Showing results by narrator "Janine" in All Categories

A life of poverty in a cramped pit cottage is all that 17-year-old Ruby Dinsdale has known. Even with her father and younger brother working at the coal mine, money is tight. Her mother, Mary, is skilled at stretching what little they have, but the small contribution Ruby makes from her job at the local pub makes all the difference. So when Ruby is sacked, and Mary becomes pregnant again, the family's challenges are greater than ever. When charming Miner Gordon begins to court Ruby, it seems as though happiness is on the horizon.

Owen Cullen was a dream. Not a dream come true though, because I’d never dared to dream. He was my wildest fantasy, a hallucination, a delusion. The handsome man who’d saved my life—twice. He was a real-life hero, and I was...what was I? Filth, that was what I was.

Christmas is coming – and death is at the door. DCI Vera Stanhope returns in The Darkest Evening, the ninth novel in number one Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves’s phenomenally popular crime series. The darkest nights can hide the deadliest secrets . . . Driving home during a swirling...

Driven by a promise to keep her identity secret, tenacious Evelyn Maynard is all alone in the world. But a scholarship to the exclusive Bradford Hills Institute offers her a safe haven and a fresh start. Or so she thought. Eve is one of the only humans at her new school, brimming with those born with Variant DNA—and coveted superhuman abilities. Bound by shared tragedy, Ethan, Josh, Tyler, and Alec—and their unique powers—are revered among Variants. But something has always been missing, and she may have just arrived with a scholarship and a glint in her enchanting, curious eyes.

Ford Hall is gorgeous so you can’t blame me when I do something bad and convince him to kiss me on New Year's Eve. Or when I do it again in the daylight. He may be completely off limits but I’m going to make him my lover.

The memory of that day still haunts Shylah Kemp. Eden had asked her to wait for him, to remain at the safe house while he went on a mission. But when she learned he was being setup, she didn’t have a choice. She had to do something.

The Miner's Daughter is the second heartrending saga in Jennie Felton's Families of Fairley Terrace series, in the grand tradition of Katie Flynn, Dilly Court and Josephine Cox, of one woman's quest for happiness after a bitter tragedy, filled with romance, drama and triumph in adversity. When...

Life has never been easy for Denver Hollis. But at 23 years old, she didn't foresee losing everything, becoming homeless, sleeping in shelters, and sometimes on the cold city streets of New York. One day, her luck turns. With help from an unlikely friend, Denver lands a promising job as an assistant for Callan Hawk, attorney at law.

A New Short Story from Award-Winning Author Ann Cleeves Ann Cleeves, the Sunday Times No #1 bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera, Shetland and Two Rivers series, returns with a darkly delicious short story featuring DI Matthew Venn, as featured on ITV's The Long Call. This...

After defeating a Fae fanatic set on closing the portal between Earth and the magic realm, things are looking up for Sophie Feegle. She can finally relax, drink whiskey at her favorite ogre pub, and get back to the autopsy assistant job she loves. Maybe she’ll even go on a romantic date with a certain sexy fox-shifter. Yeah, right. Things never seem to work out quite the way Sophie wants. When Sophie recognizes the body on her autopsy table from a dream, her world is shaken again.

'Real sagas with female characters right at the heart' Jane Garvey, Woman's Hour If you love Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, you'll LOVE Glenda Young's 'amazing novels!' (ITV's This Morning presenter Sharon Marshall) 'In the world of historical saga writers, there's a brand new voice' My Weekly...

Karen Bloom has always wanted the best things in life. And that includes her children; quite simply, she expects them to be perfect. Her son, Ewan, has been something of a disappointment, and she won't be making the same mistake again with her beloved daughter, Bronte. Bronte's every waking hour will be spent at music lessons and dance classes, doing whatever it takes to excel. But as Karen pushes Bronte to the brink, the rest of the family crumbles.

It’s the 1990s and the body positivity movement has a yet to be born. Graham Pitscottie dreams of one day becoming a presenter on Blue Peter. However, he is stuck replenishing the pick 'n' mix at Woolworths. By his own admission he is, ‘a bit of a fatso’, and because there are no fat Blue Peter presenters, he joins - at the insistence of his mother Soo - a slimming class run by Wendy Bottomley.

Starting over at thirty in a new city isn't easy—especially when your brother is an NHL player, your bank account is barely hanging on, and you end your first night in town with the hottest one-night stand of your life. I never planned on seeing Gabe again, let alone becoming the live-in nanny to his newborn daughter. But fate has a twisted sense of humor.

I lived my life surrounded by luxuries, love, and attention. While at the mercy of lies, death, and deceit. I was tired of being just a pretty face. The woman who always had to prove her worth. When tragedy tears yet another gash in my heart, he was there to help mend my grief. But there was a mystery hidden behind those alluring diamond eyes. A whisper of ghosts and trauma from his past. Red flags I knew I shouldn’t ignore. Yet I couldn’t help the feelings blossoming within me or the fire that scorched my skin under his touch.

'She's not worth more than tuppence, that child!' Those are the words that haunt Sadie Linthorpe. She is the talk of Ryhope when she arrives there, aged 17, alone, seeking work and a home in the pit village. But Sadie is keeping a secret - that she is searching for her baby girl who was taken from her at birth to be sold by the child's wicked, battleaxe grandmother when Sadie was just 15 years old.   

Sunderland, 1943: With the future of Britain so uncertain, the women are trying to keep their lives at home on an even keel. Only by rallying together will the shipyard girls finally triumph.  

In her debut memoir, A Van of One's Own, Biddy Wells tells the story of how, propelled by a thirst for peace and quiet, for a modest adventure and, perhaps, for freedom, she left for Portugal on her own, with only her old campervan, Myfanwy, and her GPS, Tanya, for company. Having left just about everything behind, her solo trip forces her to face her fears, her past and herself.

Ivy, Dulcie, Barbara, Ann, Dorothy and Jean all had different reasons for applying to work at Carr’s biscuits, but once they had put on their overalls and walked through the factory gates they discovered a community full of life, laughter and friendship. To those who didn’t know, the biscuit...

After I suddenly lose my husband, Patrick, in a senseless shooting, I’m lost in a sea of well-meaning people trying to make the unimaginable seem possible. When a friend of my sister’s connects me to the Wild Widows, I find a group of fellow travelers who understand my new reality in a way no one else in my life ever could. The Wild Widows have one requirement for membership to their group: I must be open to the possibility of a "Chapter Two", which is what they call a second chance at love.