Showing results by narrator "Katy Sobey" in All Categories

Gerry was only a young girl when she was first abused by her father. His evil acts were followed by abuse from her local priest, arranged by her father. After her mother found out about the abuse, and believing there was nothing she could do to help her child, she committed suicide. After finally meeting her kind and caring husband a few years ago, and after celebrating her 60th birthday, Gerry decided it was time for her story to be told. This is her true story of survival.

Ireland, 1948. The potato famine has left the Cavanagh family destitute. Kitty and Peter manage to secure tickets for America - seeking hope in an unknown land. But still fortune will not favour them. On a terrifying crossing of the Irish Sea, Peter vanishes, and with him their tickets. Now, Kitty and her young family are stranded in Liverpool - with not a penny to their name. Facing prejudice and distrust, they move to Blackburn, where the welcome is no warmer, but Kitty at least can gather rags and scraps to exchange for a coin or two.

A long time ago, Emmie Blue released a red balloon with a secret message hidden inside - and against all odds, across hundreds of miles of ocean, it was found on a beach in France by a boy called Lucas. Fourteen years later, on the eve of her 30th birthday, Emmie hopes that Lucas is finally about to kiss her. She never expected him to announce that he was marrying someone else! Suddenly Emmie's dreams are shattered and the one person in her life she can rely on is slipping through her fingers. But what if Lucas isn't her forever? What if her love story is only just beginning.

Gayle is a teacher and each year she brings her class to the island to see the local flora and fauna, from sea birds to playful seals. Martin, the island's caretaker and only human resident, lives in and maintains the lighthouse, which opens to the public for just this one day a year. Gayle is effervescent but feels trapped, while Martin is lonely and isolated. As their love slowly builds over time, they both yearn for the annual field trip where they can finally see each other. Until one year Gayle doesn't come back, and Martin has to leave his island hideaway to find her.

If Melody hadn't run out of deicer that day, she would never have slipped and banged her head. She wouldn't be left with a condition that makes her sing when she's nervous. And she definitely wouldn't have belted out the Arctic Monkeys' 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' in assembly at her son's school. If Dev hadn't taken the kids to the zoo that day, then the accident wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have left Flynn and Rose without a dad. Or shattered the love of his life's heart.

The eldest of three children, Kate helps her mother run the Devlin plait-school. They supply the material for the famous Luton Straw Boater. Kate longs to leave this life behind and become a hat-maker. Then a family tragedy changes everything. And Joseph Devlin, Kate's estranged uncle, turns up on their doorstep. He warns Kate that the worst is yet to come. Kate loses her home and her work. Things are looking very bleak, until Daniel Groves, the new owner of Heaven Scent lavender farm takes a liking to Kate.

Everything Vega Jane has ever known is a lie. But if she and her best friend Delph are to find the truth about who they are and where they came from, they must first survive the Quag, a wild, enchanted place filled with monsters and dark sorcery. It will stretch their courage to the limit. The Quag will throw everything at Vega. It will try to break her. It will try to kill her. And survival might come at a price not even Vega is willing to pay.

Freya has a new virtual assistant. It knows what she likes, knows what she wants and knows whose voice she most needs to hear: her missing sister's. It adopts her sister's personality, re-creating her through a life lived online. This data ghost knows everything about Freya's sister: every date she ever went on, every photo she took, every secret she ever shared. In fact it knows things it shouldn't be possible to know. It's almost as if her sister is still out there somewhere, feeding fresh updates into the cloud.

With simple breathing exercises, meditation tips and relaxation techniques, Practical Mindfulness will improve your concentration and help you achieve success. Questionnaires tailor advice to you by enabling you to identify negative patterns of thinking and challenge them using well-respected exercises. Learn how to meditate with step-by-step instructions and gain clarity with expert advice on stress management.

After her husband Jack is transported to Australia as a convict, Hannah and her children are sent to the workhouse. Hearing nothing from Jack and believing he's dead, Hannah reluctantly agrees to marry widower Ellis Duxbury. But her children must remain in the workhouse, and when they are sent away as apprentices, it's up to Hannah to track them down. On Christmas Eve, Hannah is blessed with a miracle when Jack returns to the village. Yet more trouble lies ahead as Hannah is arrested, accused of bigamy and threatened with deportation herself.

Lancashire, 1832. Maids Hannah and Mary find themselves with no jobs and no home when their employer, Henry Sudell, loses all his money and disappears in the middle of the night. They have no choice but to return to Blackburn where Hannah is lucky to be taken in by her sister, Jennet, and brother-in-law, Titus, but Mary must seek lodgings in the infamous Star beer house.

When Cassie Jensen arrives on the intensive care ward in St Catherine's hospital, Alice Marlowe, the chief nurse, is fascinated by this young, beautiful woman who strikes her as familiar and yet she doesn't know why. But then Alice is astonished to discover something about Cassie that she has been keeping secret from everyone, including her devoted husband and family - a secret that changes everything.

Sixteen-year-old Bessie works long hours as a weaver in Blackburn, helping to support her family. Meanwhile, her older sister, Peggy, works as an apprentice at the Girls' School, hoping for a more prosperous future as a schoolteacher. Jennet and Titus Eastwood have always made decisions for their daughters' futures. But as the sisters near adulthood, they are determined to make their own choices. And with temptation in the way, will the girls find love - or infatuation - leads them astray?

When Jennet and Titus Eastwood are forced to move from their idyllic cottage into the centre of Blackburn to find work in the cotton mills, their lives are changed in ways they could never have imagined, and their new home on Paradise Lane is anything but. Then Titus is arrested and sent to prison for attending a Reform meeting. Jennet is left to fend for herself, and things go from bad to worse as she finds herself pregnant and alone - with another man's child.

When Grace Carter's boys are arrested for murder, she's forced to call on her most trusted and loyal connections to keep the boys out of prison. She'll even ask for help from those she would usually avoid like the plague. DI Leigh Moss has the power to save Grace's boys, but she's determined to bring Grace and the Carter clan down once and for all. Leigh might owe Grace her life, but her loyalty now lies with her job and protecting the streets of Liverpool. Until Leigh needs Grace's help, too.

Thera Emily Kathryn Wilde is 11 years, 3 months, 5 days, 17 hours, and 32 minutes old when she's asked by a policewoman if she knows Billie Brooke. She's always had what might politely be called a mind of her own, and she's a firm believer in the adage that if you want something doing, then you should do it yourself. So, when it subsequently turns out that Billie has been murdered, it's no surprise that Thera decides it's her duty - as Billie's official best friend and the last-person-but-one to see her alive - to find the killer and avenge her death.

Magical machines, wizards, witches, mysterious underworlds, a race against time - and two most magical girls. Annabel Grey has been brought up to be a very proper Victorian young lady. But being 'proper' isn't always easy - especially when you can sometimes see marvellous (as well as terrifying) things in puddles. But parlour tricks such as these are nothing compared to the world that Annabel is about to enter....

When several young prostitutes are found murdered in Liverpool, DI Leigh Moss knows there is only one person she can turn to for help with the case. Gangland queen Grace Carter knows the streets of Liverpool better than anyone and can ask questions Leigh can’t...but will Grace help? Grace doesn’t trust easily, but when she discovers that her family might be linked with the gruesome murders, she decides to give Leigh a chance. But helping Leigh is risky, and as Grace is dragged deeper into the murky world of vice, her own life is put in danger.

The scent of freshly baked biscuits, lemon and aniseed reminds Elettra of her mother's kitchen. But her mother, Edda, is in a coma and the family bakery is failing. Elettra has many unanswered questions about Edda's childhood - the only clue is a family heirloom: a necklace inscribed with the name of an island. Elettra buys a one-way ticket to that island, just off the coast of Sardinia. Once there, she discovers a community of women, each lost in their own way, and eventually finds a way back to the past and herself. She also falls in love again: with friendship, baking and adventure.

The Fair Fight is a pulsating historical novel set within the world of female pugilists and their patrons in late 18th-century Bristol. It's an un-pauseable story which takes you from a filthy brothel to the finest houses in the town, from the world of street fighters to another of champions. It is about fighting your way to the top - and not only with your fists. Alive with the smells and sounds of the street, The Fair Fight is a major debut with incredibly wide appeal.