Showing results by narrator "Laura Kirman" in All Categories

'I was a penniless, landless petitioner, my Neville blood a curse, my future dependent on the charity of those who despised me....' Anne Neville is the heiress and daughter of the greatest powerbroker in the land, Warwick the Kingmaker. Trapped in a deadly tangle of political intrigue, she is a pawn in an uncertain game, used by the houses of Neville, York and Lancaster alike. In England's glittering, treacherous court, not all wish to see the Nevilles raised high.

How far would you go to save the ones you love? The first book in a stunning new crime series featuring DCI Anna Tate. When nine children are snatched from a nursery school in South London, their distressed parents have no idea if they will ever see them again. The community in the surrounding area is in shock. How could this happen right under their noses? No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything - or at least that's what they're saying. But DCI Anna Tate knows that nothing is impossible, and she also knows that time is quickly running out.

Star baker Mattie has hated Christmas ever since she had her heart broken on Christmas Eve. The only thing she hates more is the insufferable Tom, who has rubbed her up the wrong way since she started running the tearoom next door to his bookshop. So when Mattie and Tom are left in charge in the frantic festive days before Christmas, it might be cold outside, but things are sure to heat up. Can a bookshop full of romantic novels, a life-size reindeer and a mistletoe kissing booth persuade two scrooges to fall in love with Christmas...and each other?

December 1944, and the residents of Beckindale can't believe they're going through another wartime Christmas - though the success of the D-Day landings earlier in the year has brought some hope to the village. The women of Emmerdale are navigating their own lives, loves and dreams - and as the war draws to a close, they realise things will never be the same again. The Emmerdale girls are going to learn things are never dull where love is involved.

For too long, Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service of the royalty of the Jewel. But now, the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return - not only to save her sister Hazel, who has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake, but the future of the Lone City....

Violet, Ash and Raven have escaped the palace, but Regimentals are hunting for them across the city. If they can reach the safety of the White Rose then Violet may be able to help Lucien in his plan to rescue more surrogates. For one surrogate, however, it is already too late. Violet's best friend, Raven, is pregnant. And in the Jewel, surrogates cannot survive giving birth.

Violet Lasting is no longer a human being. Tomorrow she becomes Lot 197, auctioned to the highest royal bidder in the jewel of the Lone City. Tomorrow she becomes the surrogate of the House of the Lake, her sole purpose to produce a healthy heir for the duchess, imprisoned in the opulent cage of the palace, where the royal women compete to secure their bloodline and the surrogates are treated as disposable commodities…

In a sweeping narrative encompassing political intrigue, illicit love affairs and even a murder mystery, Nancy Goldstone tells the riveting story of a queen who lost her throne, and of her four defiant daughters. Elizabeth Stuart's (1596-1662) marriage to a German count far below her rank was arranged with the understanding that her father, James I of England, would help his new son-in-law achieve the crown of Bohemia. The terrible betrayal of this promise would ruin 'the Winter Queen', as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved and launch a war that would last thirty years.

Verity Love - Jane Austen fangirl and an introvert in a world of extroverts - is perfectly happy on her own (thank you very much), and her fictional boyfriend, Peter, is very useful for getting her out of unwanted social events. But when a case of mistaken identity forces her to introduce a perfect stranger as her boyfriend, Verity's life suddenly becomes much more complicated.

World War II wages on. Rationing, blackouts, evacuees and military training camps have become the norm in the village of Beckindale, but happiness has been found during these hard times. Lily Dingle is getting married, Annie Pearson has returned after volunteering with the Wrens and there are new neighbours to get to know...including a female vet, of all things.

Berlin, September 1944. Ulrich von Hassell, former ambassador to Italy and a key member of the German Resistance, is executed for his part in an assassination plot against Hitler. In response to the attack, Himmler, leader of the SS, orders the arrest of all the families of the plotters. In a remote castle in Italy, von Hassell's beloved daughter, Fey, is discovered just when she thought she had escaped the Nazi net. She is arrested, and her two sons, ages three and two, are seized by the SS.

Where happy ever after is only a page away…A delightful new series set in a quaint old bookshop, for fans of Lucy Diamond and Jenny Colgan. Once upon a time in a crumbling London bookshop, Posy Morland spent her life lost in the pages of her favourite romantic novels. So when Bookend's eccentric owner, Lavinia, dies and leaves the shop to Posy, she must put down her books and join the real world. Because Posy hasn't just inherited an ailing business, but also the unwelcome attentions of Lavinia's grandson.

An archly funny, classic mystery adventure with a magic twist! Lucy Goodly is the new boot girl at Grave Hall, working for the cold, aloof Lord Grave. The other staff - Vonk the Butler, Mrs Crawley the cook and Violet the scullery maid - all seem friendly, but Lucy soon notices that strange things are afoot in her new home - and not just Mrs Crawley's experimental anchovy omelettes. There are moving statues and magical books, and Lord Grave has a secret. Meanwhile, all over the country, children are vanishing.

Nothing has felt right since Elle rented out her house.... There's a new coldness. A shift in the atmosphere. The prickling feeling that someone is watching her every move from the shadows. Maybe it's all in Elle's mind? She's a writer – her imagination, after all, is her strength. And yet every threat seems personal. As if someone has discovered the secrets that keep her awake at night. As fear and paranoia close in, Elle's own home becomes a prison. Someone is unlocking her past – and she’s given them the key....

Archie Colbrook spends his time writing letters. Letters to the stranger to who he committed terrible harm. Archie knows he doesn’t deserve forgiveness. Yes, he didn’t mean to hurt anyone. But does that matter? He still did it. Claudia Winters hopes to feel safe for the first time in years, it’s her chance for a new beginning. But Claudia knows that the past won’t stay hidden for long - and she can’t help but feel that it’s all about to catch up with her.

When Ava’s partner Will is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, the doctors give Will one chance to survive - an operation which means he will lose his recent memory. Ava begs him to take the chance, sure that she can cope with Will forgetting her. After all, they have something very special to live for. But they are also keeping a heart-breaking secret, and if Will loses his memory, Ava will have to carry that secret alone. Can they rebuild their love from scratch, or will their secrets and past come between them?

In prison, Archie Colbrook spends his time writing letters. Letters addressed to a person against whom he committed terrible, nameless harm. Archie knows he doesn’t deserve forgiveness. Yes, he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, and sure, he was only following orders. But does that matter? He still did it. In a small coastal town of Northern England, Claudia Winters hopes to feel safe for the first time in years after fleeing from her abusive husband with her mother and daughter.

When a landslide on the Jurassic Coast reveals a rare ‘dragon’ dinosaur, best friends Kat Wolfe and Harper Lamb are thrilled, especially when stars and scientists come flocking to sleepy Bluebell Bay. But after they begin investigating a suspicious death, events spiral quickly out of control for detectives Wolfe and Lamb. Worse still, Kat’s wild cat is in trouble. Can they solve the mystery - and save the cat's life - before it’s too late?

There are some things you can never leave behind… Kate Forrest is invisible…her husband doesn’t seem to know she’s alive and her two children have become stroppy adolescents. With her fortieth birthday approaching, Kate walks out of her life, and gets on a plane to Italy. With no responsibilities, she soon finds herself caught up in the arms of a man half her age. But eventually Kate will be forced to choose between her past and the future.

Pip Smith knows she owes it to her family to hold on to the festive traditions that have been a comfort since the year everything changed - but this Christmas she's going to need a miracle to keep everyone in her life happy. After she's dumped by her fiancé, an invitation to visit a friend in Hong Kong in the run-up to the festive season seems to offer Pip the perfect escape. Except her escape ends up becoming far more complex than she intended, when she becomes involved with arrogant American Ryan Hawke and his niece, Shelby - a little girl Christmas wish is for a proper family.