Showing results by narrator "Penelope Penelope Rawlins" in All Categories

Charlie Hunter does not like Christmas, especially the lead into it—cooking endless servings of Christmas dinner. So when she is asked by Graeme Strickland, Michelin-starred chef, egomaniac and friend, to help out in a hotel restaurant in Edinburgh’s New Town, for a fortnight, she accepts with alacrity. The Head Chef, David Jenkins, is a very old friend of Strickland’s, and the job entails covering temporarily for a sous chef position, while Strickland provides cover for Charlie, gratis, in the Old Forge Café.

Young theatre nurse Clare Maitland is devastated when her fiancé calls off their dream wedding because he wants to marry someone else. Her friendship with charming surgeon Andrew Darvie provides comfort, but is it enough to mend a broken heart? Meanwhile, Clare's feelings are hurt by the harsh comments of moody but talented Dr. Hugh Sanders. The chance of a nursing job in Scotland seems the answer to all of Clare's problems. But she soon discovers that escaping the men in her life won't be as easy as she imagined.

The first lie got him in trouble. Our romantic date night was meant to fix us. But when my husband grabs my hand and says he needs to tell me something, I can tell from the look in his eyes that our marriage is in deep trouble. The second lie ruined our marriage. We’ve been here before. I wonder who she is. Is she younger than me? For a moment I wonder if I’ll forgive him. But I always do. It’s the only way to keep our family together.

Louise Young is a devoted single mother whose only priority is providing for her daughter, Mia. Louise has a good job in a huge international corporation and she's grateful for it. The only problem is her boss who can't keep his hands to himself, but Louise can handle him. What she really doesn't have time for is romance - until she meets the company's rising star, Josh Wallace. Louise usually says no to evenings out but she's decided to let her hair down tonight.

Every morning, I sit at the same table of my favourite café, sip my cappuccino, and watch them. The woman has no idea I’m watching, day after day, unravelling the secrets of her life. I see the way she smiles when he arrives, how she glances over her shoulder… like someone who is hiding something. She thinks she’s in control, but has no idea I’m on to them… I know a lot more about the man. For a start, he’s not who he pretends to be – his lies are as plain as the nose on your face. There’s more to this story than meets the eye, a lot more than I’ll ever let on.

When famous TV chef Matteo McLeish turns up at the Old Forge Café and offers chef Charlie Hunter a place in his kitchen for the duration of Hampden Green's local opera festival, she thinks it's because he rates her cooking skills. In fact it's because he's heard she's good in a crisis. The wholesome star of Nonna's Kitchen is being blackmailed by one of his team.

Meet the mother whose children were taken away, and the father who fought for his son. Listen to the radical social worker, the judge, the lawyer. See inside the homes of foster carers, adoptive parents and children in care. Because behind closed doors, a scandal is ongoing.

Chef Charlie Hunter is just trying for mindfulness and a work/life balance, if such a thing is ever possible in the context of a busy professional kitchen. She's found herself a great podcast that's going to help her get there. Until she finds that her online self-help guru has feet of clay — feet which are much closer to her restaurant than seems possible. Even more disruptive is the attack on a well known writer in Charlie's quiet Chilterns village of Hampden Green, and the arrest of the village's own celebrity shock jock.

Everyone thinks my life is bliss. The love of my life, Cary, and I live in our dream home and we have a beautiful little girl, Harper. I may not have given birth to her, but I’m her mommy now. But there’s one thing we never talk about… Cary’s wife before me, Presley, was perfect in every way. But she went missing a long time ago. Cary was distraught when he told me how she was abducted from her car, leaving behind a pool of blood. No one saw a thing. The neighbors are always gossiping about Presley. I try to ignore them, but one day I hear something that makes my stomach flip.

The Axiom Diamond is a mythical relic, with the power to show its bearer any truth they desire. Men have sought for it across many continents for centuries but in vain. When trainee sorceress Aimee de Laurent's first ever portal-casting goes awry, she and her mentor are thrown into the race to find the gem, on the skyship Elysium. Opposing them are the infamous magic-wielding knights of the Eternal Order and their ruthless commander, Lord Azrael, who will destroy everything in their path....

The strange planet known as Tanegawa's World is owned by TransRifts Inc, the company with the absolute monopoly on interstellar travel. Hob landed there 10 years ago, a penniless orphan left behind by a rift ship. She was taken in by Nick Ravani and quickly became a member of his mercenary biker troop, the Ghost Wolves. Ten years later, she discovers that the body of Nick's brother out in the dunes. Worse, his daughter is missing, taken by shady beings called the Weathermen.

From the moment Alina touches London's hottest fae superstar, breaking one of the laws founded to protect all of her kind, her fate - and the fae - close in. Belowground the fae High Queen plots to claim the city as her own and places her pawns, ready for the battle to come. A battle she cannot lose but for one small problem - Alina. There are four ancient keepers powerful enough to keep the queen in her prison. Three are dead. One remains.... And to fight back, Alina risks sacrificing everything she has come to love.

Alina knows she is not real - the fae queen spun an evil web to create her - but she wants more than to spend her days feeding off humans' energy to survive. She isn't content to lose herself in the dangerously attractive Reign. She wants a life of her own making. Desperate to help the man who saved her life, Alina vows to find his missing sister. Alina is convinced that the general of the Fae Authority plays a part in her disappearance. She infiltrates the organisation and gets close to their strongest fighter.

Infinity "Finn" Blackstone is the 17-year-old daughter of Blackstone's reclusive CEO - but she's never even met him. When disturbing dreams about a past she doesn't remember begin to torment her, Finn knows there's only one person who can provide answers: her father.

When we move to the exclusive Cutters Island, my life changes overnight. Dressed like the perfect wife, pushing my baby down the street in her pink stroller, I look up and smile at the security cameras. Because I know they are watching. And for now, I need to play my part.

When a young couple buy their first home in Little Cote, they're so excited to make it their own. The house has been up for sale for months, and it is idyllic on the outside but needs a complete overhaul on the inside. However, while the garden is overrun with meets, the house is falling down, there's a horrid concrete patio that, while ugly, looks absolutely brand-new. The couple hate it, and seeing as they're doing the house from top to bottom, they decide to rip the concrete up, too. When two bodies are discovered under the patio, Jemima Cotton is the first on the scene.

Black holes are some of the most fascinating phenomena in the natural universe. In this beautiful pocket volume, Odenwald explores the science behind black holes in simple and accessible language. He explains what black holes are, how they come into existence, and how they affect the universe around us. Taking into consideration subjects such as gravity, quantum mechanics, the holographic principle and thermodynamics along the way, The Essential Book of Black Holes provides the perfect starting point for anyone interested in the subject.

Time is one of the great mysteries of the universe. In this fascinating volume, NASA astronomer and educator Sten Odenwald brings to life the philosophical and scientific conundrums about time in simple and accessible language.

With a devilish toddler and baby number two on the way, Rachel’s big dream is to one day go to the toilet on her own. So, she’s surprised to discover that her husband has found the time to have an exciting affair while she’s been bringing up their family. Suddenly, Rachel is left wrangling with a child who will only eat crackers and a 35-week bump. She knows even Mumsnet isn’t going to solve this.

There's a saying about all work and no play—but there's never a dull moment for Caroline working at Holly Walk Mall, especially at Christmas. When she's not dealing with orders from Ian, 'the manager who can’t manage' as her friend Rachel puts it, she's overseeing the usual late-night shopping sessions, Santa's grotto construction and, most importantly, the sampling of many delicious festive treats at the Italian café her friends Nina and Marco own.