Showing results by narrator "Ana Clements" in All Categories

Desperate to shield her from scandal, Mary's brother-in-law, the ambitious botanist Robert Fortune, forces her to accompany him on a mission to China to steal tea plants for the East India Company. But Robert conceals his secret motives - to spy for the British forces, newly victorious in the recent Opium War. His task is both difficult and dangerous - the British are still regarded as enemies by the Chinese, and exporting tea bushes carries the death sentence.

1939, London: From McPhail's Passage to Kensington's Grand Palace Hotel, Rose Dunbar is evacuated from her humble home on the Rock of Gibraltar and dropped into a chaotic city of falling bombs, perplexing class rules and bad weather. Despite being 'flagrantly foreign' to the locals, she becomes an efficient go-between for the upper-class ladies helping out with the war effort and her own tribe of noisy displaced families.

The 'Wasting' (HIV) has caused devastating destruction throughout the known world and severely limited the development of technology as well, creating a mid-nineteenth century England and London almost unrecognizable to us. This is the world Viola is born into. Extremely intelligent and growing up in a house full of medical books which she reads, she dreams of traveling to far-off places, something she can only do via books since her actions and movements are severely restricted by law custom.

Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they perform small miracles and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters. Hannah, bookish and calm, can coax plants to grow even when the weather is bitterly cold. Sarah, defiant and strong, can control the impulsive nature of fire. And Levana, the fey one, can read the path of the stars to decipher their secrets.

In a remote village surrounded by forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell - despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods.

Dr Jaq Silver. Skier, scientist, international jet-setter, explosives expert. She blows things up to keep people safe. Working on avalanche control in Slovenia, Jaq stumbles across a problem with a consignment of explosives. After raising a complaint with the supplier, a multinational chemical company, her evidence disappears. Jaq is warned, threatened, accused of professional incompetence and suspended. Taking her complaint further, she narrowly escapes death only to be framed for murder. Escaping from police custody, she sets out to find the key to the mystery.

In a Victorian London where magic fuels steam technology. Joan Krieger dreams of revolutionizing fashion for this modernized new world but a hidden enemy stalks her family's clothing business, turning her dream into a nightmare. When Joan is a witness to a client being murdered by magic, she turns to the only man who can help: Gregor Sherringford, consulting detective. Together, they become a formidable team but their investigation pulls aside a curtain of sorrow and secrets that threaten everything in Joan's life.

All is not well at Lotus Hall, the home of the Dukes of Bennington, powerful mages who sit at the highest levels of power in the British Empire. Consulting detective Gregor Sherringford, youngest brother of the current duke, is summoned home by his mother, the Dowager Duchess, after the mysterious arrival of a family member long presumed dead. Joan Krieger, Gregor’s investigative partner and lover, accompanies him, though the summons is badly timed.

Quitté à quelques semaines de son mariage, Étienne est prêt à tout pour rencontrer de nouveau l'amour. Nicole ne se remet pas de la mort de son mari. Tom et Luna viennent d'apprendre que leur vœu le plus cher de fonder une famille ne se réalisera jamais. Dans leur soif absolue d'amour, tous pourraient bien se laisser tenter par Meilleure Vie, l'application miracle capable d'exaucer les souhaits les plus fous.

After the heartbreaking loss of her mother and a cruel attack by her drunken father, Ella Parker decides that dishonesty is fine when it serves her needs. Ella escapes her luxurious but lonely life and meets an eccentric ship surgeon who allows her to assist him during a surgery. Compelled by Ella's intelligence and interest in medicine, the doctor prepares her for a medical career, but there's a catch: in early nineteenth century England, women are not accepted into universities. To fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor, Ella must disguise herself as a young man.

Little Cassie Moore was barely able to speak when her hell began. Tortured by a family of abusers, she knew nothing other than a life of terrified subjugation. In her international best-seller “Did You Hear Me Crying?” she lifted the lid on the horrific childhood she secretly endured. But what happened to her in the years that followed? After being sold into an abusive marriage as a teenager, was it her destiny to endure a lifetime of sexual violence, or could she make a break for freedom?

Belle can’t wait to finally have her twins all to herself after their first term at university. But when Kit unexpectedly brings back her boyfriend Ivo, Belle has to welcome him into their home. Charming and confident, Ivo soon wins over the family, but Belle can’t shake a strange feeling. And when Ivo reveals he knows a lot more about Belle than he first let on, she realises his intrusion into their lives could destroy everything she has built. How far is Belle willing to go to protect her family and herself?

Manuel Lindo came from nothing, but stubbornly worked his way up at the Dredging and Construction Company. Obliged to move from city to city for his job, the family couldn't put down roots, and Elvira and her siblings' childhood was marked by unpredictability. As they pass through temporary homes, they're caught between Manuel's outsized temper and their young mother's worsening illness, which would tragically take her life. Beginning with nine-year-old Manuel's experience in Madrid in 1939, Open Heart takes us on a journey through Spain full of insights about love in its many forms.

Times are hard. Anne Chatham is a clever, modest young woman with little money, no prospects for marriage, and a never-shared secret—she can see spirits. Anne finds employment as a typist at Northfield House, the grand country manor of the Wellington family. Her employer, the wheelchair-bound Mr. Wellington, is kindly. His haughty wife is not. He has two handsome sons, the wry and dashing Thomas and the dark and somber Owen. Anne feels sure her prayers have been heard. Until the terrifying night she stumbles upon a tortured spirit roaming the dark halls of Northfield.

The Therapist by Kathlyn C. White, marriage and family therapist, is a nonfiction account of the life of a therapist and the many interesting people she has seen over the years.

Seventeen-year-old Ariadne is in love with young British National Serviceman, Stephen Allenby. But her family are deeply involved with an organization campaigning for a union with Greece, and do not approve. And they’re not the only ones. It’s only a matter of time before Stephen is sent back to England, leaving Ariadne pregnant and alone. Stephen does his best to move on with his life. He marries Laura and has a baby girl called Cressida, but it’s not long before the cracks start to show and his marriage falls apart …

Every family has a story. Every story, eventually, must be told. For most of their lives, Julian Perel and his sister, Paula, lived in a house cast in silence, witnesses to a father struggling with a devastating secret too painful to share. Though their father took his demons to the grave, his past refuses to rest. As adults, brother and sister struggle to find their voices.

Explore the origins of the iconic candy cane; the basis of cherished traditions like ornaments, Christmas cards, and hanging stockings; and the stories behind influential classics such as "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus". Featuring tongue-in-cheek hints and historical facts, this book delves into the ceremony, kitsch, and klatsch of Christmas, with extraordinary stories and poems prompting the need for tissues...and it even comes with a Yule Log recipe!

Many people struggle with remote meetings: a cocktail of factors, such as technical barriers and invisible group norms, increase the uncertainty and risk of the already vulnerable task of collaborating and sharing ideas. When remote meetings go badly, they go really badly. Few things feel as lonely and intimidating as speaking to a screen with unreadable faces staring back in silence. This book will help you improve the quality of your remote meetings.

Elizabeth Moberly, wellborn daughter of a decorated captain of His Majesty’s royal navy, is determined to marry a titled nobleman. For, only the wealth and privileges of a peer of the realm will provide sufficiently for her future children. When Philip Lindsey, an untitled stranger, puts a stop to her beloved cousin’s wedding, Elizabeth resents him for intruding, even as she finds herself attracted to the handsome gentleman’s fine manners and strong faith.