Showing results by narrator "Vivienne Rochester" in All Categories

Friends do nice things for each other, right? That’s what Polly Bowman tells herself when she agrees to be her friend Bailey’s ‘fake girlfriend’ to help him keep a promise to his family. After all, Bailey has always supported her through difficult times – he even knows about her secret singing sessions. But maintaining a fake relationship isn’t easy, and when Polly’s meddling but well-meaning group of friends throw her and Bailey together as best man and maid-of-honour for an upcoming wedding, Polly soon realises she’s going to have to confront a few long-kept secrets.

The perfect gift book, featuring the writing of Meryl Streep, Bill Bailey, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Richard Ayoade, Emily Watson and others, to coincide with the upcoming movie Last Christmas, starring Emma Thompson, Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. When you think back to Christmases past, what (if anything) made it magical? This is a beautiful, funny and soulful collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent Garden. 

In this version of London, there is a small, private clinic. Behind its layers of security, procedures are taking place on poor, robust teenagers from northern estates in exchange for thousands of pounds - procedures that will bring the wealthy dead back to life in these young, supple bodies for 14 days. It's an opportunity for wrongs to be righted, for fathers to meet grandsons, for scientists to see their work completed. Old wine in new bottles. But at what cost?

The City of Silk is restless, its people suffering in the grip of corruption. Then, one hot July evening, The Leader gathers his followers, half-trained men and boys, and storms the House of Power. Caught up in the mayhem is quiet, scholarly Ashes. He had been inspired by The Leader's charisma, but now he's not so sure. What happens over the next six days will change the small island's future forever....

For Melissa, Christmas has always been overrated. From her cold, distant parents to her manipulative ex-husband, she’s never experienced the contentment of the festive season with a happy family sitting around the table. And Melissa has learned to live with it, but it breaks her heart that her seven-year-old son, William, has had to live with it, too. Whilst most little boys wait with excitement for the big day, William finds it difficult to believe that Father Christmas even exists. But then Daniel McCormick comes into their lives....

What do mascara wands and gardening shears have in common? Absolutely nothing! At least that’s what wannabe beauty influencer Sophie Timney thinks when her friend Polly suggests involving her brother Marcus in Sophie’s makeup tutorials. She needs more views, Marcus needs promotion for his gardening business - in Polly’s mind joining forces will help them both. Sophie isn’t so sure. Because Marcus Bowman has a habit of getting under her skin in a way that no exfoliating face scrub ever could.