Showing results by narrator "Diana Croft" in All Categories

The Seven Lands of Velspar put their faith in the Intercessors, a psychic priesthood responsible for the purification of the spirit. Where passion flares, they soothe its intent. Those who cannot be soothed are cast out, their spirits destroyed by fire.

When a teenager is the victim of an unprovoked attack while walking his dog, a murder investigation begins. A cruel twist of fate makes his innocent family the targets of a vicious campaign of terror. As the detectives of Liverpool's Major Investigation Team try to contain the violence, several key members of an organized crime family begin to topple, causing shockwaves across the planet.

Charlotte Clarke wants nothing more than to experience a London Season. But when she finds out she has to wait another year due to her sister's recent pregnancy, she is crushed. All is not lost as a letter arrives soon after summoning Charlotte to Danbury Hall to meet her new guardian, John Wilkins. With little choice but to go, she determines to contrive a way to convince her new guardian to take her to London in her sister's stead.

R. D. Blackmore’s enduring masterpiece Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is renowned for its beautifully descriptive writing, the cleverly woven plot, and the powerfully drawn portrait of true love. Set in Devon in the late 17th century, it is an enduring masterpiece. First published in 1869, the novel revolves around the story of Devonshire farmer, John Ridd, his family, friends, and community. John tells the story in the first person beginning when he is just a boy and his father is murdered by the Doones.

When Robert Baratheon died suddenly after a boar hunt, all hell broke loose. When Edward IV, King of England, died suddenly after a fishing trip in April 1483, another phase of the Wars of the Roses ensued, the Yorks (Starks) battling the Lancasters (Lannisters). Thwarted Queen is told mainly in the voice of Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495), the thwarted queen, but other voices are important to this tale, not least those of the Londoners, who forged their own political destiny by engaging in public debate with the powerful aristocrats of the time

Jenny doesn’t know what they’ll do when they find out she’s a wicked witch. She can’t help being a wicked witch. It’s in her blood. She’s supposed to eat children, blast people with witchfire, and plot dark deeds with her foul-mouthed imp familiar, Jizzimus. Instead, she’s rescued a girl, Kay, from a band of people traffickers. To keep her safe they have signed up for a college course in an English country mansion. Jizzimus is not impressed. The mansion is not the safe haven they thought it would be.

Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.

Ella Hannaford has a small business to run, an overworked father to look after and a future stepmother who wants a perfect wedding.

It’s winter at the Werth residence, and someone has turned up dead. Not that this is unusual. There’s Great-Aunt Honoria on the premises, after all. Only this corpse is freshly dead, and nobody knows how the lady came to be leaking blood all over Lady Werth's best parlour. The disastrous Miss Gussie confesses herself delighted, for nothing enlivens a dull week in February like a mysterious murder. And the culprit really ought to be discovered, for the circumstances suggest Lord Bedgberry might have had something to do with it…

Somebody thought it would be a great idea to send us to the Troll Court. Because somebody imagined I might be the perfect person to help with a certain wild and crazy plan of Their Majesties' concoction. They want to restore the lost city of Farringale. I can only say that I heartily approve. There is the tiny problem of how, of course; but who better to dig up the truth than the Society’s most colourful agents? Off questing we go, armed with a long list of questions, two winning smiles (well, three, if you count the Baron’s — and who wouldn’t?) and a certain Dappledok pup.

Cast away from the Society (sort of) and out on our own, we've got a big problem on our hands - and an exciting prospect, too. They call it time travel on TV. Is this the big, fat secret the Hidden Ministry's been keeping? What's the real truth behind that wandering tower? Answers must be found — in the face of severe opposition from the Ministry, from Ancestria Magicka, and from every Fae Court in existence. Simple. If only everything wouldn’t keep going wrong.

Meet Mavis Upton. As mummy to 7-year old Ella and surrogate to far too many pets, and with a failed marriage under her belt, Mavis knows she needs to make some life-changing decisions. It's time to strike out into the world, to stand on her own two feet ...to pursue a lifelong ambition to become a police officer. I mean, what could go wrong?

The Society for Magickal Heritage’s best agents are heading back into paradise. Giddy Gods help them all. No one ever said heroic adventure would be easy, but this is ridiculous. Magickal wonderlands aren’t meant to have a dark side. Heroes aren’t meant to get stranded there, either. Ves may be up for anything, but she hadn’t expected that pretty much anything would be up for her. And with a horde of unhappy spirits enjoying a direct line to Zareen’s psyche, it’s lucky she’s unbreakable... right?

The Magic Dragons of Anglesey is a fun collection of stories set on the island. The Rock Goblins is the first in the series and introduces Hen Goch (Old Red), the oldest and wisest dragon of them all, who lives in a cavern beneath Holyhead Mountain.

When Ellie’s boyfriend forbids her from going to France to attend her best friend’s wedding, she decides she’s had enough. She dumps him and goes to France by herself. But traveling alone is scary, and Ellie realizes how reliant she’d become on the men in her life. On holiday, she learns to trust her own judgement and grows in confidence. Just when she decides she doesn’t need a man to complete her, she meets Ash, who is everything her ex wasn’t. But is Ellie willing to give up her newfound independence and link herself to another man?

Lara is so busy trying to get her fledgling software company off the ground that she’s up in Yorkshire, pitching for business, just before Christmas. When bad weather sees the trains cancelled, the only place she can find shelter is a small pub called the Trewton Arms. Thilini ("Tilly") loves that her art helps feed her travel addiction. She’s back in England for Christmas after two years away and can’t wait to be on the move again. When they meet, their attraction is hard to deny. But what happens when the trains are running again and they have to go their separate ways?

Tracey is a tech millionaire. Burned out and fed up of people needing her all the time, she retreats to a rural English village. All she wants for Christmas is a of bit space. Dumped by the woman he was about to propose to, Vinnie is spending Christmas alone in a cozy cottage for two. All he wants is to hide away and lick his wounds. Alone. When Tracey gets caught in a blizzard, the only place she can take shelter is Vinnie’s cottage. Can two snowbound people stop being grumpy for long enough to feel their attraction to each other?

It took her 20 years to build up her business. He works for the competition. What is she willing to risk to get a second chance at love? Jack left Sue when she was 18 and no one else has even come close to taking his place in her heart. Twenty years and plenty of hard work later, Sue is too busy running the local bakery and fighting off competition from the new bistro in the village to have time for romance. Jack finally returns to the village he grew up in. Seeing Sue rekindles feelings he thought were long buried.

When Jack’s business partner turns up dead at the hands of a high society member with ties to Melinda’s deceased husband, the two are thrust together to investigate a murder with more twists and turns than a London back alley at midnight. Can they find the murderer and possibly love?

September 1940. As the bombs of the Blitz fall on London, Ruby and Stevie are falling in love. United by a shocking experience when they were evacuees, Ruby believes that she understands Stevie like nobody else can. But then Stevie is sent abroad into danger, and as Ruby waits desperately for letters with foreign stamps that never come, she begins to fear that he is lost forever. And when Stevie does return, he has changed, and Ruby faces a difficult choice.