Showing results by narrator "Melanie Crawley" in All Categories

The Happy Hartes Bookshop has been a part of bookworm Florrie Appleton’s life as far back as she can remember. From the evocative smell of the books to working alongside her beloved Mr. H and his black Labrador, Gerty, there’s no wonder she calls it her happy place. Living in a town she loves with her family and group of close-knit friends around her, life is sweet. Until one dreadful Monday morning, when everything is turned upside down and things are changed forever. Devastated, Florrie finds herself thrown into an unexpected situation with handsome stranger Ed Harte.

Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better. 

The moment I meet Anna at number 7, I immediately like her. But her husband is staring at me with a strange expression on his face. It sends a shiver down my spine. And then a few days later, Anna is gone… The second I see the moving van, I rush outside. My husband tells me to give our new neighbours space, but I need to know who they are. When I see Anna, I’m in awe. Despite the chaos of boxes, she is glamorous, with perfect hair and elegant clothes. But her husband, Fraser, makes me nervous. I can’t explain it, but I don’t trust him.

Will her new home turn into a nightmare? As I stare out the window of my beautiful apartment, I hope that I’ve made the right decision to move back to the city that holds so many memories. I’ve chosen my home on the top-floor and in a quiet area because feeling safe and secure is important to me. But on my first day, I’m involved in a heart-stopping accident on the leafy-green street. A stranger comes to my rescue – if it wasn’t for his actions, I wouldn’t be alive. I’m shaken but grateful, so I invite him in. And that’s the moment that everything changes. I shouldn’t have trusted him.

As summer comes to the tranquil shores of Micklewick Bay, Maggie Marsay is on cloud nine. She can barely keep up with orders for her handmade teddy bears, turning her crafting hobby into a thriving business. And after trying for a baby for some time, she has joyful news to share with her devoted husband Bear who she lives with in an idyllic clifftop cottage alongside their cheeky Labrador.

Ashley is a young single mum raising her daughter, Eden, and working hard to do the very best job she can - until one night she can't find a babysitter and makes the decision to leave Eden home alone for a couple of hours, asleep inside a wardrobe. It is an action that begins a terrible downward spiral for both of them. When Eden arrives at experienced foster carer Louise Allen's home, she has entered the care system because her mother is in prison. Eden is five years old and will not speak to any human.

While Jodey Whiting was stuck in hospital battling pneumonia over Christmas, a letter dropped on her doormat from the Department of Work and Pensions, asking her to attend an assessment. Despite her health problems, the powers-that-be callously halted benefit payments for the mum-of-nine. With no money coming in, Jodey killed herself, aged just 42. Another DWP letter pronouncing her "fit to work" was sent to her home three days after her tragic death. A Mother's Job is the story of how Jodey's mum Joy Dove, 67, took on the system—and won justice for her daughter.

A woman who was sexually abused by her own father and later gave birth to his daughter is now running a support group which spans 30 countries and has tens of thousands of supporters. Stace Don, now 36, was taken into foster care as a baby after being neglected by her parents. For seven years, she lived an idyllic life, believing her foster parents were her real parents. But a chance encounter with her natural father, Nigel Taylor, shattered her happiness and she was later moved from her foster home, away from the family she loved.

Abby's Story is the second book in the Thrown Away Children series by author and foster mum Louise Allen. She doesn't want this baby. She can't look after this baby. She will never be able to love this baby. Little Abby's life begins badly, then just gets worse. Now foster mum Louise and her family must help her deal with the truth of her past to give her the chance of a future.

Camila's Story is the 12th instalment in the popular Thrown Away Children series by Louise Allen.

They were the Boleyns, once one of England’s most powerful family. Anne Boleyn captured the hand of Henry VIII, and now we see the rise and fall of their family fortunes through the eyes of the eldest Boleyn daughter, Mary. Mary Boleyn is overshadowed in history by her sister Anne, but it was...

Growing up, Joanne suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend and controlling relatives, as her mother lapsed into a downward spiral following the break-up of her marriage. But the consequences of her mother's lifestyle turned out to be worse than Joanne could ever have imagined. She already knew about the baby buried in a shallow makeshift grave next to the family plot. But when Joanne came across a red plastic bin in her mother's wardrobe in 2009, she realised that the family home held an even more sinister secret.

Louise has trouble on her hands from the first moment that 5-year-old Billy Blackthorn comes to stay. He is one of more than 20 children taken into care from a single family, and erupts into the Allen household with a volatility that is frightening and disturbing in equal measure. It is only as Louise begins to uncover the secrets of Billy's dark past that she begins to understand what made his family 'untouchable'.

'Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure. A must-read.' Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester 'Nicola is a beautiful human being and her story is full of the joys and sorrows of humanity.' Cathy Rentzenbrink The inspiring, life-affirming memoir from Nicola Nuttall about her incredible...

Stella Hutton has everything under control. Her high-flying career as a lawyer relies on her keeping a calm, rational head on her shoulders. She hasn’t got time for love, or space for a man in her glamorous new apartment, a converted warehouse overlooking the rugged cliffs of Micklewick Bay. But when a handsome stranger walks into the Jolly Sailors pub, with a sparkle in his blue eyes and a head of dark curls, everything changes.

Shy hotel maid Alana is so desperate to clear a family debt that when she discovers Greek tycoon Ares urgently needs a wife, she blurts out a scandalous suggestion: in exchange for his help, she’ll become his convenient bride. But chemistry blazes like wildfire between her and fiercely controlled Ares, and soon she has an announcement that will inconveniently disrupt his well-ordered world… She’s having his baby!

A young girl's life is shadowed by secrets and lies. When Willow arrives in the Allen household, curious things begin to happen. Who is the strange child dressed in outlandish clothes who refuses a mobile phone? What are the mysterious allegations that have been made about her?

As the last of my children leave home, I've persuaded my husband we should move house. Clearing out thirty-odd years of rubbish is overwhelming, but nothing prepares me for what I find in my attic. It's a hint at a hidden horror. Someone in my home has removed it. Which means someone I love thinks I know their secret. A secret so dark, I refuse to contemplate it. Until I am forced to. I need to find that box and take a better look. I need to protect myself because if I'm right… My life is in peril.

Shy hotel maid Alana Davison is desperate to clear a family debt. So desperate that when she discovers Greek tycoon Ares Sarris urgently needs a wife she blurts out a scandalous suggestion: in exchange for his help, she’ll become his emergency bride!

Michelle and Andy are thrilled to be fast-tracked into fostering and are quickly paired with 7-year-old Milo – whom they hope will complete their family, making a ‘pigeon pair’ with their older daughter, Grace. But Milo tears through their home like a raging tornado, destroying a beautiful interior – and their lives.