Showing results by narrator "Katy Sobey" in All Categories

Hamburg, 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home from school with her twin brother, Jurgen. The mood in the city is tense - synagogues have been smashed with sledgehammers, and Asta is too frightened to laugh as she used to. But when she and Jurgen are stopped in the street by a friend, her world implodes further. Her Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers, and if she and Jurgen return to their house, they will be taken, too.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s too kindhearted to collect his debts. They face poverty until Miryem hardens her own heart and takes up his work in their village. Her success creates rumours she can turn silver into gold, which attract the fairy king of winter himself. He sets her an impossible challenge - and if she fails, she’ll die. Yet if she triumphs, it may mean a fate worse than death. And in her desperate efforts to succeed, Miryem unwittingly spins a web which draws in the unhappy daughter of a lord.

Emily Smith was held in a prison of fear for 10 years. When she was four, her father left and a new man was brought into her life. He loved her, he kept telling her so, but the emotional and physical abuse she suffered at his hands were a daily nightmare. Until one day, after he crept into her bedroom, her life became unbearable. Emily found she was different in another way as her autism became more noticeable and punishments for her 'abnormal' behaviour more severe. Astonishingly, she managed to escape her home of hell, where she was abused right in front of her mother.

All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mother. And as soon as I looked into the beautiful, bright blue eyes of this baby tucked in her blanket, my world felt complete. Stepping into the cold air outside of the hospital doors, a shiver runs through me. I know my life will never be the same again. I slip off her little white medical bracelet and put it in the pocket of my jeans. I think of the woman upstairs in the hospital room who will soon return and find her child gone. I hesitate. Am I doing the right thing?

Berlin Zoo, 1943: Ten-year-old Adelaide and her newborn sister are orphaned after a devastating night of bombing. Heartbroken and frightened, Adelaide runs to her mother’s closest friend, Katharina Heinroth, and the kind zookeeper takes the two little girls under her protection. As the bombing intensifies, Adelaide tries to shut out the horrors of war by caring for her tiny sister and playing with the adorable baby monkeys. But when Katharina organizes a dangerous operation to enable children and animals to escape the battle-scarred city, something goes wrong.

Philomena McCarthy is an ambitious police officer with the elite Metropolitan Police in London, responding to a domestic violence call. Tempe Brown is a bloodied young woman and the mistress of a decorated and intimidating London detective, Darren Goodall. Philomena and Tempe strike up a tentative friendship, determined to protect each other from Goodall, but something isn’t quite right about the stories Tempe tells and the secrets she keeps.

A dark enchantment blights the land. Agnieszka loves her village, set deep in a peaceful valley. But the nearby enchanted forest casts a shadow over her home. Many have been lost to the Wood, and none returns unchanged. The villagers depend on an ageless wizard, the Dragon, to protect them from the forest's dark magic. However, his help comes at a terrible price. One young village woman must serve him for 10 years, leaving all she values behind.

Ottilie Oakcroft can’t imagine living anywhere but the village of Thimblebury. Since moving there after her husband’s death, the villagers have welcomed her with open arms, and it’s been a long time since she’s felt this happy. Another reason for the sparkle in her eyes is her blossoming romance with Heath, who showed her that second chances at love can happen. But when a chance meeting with Heath’s glamorous ex-wife Mila sparks a terrible argument between the pair, and with Ottilie’s patients keeping her too busy to repair the cracks in their relationship, things begin to feel a little shaky.

In 1786 a fisherman's daughter from Cornwall called Mary Broad was sentenced to be hanged for theft. But her sentence was commuted, and she was transported to Australia, one of the first convicts to arrive there. How Mary escaped the harsh existence of the colony and found true love, and how she was captured and taken back to London in chains, only to be released after a trial where she was defended by no less than James Boswell, is one of the most gripping and moving stories of human endeavour (based on an amazing true story) you will ever listen to.

Can one kiss change your life forever? When two strangers meet in a bar and share a scorching, once-in-a-lifetime kiss, they never expect to see each other again. Until days later, when Skye walks into Gemma’s Surrey vineyard. For once, Gemma is lost for words. When they start working together, they agree nothing can happen. Business comes first.

Running from a devastating relationship that almost cost her everything, Maddy Hart impulsively accepts a job as a live-in caretaker at imposing Lakeview House. She has no memories of having visited the crumbling mansion on the banks of Lake Thirlmere before, but when she arrives, something about the house feels familiar. The more time Maddy spends in the house, the more unsettled she feels. By day, she clears out the dusty rooms, but in the dead of night, it’s hard to explain away the eerie noises or crackly radio she hears hours after she turned it off.

After yet another failed romance, twenty-six-year-old Callie Fulbright is giving up on love. She’s determined to throw all her efforts into her very own, brand-new café: the Cosy Kettle. Serving hot tea, cherry tarts and a welcoming smile to the friendly locals proves to be the perfect distraction, and Callie feels a flush of pride at the fledgling business she’s built. But her new-found confidence is soon put to the test when her gorgeous ex reappears in the quaint little village.

The key to living a happier, healthier life is inside us. Our gut is almost as important to us as our brain or our heart, yet we know very little about how it works. In Gut, Giulia Enders shows that rather than the utilitarian and - let's be honest - somewhat embarrassing body part we imagine it to be, it is one of the most complex, important, and even miraculous parts of our anatomy.

Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day. Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought.

The second collection of this beautiful, charming and funny series featuring Isadora Moon - a totally unique half-vampire, half-fairy heroine with an out-of-this-world family! Isadora Moon Gets in Trouble: When Isadora's cousin, Mirabelle, comes to stay, Isadora is really excited. Mirabelle suggests Isadora should take a dragon to Bring Your Pet to School Day instead of taking Pink Rabbit - but looking after a dragon turns out to be a little bit harder than the pair of them expect....

Harriet Manners knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a “jiffy” lasts a hundredth of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. She knows that bats always turn left when exiting a cave and that peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. But she doesn’t know why nobody at school seems to like her. So when Harriet is spotted by a top model agent, she grabs the chance to reinvent herself.

Annalise Sherwood has worked herself to the bone to get a place on a prestigious internship program and nothing is going to stop her now. Work hard, play later, that's her motto. She figures one night letting her guard down won't hurt, though—especially when it ends with the best kiss of her life. But to Anna's horror, she discovers that the mystery guy she kissed that night is none other than Lloyd, the company CEO's son. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he's everyone's favorite guy and a total charmer. And from the moment they meet again, he rubs Anna up the wrong way.

The Second Baby Book examines all the questions and issues Sarah herself faced second time around as well as sharing the experiences of the many parents who have sought her advice. It also highlights what scientific studies reveal about such issues as the spacing of children and the differences between first and second births. Practical, insightful and honest, this book will help you understand the challenges ahead, but, more importantly, it will equip you to meet them with knowledge, confidence and a sense of excitement for the future.

Flora loves Christmas more than anything else in the world, so she's gutted when her Scrooge-alike boss fires her from Deck the Halls Christmas emporium. But now she finally has a chance to follow her dreams, and what better place to start than the home of Christmas? Before she can say sleigh bells, Flora's on her way to Lapland. She cant wait to spend her days drinking hot chocolate and taking reindeer-drawn carriage rides, but something Flora didn't expect was meeting Connor, a Norse god of a man who makes her heart flutter and snowflakes swirl in her stomach.

Isadora Moon and the New Girl: When a new girl, Ava, joins her class, Isadora is keen to make friends. But Ava's not interested. She'd much rather be back at her old school with her old friends. Isadora's classmates are happy to leave Ava on her own since she clearly doesn't like them, but Isadora figures out that there's something more going on. Isadora Moon and the Frost Festival: Isadora and her family are visiting the Frost Festival, a huge celebration of the winter fairies! There's ice skating, fairground rides, gingerbread houses and lots of delicious fairy hot chocolate. It's magical!