Showing results by narrator "Melody Grove" in All Categories

As a teenager, Rachel lived through the death of a friend and discovered that even the most enchanted of lives can be shattered. When faced with tragedy in her adult life, Rachel ought to turn to her husband for support; but instead they end up further apart than ever. Lonely and resentful, Rachel is drawn into a destructive affair. But betrayal comes at a high price....

Who can you turn to if not the police? Essex, Christmas Day. As the residents of a small town enjoy their mince pies, shots ring out in the street. Five people are gunned down before the lone shooter turns his weapon on himself. Grace Fisher, now Detective Inspector, is tasked with making some sense of this atrocity - all the more sensitive because the first of the victims was one of their own: a police officer.

Anna and Holly have spotted an advert in the paper for a Holy Moly Holiday. They simply can't not go. But how will they get enough money? Simple: they'll become royal babysitters. Unfortunately, the girls are in for a shock. They discover there isn't just one prince but six! And worse, the country's archenemy, King Alaspooryorick, has decided to invade. Will the girls be able to keep their royal charges safe and still go on their dream holiday?

Venice, 1468. Sosia Simeon is a lover of many men in the fabled city, though married to one she despises. On the edge of the Grand Canal, Wendelin von Speyer sets up the first printing press in Venice and looks for the book that will make his fortune. When he publishes Catullus, the poet whose unrequited love inspired the most tender and erotic poems of antiquity, a scandal is set in motion that will change all their lives forever.

Sun, sea and secrets... A week on the sunny Greek island of Kethos is just what Alice Archer needs, even if she has to put up with her difficult sister. Stella's tantrums and divalike demands are a fair price to pay for crystal-clear waters, blue skies and white clifftop villas. When Alice meets Milo, a handsome gardener at the Villa Argenti, for the first time she suddenly feels beautiful, alluring and confident. But is it just holiday magic, or will the irresistible pull between Alice and Milo survive against all odds?

When 16-year-old K narrowly survives a bomb attack, she agrees to cross the line: to go under cover, befriending the radical young group held responsible. But it's hard making friends when you're lying. And what K discovers is far from black and white. Even enemies become real people - and one boy is special. Can she ever tell him who she really is? Can love unite them all?

With her Beach Café closed for the winter, Evie should be looking forward to lazy days and a happy Christmas… But her sister Ruth is coming to stay, following her marriage breakdown and her boyfriend Ed breaks the news that he's going to spend Christmas in London, for family reasons. There are still a few surprises in store for Evie though, that look set to make this Beach Café Christmas the most memorable one yet....

A collection of three stories to mark the Leap Year by Laura Marney, Ruth Thomas and Alan Spence. The Leap Year Tales are: 'Aw Wrong' by Laura Marney: Facing the imminent birth of their first child, a couple take steps to try to influence the course of nature. Read by Gabriel Quigley. 'February Alone' by Ruth Thomas: An intended romantic lunch goes strangely awry. Will a gift of lingerie help save the hour?

Anna and Holly Burnbright, together with their friend Prince Pepino, are trying to earn enough money to go on the intergalactic holiday of a lifetime. What they need is a holiday job. So when Mademoiselle Malypense tells them she needs help to organise the Francian Royal Wedding, they jump at the chance. But it's not long before Holly smells a rat. Isn't there something odd about a garlic-flavoured wedding cake? Could there be more to this royal couple's wedding day than meets the eye?

It's the summer term at Aurora House, the school where dancing dreams come true. Tash is hugely excited about the end of year performance - she can't wait to dance on a real stage for the first time, and she's desperate to win the solo role of her dreams. But her friend Dani is struggling with stage fright. Can Tash help her to shine onstage?

Rosie the Not-so-Little Princess has always loved Gilbert, her royal teddy bear. But she feels she's a bit too old for him now and decides to stop playing with him. But then Gilbert goes missing and has a very strange adventure indeed. Will Rosie ever get her teddy back?

Cassidy can't wait to enrol at Dance and Drama Academy summer school! She's always dreamed of discovering her hidden talent - could she be a star in the making? But with auditions looming, Cassidy is gripped by stage fright. As big brother Liam keeps reminding her, she does have a knack for embarrassing herself. What if Cassidy's stage debut turns out to be an all-singing, all-dancing disaster?

Nostalgex: a drug that stimulates memory. In small doses, a person can remember the order of a deck of cards. In larger doses it allows the user detailed access to their past, to focus on previously unnoticed details. On New Year's Day, Jess' and Cooper's worlds collide. They must work together to look into their pasts to uncover what really happened on that fateful New Year's Eve. But what they find is that everything is a lie....

Holly, Anna and Pepino are delighted when King Steve invites them to be his kitchen assistants in an international Royal Bake Off organised by his older brother, King Sam of Americanada. The prize money could finally make their dream come true: the intergalactic holiday of a lifetime. With one of the contestants also plotting to take over Americanada, can Anna, Holly and Pepino stay out of danger and win the competition?

The not so little Princess, Rosie, is growing up! Being a princess, she always has to entertain new friends, and she never likes them. But when Ollie, with his strange old-fashioned way of speaking, turns up at the palace one day, Rosie realises she's never met anyone quite like him before. What adventures will the two get up to?

The King and Queen realise they need to call the Little Princess by her real name now that she's actually not so little any more. But there's trouble...the Princess' real name is so awful that nobody can pluck up the courage to tell her what it is! The Princess is determined to find out her true name. But what will happen when she does?

My name is Hanna. I am 15. I am Latvian. I live with my mother and grandmother. My father is missing, taken by the Russians. I have a boyfriend, and I'm training to be a dancer. But none of that is important any more. Because the Nazis have arrived, and I am a Jew. And as far as they are concerned, that is all that matters. This is my story.

Oxford, 1862: As Mary Prickett takes up her post as governess to the daughters of the dean of Christ Church, she is thrust into a strange new world. Mary is desperate for change, but there is a problem: Mary does not like children, especially the precocious Alice Liddell. When Mary meets Charles Dodgson, the Christ Church mathematics tutor she is flattered by his attentions, and Mary begins to believe that she could be more than just a dowdy governess.

Peta Jones is an ordinary girl struggling with the loss of her father, an ex-army hero who died in mysterious circumstances. When she receives clues that he may still be alive, she embarks on a dangerous rescue across the Mediterranean to a clifftop castle, home to an exiled billionaire. Soon she discovers that what some people will do for money, Peta will do for love.

Louise Fenton flies to a devastated Thailand to search for her mother, missing following the Boxing Day tsunami. The only trace she can find is her mother's distinctive bag. Inside it is a beautifully crafted atlas belonging to a writer named Claire Shreve. But what is the connection between Claire and Louise's missing mum, and can the atlas help Louise find her?