Showing results by narrator "Billie Fulford-Brown" in All Categories

Time is running out for 25-year-old Lady Margaret Underwood. Desperate to retain the independence that her considerable fortune affords her, she accepts the proposal of Viscount Charles Isham. But after a few hours in his stultifying company, she does what any woman would do: She flees. A snowstorm and a carriage mishap lead to rescue by a seductive stranger.

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, 18-year-old orphan Terciel learns the art of necromancy from his great-aunt Tizanael. But not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Tizanael is the Abhorsen, the latest in a long line of people who make sure the Dead do not return to life. Across the Wall, in a country where magic usually does not work, 19-year-old Elinor lives a secluded life. Her mother is a tyrant who is feared by all despite her sickness and impending death...but perhaps there is even more to fear from that.

Wilhelmina Heidle, the fourth child and only daughter of the king of the world's wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father - whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war - Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance. Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone.

When 16-year-old Jessica Wragg applied for a job at her local farm shop in Derbyshire, England, she never expected to land a position behind the butchery counter. Wragg was younger than many of her colleagues by decades, and she was one of the few women on staff, struggling to earn her keep among colleagues who were reluctant to share the tricks of their trade with a novice. Breaking down carcasses by day, and studying animal anatomy by night, Wragg was soon hooked and determined to establish herself in an industry that is steeped in tradition, and often resistant to change.

Liv knows what kind of boy her grandson is. She knows Seb would never do anything to hurt his girlfriend, Izzy. But could the shadow cast by his father be influencing the boy she loves? Caitlyn, Izzy’s mother, is desperate to reach her daughter, but she only seems to push her further away. Can she help her daughter or are Caitlyn's own demons standing in the way? When an inappropriate photo of Izzy is shared online, no one is prepared for the ripples that threaten to tear their lives apart. Will the truth come out before it's too late? Or is the damage already done?

Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who questions her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiance, Gil Trent. Amory accompanies Gil to the luxurious Brightwell Hotel in an attempt to circumvent the marriage of his sister Emmeline to Rupert Howe, a disreputable ladies' man. Amory sees in the situation a grim reflection of her own floundering marriage.

Convinced that two unexplained deaths on her London patch are murders, rookie police officer Heather Prendergast’s unofficial investigation takes her to an isolated mill town on the Huddshire moors where she unearths a web of corruption that threatens her career – and her life. A dyed in the wool Southerner, Heather discovers that the isolated mill town is a throwback to another age - the personal fiefdom of a crooked Mayor Cameron Carmichael in league with a corrupt police force led by Chief Constable Euridice Montefiore.

Growing up in a small town on the Cornish coast, Natalie and Fiona have always been besties. Then roommates. But now, with thirty looming on the horizon, it all seems to be falling apart. Fiona’s decided it’s finally time to move in with her long-term boyfriend, leaving Natalie wondering how on earth to pay the rent. Just as she’s on the brink of despair, Natalie somehow lands her dream job, and surviving solo suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. But Fiona had set her sights on that same role.

They said I was The One. They made me their Queen. The truth is, I was the last resort. But I’m not done yet. I may be alone, but I have learnt one thing: I am the one I’ve been waiting for. My destiny awaits me in Venice. But where, exactly? In the promises and charms of Prince Victor of House Grigio? In a deal struck with the sisterhood of mermaids who swim the canals? In the ice blue eyes of the one who cannot be mine? Or in the friend whose forgotten past changes everything? I am Chess Raven. I am the girl who chose.

Alexia Falls is 18, living in her parents' New York penthouse and working with superstar boy band The Keep. But with her heart set on independence and a career behind the camera, she trades it all for a take-it-or-leave-it internship at London's Bright Star Productions. There, she meets fellow intern Greta. Greta's East End upbringing couldn't have been more different from Alexia's, but she's every bit as hungry for her big break. But both girls have secrets.

Orphan. Thief. Witch. Twelve-year-old Quicksilver lives as a thief in the sleepy town of Willow-on-the-River. Her only companions are her faithful dog and partner in crime, Fox - and Sly Boots, the shy boy who lets her live in his attic when it’s too cold to sleep on the rooftops. It’s a lonesome life, but Quicksilver is used to being alone. When you are alone, no one can hurt you. No one can abandon you. Then one day Quicksilver discovers that she can perform magic. Real magic. The kind that isn’t supposed to exist anymore.

These 16 short tales delve into realms of existential investigation, from dark horror and science fiction futures to fantastical flights of scientific wonder. Each story is a self-contained world of its own, a moment in time that illuminates a thought, a person, an experience or a curiosity.

Adolf Hitler's secret mistress, an upstanding member of the British aristocracy, gives birth to a daughter. The child is whisked away at infancy and raised as an orphan. She is protected from the truth concerning her origins, but that doesn't prevent the remnants of Hitler's scattered empire from seeking her out as part of a plot to reignite their dream of conquering Europe. Enter into our drama the starchy, conservative Jean Hastie, an art historian and official for the Scottish National Trust.

Chess Raven is a hacker who has grown up with nothing and no one. Her parents died when she was three, and her foster care situation turned out badly - very badly. But on her 16th birthday, her life is turned upside down. Chess learns her mother was Queen of the Fae and her father was a brilliant physicist. The unique blend of her mother’s fairy blood and her father’s humanity gives Chess - and Chess alone - the ability to unlock a mysterious vessel that will unleash unimagined powers - with devastating consequences.

Mary Draper knows she is a normal, gap-toothed schoolgirl--until her sleep disorder is brought to light, she dreams her cat can talk like a toff, she learns how to use the camera obscura and wishing steps, and she rescues her Victorian friend, a suspected jewel thief. The reason: Mary Draper can time travel!

Fleeing the nightmares of Coldthistle House, Louisa and her friends have taken up in a posh new London residence. But religious zealots from the shepherd’s army are flocking to the city in droves, and ominous warnings are being left on Louisa’s very doorstep. With the evil influence of her father’s spirit growing stronger, Louisa knows she’ll have to pick a side in the coming war between the old gods, whether she’d like to or not.

The story of a woman's life, from childhood to death, somewhere in provincial France, from the 1950s to just shy of 2025. She has doting parents, does well at school, finds a loving husband after one abortive attempt at passion, buys a big house with a moonlit terrace, makes decent money, has children, changes jobs, retires, grows old and dies. All in the comfort that the middle classes have grown accustomed to. But she's bored.

Adaptation is everything. Inge Lohmark is well aware of that; after all, she's been teaching biology for more than 30 years. But nothing will change the fact that her school is going to be closed in four years: in this dwindling town in the eastern German countryside, there are fewer and fewer children. Inge's husband, who was a cattle inseminator before the reunification, is now breeding ostriches. Their daughter, Claudia, emigrated to the U.S. years ago and has no intention of having children. Everyone is resisting the course of nature that Inge teaches every day in class.

Blood-red lights have appeared in the sky over the frozen island of Skane, causing a cloak of fear and suspicion to fall over the village like a blanket of snow. In a desperate attempt to keep out the plague, the village elders barricade its borders - no-one, no matter how in need of help, will be permitted to enter in case they bring infection with them. Teenager Janna refuses to turn her back on people seeking refuge and is banished to the swirling snow and lurking darkness beyond the village. Can she survive?

Emma Oxley and Nellie Yarrow have been inseparable their whole lives. Ever since they reinvented themselves, changing their names and wiping clean their digital footprints, they have made a game of following wherever the next adventure leads and challenging themselves to thefts, street cons, and mind games. Adhering to only two rules—they will only con men, and only ones who deserve it—Emma and Nellie are secure in their reputation as the most trustworthy swindlers on the European black market. Until suddenly, they must play to save their own lives.