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Cressida McLaughlin

Cressy was born in South East London surrounded by books and with a cat named after Lawrence of Arabia. She studied English at the University of East Anglia and now lives in Norwich with her husband David.

Cressy's favourite things - other than writing - include terrifying ghost stories, lava lamps, romantic heroes and good coffee.

When she isn't writing, Cressy spends her spare time reading, returning to London or exploring the beautiful Norfolk coastline.

Genres: Romance, General Fiction

New and upcoming books

October 2026

The Secret Holiday Kiss
(Secret Bookshop, book 3)

Series

Primrose Terrace
   Primrose Terrace (2015)
   1. Wellies and Westies (2015)
   2. Sunshine and Spaniels (2015)
   3. Raincoats and Retrievers (2015)
   A Christmas Tail (2015)
   4. Tinsel and Terriers (2015)

Canal Boat Cafe
   1. All Aboard (2016)
   2. Casting Off (2016)
   3. Cabin Fever (2016)
   4. Land Ahoy! (2016)
   5. Port Out (2017)
   6. Starboard Home (2017)
   7. The Canal Boat Cafe Christmas (2020)

Once in a Blue Moon Guesthouse
   1. Opening Soon (2016)
   2. Fully Booked (2017)
   3. Do Not Disturb (2017)
   4. Wish You Were Here (2017)

House of Birds and Butterflies
   1. The Dawn Chorus (2018)
   2. The Lovebirds (2018)
   3. Twilight Song (2018)
   4. Birds of a Feather (2018)

Cornish Cream Tea Bus
   1. Don't Go Baking My Heart (2019)
   2. The Eclair Affair (2019)
   3. Scones Away! (2019)
   4. The Icing on the Cake (2019)

Cornish Cream Tea
   1. The Cornish Cream Tea Bus (2019)
   2. The Cornish Cream Tea Summer (2020)
   3. The Cornish Cream Tea Christmas (2020)
   4. The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding (2021)
   5. Christmas Carols and a Cornish Cream Tea (2021)
   6. The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday (2022)
   7. The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop (2022)
   8. From Cornwall with Love (2023)

Cornish Cream Tea Summer
   1. All You Knead is Love (2020)
   2. Beauty and the Yeast (2020)
   3. My Tart Will Go On! (2020)
   4. Muffin Compares to You (2020)

Cornish Cream Tea Christmas
   1. Rudolph the Red Velvet Cupcake (2020)
   2. Let Jingle Buns Ring! (2020)
   3. I'm Dreaming of a Hot Chocolate (2020)
   4. All I Want for Christmas is Cake! (2020)

Cornish Cream Tea Wedding
   1. Down on One Knead (2021)
   2. Two Tarts Beat as One (2021)
   3. You May Now Eat The Cake (2021)
   4. Breaded Bliss (2021)

Secret Bookshop
   1. The Secret Christmas Bookshop (2024)
   2. The Secret Mistletoe Promise (2025)
   3. The Secret Holiday Kiss (2026)

Novels

   The Staycation (2022)
   The Happy Hour (2024)
   A Cornish Love Story (2025)

Cressida McLaughlin recommends

The Party in the Woods (2026)
Fiona McPhillips
"This book is SO good and gripping and clever and fully stressful in places. It's incredibly atmospheric too - a great thriller! And what a cover! I loved Fiona's first book and I might love this one even more."

The Sugar and Spice Bookshop Bakery (2026)
(Bookshop Bakery, book 1)
Jennifer Page
"Charming and moreish, with delightful characters, a gorgeous setting, and a sparkling love story... an uplifting, delicious treat of a book."

The Little Shop of Merry and Bright (2026)
Jenny Bayliss
"The Little Shop of Merry and Bright by Jenny Bayliss has to be one of my favourite Christmas reads ever. It's so festive and a little bit magical, with a plot that hooked me in, a whole lot of emotion and a gorgeous love story. I read it and felt so uplifted and refreshed and ready for Christmas. The wonderful heroine, Casey, has such a brilliant arc, and it has a cast of characters I wished were my friends. It's a perfect Christmas book. Honestly."

Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse (2026)
(Italian Legacy, book 1)
Sue Moorcroft
"The perfect escapist read. I defy you to read this and not immediately book a holiday to Lake Como. I loved it!"

The Love Library (2026)
Sarra Manning
"Sexy, sizzling hot perfection."

Let's Make a Scene (2025)
Laura Wood
"The most delicious, indulgent, funny, and emotionally charged romcom I have read in a long time - it ranks up there with my favorite ever romances."

The Countdown Killer (2025)
(Major Crimes, book 4)
Sam Holland
"A seriously dark, twisted, nail-bitingly tense thrill ride of a book."

Bad Blood (2025)
Sarah Hornsley
"BAD BLOOD is atangled, twisty, thrill-ride of a bookwith a protagonist you won't forget and layers upon layers of secrets and lies. A super-dark thriller that keeps you guessing and gasping until the very last page."

The Launch Date (2025)
Annabelle Slator
"A gorgeous, rivals to lovers workplace romcom...the perfect blend of sweet and sexy."

The Book Swap (2024)
Tessa Bickers
"It's a love story and a love letter to reading, and it shows you just how powerful books are . . . What a gorgeous, life-affirming, bookishly beautiful novel this is!"

Gallows Wood (2024)
(PC Lucy Halliday, book 1)
Louisa Scarr
"I adored this pacy, twisty, shocking thriller with absolutely first-class characters."

One Perfect Couple (2024)
Ruth Ware
"A sun-soaked, deeply sinister and unputdownable read."

The Wake-Up Call (2023)
Beth O'Leary
"The Wake-up Call is utter perfection: it's everything I love about romance books in a seductive, funny, big-hearted and masterfully told story."

Beach Rivals (2023)
Georgie Tilney
"Complete sunshine in book form... Fun and swoonworthy, a delicious slow burn love story as well as a love letter to books, Beach Rivals is as bright and engaging as its glorious cover."

Speak of the Devil (2023)
Rose Wilding
"Absolutely, barnstormingly brilliant. Beyond gripping, with wonderful characters you know and care about, feel rage for and with. Perfectly paced and plotted, I loved every dark, clever, powerful page."

One Moment (2023)
Becky Hunter
"Beautiful, hopeful, deeply emotional, incredibly wise and wonderfully romantic. One of those books I feel stronger for reading."

Lady MacBethad (2023)
Isabelle Schuler
"I loved this fierce and beautifully written book about power, love and destiny. Gruoch is an unforgettable heroine, her determination shines through the pages, and I struggled to put it down.Lady MacBethad is an inspiring, captivating, triumph of a book."

The Close (2023)
(Maeve Kerrigan, book 10)
Jane Casey
"This. Book. Is. EVERYTHING! - The most sinister and seductive of thrillers."

One Night in Hartswood (2023)
(Barden, book 1)
Emma Denny
"A heart-wrenching, spellbinding love story, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out if Raff and Penn would get their happy ever after."

Tell Me Everything (2022)
Laura Kay
"Tell Me Everything is a hilarious, tender and romantic hug of a book, with characters you'll wish were real and an ending that will leave you fully uplifted."

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting (2022)
Sophie Irwin
"A huge, warm treat of a book. Refreshing, funny and sparklingly smart - The debut of the season."

Idol (2022)
Louise O'Neill
"Idol is sharp, unflinching and timely, and made me question what's real in a world where likes and clicks matter more than ever. It's a book that dazzles and mesmerises, and will linger in your thoughts long after you finish reading."

Welcome to Your Life (2022)
Bethany Rutter
"Welcome To Your Life is a wonderfully fresh, funny and inspiring romcom about being bold and not compromising on the life you really want."

Under a Greek Moon (2021)
Carol Kirkwood
"Sun-soaked, glamorous escapism."

The Summer Seekers (2021)
Sarah Morgan
"A complete joy. It’s a glorious, summery read full of warmth, humour and poignancy, against the perfect romantic backdrop."

The Pact (2021)
Sharon Bolton
"I loved this creepy, twisty, compelling read. Sharon Bolton is the queen of ultra-tense, claustrophobic stories and characters you care about even though they are far from snow white. Needless to say I did not see the ending coming."

The Lock In (2021)
Phoebe Luckhurst
"A funny, joyful hug of a book! A nostalgic, pitch perfect ode to the awkwardness and hilarity of yearning teenage years and house sharing in your twenties."

Tall Bones (2021)
Anna Bailey
"Gripping and so beautifully written Tall Bones is spellbinding; dark and menacing, but also so full of love and hope. I loved it. I cried."

The Girls Are All So Nice Here (2021)
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
"OMG this book! Vivid and darkly compelling."

The Best is Yet to Come (2021)
Katy Colins
"Warm, wonderful and life-affirming."

The Favour (2021)
Laura Vaughan
"Glamour and art with a very dark underbelly of deceit and jealousy, that kept me guessing (and gasping) to the very end."

The Other Girl (2020)
C D Major
"Hugely atmospheric, incredibly creepy, and emotional. A clever and sinister page turner set in a New Zealand asylum, exploring the idea of past lives. I can’t recommend this book enough."

Miracle on Christmas Street (2020)
Annie O'Neil
"Warm, wonderfully wise and absolutely brimming with Christmas magic."

This Time Next Year (2020)
Sophie Cousens
"Every page of this book is perfect."

All About Us (2020)
Tom Ellen
"A warm, cosy delight. It’s SO honest, funny and sad about relationships and love, plans and dreams and living up to your own expectations. Most of all it is full of hope. It tugged at ALL of my heartstrings, and I loved it to bits."

Saving Missy (2020)
Beth Morrey
"A joyful, tender, life affirming STUNNER of a book that has made me want to make the most of everything, grab hold of people and all the good moments."

If I Never Met You (2019)
Mhairi McFarlane
"Sharply relevant, super funny, packs an emotional punch and deeply, deliciously romantic – perfect on every level."

The Widow of Pale Harbor (2019)
Hester Fox
"A perfect blend of gothic mystery, drama and romance."

The Day We Meet Again (2019)
Miranda Dickinson
"Romantic, heartbreaking and emotional, The Day We Meet Again squeezed my heart. It is a magical story about love, hope and forgiveness, and I am envious of anyone who has yet to read it."

Star-Crossed (2019)
Minnie Darke
"A beautiful, uplifting book full of humour and humanity, and sprinkled with enough magic that I finished it hoping that we are all, even if only a little bit, at the mercy of the stars."

The Flower Girls (2019)
Alice Clark-Platts
"Every bit as brilliant as I thought it would be. Twisty, sinister and heartbreaking. Such beautiful writing; so, so dark. Prepare to be fully disturbed."

Summer at the Kindness Cafe (2018)
Victoria Walters
"Such an uplifting, warm story, with characters I already feel like I know. I loved every minute of it!"

It Started with a Tweet (2017)
Anna Bell
"Funny, romantic and uplifting."

The Many Colours of Us (2017)
Rachel Burton
"Gorgeous, touching and wonderful."

Everything But the Truth (2017)
Gillian McAllister
"Gillian's writing is beautiful. She weaves so much into every paragraph, revealing things slowly, as if pulling back a heavy curtain."

The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts (2016)
(Lonely Hearts Bookshop, book 1)
Annie Darling
"Completely hilarious and breathtakingly romantic."

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