Showing results by narrator "Claire Morgan" in All Categories

Charged with drama and beauty, this memorable collection by a master storyteller weaves a magical world of possibility and power from female myths of physical renewal, creation and change. It is an extraordinary immersion into the bodies and voices, mindscapes and landscapes, of the shapeshifting women of our native folklore. Drawing on myth and fairy tales found across Europe from Croatia to Sweden, Ireland to Russia, Sharon Blackie brings to life women's remarkable ability to transform themselves in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances.

Miss Annabelle Armitage was pea-green with envy. What a cruel world it was when her spinster of an older sister could enchant the dashing Lord Sylvester Comfrey! Annabelle's own passionate nature was surely better suited for such a one as Sylvester. Alas for Annabelle, Comfrey seemed to care for her not a jot. Determined to get a bit of her own back, even if it meant marrying another, Annabelle found Peter, Marquess of Brabington, a most attentive admirer - who ends up having to fight for her love.

Poor Minerva. Prudish, self-righteous, and incredibly beautiful, she is to be sent to London to capture a wealthy husband. But Minerva doesn't know the first thing about flirting. The London dandies find her moralizing appalling and concoct a plan to assault her virtue - an assault that will scandalize all London society. Meanwhile, Lord Sylvester Comfrey, whom she met earlier through her father, has been keeping a careful eye on the girl. A fact she resents. She dislikes Lord Sylvester. There is something about him that disturbs her.

Limpet, Steffan, and Jared. Three best friends crammed into a clapped-out rust bucket of a car on a whirlwind road trip to forget their troubles and see out the end of the summer. But no matter how far they drive, they can't escape the hidden secrets and slow-burning romance that could upset the balance of their friendship - perhaps forever.

Daphne Armitage embarked on her first Season with secret dread. For though she had long since learned the power of her flawless beauty, she shrank from the open competition of the marriage mart. Better to marry her first suitor, the fastidious Cyril Archer, and be done with it. But when Simon Garfield, notable and wealthy Corinthian, falls in love with the lively girl bubbling beneath the veneer of her beauty, Daphne's resolve is tested...that is, until the vain Mr. Archer threatens to reveal a family scandal so horrible that marriage seems a small price to pay....

Vampires have always lived among them, quietly attacking unsuspecting debutantes and dandified lords as well as hackney drivers and Bond Street milliners. If not for the vampire slayers of the Gardella family, these immortal creatures would have long taken over the world. In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake.

How could colourless Frederica withstand a Season's scrutiny after the five beauties before her had married so magnificently? Disguised as a chambermaid, Freddie found her way into the household of the fashionable Duke of Pembury. That wild gentleman was soon on to her tricks and found himself escorting the lady to London. Once on the marriage mart, the five sisters preened and primped the youngest until Freddie could not recognize herself!

Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy has been a vampire slayer for a year, balancing her life as a peer of Society with the dangerous role that takes her out on moonlit streets, stake in hand. She has learned brutal and heart-breaking lessons about the sacrifices that must be made in order to save humanity from the evil that preys upon it. Now, in Italy, a powerful vampire is amassing the power to control the souls of the dead.

Ivy Edwards is 31 years old, funny, shameless and a bit of a romantic. She's also currently trying not to cry in the office toilet. Partly because she's just run out of money for fags. A bit because her mum continues to annoy her. Definitely not because she's just been dumped by her fiancé. With her London life in shambles and her family miles away in the Welsh valleys, Ivy doesn't actually feel like she belongs anywhere.

What clever woman would want a man like Lord Harry Desire? Why, he was clearly a lummox - languid, vain, and bland. Not even his beautiful face could redeem him. But he stood to inherit a vast fortune, and that was good enough for Deirdre's father, a spendthrift vicar who arranged the match to rescue himself from imminent financial collapse. Leave it to Deirdre to contrive an escape, a quick elopement with her one true love, the dashing Guy Wentwater. But Wentwater's love proved none too true, and Deirdre found herself in a humiliating pickle.

As the Second World War ends, Sophie Daniels quits the WAAF with nowhere to go. She wanders around the country searching for a place where she can settle, living in bedsits, barns and small guesthouses in the meantime. Eventually she finds Badgers Brook, where she meets and befriends nine-year-old Bertie, neglected and running wild. The neighbours warm to her, the place is welcoming and Sophie knows she has found her home. Friendly local Ryan Treweather is a welcome distraction - and potentially more - if she can just trust him with one big guilty secret.

Poor Diana! All she cared for was the hunt. But the statuesque brunette had been ordered by her father to throw off her male attire and learn the pretty ways of a marriageable miss. But not before the fair-haired Lord Dantry, encountering Diana in her disguise, invited the young "David Armitage" to spend a week with him in London. What Diana didn't foresee was that freedom had a price - and the price could be the man she loved.

One day, as Cara and her siblings are trying to clean up the canal where they live, they pull out a mysterious locked safe. Though none of them can open it, they're sure it's something special. That night, a thief comes after the safe. The children flee, travelling with their boat as far as they can, before continuing into the forest on foot. But soon they're lost in the mountains with a snowstorm about to land and food supplies running low. Will Cara and her siblings be able to survive the wilderness with nothing but their wits, their bravery and one very large dog to help?

Marie Masters has been happily married for nine years, but she can’t help but feel her once-loving husband Ivor is no longer the man she married. He’s increasingly prone to drink and gambling and has become strangely secretive. Worried that Ivor’s behaviour is putting their growing family at risk, Marie decides to follow her husband. Marie learns that Ivor is spending time at a run-down house called Badgers Brook, but that’s only the beginning of it.

Pea's family are separating for the summer holidays. Big sister, Clover, is off to Drama Camp, Mum is staying at home to finish her new book, and Pea and Tinkerbell are going camping. But things don't go quite to plan, and Pea finds her summer suddenly filled with Enid Blyton, castles, ghosts and mysteries....

Who lies? Who tells the truth? Death hangs on the answer.... Tell a lie, and the darkness will find you. Quinn and Piper are twins, but they've never met. A tragic event brings them together and draws them into a family curse that stretches across centuries. One twin can command the darkness; the other could hold the key to breaking the curse. But when lies become truth and truth looks like lies, who can you believe? Don't miss this startling new audiobook from Teri Terry, queen of the YA psychological thriller!

For years Seren James has yearned for a child of her own. Married to a man who has little care for her, she longs for something to fill the emptiness within - and fears that she is almost out of time. When Seren meets a woman who says she can help, she thinks her dreams have come true. But the locals suspect Anwen of witchcraft, and any association with her may taint Seren too.  

Emma Woodhouse is pretty, clever and rich and sees no reason why she would ever need to get married. But she loves matchmaking for her neighbours, despite the advice of her friend Mr Knightley, who warns her against meddling. Her latest success - the wedding of her governess - makes her certain that she can find the right match for anyone. Can Emma's lucky streak continue? Or will best laid plans unravel...as they always seem to do?    

Ever wanted to get away from it all...? Wanda lives in the middle of nowhere. On a farm on the edge of a hill that's not quite high enough to be a proper mountain, in a little village that's seen better days. She's always dreamed of escaping, of travelling the world, but life has got in the way. When her mother ends up in hospital and her sister is preoccupied and pregnant with twins, Wanda has to take responsibility for the farm and the campsite on its green fields.

Married life hasn't been easy for Hope Murton - her mother-in-law, Marjorie, is overbearing and critical, and Hope's husband, Ralph, refuses to stand up for himself. Eventually Hope persuades him to move out and to set up a new home at Badgers Brook with their small son, Davy. Soon they are beset by tragedy when a road accident leaves Ralph confined to a wheelchair. He takes the only way out he can think of, leaving Hope destitute. Desperate not to return to her mother-in-law's house, she turns to friends for help, including local Trader Peter Bevan.