Showing results by narrator "Penelope Rawlin" in All Categories

At 23 Alice Hare leaves England for New York. She becomes fixated on Mizuko Himura, a Japanese writer living in New York, whose life story has strange parallels to her own and whom she believes is her "Internet twin". What seems to Mizuko like a chance encounter with Alice is anything but - after all, in the age of connectivity, nothing is coincidence. Their subsequent relationship is doomed from the outset, exposing a tangle of lies and sexual encounters as three families across the globe collide.

Sophie knows she should count herself lucky when she finds herself catapulted into the A-list after the surprise hit of a budget movie, but she just wishes she could be a proper actress, in proper, serious films. As Sophie’s career begins to decline her fate seems to be entwined with that of her favourite actress, Eve Noel: the epitome of 50s Hollywood glamour…

In this biography, discover the fascinating story of Florence Nightingale, who cared for British soldiers during wartime as the 'Lady of the Lamp'. Florence Nightingale was a pioneer of nursing at a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home, especially in the field of science. She saved many lives both on and off the battlefield through implementing a new standard of medical care and by leading groups of nurses to improve conditions.

Bernadette is expert at hiding the truth. She has built her career as a journalist on her talent for lulling powerful men into a false sense of security, then exposing them in her ruthless profile pieces. But in Radley Blake, she may have met her match. Immune to her charms, he seems to see through every layer of her carefully constructed act, right to the truth of who she is inside. We think we're looking for love - but what if it's ourselves we need to find?

Legendary Hollywood bad boy Mac Brody refuses to be judged by Juno Delamare for declining his brother's wedding invitation - but he can't get feisty Juno out of his head! So he goes to the wedding - to strip away her defences and her sexy bridesmaid dress. When their steamy night hits the headlines, Mac sweeps Juno away for a two-week affair... Soon Juno realises she has more than memories to hold dear!

For the thousands of people who struggle with poor literacy, words can be scary things. Worlds Beyond Words is a selection of inspirational real life stories from people who have improved their lives through better literacy. From successful businessmen and sports stars, redundant factory workers and refugees, their stories offer the key for others to unlock new worlds.

The Navigator Nisha Andrasta has served the XIIth Legion for over a century. She saw the War Hounds reunited with their progenitor, Lord Angron. She witnessed the rebirth of the Legion as the World Eaters. She looked on in confusion and horror as the primarch joined Horus's rebellion, and now she has seen him betrayed by Lorgar Aurelian, becoming the maddened monster he was always destined to be.

Spitalfields, 1840. Catherine lives with her Uncle in a rambling house in London's East End, with little to occupy the days beyond her own colourful imagination. Then news reaches her of a disturbing murderer known as The Man of Crows. Catherine becomes more and more involved as she hungrily devours the news, and is soon snared in a deadly trap, where nothing is as it first appears...

Sophia Beaumont-Brown was an 'it' girl. But now she's in the papers for all the wrong reasons. She's single, sofa surfing and not speaking to her family; only her grandmother has any faith left in her. From her hospital bed, Tilly Beaumont sends Sophia letters about her life: dispatches about wartime England, about family secrets and, finally, about the most beautiful thing she ever owned - a necklace of the most incredible pearls. If Sophia's prepared to listen, she'll unlock the secret story of generations of incredible women.

Kate the Royal Wedding Fairy makes sure that all weddings are happy and magical! But when mean Jack Frost steals the True Love Crown, the Fairyland royal wedding is sure to be a disaster. Can Kirsty and Rachel find the crown so the royal couple will live happily ever after?

Princess Ellie is pony-mad! She’d much rather ride one of her ponies or muck out the stables than entertain dull royal visitors. One day, when Ellie is riding through the woods, her brave Welsh pony suddenly whirls around and refuses to go any further. Has Rainbow seen a ghost? It’s a real puzzle and Princess Ellie is determined to solve it.

Emma did not go to war looking for love, but Adam is unlike any other. Under the secret shadow of trauma, Emma decides to leave Iraq and joins Adam to settle in Colorado. But isolation and fear find her, once again, when Adam is redeployed. Torn between a deep fear for Adam’s safety and a desire to be back there herself, Emma copes by throwing herself into a new role mentoring an Iraqi refugee family. But when Adam comes home, he brings the conflict back with him. Emma had considered the possibility that her husband might not come home from war. She had not considered that he might return a stranger.

Most of us have plans. Somewhere to go if something awful happens. Pilgrim Jones doesn't. She looks up at a departures board and takes the first flight. She alights on the edge of Africa. Over confessions and strong gin, she's lured into a world of mercenaries and philanthropists, delusional heroes and witchdoctors in polyester suits. But what about the beating absence, the thing she's done?

From the moment Alina touches London's hottest fae superstar, breaking one of the laws founded to protect all of her kind, her fate - and the fae - close in. Belowground the fae High Queen plots to claim the city as her own and places her pawns, ready for the battle to come. A battle she cannot lose but for one small problem - Alina. There are four ancient keepers powerful enough to keep the queen in her prison. Three are dead. One remains.... And to fight back, Alina risks sacrificing everything she has come to love.

Harriet Lockwood has never really bonded with her daughter the way she has with her three sons. Then one day, she discovers why. The girl she’s raised for the last fifteen years is not her biological child. As a consequence, two families are plunged into a storm of bitter rivalries and unexpected alliances.

In Delhi a small baby lies alone and abandoned. The product of IVF and surrogacy, she had been so coveted - until she was born with a fatal illness. Thousands of miles away in London, Kate and Ben are desperate for a baby. As Kate suffers another miscarriage, she knows something has to change. But will her desire for a baby stop at nothing...?

Sky Mundy's life has changed dramatically since she fled the underground compound where she grew up. She and her friends are now prey to dinosaurs and being pursued by marines, but Sky is determined to follow a map left by her missing father. When the map leads to a hidden underwater lab, Sky is horrified to learn that scientists are still breeding dinosaurs. As she delves deeper into her father's secrets, Sky uncovers a plan that will destroy the world, unless she can put a stop to it....

Out of Sight. When a teenage girl is found beaten and raped in the grounds of a derelict asylum, FBI agent Ren Bryce is called in to assist. But she is soon diverted to a missing persons’ case when an eleven-year-old girl and her teenage babysitter vanish without a trace from their hotel room. Out of Mind. Faced with conflicting evidence and inconsistent witnesses, Ren works obsessively to unravel the dark family secrets at the heart of the case, before it’s too late…

Elizabeth the Jubilee Fairy is in charge of making every jubilee perfect! But when Jack Frost steals Elizabeth's Diamond Sceptre, both fairy and human celebrations are headed for catastrophe. Can Kirsty and Rachel help Elizabeth find the sceptre so kings and queens everywhere can celebrate in style?

Rachel hates her life. So when her boyfriend David goes to a music festival in England she decides to surprise him - but she gets a nasty shock of her own. Hurt and angry, Rachel makes a wish- and finds herself in someone else's shoes! Can she keep the swap a secret? And will she ever be herself again? Over the course of a very weird weekend, Rachel puts herself in someone else's shoes and finds that her own maybe weren't as uncomfortable as she'd always thought. But can she ever be herself again?