a fiasco of a marriage, she is hell-bent on kicking butt at her job in her brother’s security firm. 
 
But on her first assignment - digging up the truth about the stalker threatening a world-famous singer-songwriter - Katie must endure the silent treatment from a stern but sexy partner who doesn’t want her help or her company...

Flirting with Disaster: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

PART THREE of a serialised novel - a heartwarming and inspiring story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
Things are finally starting to look up for Sam – a chance at her dream job as a vet, and a new friend (who is a huge animal lover himself – a very important detail!) What more could she ask for? 
 
But something is eating away at her: her boss Joe is acting strangely around her - he's definitely hiding something. And having dreamed of being a vet for so long, she cannot afford to put a foot wrong. 
 
When a call to tend to a sick pony comes into the practice, it all strikes too close to home for Sam and Joe. The odds are stacked against her, and she risks losing everything… 
 
Note: this is part three of a four-part serialised novel. The full length paperback will be available in June.

The Vets at Hope Green: Part Three

Too Close to Home

PART TWO of a serialised novel - a charming and romantic story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
All Emma wants is a quiet life in sleepy Crickleford, away from the prying eyes of the press who are obsessed with the life she used to lead. 
 
She is enjoying her new vocation: the town's most in-demand pet-sitter. But her journalist friend and fellow animal lover Matt is desperate for a big story to make his career – such as Emma’s true identity… 
 
Emma doesn’t want the spotlight, but it keeps finding her anyway. Can she keep her past a secret and live the life she’s dreamed of? 
 
Note: this is part two of a four-part serialised novel.

The Pets at Primrose Cottage: Part Two New Beginnings

Good girls know how to misbehave... 
 
As program director for the Camelot Community Center, Amber Clark knows how to keep her cool. That is, until a sudden tornado warning forces her to take shelter in a darkened basement with a man whose sex appeal fulfils her every fantasy. 
 
Building contractor Tony Mazzara was just looking to escape nature’s fury. Instead, he finds himself all tangled up with lovely Amber. But can he let go of his painful past and look to a future he never dreamed existed?

How to Misbehave: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

PART FOUR of a serialised novel - a heartwarming and inspiring story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
The last few months have been hard for Sam. But her dream to work as a vet is slowly becoming reality, and she is beginning to encounter the struggles and heartbreaks that someone in a job like this must face. 
 
But what’s more heartwarming and inspiring than a litter of new piglets? On a call to a farm with Joe, Sam can’t help but feel a sense of renewal in her own life as she witnesses one of the most glorious and natural processes of all. 
 
Sam's thoughts inevitably turn to her own life. With everything in flux around her, is she ready for change? And will she ever find her happy ending? 
 
Note: this is part four of a four-part serialised novel. The full length paperback will be available in June.

The Vets at Hope Green: Part Four

A New Start

A girl with secrets, a guy with scars, and a love that could save them both . . . or destroy them. 
 
When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine to help an injured war veteran reenter society, everyone assumes she's being the kind do-gooder she's always been. But Olivia has a secret: this isn't about charity - it's about penance. Only, Olivia's client isn't the grateful elderly man she's expecting... 
 
Paul Langdon will do anything to stay in self-imposed exile. But Paul doesn't count on his newest caretaker to be the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. 
 
Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken? 
 
A coming-of-age novel, perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover &amp; Monica Murphy.

Broken: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

PART THREE of a serialised novel - a charming and romantic story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
Emma Nightingale finds she’s accidentally becoming something of a local celebrity in the small town of Crickleford, and it seems that everyone wants her to look after their pets. 
 
While looking after a hamster, she accidentally uncovers a mystery that threatens to draw even more attention to her. With nowhere to turn, soon Emma will have to make a decision that could cost her everything… 
 
Note: this is part three of a four-part serialised novel.

The Pets at Primrose Cottage: Part Three Trust Your Heart

PART FOUR of a serialised novel - a charming and romantic story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
With Emma’s past threatening to ruin her life in quiet Crickleford, she’s running out of options. If people – especially Matt, her reporter friend – find out her secret, it might force her to leave the place she’s come to think of as home. 
 
When flooding strikes the town while Emma is looking after an elderly couple’s dog, she has to take her biggest risk yet – but could this be the one that blows her cover for good? And if it does, can Crickleford – and Matt – ever accept Emma for who she truly is? 
 
Note: this is part four of a four-part serialised novel.

The Pets at Primrose Cottage: Part Four No Place Like Home

PART ONE of a serialised novel - a charming and romantic story about living the simple life and the joy of animals. 
 
Emma Nightingale needs a place to hide away. Pursued by the demons left by her ex-boyfriend, she takes refuge in quiet Crickleford, a sleepy town in Dartmoor, where she can lay low. 
 
Life in Crickleford is quiet and peaceful, but it won’t be for long if people discover the truth about Emma’s past. Not wanting to make too much of a fuss, she ends up lying about why she's there - she's looking after some cats, she says - then suddenly the town’s new ‘pet-sitter’ is in high demand! 
 
While looking after an Alsatian, Emma finds all attention is on her, and the handsome young reporter from the local paper takes an interest in her story... 
 
Note: this is part one of a four-part serialised novel.

The Pets at Primrose Cottage: Part One A Place to Hide

A sexy stranger. A night of passion. 
 
There’s a part of Amber Mazzara that wants those things, but with a complicated tangle of house, husband, kids and careers, that won’t be happening anytime soon. 
 
Then chance throws her a card, and a surprise – solo – vacation to the beach. But her dreams of peaceful relaxation are scuppered when she meets a handsome stranger...

Making It Last: A Rouge Contemporary Romance

What happens after the happy ending? 
 
Garrick is over the moon that his girlfriend, Bliss, said yes. He's finally found the love of his life. That means his worries are over, right? 
 
But when he invites her to visit London and meet his family, he is presented with a whole new set of problems. How will his privileged and wealthy family react to Bliss's unique brand of awkwardness?

Showing results for: ‘Michael Symmons Roberts’

Filters

Category

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter