Showing results by narrator "Emma Powell" in All Categories

Harriet Cookson knows exactly what she wants from life. She has a plan, she has ambition, and she knows she has to keep busy. But when her beloved Nana Lorna passes away, Harriet has to put everything on hold as she flies out to the Hamptons to say goodbye and be with her grandfather. Whilst across the Atlantic, over a plate of canapes, Harriet's eyes connect with ex-soldier Mack's - the one that got away, the person she least expected to see - and everything begins to change.

Left homeless after the Exeter Blitz, May must find a job if she's to put a roof over her head and help support her two younger sisters. Taking a job as housekeeper to farmer George, May soon ends up getting stuck into more than just cleaning and cooking. The Ministry of Agriculture will close Fair Maids Farm if it doesn't meet their produce targets, but George refuses to heed their warnings. With only two reluctant Land Girls to help, May receives unexpected guidance from Dan, a neighbouring farmer, whose kindness gets tongues wagging in the village.

Molly had dared to turn a cold shoulder on London's prize catch. She was a precocious American upstart who thought beauty, brains, and bravery were enough to conquer London society. Well, he'd show her! Nobody publicly (or privately!) spurned Lord David Manley, the most eligible bachelor in town. He was determined that soon she'd be trembling in his arms, desperately in love with the man she had dared to mock. David Manley always got his way, and Miss Molly Maguire presented a challenge he couldn't resist!

Quentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can't afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can't understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded. Mud, mice and quarrels are one thing - but why is their rent so low?

Cecile has been raised to a life of privilege at Polruan House, by her widowed father and aunt. Now she's of age, they are determined that she make a proper match, but Cecile's heart belongs to their coachman, Sam - most definitely not suitable marriage material. When Sam turns to his friend, smuggler Zach Carver, for help eloping with Cecile, Zach tells of a recent encounter with Lise, a beautiful but poor girl in St Ives, who is the mirror image of Cecile.

Jenna's life has always been a fight. From the traumatic and mysterious loss of her mother on a dark woodland road when she was 15, to the abusive and controlling boyfriend she's recently escaped, she has learned that trust hurts you in the end. Now Jenna's found what she hopes is happiness with her new girlfriend, Holly. But the world is full of darkness - some of it ancient, some of it closer to home. . . Evil, and those who serve it, will not let Jenna go.

Emily Moon lives with her mother in an inn on a clifftop in the darkest reaches of Cornwall. After her father mysteriously disappears, her mother finds solace at the bottom of a bottle, and the only way to keep afloat is to turn a blind eye to the smugglers who send signals from the clifftops. But Emily knows that the smugglers killed her father to ensure his silence, and she will not let his murder go unpunished....

January 1941. Peggy Collins has learned a lot during her time as a Spark Girl. Posted to Swansea as a driver to the squadron leader, she often hears things she shouldn't, and she knows to be discreet, understanding how serious the phrase 'loose lips sink ships' really is. Peggy meets and falls in love with pilot Jim Hudson, but her heart is broken when he becomes missing in action, and Peggy is left fearing the worst. That isn't the end of the shocks in store for Peggy, and she is forced to remember a promise made long ago. But can she keep her word while the bombs fall?

Wild and Free is the festival du jour. Everyone piles through its gates - and Cupid lies in wait. Teacher Ginnie is desperate to forget her crush on headmaster Mark and hopes glamping might do the trick. But Mark is also heading for Wild and Free to reform his college band...desperate not to be recognised. Mark's bandmate, James, dreams of a festival blowout with his son, Guy...until his wife, Victoria, kills the dream.

Busy mum of twins Liv is looking forward to a week at the Beach Hut in Devon, even if she feels that something's not right between her and Matt. She’s sure he’s just too busy at work to join them on their summer holiday, not that he wants time alone. Baz loves having his family to stay by the sea, but when an unexpected guest arrives, he finds himself torn between the past and the future. Still reeling from a breakup, all Sofia wants is a quiet summer – until she meets Baz and her plans are turned upside down.

A disgraced son with a dark reputation, William Ferguson Avenel is content to live in exile in Scotland - until his father dies in the scandal of the Season, making him the new Duke of Rothwell and leaving him in charge of his young sisters. With rumors of insanity swirling around their family, the girls desperately need a chaperone. And he thinks he's found the lady for the job...until Rothwell discovers her dangerous secret life.

The ponies of Pemberley Stables have been bound by magic, and each of them is trapped in time. Can two brave girls help get them back? Sparkle the white pony has been magicked to be messy and can’t stop rolling in mud. But can Olivia and Eliza help break the spell that is binding her and give her a magical makeover in time for the royal wedding?

Sally was an honoured guest in a palatial country home. Aunt Mabel, the lovelorn columnist of Home Chats magazine, had been summoned to prevent the Duchess of Dartware's son, Paul, from a marriage that others believed a fate worse than death. Who would have guessed that behind Aunt Mabel's acid pen and ageless wisdom lurked the real 18-year-old Sally Blane, determined to make the handsome marquess her own! But how could she compete, wearing false wrinkles and a white wig?

Eighteenth-century Cornwall is crippled by debt and poverty while the gibbet casts a shadow of fear over the land. Yet when night falls, free traders swarm onto the beaches and smuggling prospers. Terrified by a thief-taker’s warning as a child, Jenna has resolved to be good. But when her brother asks for her help to pay his creditors, Jenna finds herself entering the dangerous world of the smuggling trade. Jack Penhale hunts down the smuggling gangs in revenge for his father’s death. Drawn to Jenna at a hiring fayre, they discover their lives are entangled. But as Jenna struggles to decide where her allegiances lie, the worlds of justice and crime collide, leading to danger and heartache.

Before Ellen, things were easier and less complicated. They were either good or bad, right or wrong, black or white, and I understood the difference. Since Ellen, everything has been coloured in shades of grey. From the author of The Secrets Between Us, part of the 2012 Richard and Judy Summer Reads, comes this dark, thrilling novel that is perfect for your book group. It's set 20 years ago against a backdrop of dreamy Cornish summers, a place where childhood friendship becomes young love, where love becomes obsession, and where obsession ultimately ends in betrayal and a tragic death.

Poor Lucy was living a dream. She had married a gambler, a womaniser and a drunkard. And she refused to admit that his frequent overnight absences were of any significance. The sting came when it was revealed that Lucy's parents had bought her husband for her. And then one night at a ball, Lucy met the charismatic Duke of Habard, and suddenly anything seemed possible.

Becky Rose has just landed her dream job house-sitting at a top-end villa on the island of Corfu. Elias Mardas is travelling back to Corfu on business whilst dealing with his own personal demons. Late arriving in Athens, Becky and Elias have to spend a night in the Greek capital. When they have to emergency land in Kefalonia, Becky's got to decide whether to suck up the adventure and this gorgeous companion she seems to have been thrown together with, or panic about when she's going to arrive at Corfu.

After fleeing German-occupied Paris, Alix is back in her home in Belgrade, hoping to finally reunite with her parents. But her parents have fled with King Peter to ensure his safety. Alix and her father's deputy steward Drago's attempt to find them is derailed and they are forced to reside in the Serbian country home. But all is not lost when Alix finds Nikola in the city - the man she was arranged to marry before war broke out. She has more in common with him than ever expected, and together with Drago they join a new Resistance.

Maggie Macleod was weary of life with a soul sickness that ate into every fiber of her being. In a mad way, it did not seem strange to her that she should be on the way to High Court to stand trial for the murder of her husband. Her marriage seemed to have been one long dreary desert lit by flares of cruelty.

Two mothers. Two daughters. One school place. Imogen and Lily are old friends - they've shared hangovers, unsuitable boyfriends and wild nights out together. But now they're mums, and their partying days are behind them. When a place comes up at one of the best primary schools in the area, both women want it for their daughters. From faking religious beliefs to bogus breakups, Imogen and Lily will go to any lengths to secure the perfect school for their children - and so will all the other mothers. Will their friendship survive the strain? Will their marriages take the pressure?