Rebecca Stevenson

Mirthwood Cottage

Escaping a broken engagement and a life that never felt like her own, English teacher Tori Lane arrives in Porter Falls, New Hampshire, searching for a fresh start. What she finds is Mirthwood Cottage on the edge of Clearwater Lake, a teaching position at the prestigious Brindleton Academy, and complications she never anticipated.

When fifteen-year-old Noah shows up to class with a forged excuse note, Tori recognizes the signs of a kid trying to hold his world together alone—because she's been that kid. Against school policy and her colleague Elliot Carmichael's warnings, she decides to help Noah navigate his crisis rather than report him to the authorities. It's a choice that could cost her everything.

Elliot comes from a world of privilege and expectations where playing by the rules has always been the safe choice. But as he and Tori grow closer, he begins to understand that sometimes the right thing and the safe thing aren't the same. When his research into his family's history uncovers a truth that could destroy someone Tori has come to care about, Elliot faces an impossible choice: loyalty to his family legacy or protecting the people who matter most.

Set against the backdrop of a small New England town with secrets buried as deep as its history, Mirthwood Cottage is a story about second chances, found family, and the courage it takes to fight for what's right—even when the cost is steep.