Raise a glass to celebrate love, community and Christmas spirit with four festive rural stories from favourite authors, all featuring the iconic setting of Australian small-town pubs.

A Gingerbread Christmas by Alissa Callen

Tory Halifax is on a mission to outrun her grief by baking gingerbread for her new small-town home of Windamere. Christmas grinch Blake Randall is hibernating with his kelpie until the festive madness ends. But when his adorable twin nieces gatecrash his farm, trapping him in a tinsel nightmare, there's only one person he can turn to. Can Tory help Blake create new holiday memories to ensure that he'll never spend Christmas alone in the local pub again?

A Jillaroo Until Christmas by Stella Quinn

Reluctant backpacker Micky Harding needs to get out of her comfort zone to save her coding career. How hard can it be to jillaroo for one summer? Gulf Country grazier Steve Bruce is trying to save the family cattle station, so a useless station hand who's too sweet to sack is just one more problem to add to his list. Add a very pregnant cow, an abandoned goldrush pub, and a fall-in-love situationship between two people who are adamant their stars do not align, and you've got yourself a cracker of a country Christmas.

Love on the Menu by Pamela Cook

After inheriting a country pub, chef-influencer Cassidy Butler is opening her dream restaurant. But she has competition - Nate Willis, the boy who broke her teenage heart, now proprietor of The Commercial Hotel across the road. Continuing her grandfather's grievances, Cassidy vows to take Nate's customers, starting with Warrinbah's beloved Christmas Long Table Lunch. But with bad reviews, boycotts, an unreliable chef and other disasters looming, Cassidy realises her dream will implode if she doesn't ask her enemy for help - and acknowledge that there's still a spark between them.

The Kiss Before Christmas by Penelope Janu

Lily Campbell might have a ballerina's build, but she's run her own fencing business for years, and she doesn't need anybody's help. So when a handsome city lawyer in a fancy car turns up and retrieves her runaway wheel, she surprises herself by offering a kiss to thank him. After all, she'll never see him again. But Xavier Lucas, unexpectedly down to earth and the only person qualified to save Ballimore's pub, keeps turning up. Lily knows it's a bad idea to date someone from such a different world, but after that kiss, what if she wants more?

A Country Pub Christmas

A Country Pub Christmas