Showing results by narrator "Laura Kirman" in All Categories

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel, read by a returning cast. We always thought the biggest threat to humanity would come from the outside. We were wrong. As the human race picks up the pieces of destruction left behind, a new world order emerges. New alliances are formed. Old divisions are strengthened. And, with a power struggle fuelled by the threat of mutually assured destruction, nothing is certain.

When Lizzie Summers is jilted at the altar, she’s left completely heartbroken. But then she receives news that she has inherited a beautiful chateau in Provence, and it seems like the perfect escape. Upon arrival, she discovers she is now the proud owner of...a crumbling ruin. A decrepit chateau – with nothing but dust and a goat for company. Intending to head straight back to the airport, Lizzie instead gets caught in a freakish summer storm and finds herself trudging through a vineyard for help. Bedraggled and furious, she enlists the help of her nearest neighbour, the enchanting Luc.

Lady Margaret has devoted herself to taking care of her young siblings and the estate while her half-brother fritters away the family fortune. Upon Edwin's death, she learns he has left them destitute and, worst of all, at the mercy of a notorious and cruel rake. Lord Nicholas would much rather be pursing women for quick sport rather than taking care of a headstrong debutante without any prospects, as well as her siblings. But Edwin saved his life once, and now he owes him a debt. Fortunately, all he has to do is find Meggy a husband, and his debt will be paid.

One early October afternoon, 10-year-old Jacob Rossi begins the short walk home from school. But he never makes it. Days later, DCI Anna Tate is called to the scene of a burning building, where an awful discovery has been made. A body has been found, and the label in his school blazer reads: J. Rossi. As Anna starts digging, she soon learns that a lot of people had grudges against the boy’s father. But would any of them go so far as to take his son? And is the boy’s abductor closer than she thinks?

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday, dreamed up by Kate as the ideal way to turn 40: four best friends and their husbands and children in a luxurious villa under the blazing sunshine of Languedoc-Roussillon. But there is trouble in paradise. Kate suspects that her husband is having an affair, and that the other woman is one of her best friends. One of these women is willing to sacrifice years of friendship and destroy her family. But which one?

The hedonism of London in the Roaring Twenties is a world away from Annabel Tarleton's ordinary country existence. Until a chance meeting with the charming Richard Hansen at a society ball changes her life for ever. Annabel finds herself trapped inside a marriage that behind closed doors is cruel. Annabel has no choice but to flee and will do everything to save herself and her unborn baby. But the very powerful expect to get what they want....

When an American stranger turns up claiming to be the rightful owner of the school’s magnificent country estate, it could spell trouble for everyone at St Bride’s. No one can believe it when the headmistress, Hairnet, instantly accepts the stranger’s claim. Only fickle maths teacher Oriana Bliss isn’t suspicious of the stranger, after all she can just marry him and secure St Bride’s future forever. That's if inventive pranks by the girls—and the school cat—don't drive him away first.

Matt Westbrook only turned his back for a moment. But when he looks around, his car - with his three young children inside - has vanished. Panicked, Matt assumes a car thief has got more than he bargained for, but then he starts to receive text messages: This is a kidnap. If you want to see your children again, you will exchange them for your wife. Matt and his wife, Annabelle, are horrified....

At 30, Claudia's life is stale and the romance with long-term boyfriend Seth has disappeared. Determined to inject some festive spark back into their love life, Claudia and Seth go on their first date in a very long time. But when the night ends in disaster, Claudia suddenly finds herself facing life - and Christmas - alone. Life alone is exciting, scary and full of soon-forgotten exercise regimes and ill-advised attempts at crafting sexy underwear. It's also filling up with dates, surprisingly.

Phoebe and Sam meet by chance at St Pancras station in London. Heading in opposite directions, both seeking their own adventures, meeting the love of their lives wasn’t part of the plan. So they make a promise: to meet again in the same place in 12 months' time if they still want to be together. But is life ever as simple as that? This is a story of what-ifs and maybes - and how one decision can change your life forever.

1939. When the man Georgie has always loved is sent to France on a secret mission, every knock of the door fills her with dread. Beth is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she marries only to become a war widow. Desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her family in England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg, where she joins the resistance.

The village of Chilbury in Kent is about to ring in some changes. This is a delightful novel of wartime gumption and village spirit that will make your heart sing out. Kent, 1940. The women of Chilbury village have taken umbrage at the Vicar's closure of the choir now that its male singers are at war. But when spirited music professor Primrose Trent arrives, it prompts the creation of an all-female singing group.

His charisma and glamour ensured him the status of a rock star prince. Yet Edward gave up the British throne, the British Empire and his position as Emperor of India to marry his true love, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. So much gossip and innuendo has been levelled at Wallis Simpson that it has become nearly impossible to discern the real woman. Many have wondered why, when Edward could have had anyone he desired, he was smitten with this unusual American woman.

Unlucky in love Poppy Allen is the producer of a brand-new TV show, Date for a Day - think Take Me Out meets It’s a Knockout! Lovelorn contestants must perform a series of seaside challenges to win the hand of the starring lady and a date for a day. Left heartbroken when Stephen, her childhood sweetheart, eloped with her best friend on her hen night - Poppy has no plans to risk her own heart again. Besides, she’s far too busy filming contestants against the backdrop of the beautiful Bluebell Cliff Hotel and the stunning Jurassic Dorset coastline.

For too long, Violet and the people of the outer circles of the Lone City have lived in service of the royalty of the Jewel. But now, the secret society known as the Black Key is preparing to seize power. Now, after fighting so hard to escape the Jewel, Violet must do everything in her power to return - not only to save her sister Hazel, who has been taken by the Duchess of the Lake, but the future of the Lone City....

All Beth has to do is drive her son to his Under-14s away match, watch him play, and bring him home. Just because she knows that her former best friend lives near the football ground, that doesn't mean she has to drive past her house and try to catch a glimpse of her. Why would Beth do that, and risk dredging up painful memories? She hasn't seen Flora Braid for 12 years. But she can't resist. She parks outside Flora's house and watches from across the road as Flora and her children, Thomas and Emily, step out of the car. Except....

Violet Lasting is no longer a human being. Tomorrow she becomes Lot 197, auctioned to the highest royal bidder in the jewel of the Lone City. Tomorrow she becomes the surrogate of the House of the Lake, her sole purpose to produce a healthy heir for the duchess, imprisoned in the opulent cage of the palace, where the royal women compete to secure their bloodline and the surrogates are treated as disposable commodities…

It should have been a time of romance and excitement for Anne - but it's 1941 and the war is raging. So instead, she spends her days repairing spitfire wings and reminding herself that the real sacrifice is going on far away from her Cornish village. When the news breaks that America has entered the war, jeeps filled with GIs eventually roll in, and it seems their little community is to play a pivotal role in the next stage of the fight. But the Americans don't just bring Hollywood glamour and optimism, they also bring something more tantalising.

Darcy and Lizzy have been married for some time and their union is going through troubled times. This is bought to a head when Caroline Bingley, who always had designs on Darcy, arrives unexpectedly. If having Darcy’s old flame under her roof wasn’t enough for Lizzy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, an intelligence officer, arrives also. However, this isn’t a purely social call as he needs Darcy’s assistance to entrap two spies who are passing secrets to the French. Against her better judgment Lizzy is drawn into this dangerous escapade and is asked to invite the suspects to a house party at Pemberley.

When Gemma Lamb takes a job at a quirky English girls’ boarding school, she believes she’s found the perfect escape route from her controlling boyfriend—until she discovers the rest of the staff are hiding sinister secrets. Even McPhee, the school cat, is leading a double life. Tucked away in the school’s beautiful private estate in the Cotswolds, can Gemma stay safe and build a new independent future, or will past secrets catch up with her and the rest of the staff? With a little help from her new friends, including some wise pupils, she's going to give it her best shot.