Showing results by narrator "Rebecca Norfolk" in All Categories

It's 1943, and the Second World War is raging. Ruby Mottram works for her local newspaper, the Bartonford Herald, typing up adverts and obituaries, whilst dreaming of a more exciting life. Between her shifts as an ARP warden and caring for her ailing father, the chance for escape doesn't come often to Devon. Meanwhile, in America's Deep South, Sam Archer is hatching a plan to raise enough money to get his mother and sister away from his abusive stepfather.

Daisy is preparing to spend her first Christmas in the only place she’s ever really felt at home: beautiful Fox Farm. But when tragedy strikes, she will need all her festive cheer, and all the mulled wine, to keep Christmas from being cancelled... Living at Fox Farm, with its cosy café and charming pottery workshop, is a dream come true for thirty-one-year-old Daisy. The kindly owner, Jean, and the close-knit village feel like the family Daisy has never had.

Thirty-two-year-old Charlie Brown has a plane to catch. As Christmas approaches, she is New York bound, to be reunited with boyfriend Harry after work has kept them apart. But once she lands, Harry is nowhere to be found… There’s no hand-drawn sign with her name being brandished at the gate. No answer from Harry's phone. And all at once, Charlie’s worst fears come true. What has happened to Harry? And what should Charlie do now that she’s an ocean away from home?

Felicity Vane may be a mathematical genius, but getting her family to understand her academic ambition is proving difficult. As her first social season is fast approaching, it might be time to take matters into her own hands. Infiltrating the glamorous world of The Lucky Penny and winning her university fees over a game of cards could be the perfect plan. if only it weren't for the interference of Ash, the piratical and frustratingly handsome owner who accuses her of cheating.

After a work party gone disastrously wrong, Samantha suddenly finds herself jobless and jilted. So when her sister invites Sam to stay at her little whitewashed farmhouse on a Greek island, Sam leaps at the chance to escape. Before long, she’s trundling up the cobbled driveway, almost colliding with sexy neighbour Spyros. It isn’t all sunshine and smiles though. For every afternoon spent lounging by the pool, cocktail in hand, there is a morning spent adjusting to life with boisterous six-year-old nieces.

After a whirlwind romance, usherette Connie is swept off her feet when projectionist Charlie proposes in a film reel added to the final frames of Casablanca. Her job at the Tivoli cinema in Tiverton has been a refuge from her violent and alcoholic father, Frank. But that night, Connie disappears, not only from Charlie's life, but from her own as well.

They’ve swapped the dark and lonely baby days for school gate chaos, but Aisha, Sophy and Mel are discovering that there are new parenting pitfalls just waiting for them. Can the three mums navigate this new stage of motherhood together and keep their friendship and their sanity? Or could life be about to change for them all over again?

With perpetually absent parents, the Stone sisters pretty much raised themselves and left their family home as soon as they could. But when they receive a surprise inheritance and find themselves the joint owners of their home, they are about to have a reunion they'll never forget.

All aspiring novelist Honor has ever wanted is to be successful. It's the only way she can impress the father who abandoned her, the boyfriend who gave up on her, and the nagging voice in her head that tells her she's not good enough. Still, wanting to tell a story is not the same as having a story to tell, and Honor knows she needs to find a new source of inspiration. When she's invited to spend a summer abroad in The Hamptons, Honor realises it could be the dream setting for a book, especially when a chance encounter provides her with the perfect leading man.

Doctor of Archaeology, Diana Garry, director of the dig at the beautiful Renaissance Chateau of Chenonceau, was daydreaming as she sat behind her desk in one of the incident rooms. She remembered back to her childhood when along with her two older sisters, their father would let them play unhindered in the grounds of their local castle at Corfe. They would take turns being the beautiful damsel in distress who was awaiting a dashing Knight in shining armour to whisk them away to his castle where he would turn out to be a dashing Prince and heir to the Kingdom.

After getting her heart broken in her early twenties, Abi Mason vowed to live by a simple (but non-negotiable) rule: no second dates. Who needs a boyfriend, or anything else for that matter, when you have a career to think about? But life has other plans: with some unexpected time on her hands, Abi finds herself on holiday in Tuscany. Among sun-dappled vineyards and olive groves, Abi meets dashing American Tony, and it seems the universe is conspiring to force her out of her comfort zone...

Emily has settled in the picturesque village of Ashton Mead where she lives with her puppy, Poppy. Life is finally going well for Emily. She has a cottage of her own, a job she likes and friends. Then she stumbles on the body of a woman who apparently drowned in the river. The other villagers suspect foul play and are quick to blame Richard, Emily's next-door neighbour and a newcomer to the village. Emily finds it hard to believe her friendly neighbour could be a cold-hearted murderer. When she meets his attractive son, Adam, her feelings become more complicated.

For years, Gemma has been running her late mother’s café with devotion, and when an opportunity comes to buy out her next-door neighbour and expand, she jumps at the chance. She knows she will do her mother proud – keep her legacy going strong – but deep down she knows there’s still something missing. But sometimes family are those you choose, or those who choose you! With a growing community of supporters cheering Gemma on, will she really spend the rest of her life alone?

Lydia feels like she’s always been chasing something. But now she’s found her purpose, and having moved to Driftwood Bay to spend more time with her daughter Meredith, she’s happier than ever. But there’s still life in these old bones yet! With her newfound sense of identity, she’s keen to re-explore the things that made her happy as a younger person. Lydia’s passion was dancing – she used to compete in her younger years, and there’s no place she’s more at home than on the dancefloor. So when widower and antiques restorer Martin tells her about a big dance competition, she’s ready.

Morocco, 1677. The tyrannical King Ismail resides over the palace of Meknes. Through the sweltering heat of the palace streets, Nus Nus, slave to the king, is sent to the apothecary. There, he discovers the bloody corpse of the herb man and becomes entangled in a plot to frame him for the murder. Meanwhile, young fair Alys Swann is captured during her crossing to England, where she is due to be wed. Sold into Ismail's harem, she is forced to choose: renounce her faith, or die.

Victorian England, 1846: A gripping and powerful story about one woman's incredible courage in the face of heartbreak, and a secret that – if revealed – could destroy everything. Six years ago, Bella Farrow lost everything. Desperate and starving, she made a terrible mistake that forced her to abandon her home, her livelihood and her family. And when the only person she trusted – her beloved, steadfast husband – was killed in a tragic accident, Bella was left alone. She had to make her own way, while keeping her past hidden upon risk of imprisonment, or worse.

Nancy didn’t know what she was thinking when she thought she could open a bookshop all on her own. She doesn’t know the first thing about business! All she knows is that she needs to do something meaningful with the inheritance money she got from her beloved Aunty Theresa. When Dennis, visiting grandson of one of her dearest friends, offers to help, Nancy knows she can’t say no. Dennis is a high-flying businessman, with a fancy London job and a successful banking portfolio to prove it.

When Ivy's search for her mother draws her to a remote Welsh isle, she uncovers a dark secret about her past. An ancient and corrupt power is stalking Ivy, and her only chance of survival is to look deep within herself. For not every story in legend is true, and some evils are not what they seem.

Margo is a solitary live-in nanny for an upper-class Kensingon family. Cora is a promiscuous dancer on the cusp of a big break, living hand-to-mouth in a run-down London flat. Different though they are, an unspeakable incident from childhood haunts them both. When the terrible secret comes to light, their fragile existences shatter, pitting them against each other in a race for survival.

Ivy has spent years looking for her birth mother, but when she finally finds her on Bardsey Island, she is shocked by what greets her. According to folklore, the cormorants that fly over the remote Welsh isle are the terrifying witches of Arthurian legend—and they are searching for Ivy. Her mum warned her not to come and to stay away from the lighthouse, but now it's too late. As the shadows draw closer, Ivy must look deep within herself if she wants to survive.