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.

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.

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable edition of Sophie Kinsella's new title.

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.

After her own mother mysteriously disappears, seventeen-year-old Alicia turns up on her godmother's doorstep and asks if she can stay. Carina can't say no to the godchild she hasn't seen in over a decade. And in a way, Alicia is the daughter she always wanted—she's so smart and driven, and definitely scholarship material. Carina is only too happy to help this brilliant young woman achieve her full potential. But husband Don and children Tegan and Arthur aren't so sure. There's something about Alicia… Is she just too good to be true?

Fixie Farr can’t help herself. Straightening a crooked object, removing a barely there stain, helping out a friend...she just has to put things right. It’s how she got her nickname, after all. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees, she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank her, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, scribbles her an IOU - but of course Fixie never intends to call in the favour.

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.

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous – especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it's her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. So when she is tasked with the ultimate sacrifice of pretending to be one of the true royal princesses and marry Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, son to the great dragon slayer, Tamsyn accepts her fate even if it means tricking the deadly warrior.

If you were one of King Henry VIII's six wives, who would you be? Would you be Anne Boleyn, who literally lost her head? Would you be the subject of rumor and scandal like Catherine Howard? Or would you get away and survive like Anna of Cleves? Meet them and Henry's other queens - each bound for divorce or death - in this epic and thrilling novel that reads like fantasy but really happened.

It’s been fifteen years since Rosamunde last lived at the vicarage in Potter’s Cove, the pretty coastal village where she grew up, experienced her first true love - and a heartbreak that changed her life forever. But now Potter’s Cove is calling her back: it’s time to make peace with the past and go home. Rosamunde’s return to the vicarage in the days before Christmas is a whirlwind of festive cheer and heartwarming reunions with friends, family and her loving father, the vicar.

The Crim family is full of notorious criminals. Notoriously inept, that is. Uncle Knuckles once tried to steal a carnival. Great-Uncle Bernard held himself hostage by accident. Aunt Drusilla died slipping on a banana peel. But Imogen is different. She was born with a skill for scandal. A knack for the nefarious. A mastery of misdemeanors. Despite her natural talent for all things unlawful, Imogen got out of the family business years ago. But when the rest of the Crims are accused of pulling off a major heist - which seems doubtful, to say the least - Imogen is forced to step in.

At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire's talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It's not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices...

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.

Taking its cue from powerhouse teen properties like Riverdale, Sabrina, and Katy Keene, this is a new, fresh, live-action take on the beloved Winx characters as they band together to protect the magical realm of Alfea. The series follows Bloom, an intelligent and wickedly funny fairy, and her friends as they unravel the mysteries of Alfea College (a high school for fairies) and train to become protectors of the realm.

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.

In the story, two young women centuries apart - one a troubled, magic-wielding queen, the other a bounty hunter serving a ruthless empire - must fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, only to discover as their stories intersect that they have the power to save their world or doom it.

Contains all four books in the Curse of the Cyren Queen dark fantasy quartet plus three bonus stories: A Lair of Bones, With Dagger and Song, The Fabric of Chaos, and To Wield a Crown. Includes bonus stories, "The Law of the Lair," "The Tides of War," and "A Song in the Deep."

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.

A queen of punk before her time. A duo on the brink of stardom. A night that will define their story for ever. Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, a Black punk artist before her time. Despite her unconventional looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her one night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together.

There are no reported outbreaks in the UK or Ireland. That's what the government broadcasted. Nilda didn't believe it. Not trusting the authorities, she, and her son, Jay, stay behind when Penrith is evacuated. After weeks of rationing, there is little food left in the small town and many other survivors competing for it. Choosing diplomacy over violence, she attempts to forge a community out of a disparate group. As zombies gather outside their walls, she realizes that they will have to seek sanctuary elsewhere.