Showing results by narrator "Katy Sobey" in All Categories

Clover Quinn was a surprise. She used to imagine she was the good kind, now she's not sure. She'd like to ask Dad about it, but growing up in the saddest chapter of someone else's story is difficult. She tries not to skate on the thin ice of his memories. Darren has done his best. He's studied his daughter like a seismologist on the lookout for waves and surrounded her with everything she might want - everything he can think of, at least - to be happy. What Clover wants is answers.

Inseparable through university, Eva, Benedict, Sylvie and Lucien graduate into an exhilarating world on the brink of the new millennium. Eager to shrug off the hardships of her childhood, Eva breaks away to work at a big bank. Benedict stays behind to complete his PhD in physics and pine for Eva while siblings Sylvie and Lucien pursue a more bohemian existence

London, 1879. Della Rose scans the crowds until she finds her target. A well-dressed gentleman with a fine gold watch. Stealing it will be easy. Everyone knows she has the quickest hands in the notorious Seven Dials. The gentleman’s name is Cole Winthrop and he’s been watching her for a while, waiting to see whether the scandalous things people say about her are true. Because if they are, he needs her help. Something was stolen from him long ago. And only a thief can get it back. But to do so, Della must first learn how to walk, talk, ride and flirt like a lady.

Isadora Moon loves sunshine – and nighttime. She loves her magic wand – and her black tutu. She loves spooky bats – and Pink Rabbit. Isadora is half-fairy, half-vampire, and she's special because she is different! Now Isadora's parents want her to start school, but she's not sure where she belongs – fairy school or vampire school?

To some, Emri – the adopted heir and daughter of two queens – is just a living reminder that her birth father tried to usurp the Edaran throne. About to come of age, and faced with changes beyond her control, she must also grapple with a Court visit from her estranged cousin, Melisande. But when they’re attacked by a magical force and spirited away, they must put their differences aside when Emri comes face to face with a goddess she’s always considered a myth: Lady Winter.

Lancashire, 1832. Maids Hannah and Mary find themselves with no jobs and no home when their employer, Henry Sudell, loses all his money and disappears in the middle of the night. They have no choice but to return to Blackburn where Hannah is lucky to be taken in by her sister, Jennet, and brother-in-law, Titus, but Mary must seek lodgings in the infamous Star beer house.

When Jennet and Titus Eastwood are forced to move from their idyllic cottage into the centre of Blackburn to find work in the cotton mills, their lives are changed in ways they could never have imagined, and their new home on Paradise Lane is anything but. Then Titus is arrested and sent to prison for attending a Reform meeting. Jennet is left to fend for herself, and things go from bad to worse as she finds herself pregnant and alone - with another man's child.

When Grace Carter's boys are arrested for murder, she's forced to call on her most trusted and loyal connections to keep the boys out of prison. She'll even ask for help from those she would usually avoid like the plague. DI Leigh Moss has the power to save Grace's boys, but she's determined to bring Grace and the Carter clan down once and for all. Leigh might owe Grace her life, but her loyalty now lies with her job and protecting the streets of Liverpool. Until Leigh needs Grace's help, too.

Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is. She knows duck-billed platypuses don't have stomachs. She knows that 14 squirrels were once detained as spies. She knows that both chess and Snakes and Ladders were invented in the same country. And for once, Harriet knows exactly how her life should go. She's got it all planned out. Though her friends seem less than happy, Harriet is determined to Make Things Happen! If only everyone else would stick to the script....

From much-loved author Shirley Hughes comes a thrilling World War II novel for children aged 10 and up. It is 1944, and Florence, Italy, is occupied by Nazi German forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though - and neither have Paolo and his sister, Constanza. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings do against a whole army with only a bicycle to help them? In extraordinary circumstances, people are capable of extraordinary things.

Violet's in her element - cosplay at the ready, she can't wait to feel part of her favourite fandom: The Gallow's Dance, a mega-story and movie franchise. But at Comic Con, a freak accident transports Violet and her friends into the The Gallows Dance for real - and in the first five minutes, they've caused the death of the heroine. It's up to Violet to take her place and play out the plot the way it was written. But stories have a life of their own....

When Sophia wins a postgraduate place at Ivy Drama College, she can't believe her luck. The college is owned by one of the most well-respected young actors in London, Marc Blackwell - who not only founded the college but teaches the students. Known for his strict classes and belief in discipline, Marc has a reputation for being arrogant and aloof, yet Sophia soon finds herself drawn to this cold, fascinating young man. Soon Sophia is embarking on a journey of sexual discovery that promises to explore all that is forbidden between teacher and student.

Two refugee brothers from Mongolia are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates, but bring so much of Mongolia to Bootle that their new friend and guide, Julie, is hard-pressed to know truth from fantasy as she recollects a wonderful friendship that was abruptly ended when Chingis and his family were forced to return to Mongolia. Told with the humour, warmth, and brilliance of detail which characterises Frank Cottrell Boyce's writing, The Unforgotten Coat is a magical and compelling story.

Vega Jane has tried to outrun, outsmart and outlast her enemy, but the showdown she has dreaded is finally here. Her ragtag crew of friends and fighters must take a stand against a fully trained army, knowing the odds are impossible. But when you face injustice, the only choice is to stand and fight.

Everything Vega Jane has ever known is a lie. But if she and her best friend Delph are to find the truth about who they are and where they came from, they must first survive the Quag, a wild, enchanted place filled with monsters and dark sorcery. It will stretch their courage to the limit. The Quag will throw everything at Vega. It will try to break her. It will try to kill her. And survival might come at a price not even Vega is willing to pay.

Running from her past, Rachel answers an advert to be a live-in assistant to glamorous and eccentric author Dorothy Winters. But behind the closed doors of Dorothy's mansion, she quickly discovers that nothing is as it seems. When Dorothy's manuscript throws up striking similarities to events in Rachel's own life, she becomes convinced that the past she's tried to hide is catching up with her. Then the phone calls start. The parcel arrives. The blood shows up in the bathroom. And Dorothy's friend disappears....

A miraculous new Christmas story from award-winning author Sally Nicholls about hope and heartbreak, wartime romance and the power of love. 17-year-old Margot Allan was a respectable vicar’s daughter and madly in love with her fiancé Harry. But when Harry was reported missing in action from the Western Front, and Margot realised she was expecting his child, there was only one solution she and her family could think of in order to keep that respectability. She gave up James, her baby son, to be adopted by her parents and brought up as her younger brother.

The Cambridge Fens, 1938. Little Rosanna is part of a close-knit Fenland family and the youngest of three cousins. In a time of childhood abandon and adventures on the water, life couldn't be more perfect. But things are not always as they seem. When Rosanna's new baby brother is born, tragedy strikes the family. And with the outbreak of World War II just around the corner and a move to the Norfolk countryside, Rosanna's life is changed forever.

Gayle is a teacher and each year she brings her class to the island to see the local flora and fauna, from sea birds to playful seals. Martin, the island's caretaker and only human resident, lives in and maintains the lighthouse, which opens to the public for just this one day a year. Gayle is effervescent but feels trapped, while Martin is lonely and isolated. As their love slowly builds over time, they both yearn for the annual field trip where they can finally see each other. Until one year Gayle doesn't come back, and Martin has to leave his island hideaway to find her.

Ireland, 1948. The potato famine has left the Cavanagh family destitute. Kitty and Peter manage to secure tickets for America - seeking hope in an unknown land. But still fortune will not favour them. On a terrifying crossing of the Irish Sea, Peter vanishes, and with him their tickets. Now, Kitty and her young family are stranded in Liverpool - with not a penny to their name. Facing prejudice and distrust, they move to Blackburn, where the welcome is no warmer, but Kitty at least can gather rags and scraps to exchange for a coin or two.