Showing results by narrator "Nikki Patel" in All Categories

From the time she was young, Suleika Jaouad has kept a journal. She’s used it to mark life's biggest occasions and to weather its most ferocious storms. Journaling has buoyed her through illness, heartbreak, and the deepest uncertainty. And she is not alone: for so many people, keeping a journal is an essential tool for navigating both the personal peaks and valleys and the collective challenges of modern life. More than ever, we need a space for puzzling through.

Suleika has kept a journal her whole life. Journalling has marked her greatest triumphs and buoyed her in her toughest moments. Featuring writing prompts, essays and wisdom from one hundred contributors and serving as a companion during challenging times, The Book of Alchemy explores themes such as fear, love, beginnings, memory, the body and purpose. In doing so, the book offers encouragement, direction and gives readers the tools to engage with discomfort, to ask questions, to peel back the layers and uncover their truest selves.

Freya, Callum, Mischa, and Victoria have nothing in common—well, except for one thing: they’ve each experienced a deep personal loss that has led them to an unconventional group meeting, every Tuesday night at seven. A meeting they’ve been particularly selected for that will help them finally move on. At least, that's the claim. As they warily eye one another and their unnervingly observant group leader, one question hangs over them: why were they chosen?

Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails off to adventure. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm commandeers her ship. He is Prince Leander of Alinor and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles of the Gods.

In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter, Aliyah entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she's missing, potentially plotting another attack on American soil. But then a woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid's door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son and she has a clue to their whereabouts. Carrie knows something isn't adding up - and that she and Sajid are the only ones who can find their children and discover the truth.

In London, the police storm Heathrow Airport to bring in a father for questioning about his missing daughter. In Florida, a mother makes a connection between her son and the bomber, fearing he has been radicalized. And in Oregon, an unknown organization’s conspiracy to bring America to its knees unfolds. On the run from the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to stop a catastrophe that will derail the country’s future forever.

The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once thriving and vibrant metropolis. And without it, all the realms are dying. Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs to divine power—Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Risha, a necromancer fighting to keep the peace; Nikolas, a soldier who struggles to see the light; and Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with a reckless heart—will become reluctant allies in the quest to save their city.

When Selly and Leander began their treacherous voyage to the Isles of the Gods, the captain’s daughter and the playboy prince were strangers. But amid talk of war and a deadly attack on their ship, the unthinkable happened. They fell in love. Leander’s ritual at the island temple was meant to prevent a war between the gods. Instead, it nearly cost him his life, and drew the goddess Barrica back from exile. Now, as her Messenger, Leander is imbued with her deadly magic, and only Selly’s presence can stop it from consuming him.

On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.

Lady Ela Dalvi knows the exact moment her life was forever changed—when her best friend, Poppy, betrayed her without qualm over a boy, Lord Keston Osborn, heir to the Duke of Harbridge. She was sent away in disgrace, her reputation ruined.

In this “glorious tapestry of magic and murderous gods” (Buzzfeed News) each heir walks a dangerous path, attempting to undo the damage the gods have wrought across the four realms. All will encounter old friends and new enemies as they attempt to restore the balance of the universe. But the gods grow stronger. And their descendants will need more than their magic and their wits to survive the war that is coming.

1939, India. Bindu holds her baby close, listening to the monsoon raging outside. She tries to hide her tears behind her sari as she hands her baby into a stranger’s arms, wondering if she will ever see her child again. When their small savings run out, Bindu reluctantly accepts an offer of marriage from the landlord’s entitled and often unpredictable son. In return, he promises to provide medical care for her beloved grandmother, but alone in a world she doesn’t understand, Bindu is desperately lonely. She soon finds solace in writing recipes and creating new spice mixes.

At seven o'clock one Tuesday evening, in a perfectly ordinary tower block near Westminster, four strangers meet for the first time. They each have three things in common: all suffered a traumatic experience six months earlier; all exhibit a dogged inability to put it behind them; and all accepted an invitation to attend tonight's counselling session with the unconventional Genevieve - a determined woman with an unusual theory to test.

When the Five go to the village show, they find themselves in the heart of a storm! Can they help find the prize that has mysteriously disappeared? Set in the world of Enid Blyton's best-loved series, this newly created story follows Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog on a special adventure. The story is broken down into short chapters - perfect for shared listening or for newly confident listeners to enjoy independently.

1938: Divya has made the long sea journey from India to England, employed as a nanny by a British family. But once they arrive, she is cruelly abandoned, with no means to return home. Afraid and alone, she faces prejudice and rejection… until she finds her way to an Irish-run boarding house on West India Dock Road and meets Jack, Charity and a host of unexpected friends.

Annie is five when her beloved big sister, Gemma, leaves for school and is never seen again. The police search for weeks and Annie never gives up hope that Gemma will one day come home to her. Now, twenty years after her sister mysteriously vanished, Annie returns to her childhood home to care for her ill mother. Opening the door to Gemma's room, Annie finds it untouched from the day her sister disappeared, with her make up still on the dresser and her books open on her bed. Annie is certain that the answers to what happened to Gemma are here in her old room.

Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London, but her bright future fades as she turns her back on school for gang life and crime. Betrayed by the police after a brutal gang rape, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local ‘top boy’. However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat – and the authorities answer by taking away her baby. Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation.

A friend has your back. And may stab you in it. Wealthy, pampered Susan is living the perfect life in leafy Kingston. She'll never let anyone see the darkness she's concealing behind the diamonds and rosé. Grace is new to the group, seemingly the perfect wife and mum. Yet no one knows the truth of what’s happening behind closed doors. Loner Natalie hides the pain of her childhood behind a carefully ordered life. But how long can the past stay hidden? Three unlikely friends, brought together for a weekly class run by beautiful, friendly, instructor, Jade.

Escape to the frost-sparkling Yorkshire Dales for some festive fun under the mistletoe! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for costume shop owner Becky Finn. Leaving London to move back home to the twinkly rural village of Egglethwaite, she plans to build a new life for herself with fiancé, Cole. Keen to raise funds for the struggling village hall she loved as a child, Becky finds herself at the head of a colourful group aiming to revive the Egglethwaite Christmas pantomime.

Set in the world of Enid Blyton's best-loved series, these newly created stories follow Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog on special new adventures. Each story is broken down into short chapters—perfect for shared listening or for newly confident kids to enjoy independently.