Showing results by narrator "Francesca" in All Categories

Freya is desperate for escape from her messy breakup when she’s offered a job caring for elderly Kathleen in the seaside village of Heaven’s Cove. Kathleen’s once-red hair is now a brilliant white, but there’s always laughter in her Irish lilt - until the day Freya finds her weeping, her gaze fixed on Driftwood House, perched on the cliffs above the village. She refuses to say what’s wrong.

When three women head to Portugal for a long weekend in the sun, the goal is to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Jane is getting married, and Angela and Maya want to give her a good time before she does. But the carefree getaway soon goes awry, and by the time the friends board their flight home, they are all carrying a terrible secret. It's one that could ruin each of their lives, which is why they make their pact: They agree to tell no one else what happened while they were away. As long as they can do that, they should be fine. That is until somebody else threatens to share their secret.

In 1912, scientist Marie Curie spent two months on the British seaside at the home of Hertha Ayrton, an accomplished mathematician, inventor, and suffragette. At the time, Curie was in the throes of a scandal in France over her affair with Paul Langevin, which threatened to overshadow the accomplishment of her second Nobel Prize. Performed by Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany at the Minetta Lane Theatre, this play by Lauren Gunderson is an ode to two remarkable women.

These are the words Peter Mackenzie wakes up to on a chilly March morning in 2012. Over the next 48 hours, his life is thrown into chaos, catapulting him into the decision to leave the UK and return to Australia, the country from which he was exiled 30 years earlier. The opportunity to see Lydia, his mother, one last time means confronting his family, friends, and the community of Lazarus that he abandoned as a teenager.

As Ben and Isla walk together on the wild Devon beaches, they discover a heartbreaking generations-old story of a woman who chose her family over true love. But Isla and Caitlin are no closer to solving their grandmother's riddle: and when Caitlin finally shares a shocking secret about her life back in London, selling their grandmother's home seems the only way forward.

'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding—and contested—writers of the twentieth century. In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth.

High on the clifftops, Lettie takes a deep breath of salty air and opens the letter. There is no signature, and the old-fashioned handwriting is faint against the yellowed paper. The message, and the tiny gold key inside, will turn her life upside down. Lettie Starcross makes her way along the cobbled streets of Heaven’s Cove, clutching a little key and searching for answers about her kind, great-aunt Iris, whom she misses terribly. With no job back home, and no one in her family understanding how adrift she feels, Lettie wonders if her aunt was lonely just like her.

Many full moons ago, a young American boy with ambition in his belly and the moon in his veins followed his destiny west, determined to carve a path to success no matter the carnage. Two centuries later, a city is captivated by the strange and savage murder of a young woman. Her roommate, Natasha, no longer able to afford their apartment alone—and hounded by both rumors of wolves and a pop-star’s angry fan-swarm—has resorted to living in her car. There’s nothing left for her ... except vengeance.

Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton.... Our four warriors and four witches, destined mates, have begun their adventure, knowing the fate of their world is at stake, but not having any idea there are other factions plotting against them. Now they face political intrigues, religious zealotry, father against son, wife against husband, a mother’s plotting, a sister’s envy, grief, betrayal, and despair as the prophesied journey across the sands of Firenze into the lush green of Wodell.

Megan thinks that she has the perfect husband and the perfect life. Craig works so that she doesn't have to, leaving her free to relax all day in their beautiful and secluded country home. But when she starts to long for friends and purpose again, Megan applies for a job in London, much to her husband's disappointment. She thinks that he is upset because she is unhappy. But she has no idea. After Megan goes against his wishes and attends the interview, Craig decides that it is time to act.

Being alone has a serious branding issue. We've only ever had negative language to talk about flying solo - but what about when time spent alone is restorative and joyful? What if it's something you crave? Enter: alonement, Francesca Specter's empowering new word to express valuing your own company and carving out time to spend with yourself, whoever you are and whatever your relationship status. In Alonement, Francesca Specter reveals how we can all thrive alone, whatever our circumstances, and harness the untapped power of some meaningful time with me, myself and I.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the hold alcohol has on your life, yearning for a sense of freedom, peace, and purpose? Imagine waking up each morning with a renewed sense of hope, excited about the day's possibilities, and confident in your ability to embrace them fully. The Quit Drinking Hypnosis Bundle offers a gentle and supportive path to help you stop drinking, heal deeply, and reconnect with your authentic self.

Yorkshire Dales, Summer 1997. Vicky Mott slips out the door of her remote cottage, and into the pale dawn light. She scrawls a note for her friends. Gone to see the sunrise. V xxx That's the last anyone ever hears from twenty-year-old music lover Vicky. Another victim of the Fellside Strangler? That would make Vicky the fourth young woman to lose her life this summer. Snatched by a mysterious killer who stalks the fells . . . But Vicky's body is never found.

Christa Playfoot is looking for a fresh start after her divorce. Having lost her Michelin-starred restaurant, she hadn't expected to be job hunting and single just before Christmas. When her best friend says she's recommended Christa for a gig as a private chef over the Christmas period, Christa can't think of a reason to say no. Christa has no idea what to expect but it's certainly not grumpy billionaire divorcee Marc Ferrier and his rambunctious twin sons, or the beautiful but cheerless country estate, Pudding Hall, that they inhabit.

Every Vampire Bloodline has a gift. Eyros Vampires can read and control minds. Kaly Vampires can raise the dead and command your very soul. Wyvern Vampires can teleport from one reality to another. And on it goes. But King Daemon has all of their gifts, plus one more. The Vampires call it Armageddon. No one knows what it is. Until now…

From the award-winning author of Chemistry comes a sharp and poignant short story that follows a young medical student working in clinical research and grappling with the realities of a future in her chosen field.

In Kristen Ashley’s first anthology, listeners will find three short stories and two novellas taking them back to characters and series in the Kristen Ashley universe. This anthology includes: "No Clue", The Stars Aligned, "The Favor", More Than Everything, and "Rock Chick Renewal".

The queen has been assassinated. The Enchantments are under attack. The plot is unfolding. And our lovers, Silence and Mars, Cassius and Elena, True and Farah, and Aramus and Ha-Lah, are forced to separate as treachery and civil war sweep Triton. Not to mention, the Beast is still a threat to every breathing being on the continent, and it is the destined warriors and witches who must stop him.

I can't speak. I have no one. I live my life below the radar, burning crime scenes for the mafia. Most of my life I've managed to quash the loneliness down until it left me nothing but a hardened shell. Until I found her. Until I took her. Every moment near her drives me to new levels of obsession, and I'll do anything to keep her.

Tears trickling down her cheeks, she recognises her grandmother's writing scrawled across the manila envelope. Inside is an engraved key that sits heavy in her hand. Will the tumbledown cottage be the start of a new life–or will it tear her life apart?