Showing results by narrator "Fiona Hardingham" in All Categories

Katie Brenner has the perfect life: a flat in London, a glamorous job, and a supercool Instagram feed. Okay, so the truth is that she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, she has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn't really hers. But one day her dreams are bound to come true, aren't they? Until her not-so-perfect life comes crashing down when her megasuccessful boss, Demeter, gives her the sack. All Katie's hopes are shattered.

Born into a mysterious family, Gatina always knew there was something special about those around her. But when the duke and duchess of Alshar - close friends of her family - are brutally assassinated, her idyllic countryside life is upended by secrets emerging from the shadows.

Twenty-five years after the end of the war, ageing British SOE operative Noah Ainsworth is reflecting on the secret agent who saved his life when a mission went wrong during his perilous, exhilarating years in occupied France. He never knew her real name, nor whether she survived the war. His daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers. What follows is the story of Fleur and Chloe, two otherwise ordinary women who in 1943 are called up by the SOE for deployment in France.

Bridging Infinity puts humanity at the heart of these vast undertakings - as builder, as engineer, as adventurer - reimagining and rebuilding the world, the solar system, and even the entire universe. This continuation of the award-winning Infinity Project anthology series features bold new stories from Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear, Gregory Benford, Zachary Brown, Pat Cadigan, Kameron Hurley, Scott Lynch, Vonda N. McIntyre, Hannu Rajaniemi, Allan Steele, and many more.

1950: Margaret Devonshire (Megs) is a 17-year-old student of mathematics and physics at Oxford University. When her beloved eight-year-old brother asks Megs if Narnia is real, logical Megs tells him it’s just a book for children, and certainly not true. Homebound due to his illness, and remaining fixated on his favorite books, George presses her to ask the author of the recently released novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a question: “Where did Narnia come from?”

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power and the next hedonistic thrill. Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword-Catcher – the body-double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are close as brothers, but Kel knows he has one destiny: to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

A heroic young thief and her family fight against the darkness that threatens the entire land in the riveting final volume of this fantasy adventure saga. An increasingly talented and skilled shadowthief, Gatina of House Furtius—known in more rebellious circles as the Kitten of Night—continues her covert work in the ongoing struggle against the vile usurper Count Vichetral. Vichetral's dominion over the duchy of Alshar has grown ever darker, with slavery now legal and vicious gangs brutally enforcing his will.

Number one best-selling author Sophie Kinsella returns with an irresistible new stand-alone about family love, family tensions and what you might hear if they didn't know you were in the room.

December 1952. As the young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to deliver the first of her traditional Christmas Messages, dedicated staff work behind the scenes to prepare for festive celebrations at the Sandringham Estate. Among the hard workers are Jack Devereaux and Olive Carter – old friends who are about to be reunited. Over the course of five years, while Olive works as a royal correspondent and Jack is a chef in the Queen’s household, their paths will cross time and time again. But as the two grow closer, their relationship is threatened by a secret that Olivia is afraid to reveal.

Becoming Magic is book one of a complete course in becoming creator of your own exceptional life. In this book, I outline the exact steps which enabled me to move my own life from one of poverty and drudgery, to one of previously unimaginable wealth, purpose and joy. But Magic? I do hope you are joking! That's what I would have said, five or ten years ago. I once despised all things 'New-Age'; all these spiritual types and their airy-fairy views, their bad science and their irrational beliefs.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a strange book hidden in the library stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to a subterranean library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.

Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. Separated from Audric and Ludivine, she embraces the role of Blood Queen and her place by Corien's side, determined to become the monster the world believes her to be. In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire's capital as a broken shell of herself.

Ava is sick of online dating. She’s always trusted her own instincts over an algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind. Until she meets a handsome stranger. All she knows is that he’s funny, he’s kind and - she soon learns - he’s great in bed. He’s equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other’s real names.

Have you ever wished magic was real? Do you ever feel powerless, as though the world has it in for you, or that nothing ever goes your way? Have you wished there were a magic word you could utter that would change everything? If so, I have good news for you. Magic is real. This audiobook will teach you the technique of using magic words. It’s the most spectacularly effective method for creating change in just about any area you can think of.

Unhappy Penelope Lumley is trapped in unhappy Plinkst! Even the beets for which Plinkst is inexplicably famous fail to grow in this utterly miserable Russian village. Penelope anxiously counts the days and wonders how she will ever get back to England in time to save all the Ashtons - who, she now knows, include herself and the Incorrigible children, although their precise location on the family tree is still a mystery - from their accursèd fate. Her daring scheme to escape sends her on a wildly unexpected journey.

Against all odds, Roh survived the harrowing Queen’s Tournament, but now something far deadlier awaits her: a formidable quest for the three magic birthstones of Saddoriel. The gems have been scattered across the realms – and only when Roh retrieves them can she take her place as queen. But surrounded by hostile companions and tormented by the dangerous secret she carries, Roh begins to realise that the pursuit of power may prove more destructive than she ever imagined.

After facing heartbreaking betrayals and jaw-dropping revelations in Akoris, Roh must steel herself once more and continue her quest to win the cyren throne. But with poison lingering in her body and a new, unpredictable companion at her side, the trek to the mysterious territory of Csilla becomes more perilous. Dangerous schemes are afoot—ones that threaten not only the homeland Roh intends to rule, but all of cyrenkind. As her journey stretches across the realm, Roh must navigate the dark web of her own ambition and master her new magic. Will she triumph against the trials ahead?

At 38 and a quarter years old, Paris native Camille has everything she needs to be happy: a good job, a loving husband, a wonderful son. Why then does she feel as if happiness has slipped through her fingers? All she wants is to find the path to joy and fulfilment.

With her trademark lyricism, Maggie Stiefvater turns to a new world, where a pair are swept up in a daring, dangerous race across a cliff—with more than just their lives at stake should they lose.

High on a cliff above the gloomy coastal town of Withering-by-Sea stands the Hotel Majestic. Inside the walls of the damp, dull hotel, eleven-year-old orphan Stella Montgomery leads a miserable life with her three dreadful Aunts.