Showing results by narrator "Charlie Sanderson" in All Categories

A charming and evocative tale of family and fortune from the queen of the West Country saga, Linda Finlay. Isabella Carrington has been brought up in a life of privilege in London. Her life seems perfect until her father suddenly announces bankruptcy. To save Isabella from destitution he sends her to stay with family she has never met, far away on a violet farm deep in Devon. Isabella is horrified to find her uncle expects her to work for her keep, packing up the flowers and selling them in the nearby market.

From the Waterstones Book Prize shortlisted author of A Boy Called Hope and The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair. Mabel has a suitcase full of worries - it turned up just after her dad disappeared and before her mum started dating Gavin. She worries about big things and little things and shoves them into her suitcase until it’s so full it might explode....

'Had me gripped throughout.' IAN RANKIN 'Satisfying on every level.' ELLY GRIFFITHS You trust your family. They love you. Don't they? When 17-year-old Eva Olsen awakes after a horrific accident that has left her bedbound, her parents are right by her side. Devoted, they watch over her night and...

Orphaned at birth, Eliza lives with her beloved Grandparents in a waterlogged Somerset cottage surrounded by willow beds where she ekes out a living making laundry baskets and eel traps. Although poor she is content, until childhood friend Clem regales her with tales of his adventures along the river and she begins to wonder what life is like beyond the Droves. When fate brings handsome, wealthy Theo to her workshop she is instantly attracted and a rosy future beyond the Droves beckons.

Laura Lake, editor of glossy magazine Society, is always on the hunt for scandalous scoops to fill her pages. Now she's discovered a top-secret village in the English countryside where the rich and famous own weekend retreats. Where film stars, Turner-prize winners and billionaires park their helicopters outside the gastropub and buy £100 sourdough loaves from the deli. Outsiders are strictly forbidden. But luckily Laura's best friend Lulu, a logo-obsessed socialite with a heart as huge as her sunglasses, suddenly fancies a quiet life in the country....

The sun is shining as Rachel and her gorgeous beau, Tom, prepare to tie the knot at Primrose Farm. It takes a village to pull off the perfect country wedding, and Rachel couldn’t be more grateful for her friends and family as they roll out the haybales and string up the bunting - all she needs to do is focus on her happy ever after. But no wedding is without drama. A face from the past is looking to stir up trouble in the village, and there’s a secret following Rachel all the way up the aisle.

The first snow is falling over Primrose Farm, the mince pies are warming and Rachel can’t wait to share a kiss under the mistletoe with her gorgeous new flame, Tom. If only it was all comfort and joy.... The arrival of Tom’s ex brings an unwelcome chill to the farm. And despite Master Baker Mum Jill’s valiant efforts, the new pudding pantry business is feeling the pinch. With a spoonful of festive spirit, a cupful of goodwill with friends and her messy, wonderful family by her side, can Rachel make this a Christmas to remember?

Adam and Polly Fitch face a bleak future after being sold for just five shillings to Miss Reed's orphanage by their bullying father. But the orphanage does have one advantage - a merry band of children who soon form their own kind of family - and they're all determined to escape the clutches of the wicked Miss Reed. Can Adam, Polly and their band of friends survive life with only each other to rely on?

Meet the Unreliable Nature Writer: a macabre product of late capitalism, climate anxiety and personal loss. Finding herself alone at a wedding, tailed by an unctuous and infatuated fellow guest, she proceeds to have her fun—plunging us into a potpourri of disturbing, darkly funny visions of a near future. Aloof, evasive and sardonic, she will be our guide; her stories will bare truths about how the world we’re changing so violently might affect us in turn.

For fans of Small Spaces and Goosebumps comes a delightfully creepy tale of a girl who must defend her family home from a babysitter with a monstrous secret! “The first time I read this book, I was so frightened I hid under the bed—and read it again.”—Lemony Snicket Gwen doesn’t want...

Ten years ago, Jen's cousin Meg killed herself after failing to escape an abusive relationship. Now, Meg's ex is back and Jen's domestic abuse helpline has started getting frightening calls from a girl who knows things about Meg...

Berlin, 1961. Anja and Monika are best friends–they even share a cat called Otto. When a huge barbed wire fence is built between their apartment blocks, everything changes; their city and family are divided by the Berlin Wall. In the West, Anja is sure it will be taken down, but Monika is afraid. Her world is changing: neighbours keep disappearing, others become spies and shadowy threats lurk around every corner.

Nina has the most magical job in the world, matching customers with their perfect Christmas tree. Working at Christmas Tree Farm is always fun and full of laughter but the weight of past tragedy bears down on her. Her admirer is a great distraction, but is he the right man for her? Holly is just trying to be a normal teenager, having to deal with the mean girls in her class. But then the most handsome boy at school takes an interest in her. Have all her Christmases come at once?

Talking to your teenager shouldn't be hard, but sometimes it's the most difficult thing in the world. Healthy, open, non-judgemental conversations with young people can be - literally - life-saving. From minor matters (tidiness, homework, sleep) to big and important ones (relationships, mental ill health, drugs and alcohol), teenagers and their parents often struggle to talk to each other. A well-timed conversation, a listening ear, a non-judgemental and receptive attitude - all these can make an enormous and lasting impact on how safely and happily a teenager navigates this crucial stage.

Doggerland was the prosperous and powerful kingdom that connected Britain to Europe eight thousand years ago. But from great beginnings it now lies drowned, lost forever far below the cold waves of the North Sea. Who were the people who lived in Doggerland? And what happened to those who survived the tsunami that caused the kingdom’s disappearance?

Ruben is a successful salesman. Roz hates her boring admin job. Ruben owns his own home. Roz still lives with her nasty mum and dad. One is a serial killer, the other desperate to learn the trade. When high-school misfits Ruben Jones and Roz Smith's paths cross later in life, they see something in the other no one else has and they team up to form a friendship based on the one thing they have in common – murder.

It's the heatwave summer of 1976 and 14-year-old would be poet Jackie Chadwick is newly fostered by the Walls. She desperately needs stability, but their insecure, jealous teenage daughter isn't happy about the cuckoo in the nest and sets about ousting her. When her attempts to do so lead to near-tragedy—and the Walls' veneer of middle-class respectability begins to crumble—everyone in the household is forced to reassess what really matters.

If Stan Pollux had known he would be spending his summer holidays in the outer reaches of our solar system, he would have put on different underpants. But when he gets kidnapped by the Planet Dragon Mercury, most things suddenly seem small and insignificant. Stan finds himself in a universe of dragons who had once ruled the skies as gods.

Birdie dreams of becoming a professional artist, but the constraints of society demand she marries well. In order to fulfil her dreams, she makes a deal with her parents: to let her spend a year at the St. Agnes School of Art in Cornwall, after which she will return home and marry the insufferable but influential and wealthy Charles Bonham, as per her parents' wishes. Birdie however, has no intention of ever going back. Free of responsibility for the first time, she finds herself surrounded by a crew of bohemian artists who show her just how dizzying independence can be.

Rosie is ready for her life to begin, because nothing says new life like going to university. After years of waiting and working hard, she's finally on the road that will secure her future. Except university turns out to be not what she hoped or imagined, and although she's not exactly unhappy--really--she might be a little bit worried that she doesn't really like her course much. Or her flatmates. Or, really...anything? But it's normal to be homesick (right?) and everything will have settled in a month or two.