Showing results by narrator "Sarah Coomes" in All Categories

What happened when Jane Austen’s heroines and heroes were finally wed? Marriage is at the center of Jane Austen’s novels. The pursuit of husbands and wives, advantageous matches, and, of course, love itself, motivate her characters and continue to fascinate people today. But what were love and marriage like in reality for ladies and gentlemen in Regency England? Rory Muir uncovers the excitements and disappointments of courtship and the pains and pleasures of marriage, drawing on fascinating first-hand accounts as well as novels of the period.

Seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth has only one hope left: to find her late father's most prized invention, the Illuminator. It's been missing since the day a mysterious flash wiped the sun from the sky. Living in darkness is nothing new to Eyelet. She's hidden her secret affliction all of her life—a life that would be in danger if superstitious townspeople ever guessed the truth. Orphaned when her mother is executed for a crime she did not commit, Eyelet sets out to track down the machine—her one and only chance at a cure.

The Scriven people are brilliant, mad - and dead. All except one, whose monstrous creation is nearly complete - a giant city on wheels. New London terrifies the rest of the world, and an army of mammoth-riders gathers to fight it. Meanwhile, young Fever Crumb begins a hunt for Ancient technology in their icy strongholds. She finds a mysterious black pyramid full of secrets. It will change her world forever. Scrivener's Moon follows Fever Crumb and A Web of Air to complete one of the most exciting and inventive fantasy adventures series ever recorded for audio.

Can a clever girl inventor uncover a ruthless pirate's heart of gold? Thrilling sea adventure takes on a hint of steampunk in the second book by the author of the acclaimed Hour of the Bees.

As the icy chill of winter, 1914, settles on the magnificent country estate of Summerset Abbey, three young women seek comfort and warmth in the smiles of friends, the fire in their hearts, and the promise of spring… Victoria Buxton - With her delicate constitution but strong, unflappable spirit, Victoria has never followed societal conventions, the rules of fashion, or the pursuit of a husband. Instead, she finds herself drawn into the controversial - and dangerous - fight for women’s suffrage.

Navigating her way through nightmarish lands devoid of sunlight, Eyelet Elsworth races to free her beloved Urlick Babbit, the first person to understand and accept her - differences and all. Framed for murder and sentenced to execution, Urlick is running out of time. And the Commonwealth's tyrannical new ruler, Penelope Rapture, is strangely eager to speed up the clock.

Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and recraft a world of automatons, ornate clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, and intrepid orphans - decked out in corsets, clockwerk suits, and tall black boots - solve dastardly crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.

When their grandmother dies, Grace and Andrew Easton inherit her sprawling, book-filled London home, Dinmont House. Rather than sell it, the adult siblings move in together, splitting the numerous bedrooms and studies. The arrangement is unusual, but ideal for the affectionate pair - until the day Andrew brings home a new boyfriend. A devilishly handsome novelist, James Derain resembles Cary Grant, but his strident comments about Grace’s doctoral thesis soon puncture the house’s idyllic atmosphere. When he and Andrew witness their friend’s murder outside a London nightclub, James begins to unravel.

1913: In a sprawling manor on the outskirts of London, three young women seek to fulfill their destinies and desires amidst the unspoken rules of society and the distant rumblings of war.... Sir Philip Buxton raised three girls into beautiful and capable young women in a bohemian household that defied Edwardian tradition. Eldest sister Rowena was taught to value people, not wealth or status. But everything she believes will be tested when Sir Philip dies, and the girls must live under their uncle’s guardianship....

Ireland, 1790: In the midst of a violent storm, the small fishing village of Dromkeen comes under attack by Moorish pirates. Dromkeen is a poor settlement, but it is rich in what the pirates are hunting: slaves. Among those captured in the surprise raid is the young farmer Brannon Ryan, whose strength and fortitude make him a valuable commodity in the slave markets of North Africa. He is sold into servitude, forced to become a soldier of the sadistic sultan of Morocco. All the while, his heart remains in Ireland, where he can only hope that his beloved Orlaith has met a better fate.

Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent - and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way. Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.

Jo Atkins' sixteenth year was disastrous: She lost her dad, was assaulted by a stranger, and then had her heart broken. For the last twenty-five years, she's believed that nothing could ever be as bad again. She was wrong.

"No one wanted you. But I did." Kat's true identity is a secret, even from her. All she has ever known are Grace and Anna and their small village. Kat wants more - more than hours spent embroidering finery for wealthy ladies and more than Christian, the gentle young farmer courting her. But there are wolves outside, Grace warns. Waiting, with their eyes glowing in the dark... nd Grace has given Kat safety and a home when no one else would.

The laughter of summer lawn parties fades for the men and women of Summerset Abbey, as the rumble of cannon-fire sweeps across Europe. In a changing world, they soon find that only one thing is certain: none of them will ever be the same. Rowena Buxton takes a dangerous mission transporting planes, and find herself tempted. Victoria Buxton lives on her own in London as a lady bachelor. And Prudence Tate crosses a line when her new husband elists in the war effort.

Can classmate Julie protect the brothers from vanishing? With warmth and humor, Carnegie Medalist Frank Cottrell Boyce transports readers from the steppe of Mongolia to the streets of Liverpool in an immigration tale that is compelling, miraculous, and often laugh-out-loud funny.

Çeda is the youngest pit fighter in the history of the great desert city of Sharakhai. In this brilliant new story, a prequel to Twelve Kings, she has already made her name in the arena as the fearsome, undefeated White Wolf. None but her closest friends and allies know her true identity. But this all changes when she crosses the path of Rümayesh, one of the sadistic creatures known as ehrekh which were forged long ago by the god of chaos.

An epic new fantasy series of mystery, prophecy and death within the ancient walled city of the Twelve Kings.... In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai, but she's never been able to do anything about it. This all changes when she goes out on the night of Beht Zha'ir, the holy night when all are forbidden from walking the streets.

In the underbelly of Soho's organized crime ring, everyone knows that retired boxer Harry Woods is not one to mess with. And that goes double for his family. Harry has it all: the big house, the flashy cars, and an abundance of wealth. As much as money talks in his world, Harry knows deep down the only thing that really counts is family. Haunted by the sudden death of his wife, he'll do anything to protect his children, but truth is a heavy burden and hidden secrets can unravel even the strongest of bonds....

Çeda's mission is partly complete...so now she must continue to uncover the riddles her mother has left - especially when those scattered clues are incomplete. The answers lie in the desert, where the few remaining members of the Thirteenth Tribe are hidden, and though they doubt she can make a stand against the Kings, they are prepared to help her in her quest. The remaining Kings, however, have not been idle. One of their own has been murdered, and the hunt is on to find the culprit.

Dad is building a pair of wings, eating flies, and feathering his nest. Auntie Doreen is getting cross and making dumplings. Mr. Poop is parading the streets, shouting LOUDER and LOUDER, and even Mr. Mint, the headmaster, is getting in a flap. And watching it all is Lizzie, missing her mam and looking after Dad and thinking how beautiful the birds are.