Showing results by narrator "Zoe Mills" in All Categories

Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn't have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don't force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren't sorcerers.

Paris, 1939: Gazing out at the glittering skyline, Evelina clutches the letter from her love in shaking hands. “I know I do not deserve you, my darling, but I pray that you will change your mind. You have my heart, and I hope that nothing will keep us apart…” London, present day. Blake gazes down at a scrap of shimmering silver velvet attached to a faded dress design, tracing the details with wonder. They were left with her grandmother at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, before she was adopted.

Ashley Court: the tumbledown ancestral home of the Ashley family, all blessed with 'the gift' of being able to speak to each other without words. When Bryony Ashley's father dies under mysterious circumstances, his final words a cryptic warning to her, Bryony returns from abroad to uncover Ashley Court's secrets. What did her father's message mean? What lies at the centre of the overgrown maze in the gardens? And who is trying to prevent Bryony from discovering the truth?

Argentina, 1939: “My darling Valentina, I beg you to not go through with this marriage. I know your duty to your family means the world to you, but I pray our love means more. Let us run away together, and never be parted again…” London, Present day. Rose once thought she was alone in the world, having just lost her beloved mother a few months ago. So, when she is presented with a mysterious box containing a small figure of a horse, a scrap of glittering silk and the hope of a lost family being found, Rose will stop at nothing to find them.

I sit sipping champagne in the warm water, bubbles frothing around me as I admire the breathtaking view of gorgeous blue skies and mountains. I can’t believe I’m here, at this stunning holiday home. It’s to die for....

As Ella looks down at a faded black-and-white photograph of an unknown woman and child alongside a yellowing piece of sheet music, she wonders how the two things can possibly relate to her own family. The items were left for her family at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers whose babies were adopted. Soon, Ella learns that the photograph was taken on the picturesque Greek island of Skopelos, nestled in the turquoise calming waters of the Aegean sea, and that the woman in the photo holds the key to her family’s heritage.

A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await. But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire's proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse. Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife.

London, present day. When Claudia discovers that her grandmother was born at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, everything she thought she knew about her family is shattered in an instant. Looking down at a faded family crest, she is determined to discover how it can possibly relate to her grandmother. Soon Claudia learns that the crest belongs to the Diaz family, once one of the wealthiest dynasties in Cuba. Impulsively Claudia books a ticket to Havana, feeling sure in her heart that she will be able to uncover her family’s true story.

When Lily is called to a lawyer’s office in London, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. There, she is told that her grandmother was born at Hope House, a home for unmarried mothers, and is given a box containing the only clues to her true heritage. Peeling back the delicate layers of paper she finds an Italian recipe and a theatre program.

Lake Geneva, 1951: Delphine looked up at Florian, her fingers grazing his cheek as she pressed her mouth to his, the sapphire tiara sparkling beside them. “Yes,” she whispered against his lips. “I will marry you. If you can find a way, then I promise you. I will marry you.” London, present day. Georgia holds the rare pink sapphire in her hands, watching it glitter in the morning light. It was left for her at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers whose babies were adopted. But how is it connected to the secrets of her family’s complicated history?

Bodies are washing ashore and everyone knows who's to blame. Legends of the Heartless King shroud the continent in fear; they call him a pirate, a monster, a god. When his mercenaries raid her father's merchant ship, Ria's family is faced with a horrifying demand. They will spare his life, in exchange for one of his daughters. Determined to save her sisters Ria launches herself into the world of pirates. Face-to-face with the Heartless King, she finds he is far more than the stories told. He is a man, with a human name and blood-stained hands, bound to the seas by a centuries-old curse.

At the age of 17, after a childhood in an fostered family followed by six years in care homes, Norman Greenwood was given his birth certificate. He learned that his real name was not Norman. It was Lemn Sissay. He was British and Ethiopian. And he learned that his mother had been pleading for his safe return to her since his birth. Here Sissay recounts his life story. It is a story of neglect and determination. Misfortune and hope. Cruelty and triumph.

When ordinary mum Frankie moves into her new seaside home, it is a dream come true. Her new neighbours - glamorous Zara, ambitious Nadine and social butterfly Geneva - soon take her under their wing. Geneva - soon take her under their wing. The four women become inseparable. Until the morning when Geneva's body is found on the beach. Suspicion is immediately cast on Geneva's husband. Everyone believes he must be guilty. But when the police don't charge him, he vanishes without trace. Now, five years later, he's back.

Davin's never been good at telling what's brave and what's merely stupid, but when he tries to stop Nico from following his destiny, he knows he's crossed the line. And now his sister, Dina, is caught up in Nico's quest. Her Shamer's Gift means she can bring humiliation to the most hardened villain, simply by looking him in the eye. But faced by Nico's deadliest enemy, Dina knows this won't be enough.

Eager to follow Churchill’s order to keep calm and carry on, Edie York has left the bombed-out streets of Manchester behind for a stroll in the countryside. But her rationed picnic lunch turns to ashes in her mouth, when she discovers Joyce Reid, a well-known anti-war activist, lifeless at the bottom of a cliff. Despite infuriatingly handsome DCI Louis Brennan’s less-than-amused warnings ringing in her ears, Edie is unable to leave the conscripted local bobby to do his work.

A group of uniquely skilled criminals team up for an impossible job...while plotting to betray one another. Ryia Cautella is a callous and brazen mercenary working for a criminal syndicate in the slums of the dockside city of Carrowwick. In just over a year's time she's already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the city—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name. For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept Ryia in hiding, running from city to city.

Emily: It’s been a long time since my best friend Ava stopped speaking to me. But I knew I’d find a way back in. When I hear that her daughter won’t sleep at home because of a burglary on the street, I offer to swap houses for a while. Ava is so grateful. And now I’m staying in her family home, I finally understand why she’s been avoiding me… Ava isn’t as perfect as she makes out. She’s been hiding a big secret that could ruin her idyllic life. Only now, I know all about it…

1899. Josie has never questioned her life in a mining village on the South Yorkshire coalfield. But everything changes when she meets Tommy from the neighbouring village. Tommy has been destined for a life underground since the moment he was born. But he has far bigger dreams. Josie and Tommy become fast friends, united by their desire for something better and by their fascination with the local gentry who have their keeping. Wealthy and glamorous, the Sedgewicks of Silvermoor inhabit a world that is utterly forbidden to Tommy and Josie.

On entering Sarah Hall's world, we become travellers, suddenly. Our surroundings of farms and offices, seasides and cities, Turkish forests and English moors, shade into otherness: hazed by delirium, tinged with dream, fertile with the animal codes of the wild. Our lovers, friends, and parents go about their days warped by ruptures of brain and body, alternatively predator and prey, reborn in unexpected evolutions, and haunted by drownings and dictators, agitated hearts and sprouting wings, coffins and floods.

Susanne and her two best friends have been dreaming of a holiday. All of them need an escape. Especially Susanne, who is reeling from the news that her ex is getting remarried. They need the warm Tuscan sun, delicious Italian food and wine, and - most of all - the time to unwind with each other. What they get is Harry. Handsome, charming, and great company, Harry soon sweeps Susanne off her feet for a holiday fling.