Showing results by narrator "Claire Storey" in All Categories

Julia and Lauren are sisters, but definitely not best friends. They rarely even speak to each other. But when Lauren's fortieth birthday is ruined by her latest boyfriend dumping her, Julia feels a sudden and unexpected burst of sympathy, and offers to go with her on the special holiday he'd paid for as a birthday present. Unfortunately the holiday turns out not to be a glamorous hotel in a holiday hotspot, but a self-catering cottage in a tiny village called Deepcombe, in the middle of Dartmoor. And it's January.

October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she's thrilled – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting. Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world.

When Alvin gets a mysterious pack of gum for his birthday, he, of course, blows a bubble as large as he can. But when that bubble carries him away to a far-off land where everything is gray, he’s in for the adventure of his life, and more than a little danger.

Emma Reed is Ward Sister at a frail care center. When Celeste Harwood is admitted, she is suspicious of the woman’s motives. Has Celeste come to hide from the world? If so, that is not right; her bed is needed for someone deserving. When Emma sees how wary the nurses are of Miss Harwood, she understands something else is at work. Her doctor arrives and tells a tale of murder, of a woman about to suffer a terrible death, and Emma’s curiosity is aroused.

1925 - The Midland Canals. Born on the canals, feisty Beth Dawson, knows danger lurks in the shadows. When she falls victim to a vicious attack and knowing she might be pregnant, she quickly marries a fellow boatman. Her mundane existence is interrupted by the arrival of Anthony Wesley whose mission is to organise the impoverished boatmen for strike action. Anthony makes her feel valued and she wants to help the cause in any way she can. Along the way she makes friends with rebellious Abigail Gatehouse, daughter of the owner of the company. She too is in love with Anthony.

Violet has a secret that could change the lives of everyone she knows and loves, especially the regulars at the run-down café bar where she works. After losing her parents at a young age, they are the closest thing she has to a family, and she feels responsible for them. Kai is a jaded music producer, who has just moved outside of town. Seeking solitude from the stress of his job, he’s looking for seclusion. The only problem is he can’t seem to escape the band members and songwriters who keep showing up at his house.

Lady Fleur Osborne knows several things to be true: Her father would likely continue to turn away every suitor at the door, her sister could very well end up unwed by fault of her clever mouth alone, and that Fleur herself is perfectly happy to say goodbye to the marriage mart and devote her days to caring for her father and his estate. Happily sequestered in his dusty library with his books — the choice in no way due to the chance of seeing Lady Fleur again — Evan Woolf has been content to stay away from the ton and its featherbrained mischief.

Michelle Diaz has been married to Richie since she was 16years old. Now in her early 30s, their marriage is crumbling, but neither are ready to admit it. Deeply unhappy with her relationship and smarting at the entitled behaviour of their only child, Dillon, she realises life isn’t as fun as it should be, and the only way to move forward is to leave the past behind her. Finally deciding she can take no more, she throws Richie out of the house, and after laying down the law with Dillon, meets Carol Chase, a close friend of her sisters’.

As the plane surges up into the clouds, Stevie finds herself clutching the hand of the stranger sitting in the seat next to her. It is a moment that will change everything. But Ned is heading to see his dying mother, and Stevie is returning to France to escape a terrible loss in her past. Neither of them can think about that tiny flame that just flickered between them. But then their paths keep crossing, leading them both to the same beautiful community garden in a small French village; run by a mysterious old man named Zach – a man with many of his own secrets.

When Milo moves into a new house, his dog Dandy discovers a mysterious locked door and a hidden key. Bravely, Milo opens the door and finds himself sucked into a magical world of adventure. In this first book in a new series, Milo joins a band of pirates, led by the notorious Blackbeard. This book is ideal for parents to listen along with children aged three to eight years old.

Windy Corner is the fourth book in the Laura McNaughty Adventures series where Laura finds and rescues a little dog from the rocks after it was washed overboard from a passing yacht. She and her friends also enjoy a camping trip on the Conker, which is an island with an abandoned lighthouse, and they take two badger baiters who come into Stokey's Woods to dig out the badgers from their underground homes.

When Maya was a girl, her grandmother was everything to her: teller of magical fairy tales, surrogate mother, best friend. Then, her grandmother disappeared without a trace, leaving Maya with only questions to fill the void. Twenty-seven years later, her grandmother’s body is found in a place she had no connection to. Desperate for answers, Maya begins to unravel secrets that go back decades, from 1910's New York to 1930's Germany and beyond.

Rich and handsome playboy Valentino Velasquez holds the world in his hands. He plays with the best: fast cars, faster women, designer clothes, jewelry, expensive holidays around the world - all courtesies attributed to his trust fund and family fortune. Valentino’s silver spoon life appears glorious on the outside, but he lacks the one thing he finds unattainable - true love.

Sylvia, Joy and Pearl are preparing to compete in a major national ballroom competition - not easy in wartime when travelling is difficult and air raids might mean that events can be cancelled at the last minute. But 'live for the day' is the motto for the times, and our girls plan to waltz their worries away. And beyond the pressures of the ballroom, the three friends support and encourage each other to fulfil their dreams in love, life and dancing...

Maria is a good woman and a good cleaner. She cleans for Elsie, the funny old bird who's losing her marbles, with the terrible husband. She cleans for Brian, the sweet man with the terrible boss. She cleans for the mysterious Mr Balogan, with the terrible neighbours. If you're thinking of hiring her, you should probably know that Maria might have killed the terrible husband, the terrible boss and the terrible neighbours. She may also have murdered the man she loved.

Sylvia is the spoiled only child of an ambitious mother, Lorna Ellis, who runs a dancing school in Blackpool. Approaching 21, Sylvia is under pressure to scoop up prizes by fair means or foul. Pearl is the oldest daughter in a large, chaotic family who all work at the Pleasure Beach. She often sneaks away to watch ballroom contestants in their glittery finery. Joy is an evacuee who lost her parents to the Blitz. Now she lives and works in a shabby boarding house and works as a cleaner. Though shy and modest, she falls in love with the newest dance craze - the American Jitterbug.

Norfolk, 1813. In the quiet Waveney Valley, the body of Mary Tyrell is staked through the heart after her death by suicide. She had been under arrest for the suspected murder of her newborn child. Mary leaves behind a young daughter, Hannah, who is later sent away to the Refuge for the Destitute in London, where she will be trained for a life of domestic service. It is at the Refuge that Hannah meets Annie Simpkins, a fellow resident, and together they forge a friendship that deepens into passionate love.

Ava is settling into her new home - not only has she made friends but they've discovered that magic is real! And together Ava, Sarah and Lily (and Ava's Tibetan terrier, Pepper) are going to learn everything they can about it. When strange things start happening at home and around town the friends suspect magic must be at play. Despite it being the middle of autumn, Ava's mum's hay fever is acting up, plants are growing wildly out of control, and vines have begun to cover houses, entangling people in their path!

Hidden away in a bustling old market town, Curio House and its mysterious collection of artefacts has been undisturbed for years. Until now... When her mum inherits the Curio House, Ava is nervous about moving into the creaky Victorian villa, especially when she discovers a room filled with unusual objects and a box of 'magic' crystals. Ava knows they can't really be magic, but when her mischievous Tibetan terrier Pepper tries to eat one of the artefacts, a series of strange and definitely magical events unfold - and soon the whole town is in trouble!

Blackpool, November 1942. Wartime worries fail to dampen the glitz and glamour of the ballroom in the run-up to Christmas. After all, life is for living. Newlywed Pearl's bliss is cut short when her beloved Bernie is called up into the Army. Will dancing at the Tower Ballroom take the edge off her heartache or will it throw temptation her way? Unexpected news of an inheritance presents Joy with a different dilemma. Should she move to Scotland in line with her parents' final wishes or stay in Blackpool to dance with Tommy, the man she loves?