Showing results by narrator "Helen Phillips" in All Categories

When the anonymous invite arrived, we knew exactly who it was from. Elle Romero, the beautiful, charismatic Texan who burst into our lives when we were teenagers. We'd gone our separate ways and lost touch. Until now. Elle, the legendary prankster, is back. She's invited us all—me, Claire, Lizzie and Megan—to a swanky country house for a reunion. We arrive excited for a weekend of reminiscing and reconnecting. A chance to step out of our uneventful lives for a while. But when Elle fails to show up at her own party, we begin to wonder if she's up to her old tricks.

After a difficult few months, Karina's looking forward to a short break in Turkey with her husband and four-year-old son, Jacob. The marriage has been showing signs of strain lately, so it'll be a chance to relax. But on their first morning, Karina is startled to discover she's slept in late. Where's Jacob? She rushes to his room, but his bed is empty and he's nowhere to be found in the villa. Frantic with worry, she raises the alarm with her husband—but he stares at her blankly. He says he has no idea what she's talking about. They don't have any children.

Varangantua is in turmoil. After the district of Korsk is obliterated in a fiery cataclysm, the city’s enforcers must pick up the pieces. As sanctioner teams comb the wreckage for survivors, dogged probators such as Agusto Zidarov and Lycia Calix seek to uncover the truth about what happened. Their stories become intertwined with those of petty criminals and desperate citizens, even drawing the vaunted attention of agents beyond Alecto itself, painting a picture of sprawling conspiracy.

Are we more like a coffee bean, a carrot or an egg? What happens to us when we are boiled in the trials and tribulations of life? Jessica Miller is fascinated by the somewhat perplexing tendency of humans to end their own lives, but she secretly believes such acts may not be that bad after all. Jessica is coming to terms with her own relationships, and reflecting on what it means to be queer, when a single event throws everything she once believed into doubt. Can she still defend the act?

Twenty-nine-year-old teacher Emily needs her father to believe her life is a success. He may have walked out on the family when she was a child and let her down when she needed him most, but her life is perfect despite him.

Five years ago, Kate's partner, Max, abandoned her for his pregnant lover. The affair has long since crumbled, but Kate has become fixated with Vee, her ‘replacement'. In a bid to find out what compelled Max to leave, she moves to Bridgewell, where Vee is now raising her four-year-old daughter, Iona. Warm and trusting, Vee is juggling work, single parenthood and a controlling ex-partner, Max, with whom she is still secretly sexually involved. When Vee meets charismatic artist, Tom, she is hopeful of establishing her first meaningful attachment since Max. But Kate has her own plans.

Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets. It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape.

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life....

Three women controlled by one man—their charismatic husband Elijah, leader of their cult who dictates every aspect of life in the remote Scottish settlement of Halcyon. But cracks have begun to form in the community's idyllic facade, and Elijah's increasingly erratic behavior begins to test the loyalty of the women who love him, especially when he reveals his intention to take a fourth wife, sixteen-year-old Mim. Deceived and isolated by the husband they share, Aoife, Ruth, and Deborah must set years of animosity aside and come together as danger mounts within their isolated community.

You wake on a beautiful, remote island. Sparkling blue seas, golden sunsets, barely a footprint in the sand. Yet this is no ordinary escape. Next to the wreck of a plane, a stranger paces. Another sharpens a knife, scoring a list of the dead onto a palm tree. Others watch from the shadows of a campfire—all with untold stories, and closely-guarded secrets.

1838, England: When eighteen-year-old Frances Dickinson impulsively marries Lieutenant John Geils, all her hopes for her future are quickly shattered as she finds there is much about her husband she did not know. A cruel and violent man, John keeps Frances in isolation on his family's estate, while spending her fortune and preying upon their maids. Frances yearns to break free from her marriage but the law is not on her side. Only when John's abuse escalates can she set in motion a daring plan to secure her freedom.

In 21st century Britain, what does it mean to be working class? This book asks 24 working class writers to examine the issue as it relates to them. Examining representation, literature, sexuality, gender, art, employment, poverty, childhood, culture and politics, this book is a broad and firsthand account of what it means to be drawn from the bottom of Britain's archaic but persistent class structure.

When Christmas-hating Sam moves to Holly Cross, he thinks he's found the perfect home, until he discovers that, each year, Holly Cross transforms into the most Christmassy village in the whole country... Blythe is just one sale away from being Real Estate Agent of the Month, so she twists the truth to sell a home to city boy Sam, who is looking for the perfect house in the perfect location. Little does he know he's just bought a cottage in the middle of the most Christmassy village in the country. And if there's one thing Sam loathes, it's Christmas.

The Metamorphosis, first published in 1915, has captivated readers and artists for 100 years. Studio 360's Kurt Andersen leads spirited conversation exploring the classic story and its impact on arts and culture with guests Ben Marcus ( Leaving the Sea), Helen Phillips ( The Beautiful Bureaucrat), Eric Jarosinski ( NeinQuarterly), and translator Susan Bernofsky. With a reading by Heather Burns ( Bored to Death).

When true-Crime obsessed Paige, along with her family, move across the Atlantic to her father's eerie hometown, it's not long before she uncovers the town's dark history—a string of unsolved murders and disappearances in the 90s. Soon after, notes start appearing at their home, about the secrets the old house is keeping. The clues lead Paige to a diary concealed in the walls that belonged to one of the missing girls. Could this be the key to solving a quarter-of-a-century mystery...or will the diary make Paige the next target?

I always thought I was going to be a girl who did something. I was going to run my own business and find fame and fortune! Fall in love… But here I am. Still waiting for it all to happen, sitting on the floor, surrounded by lilies and roses, trying to do my best friend’s wedding flowers because – in her words – ‘how hard can it be, Frankie?’. The answer is actually ‘very hard’ but it’s not the only thing that’s tough right now. My boyfriend won’t commit, I barely have a job, and once again I have the hangover from hell… What I don’t know is that life’s about to throw me a curveball.

Where will the magic take you? When Magician Winnifred's enchanted house gets stuck upside down in ten-year-old Callie's garden, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship—until Winnifred realizes that it is Callie's intense homesickness that is causing her magic to malfunction. Now all of Winnifred's most precious magical possessions are unprotected. Can Callie and Winnifred restore the Wanderdust before malicious pixies and dangerous giants steal everything?

True-Crime obsessed Paige, and her family, move across the Atlantic to her father's eerie hometown, and it's not long before she uncovers the town's dark history—a string of unsolved murders and disappearances in the 90s.

Sick of indecent proposals from untrustworthy rakes? Be more discerning with your dance card and swipe right on only the most eligible and dashing suitors. Whether you want to avoid scandal, or embrace it, keep your name out of the gossip sheets and group chats with this modern take on the rules of polite society. Putting a fresh spin on real Regency etiquette advice, A Regency Guide to Modern Life is a tongue-in-cheek guide to navigating friendship, dating, work, summer holidays, social events, self-confidence and more.

When Lucy and Alpha's parents split up, they move with mom to their grandad's home in the forest. Mom has a new job at a rewilding center, reintroducing wolves to the wild. Lucy loves the forest where she can stargaze with her telescope. But Alpha hates the forest and hates dad. All she wants is for life to go back to normal. Things between Lucy and Alpha have never felt worse. When a new wolf cub arrives at the center, Lucy names him Claw and they form a special bond. But Alpha thinks he should roam free, and together with her friends, they plot to release him.