Showing results by narrator "Jessica Preddy" in All Categories

A brilliant, slyly humorous dissection of wealth, power and the tragedies even money can't fix for fans of The Secret History, The Corrections and Succession, Somebody Down There Likes Me asks what might happen if we finally get what we deserve.

Amidst the twinkling lights and falling snowflakes, Becca has a wish to make this Christmas... Running from heartbreak, twenty-five-year-old Becca has moved to the cosy village of Honeyford. Living with her best friend Zac in a little stone cottage, and serving gingerbread lattes at the Cosy Kettle, is the perfect escape from her past. But starting over isn’t always plain sailing, and Becca’s shyness is holding her back from making her mark on the café.

London, 1941: In a cramped bunker in Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, underneath Westminster’s Treasury building, civilian women huddle at desks, typing up confidential documents and reports. Since her parents were killed in a bombing raid, Rose Teasdale has spent more hours than usual in Room 60, working double shifts, growing accustomed to the burnt scent of the Prime Minister’s cigars permeating the stale air.

Marietta hometown girl Kendall Dixon knows who she is and what she wants, even if the stubborn and slow-smiling cowboy who owns her heart is long gone from Montana. Rancher Brent Ashton returns to Marietta to care for his sick mother. Haunted by the death of his father, he is determined to save his derelict home and resist rekindling the romance with the only girl he's ever loved so that she doesn't sacrifice her dreams for him. But the shy and sweet Kendall he left behind has become a strong and determined woman. A woman who won’t let her cowboy walk away for a second time.

One day, the power goes off and the world falls silent. And in two very different parts of America, two very different nightmares are about to begin. In Manhattan, Elizabeth and her brother Henry are all alone in their parents' apartment. Looking out the window, they can see the carnage slowly spreading through the city. But as hopes fade for their parents to come back, Elizabeth and Henry discover that dangers might already have entered the building.

The festive season has come to Sinclair’s, and Sophie and Lil are spending the holidays at snowy Winter Hall. But it turns out that this is no ordinary house party.... As sinister secrets come to light, our intrepid heroines find themselves faced with a more baffling mystery than ever before! With the help of their friends, can they uncover the truth in time to foil a truly diabolical plot? Or will Mr Sinclair’s New Year’s Eve Midnight Peacock Ball spell disaster for the dauntless young detectives?

Elle Littlewood can barely believe her luck when her producer tells her about the chance to get her hands on a dilapidated chateau in Aix-En-Provence, France for a rock bottom price. It seems too good to be true, but as a home interiors influencer, she knows this would make incredible content. Lately, Elle has noticed the cracks start to show. Her life is the envy of thousands, and her social media posts show a beautiful, accomplished woman. Yet this wasn't always the case. If they knew the truth about her past, they would never look at Elle the same way again.

Decades tend to crest halfway through, and 1995 was the year of the Nineties: peak Britpop, peak YBA (Tracey Emin's tent), peak New Lad (when Nick Hornby published High Fidelity, when James Brown's Loaded detonated the publishing industry, and when pubs were finally allowed to stay open on a Sunday). It was the year of The Bends, the year Danny Boyle started filming Trainspotting, the year Richey Edwards went missing, the year Alex Garland wrote The Beach, the year Blair changed Clause IV after a controversial vote at the Labour Conference.

Australian cowgirl Bridie Willis travels to Montana to escape the pain of losing her father. Headstrong and determined, she plans to spend the summer alone photographing wild animals. Instead she finds herself saddled with a stubborn cowboy as a back-country guide. Ethan Morgan has been shaped by a childhood spent on the run. Cautious, steady and conservative, he is tasked with ensuring the beautiful, risk-taking cowgirl doesn't ditch him or come to any harm.

As snowflakes fall like icing sugar, I smile at him and feel an unmistakeable spark. And I realise I don't just fancy the (taut, muscular) arse off this man – a man who probably doesn't even know I exist – but I actually like him…

As friends gather for a hen weekend, they are all smiles, but cannot hide the web of tension that bubbles beneath the surface. The group was forever broken by the devastating loss of their childhood friend, Becca. The prettiest and most powerful of them all, her absence lies at the heart of this fractured friendship. Now, decades later, someone wants to expose the truth about what happened, and will stop at nothing to reveal the secrets long since buried.

What if you couldn’t get away from the one who got away? Unlucky in love Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling Notting Hill house‐share with four strangers. On her first night Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor. They don’t kiss under the mistletoe, but as far as Jess is concerned, the connection is instant. She lets herself imagine how their relationship will grow over the following year. But when Jess returns from a Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else.

Once upon a time, Abbie and Matt had swoon-worthy mini breaks in Paris, and Abbie would cook him steak wearing nothing but an apron and high heels. These days, they’re experiencing the longest dry spell on record. And Abbie is keeping a very big secret. But she’s not ready to give up. Nobody knows Abbie like Matt does, and it helps that he’s tall, dark and handsome, with hazel eyes and dimples to die for. Determined to reignite the romance, Abbie initiates Operation Memory Lane and recreates their happiest memories.

Drew Harrington knows exactly who he is—a legal shark with a love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude that works just fine in his cutthroat world. He’s on the cusp of being named a partner in his firm, but only if he can prove to his colleagues that he has a more human side. Becky Fletcher is running from her past, so the last thing she’s looking for is love. What she does want is a friendly face in a cold city. Her sunny outlook is the perfect opposite to Drew’s hard exterior, but can she afford to let down her guard?

New Yorker Jake Harrington loves a lot of things about living in London: his lucrative hedge fund job, the way British women melt at the sound of an American accent, being thousands of miles away from the girl who betrayed him. And, oh yes, his just-sex arrangement with his gorgeous roommate, Jess.

Chronically single Kate is winning at life. She's finally saved enough to live alone in her dream home, she has a great group of friends, and she has—at last—perfected the ultimate chocolate cake. So what if her love life is dead on arrival? When she finds out one of her oldest friends Andy is travelling abroad and needs her help, she decided to drop everything and fly out to him. Only problem is, Daniel, the mutual friend she blames for Andy's wild lifestyle, is coming with her. It's the first holiday abroad she's been able to afford in years, and she has to spend it with him?!

Days 9 to 16 is the third title in the Mass Extinction Event series, continuing the story of a worldwide apocalypse seen from the eyes of two very different people in two different parts of the US. Finally realising that she must leave the city, Elizabeth sets out alone along a deserted road. Eventually, however, she encounters some fellow survivors, and before long she's taken to a remote farmhouse where a small community is struggling to take shape. She soon discovers, however, that this particular farmhouse hides some dark secrets.

Maurice, a small-town librarian, dies one Monday morning in a fiery car crash. Finding himself in a very unexpected afterlife, he befriends Kit, who knows more than he should about Heaven - and about Maurice's life on Earth. Meanwhile, Maurice's daughter Andy struggles to come to terms with the death of her ineffectual father. Tasked with preparing his eulogy, she starts writing letters to him, trying to make sense of her family's history.

When an onslaught of revelations brings chaos to Mila’s life, her A-list parents jet from LA to join her in Tennessee. But they bring marital conflicts with them, leaving Mila distraught, betrayed, trapped. In the explosive fall-out, Mila can’t help but question everything she ever knew about her family and herself. The one person she can trust is Blake - and so she turns to him for a summer of freedom and fun. Their flourishing relationship grows stronger, more intense, but Blake has crises of his own...featuring a guitar, a pushy mom and a clingy ex.

When recently engaged Nat flips through a bridal magazine, she spots a quiz on page 111 about being ready for marriage. After failing it, she’s determined to prove it wrong. If only it was that easy. Getting married to Archie, whose smile makes her insides go funny, should be a dream come true. So why is it a total nightmare?