The perfect pick-me-up! Home For Christmas is essential reading for animal lovers and readers who love uplifting, heartwarming and hopeful stories about second chances.

Kathy Brentwood is good at keeping it together - or so it seems to the people around her. But really, struggling with grief after the death of her husband, Kathy's life has become small. Her days are organised, her house is neat, but she's desperately lonely - and with her son starting to build a life of his own, she isn't sure where she fits anymore.

On Christmas Day, a chance encounter with a man called Ben and a rescue dog leads Kathy to the door of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. She meets Milly, the shy greyhound in need of a loving home; Baxter, the friendly Staffie who brings everyone together and Archie the Jack Russell Terrier who is a true original and has a heart of gold.

Through a year of ups and downs, new friends - both two and four-legged - and even the possibility of romance, a new life beckons for Kathy, if only she is brave enough. Because at Battersea Dogs And Cats Home, it is never too late for a second chance - especially at Christmas.