Showing results by narrator "Charlotte Strevens" in All Categories

When Joel Leicester walks into the hotel where Rosa Tempest works, she can’t believe her bad luck. Out of all the hotels in all of North Yorkshire, the man who broke her heart would have to walk into Carrick Park! The last time Rosa saw Joel it was after a whirlwind holiday when they’d been greeted by a woman claiming to be his fiancée. Rosa never stuck around to hear Joel’s side of the story, but now, six years later on, Fate has another trick up its sleeve as a potentially disastrous summer wedding at Carrick Park can only be saved by Joel and Rosa working together....

In 1935 Evelyn Shillington started a diary, little knowing the years of turmoil it would cover. Eve joined her beloved husband, Captain Rex Shillington, whenever she could on his postings, giving her a unique view into army life. Through the abdication crisis to the turbulent years of the Second World War, Eve documented it all with an inimitable spirit and brave humour. The diaries lay forgotten in an attic for years until an enterprising antiques dealer discovered them by chance. Published 70 years later, they offer a new perspective into life on the home front, a firsthand account that was almost lost forever.

When, at the Pollards Harvest Supper of 1817, Araminta Glover was seduced by Jan Honeywood, the outcome seemed inevitable. Araminta, like so many servant girls, would marry her poor suitor and prepare to raise a large family on nine shillings a week. But 17-year-old Araminta was determined enough to rebel against the pattern of impoverished rural life, and, putting marriage and Jan firmly behind her, she accepted the post of dairymaid in the house of the strange Mrs Stancy.

The stage is set Deborah O'Hara loves her life, leading her troupe of actors. But when she becomes entangled in a web of secrets spun by the rakishly handsome Damian Beaumaris, Duke of Cirencester, she is forced to play the hardest role of her life: that of the stunning but disloyal Paulette, the duke's widowed sister-in-law. To regain the honor of his family, Beau needs Deb's help.

After one uncharacteristically wicked night, the once reckless Eleanor Bracewell-Lowen now leads a safe and prudent life. On his return to London's high society, Lord Cristo Wellingham looks different from the man she knew so briefly in Paris, but he is still as magnetic... In his cold amber eyes Eleanor detects something she has seen mirrored in her own - longing. His touch invites passion, but this is a man who could destroy her good name with just one glance....

Castles in the Air is a beautifully written, autobiographical story of rescuing an ancient mansion. Gwydir Castle was inhabited by ravers and rats until Judy Corbett and her husband Peter Welford found and acquired this 500-year-old house mouldering in the foothills of Snowdonia. Despite the toads, strange smells and squatters, they decided to mortgage themselves to the hilt to bring the castle back to life.

Opening dramatically with the horrors of the 2005 London bombings, this is the profoundly moving story of a country on the brink of civil war and a child's struggle to come to terms with loss.London. On a bright July morning a series of bombs bring the capital to a halt. Simon Swann, a medic from one of the large teaching hospitals, is searching frantically amongst the chaos and the rubble.

Jessie Tempest has two main interests: reading books and selling books. Her little bookshop in the seaside town of Staithes is a cosy hideaway from the chilly Yorkshire wind, but it’s also Jessie’s sanctuary from the outside world. When writer Miles Fareham and his son Elijah arrive to stay in the holiday apartment above the shop, it’s a test for Jessie who has always felt clueless when it comes to kids. But as she learns the story of the single father and the inquisitive eight-year-old, Jessie realises that first impressions aren’t always the right ones.

Shauna Vincent has just learned that the job she set her heart on has gone to a well-connected rival. Devastated, she accepts an offer from an old family friend, and soon Shauna is deep in the French countryside with endless hours to explore the magical landscape around her. But can the charming Laurent de Chemignac, owner of the local chateau, help her untangle the secret that this little French castle amongst the vines might be hiding?

Sex. Yes. She remembered that. Wasn't that the thing that happened somewhere between the talking-and-going-out-to-dinner bit and the sobbing-and-eating-too-many-biscuits bit? Still, Bella was sure she could handle some - preferably before her as yet unopened packet of condoms reached their expiry date. She must be practically a virgin again by now, all sealed over like pierced ears if you don't wear earrings for too long.

1925. London's fashionable Bright Young Things have descended on Wychbourne Court, the Kentish stately home of Lord and Lady Ansley, for an extravagant fancy dress ball and midnight Ghost Hunt. Chef Nell Drury knows she's in for a busy weekend - but she doesn't expect to encounter sudden, violent death. When a body is discovered in the minstrels' gallery during the Ghost Hunt, Nell is determined to unmask the killer among them. Could the Wychbourne Ghosts hold the key to the mystery?

In February 1887, Caitriona Wallace and Emile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon, floating high above Paris. But back on firm ground, their vastly different social strata becomes clear. Cait is a widow, forced to chaperone two wealthy Scottish charges. Emile is expected to take on the bourgeois stability of his family's business and choose a suitable wife. As the Eiffel Tower rises, a marvel of steel and air and light, Cait and Emile must decide what their love is worth.

Winifred Maxwell is found guilty of treason, and her brother William could be found guilty of the same charge for helping her escape from London. . . She has been persecuted throughout her life for her family's loyalty to the exiled Stuart dynasty. Winifred and her husband make it to Rome, to the exiled court of the James III, where Winifred becomes governess to the princes Charles and Henry. Meanwhile, her niece Mary is in Paris with her lover. Are Winifred's resolve and tenacity a match for her niece's imprudent behaviour?

A casual remark on the telephone leads Eleanor Hamilton to an appalling and deeply disturbing discovery: John, her husband of 20 years, has been leading a life of duplicity and betrayal. Shock, jealousy, and anger drive Eleanor to extraordinary limits in her desire for revenge. But then fate intervenes in the shape of a terrible accident.

Recently divorced, Tessa Parker runs a successful B&B in a seaside town. During a surprise visit from Australia, a long-lost aunt lets slip a family secret that unsettles her fragile world.In shock, and feeling betrayed by her whole family, Tessa confides in her ex-husband just as he reveals he has a new woman in his life. Struck unexpectedly by jealousy; balancing her own turmoil against the demands of parenting, Tessa tries to trace her birth father, with devastating results. Yet she fails to see how this is a crucial moment in her children's lives.

Caseley is the 21-year-old daughter of Teuder Bonython, successful shipyard owner and consul for Mexico. When Teuder falls ill, Caseley takes responsibility for the shipyard, the consulate, and her father's health, but in Victorian England, she must hide her talents in a world dominated by men. Not conventionally beautiful, Caseley also resigns herself to a life without love...until she encounters a half-Spanish captain, Jago Barata.

The second of a new series of young fiction by Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for her debut novel, Finding Violet Park. More funny and endearing family stories featuring the irrepressible 5-year-old IGGY as seen through the eyes of her big sister Flo, the ME of the title. Whether learning to swim, or playing at home, going on a day trip or baking birthday cakes, Iggy and Flo add sparkle to everyday activities.

England, 1087. On her sister’s wedding day, Lassair meets an attractive and enigmatic stranger who brings a breath of the fascinating outside world to her backwater Fenland village. When he asks Lassair to use her unique talents to help locate a mysterious treasure, she accepts despite the dangers. But this is no ordinary treasure hunt; the object of the perilous search is 500 years old and has a terrifying power of its own….

Wimbledon, England, 1889. When Theodore Crozier is found dead the neighbourhood hopes the cause may be suicide, if only to spare further pain for both his dutiful wife, Laura, and beloved brother, Titus. However, there is more to the matter - a whisper of murder.... Inspector John Joseph Lintott of Scotland Yard is sent in to investigate, and the further he delves into the mystery the more tangled it becomes. Is Laura the pious, meek wife she appears to be? Could the rumours be true about her unnatural relationship with Titus? Was Theodore Crozier murdered by someone in his household?

When Olivia's beloved Aunt Grace passes, she leaves everything to her niece, with one condition: Olivia must travel to Prague and deliver a message to Grace's long-lost true love, Marek. The trouble is, Olivia's world is getting smaller. Since her husband left her one heartbreaking Christmas Eve, she has found even getting into town a challenge, let alone travelling by herself to a different country. But this is one adventure she has to take, if she is to honour Grace.