Showing results by narrator "Laura Kirman" in All Categories

Elizabeth Roby lives a content and privileged life in London with husband Jonathon and children, Emily and George. But with the outbreak of war, everything changes. Jonathon informs his family that they have to move from their smart London home to the riverside town of Wivenhoe and their new home Harbour House, where Jonathon will do his duty for his country as part of the Admiralty at the shipyards. But Elizabeth is devastated. How will she start a new life in a place she hardly knows, surrounded by strangers?

Baking fanatic Charlie Quilter, still nursing a broken heart, is surprised when her late uncle bequeaths his vintage 1950s Routemaster bus to her in his will. She adored driving around with him in it when she was a child and can’t contemplate selling it. When Charlie loses her job, her friend Juliette has an exciting idea and suggests Charlie come to stay with her in the picturesque Cornish village of Porthgolow.

When Lord Peregrine Sheldon, an intelligence officer for Wellington, is reported missing, presumed dead, his family and friends in England fear he is lost to them forever. Unbeknownst to everyone, Perry is alive, but has been seriously injured in a fall and is unable to see. He also has no notion of who he is, or what he is doing in the foothills of the Spanish mountains. He is a stranger to himself in a strange land. His only comfort is his beautiful rescuer, Sofia, an English girl living in a Spanish hill village. Sofia takes Perry to her mother's home where she nurses him back to health.

For years, Jess has been told that the only man she ever loved abandoned her when she needed him most. But when she discovers a hidden box of cards and letters, she realises her life has been built on a foundation of lies. Fuelled by the words of the man she thought she'd lost, she follows in his footsteps, tracing his path in the hope she might find him again. Though years have passed and people change, in her heart Jess hopes that, maybe one day, they will be whole again. A tender and moving novel that will break your heart and put it back together again.

1941. The Blitz rages over London. And even in Cornwall, the war is being fought. When Violet loses her sister in the Blitz, she must take her nieces to safety in Cornwall. On the coast, she meets carefree chorus girl Eva, who is also running from the dangers of London. But Porthcurno hides a secret military base, and soon Violet and Eva realise there’s a battle to fight in Cornwall, too. Together with local Hazel, who works on the base, they must come together to help the war effort. But will their friendship be enough to keep them safe?

Star baker Mattie has hated Christmas ever since she had her heart broken on Christmas Eve. The only thing she hates more is the insufferable Tom, who has rubbed her up the wrong way since she started running the tearoom next door to his bookshop. So when Mattie and Tom are left in charge in the frantic festive days before Christmas, it might be cold outside, but things are sure to heat up. Can a bookshop full of romantic novels, a life-size reindeer and a mistletoe kissing booth persuade two scrooges to fall in love with Christmas...and each other?

A romantic treat, perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond and Jenny Colgan! You can go crazy searching for the one.... Nina is addicted to bad boys, the wilder, the better. Despite her friends’ misgivings, she firmly believes that true love takes only one form: wild, full of passion and fire and punctuated by tempestuous arguments. She won’t settle for anything less.

This year, Lottie is hosting one last big family Christmas at the home she grew up in - just like her Nana would have wanted. But when her relatives descend on the old manor house, Lottie gets more than she bargained for.

When Ava’s partner Will is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, the doctors give Will one chance to survive - an operation which means he will lose his recent memory. Ava begs him to take the chance, sure that she can cope with Will forgetting her. After all, they have something very special to live for. But they are also keeping a heart-breaking secret, and if Will loses his memory, Ava will have to carry that secret alone. Can they rebuild their love from scratch, or will their secrets and past come between them?

After five years abroad, Charity Halliwell returns to Loxby Manor, the home of dear friends—and her lost love. No longer a young girl, she is now haunted by a painful secret and the demise of her dreams. She hopes to find a place of healing and happiness, but instead she encounters a darkness lurking in the shadows of the once-familiar house. Then her friend, Seline, disappears the very night of her arrival, and Charity is determined to uncover the truth. Her only hope is the man who broke her heart.

Kat Wolfe loves her new home in idyllic Bluebell Bay, especially as it comes with a resident wildcat. But when she starts pet-sitting for pocket money, she finds that beneath the town's perfect surface lie some dark and dangerous secrets...After a pet owner vanishes from his clifftop mansion, Kat turns to her new friend, Harper Lamb, for help. What began as mystery-solving holiday fun quickly turns deadly for Wolfe and Lamb....

A kidnap.... Matt Westbrook only turned his back for a moment. But when he looks around, his car - with his three young children inside - has vanished. A ransom.... Panicked, Matt assumes a car thief has got more than he bargained for, but then he starts to receive text messages: This is a kidnap. If you want to see your children again, you will exchange them for your wife.

When successful songwriter Tabitha Callahan swaps a summer of sadness for pet sitting around the world, she intends to use the time to heal her broken heart. Tabitha can’t believe her luck when she picks up a housesit on the rugged and beautiful Portuguese island of Madeira. The villa is luxurious, the views breath-taking and her charges, a gorgeous but aloof cat and two cute and friendly Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, are perfect companions while she works on some new material and attempts to reconcile her past.

As one of the famous Preece sisters, Kitty is the most sought-after courtesan in London. But with the vicious Duke of Gillingham scaring away any man who looks her way, securing a new arrangement with a wealthy gentleman will be no easy feat. Kitty's only hope to find someone suitable is through her loyal and cherished friend, the Reverend Sidney Wakefield. Sidney has devoted his life to the church, but it was never by choice. He is a writer and Kitty his muse. As he is roped into Kitty's plotting, he begins to realise that protecting her from the malevolent Duke comes at a price.

As the war clouds gather over Europe, the Roby family are thankful to have started their new life in Wivenhoe safe from German bombs…for the moment at least. And with the safe arrival of baby Grace, family life at Harbour House seems to be settling down. But Emily Roby finds life stifling. She’s not keen on her new baby sister, doesn’t like her new school and feels as though sometimes her parents still treat her as a baby, but also a grown up when it suits them! Emily’s only friend is Nancy, the new girl working at Harbour House.

Kate Turner is happily single - a bit too happily, in fact. Since returning to her hometown of Blexford, a sleepy village where everybody knows each other, and between catching up with her oldest friends Laura and Matt, a flourishing career as a fabric designer, and taking care of her beloved dad, love hasn’t really had a look in. But Kate does love Christmas. So when Laura insists she signs up to the 'Twelve Dates of Christmas', a brand new dating app service, she doesn’t need too much persuading.

Animal-loving Samantha Jones is on a mission to ‘live the dream’. When best friend Abby has a beautiful baby boy, Sam’s priorities change, and she realises she wants more from her life. Uninspired with her dull day job, Sam plans to expand Purbeck Pooches, her seaside pet-sitting business, into a full-time career and embarks on a mission to find her perfect man. Sam soon hits trouble. Her boss accuses her of moonlighting. The perfect man is frustratingly elusive, and her parents make a shocking revelation.

Listening helps us be there for others, to support them in tough times and to strengthen our relationships with partners, family, friends and colleagues. From opening up a conversation with someone who might be struggling, to how to use gentle encouragement to help others share their stories, How to Listen demonstrates the power of listening without judgement and draws on the extensive experience of Samaritans in offering practical advice to apply to your own life.

When a landslide on the Jurassic Coast reveals a rare ‘dragon’ dinosaur, best friends Kat Wolfe and Harper Lamb are thrilled, especially when stars and scientists come flocking to sleepy Bluebell Bay. But after they begin investigating a suspicious death, events spiral quickly out of control for detectives Wolfe and Lamb. Worse still, Kat’s wild cat is in trouble. Can they solve the mystery - and save the cat's life - before it’s too late?

Maid of honor Emily Applegate is on the warpath. Her best friend’s dream wedding venue has been cancelled at the last minute and now everything has been thrown into chaos. With guests arriving from all over the world, food being prepared and the flowers being arranged, Emily decides to take charge and save the big day! First stop, the thoughtless owner who cancelled - surely she can make him change his mind? But Emily doesn’t expect Theo Berkey to be quite so attractive and irresistible…and distracting. Or to be blindsided with an offer impossible to refuse.