Showing results by author "JoAnna" in All Categories

When her own first child is tragically still-born, the young Mette is pressed into service as a wet-nurse at the court of the mad king, Charles VI of France. Her young charge is the princess, Catherine de Valois, caught up in the turbulence and chaos of life at court. Mette and the child forge a bond, one that transcends Mette’s lowly position. But as Catherine approaches womanhood, her unique position seals her fate as a pawn between two powerful dynasties.

Wherever I went, I heard it: the sound of a purring motorcycle behind me. They never bothered me or said a word. But I knew they were there because of him - Devlin McRae, the head of the local MC. Being followed all the time like this was disconcerting. And lately, the bikes had been getting closer, less secretive, more obvious. What would I do if Devlin ever caught me?

From Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, the Instagram-famous home organisers who made their orderly eye candy the method that everyone swears by, comes a signature approach to decluttering. The Home Edit walks you through paring down your belongings in every room, arranging them in a stunning and easy-to-find way (hello, labels!), and maintaining the system so you don't need another do-over in six months. When you're done, you'll not only know exactly where to find things, but you'll also love the way it looks.

Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in. At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi. And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia. When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown.

Christmas at Falstone Castle - Sarah M. Eden - The Dowager Duchess of Kielder eagerly anticipates spending Christmas with her son and his family. Though their relationship has been strained, the duchess is determined to heal the chasm. Even with the help of the widowed local vicar, her plan will take a Christmas miracle. But during this magical season, anything is possible...even two second chances for love.

Merrion Palmer has been Judge Guy Stockdale's mistress for the last seven years and his wife and two grown-up sons know absolutely nothing about her. Up until now, Guy and Merrion have enjoyed a blissfully, uncomplicated relationship in stolen moments in Merrion's flat, and to the rest of the world, Guy has played the part of model husband, father and grandfather. But now the time has come for things to change.

Myreen didn't think breaking one rule, just once, would lead to the death of her mother. And she never expected to learn she was a mermaid shifter, or that her mother was killed by vampires. Whisked away in the middle of the night for her own safety, Myreen finds herself in a secret school for shifters. With rumors swirling, mean girls circling, and two incredibly attractive guys tugging her in separate directions, Myreen will need to untangle the web of secrets surrounding her if she ever wants to find out why her mother was murdered.

>For over 50 years, Britain's most popular radio drama has captured the imagination of listeners throughout the country. Ambridge and its residents have been constant companions to millions throughout the highs and lows of five successive decades. Covering the years 1968 to 1986, Joanna Toye's novel follows the fortunes of Dan and Doris's grandchildren, as they search for happiness and love in the changing world of the 70s and early 80s. Jennifer's struggles as an unmarried mother look to be over....

According to head teacher Mrs Bottomley-Blunt, 4B is the worst class in the world. She says school is not about footling or fiddle-faddling or fun. It is about learning, and it is high time 4B tried harder to excel at it. But Stanley and Manjit didn’t literally mean to flood the toilets when they should have been monitoring the playground. And they definitely didn’t literally mean to bring a penguin home from the zoo on their school trip. These things just happened even though they had a foolproof plan to get away with them.

Joanna Trollope's much-anticipated contemporary reworking of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility will launch The Austen Project and be one of the most talked about books of 2013. ‘It's hugely exciting to attempt the reworking of one of the best novels written by one of our greatest novelists. This is a project which requires consummate respect above all else; not an emulation, but a tribute.' Joanna Trollope. The Austen Project is a major new series of six novels teaming up authors of global literary significance with Jane Austen's six complete works.

As Edie Jones lies in a bed on the 14th floor of a Cambridge hospital, her adult daughter, Dido, tells their story, starting with the day that changed everything. That was the day when Dido - aged exactly six years and 27 days old - met the handsome Tom Trevelyan, his precocious sister, Harry, and their parents, Angela and David.

Head teacher Mrs Bottomley-Blunt thinks 4B is the worst class in the world. She says school is not about footling or fiddle-faddling or fun. It is about learning, and it is high time 4B tried harder to excel at it. But best friends Stanley and Manjit didn’t literally mean to let flying minibeasts free in the classroom. And they really didn’t literally mean to do a series of dares to become the Overlord of the Universe. These things just happened, even though they had foolproof plans to get away with it all.

England, 1976. Mrs Creasy is missing, and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, 10-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands. And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined.

Having fled London and been on the run around Europe, Vita Casey has established a new life for herself, keeping a low profile as a dresser at a cabaret hall where Nancy is part of the risqué dance troupe. It’s a vibrant world of wild parties, drugs and jazz music. But despite the fun, hedonistic lifestyle they lead, Vita longs for a proper career and to re-kindle her dream of designing lingerie. When an opportunity to work for famous couturier Jenny Sacerdote presents itself, Vita grabs it with both hands and is soon exposed to an altogether different side of Paris society.

According to head Teacher Mrs Bottomley-Blunt, 4B is the worst class in the world. She says school is not about footling or fiddle-faddling or fun. It is about learning. But Stanley and Manjit didn’t literally mean to make their whole class sick with homemade biscuits. And they definitely didn’t literally mean for Manjit’s dog, Killer, to eat their teacher’s shoes or for Bruce Bingley’s rat to escape. These things just happened. You see, 4B may be the worst class in the world. But you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

The events of 1950-1999 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the Festival of Britain in 1951 through to the dawn of a new millennium at the end of 1999. In between are the eras of the Angry Young Men, the Teddy Boys and the Punk Rockers; the arrival of rock and roll and the permissive society; the advent of industrial strife in England and sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland; the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher; the miners' strike, three-day week and Winter of Discontent; the Queen's Silver Jubilee....

Phoebe Henderson may be single but she sure doesn’t feel fabulous. It’s been a year since she found her boyfriend Alex in bed with another woman, and multiple cases of wine and extensive relationship analysis with best friend Lucy have done nothing to help. Faced with a new year but no new love, Phoebe concocts a different kind of resolution. The List: ten things she’s always wanted to do in bed but has never had the chance (or the courage!) to try. A bucket list for between the sheets.

Rachel has always loved being at the centre of her large family. She has fiercely devoted herself to her three sons all their lives, and continues to do so even now they are all grown up. They are, of course, devoted to her – she and Anthony, their father, hold the family together at their big, beautiful, ramshackle house near the wide, bird-haunted coast of Suffolk. But when Luke, her youngest, gets married, Rachel finds that control is slipping away.

Pretty and pampered, Lavinia Yardley always dreamed of becoming a duchess. But family disgrace forces her into marriage with the most vile duke in England, and she finds herself desperate for a way out. When a rustic stranger mistakes her for globe-trotting botanist Muriel Pendrake at a train station, Lavinia has a split second to decide whether to submit to her fate or steal someone else's.

Dan Riley is a major in the British Army. After a six month tour of duty in Afghanistan, he is coming home to the wife and young daughters he adores. The outside world sees those reunions as a taste of heaven after months of hell.But are they? Can a man trained to fight adjust again to family and domestic life? And how will the family cope, if he can't?