Showing results by narrator "Olivia Beardsley" in All Categories

Cait is a bookshop owner and book nerd. Her social life revolves around her mobile bookselling service, which hand-picks titles for elderly clients, particularly the grandmotherly June. After a tough decade, Book Fiend is the last bookshop in the central business district and the last independent retailer on a street given over to high-end labels. Profits are small, but clients are loyal. When James breezes into Book Fiend, Cait realises life might hold more than her shop and her cat.

Two years after a family tragedy, and still consumed by her grief, Willa receives a strange letter from halfway across the globe. She has inherited a house in Australia, in a town she’s never heard of, from a woman she doesn’t know.... Following the mystery to the inviting shores of Sisters Cove, Willa is entranced by the dilapidated old Chapel House she now owns, perched high on a windy cliff within the grounds of Merrivale Estate.

She's the victim. But is she so innocent? Sophie McCarthy is known for her determination, ambition and brilliance at work. She's tough, but only because she wants to get the best out of people. Aidan Ryan is strong, honourable and a family man. He's tough, too; the army requires it. When these two strangers are brought together in a devastating incident, Sophie's life is left in ruins. Her family wants to see Aidan pay for what he did. Aidan's prepared to sacrifice everything - including his marriage and his child - to fix the mess he's made.  

As the owner of the art gallery at Noosa Heads, Jack Montgomery comes strolling back into the life of sculptor Sienna Sacchi. Her plan to buy the gallery is ruined, yet Sienna refuses to let him interfere with the most important thing - her debut exhibition. But Jack's not only taking over her workplace. He's also intruding on her art studio, her home...and maybe even her heart.

It is 1941. Eighteen-year-old Ruby leaves behind the family farm, her serious mother and roguish father and heads for Adelaide. After a brief courtship, she enters into a hasty marriage with a soldier about to go to war - who returns a changed man. With an eyebrow pencil in one hand and gardening shears in the other, Ruby navigates the years doing her duty as a woman, contending with her damaged husband and eccentric in-laws, allowing marriage and motherhood to fill her with purpose and pleasure - and only occasionally wondering, is this all there is?  

After a year apart, Maryanne returns to her husband, Roy, bringing their eight-year-old son, Daniel, and his teenage sister, Freya, with her. The family move from Sydney to Newcastle, where Roy has bought a derelict house on the coast. As Roy painstakingly patches the holes in the floorboards and plasters over cracks in the walls, Maryanne believes, for a while, that they can rebuild a life together. But Freya doesn't want a fresh start - she just wants out - and Daniel drifts around the sprawling, run-down house in a dream, infuriating his father, who soon forgets the promises he has made. 

Little Gem is settling into her life at Ellsworth Pining with the help of Ghost Henry and her other friends. Everyone is preparing for the Midsummer Festival, and Little Gem is in charge of the special effects for the Midsummer play. But when her magic starts to go wrong and she receives several mysterious letters, she's worried that the festival is going to be a disaster! Will Little Gem be able to work out who is sending the letters and regain her confidence before opening night?

Bestselling author Liam Wyndham needs an escape. Noosa, with its small-town charm and beautiful ocean, is the perfect place to hide out from the scandal surrounding his estranged dead wife. Georgie wants an adventure, and she has a plane ticket that promises her everything: excitement, independence, and a way to escape the memory of her last ruined relationship. Still, she has one last job to complete before she can leave the country. And the last thing she needs is a recalcitrant author distracting her from her plans.

Ignited by a lightning strike in a remote forest, the Currowan fire was one of the most terrifying episodes of Australia's Black Summer. It burnt for 74 days, consuming nearly 5,000 square kilometres of land, destroying well over 500 homes and leaving many people shattered. In the aftermath, there were questions. Why were resources so few that many faced the flames alone? Why was there back-burning on a day of extreme fire danger? Why weren’t they better prepared?

Blake Buchanan and Ana Delaney lived in a shared house at university and could never see eye-to-eye about anything. Except for one night of passion...before Ana left without a word, never expecting to cross paths with Blake again. Years later, Blake has made his millions. He comes to Noosa to manage a corporate takeover that will close down the home-flipping business Ana has poured her heart and soul into. The fiery Ana is determined to convince money-minded Blake of her company's worth - but when a family emergency throws them together, their walls come tumbling down once again.

It’s 1850, and the Noble family have travelled to the other side of the world to start a new life after scandal drove them from their native England. Pippa Noble is determined to reclaim their honour by making her father’s plan for an outback farm a reality, although her ambition is frowned upon by a society that has very set ideas about a woman’s place. Pippa learns the hard way about the unforgiving nature of the bush, sometimes with devastating consequences. 

Ten years ago, 15-year-old Darren Davies was shot dead at the river mouth. The killer was never found. Now, Darren's mother Sandra receives a visit from the police. Her best friend, Barbara Russell, has also been found dead, out in the bush. And Barbara's DNA matches the DNA found under Darren's fingernails. When the investigation into Darren's murder is reopened, Sandra begins to question what she knew about her best friend. As she digs, she discovers that there are many secrets in her small town - and that her late son had his own, too.

They were best friends who never meant to fall in love - but for one of them, it was already too late. Willow 'Banjo' Paterson and Tom Forrest were raised on neighbouring cattle stations in the heart of the Kimberley. But as young adults, something came between them that Willow cannot forget. Now 10 years have passed since she's spoken to Tom. When her father falls ill, Willow is called home to run the family property - but her vision for a sustainable organic cattle station is proving hard to achieve. She needs Tom's help, but is it too late to make amends? 

As a vulnerable 17-year-old, Beth Paterson gave a fellow student private tutoring. She didn't expect to fall deeply in love with him and have her life changed forever in just a couple of months. And she didn't expect him to vanish without even saying good-bye. Now an accomplished businesswoman and doctor, Beth's life is thrown into turmoil when Charlie Campbell comes back to town to help his family. He's a big star on the alternative rock scene these days - but he remembers Beth and seems just as mad at her as she is at him. 

When her spell at Witchcraft School goes wrong, Gem lands in an unfamiliar, empty cottage, outside a strange, colourful town. Everyone in Ellsworth Pining thinks Gem is their new village witch, even when Gem tries to correct them. And Gem's new friends do need her. The Weather Worker is missing, and there are tales of a terrifying beast in the woods. Gem might know a spell that could help - if she can get it right.

Popular lifestyle blogger Libby Cartwright is being boggled by business when help shows up in the shape of gorgeous but shy Charlie Richmond. Libby’s determined to keep it at ‘just good friends’ - she’s dated someone from ‘Corporate Land’ before, and it didn’t end well. As she and Charlie begin spending more time together, Libby is starting to waver - until she discovers something which makes her question if she’s ready for love.

Cynthia was just about to turn sixteen when the unthinkable happened. Her mother was taken away by the police, and her father left without a word three months later. After that night, Cynthia began to walk in slow circles outside the family home looking for traces of her sister Mallory - she's sure that she must be somewhere else now, wherever that is.

Freya ‘Free’ Paterson has finally come back home. She’s landed the job of her dreams working on an art project with the local school, but she hadn't planned on meeting the man of her dreams as well. With his irresistible Irish accent, Constable Finn Kelly is everything Free wants - genuine, kind...and handsome as hell. He's also everything Free isn’t - stable and dependable. Yet despite the passion simmering between them, he just wants to be friends. What is he trying to hide? 

Forced to reassess her future, IT nerd and country girl Addie Kendall returns to her family's Wimmera farm. When she contacts her former school friend Harry Chandler with alarming news, they're compelled to unite to solve a criminal injustice. In pursuit of answers, they stumble upon a shocking find in the district's iconic Banyandah homestead, deserted since a family tragedy ten years ago.

Escaping personal upheaval, city accountant Billie Gibbs takes a break in a friend's country lakeside shack. Local farmer Noah Sutton arrives at the shack to investigate the unexpected visitor on a neighbouring property. He wants her to stay, but needs her to leave. Resisting an instant attraction in the face of mysterious happenings around the lake, Billie believes Noah is not all he seems, and sets out to discover why.