Showing results by narrator "Penelope Rawlins" in All Categories

On her 10th birthday, Hattie B is swept into the magical Kingdom of Bellua, where she meets a little pink dragon who needs her help. Evil King Ivar of the Imps has stolen the dragon’s magical voice, and Hattie is the only one who can help her get it back.

Abandoned at the altar, Rosalind Shaw descends into the kind of depression which involves her watching too much daytime TV. After several inebriated months, Ros relocates to St Albans and begins a new life, as part-owner of a bookshop. However, just when Ros begins to feel that life might be improving, her rather hairy neighbour, Daniel, knocks on her door with a bunch of flowers and some rather distressing news....

TV presenter Allis Hagtorn leaves her partner and her job to take voluntary exile in a remote house on an isolated fjord. But her new job as housekeeper and gardener is not all that it seems, and her silent, surly employer, 44-year-old Sigurd Bagge, is not the old man she expected. As they await the return of his wife from her travels, their silent, uneasy encounters develop into a chilling, obsessive relationship, and it becomes clear that atonement for past sins may not be enough.

All is not well in the kingdom of Waldberg.... The orphan Hans is desperate to escape his master, the grave robber Knobbe the Bent. The young countess Angela von Schwanenberg must rescue her parents from the mad archduke. But when fate flings them together, they find themselves on a daring quest, hurtling through haunted forests, racing down mountains in a coffin and sneaking along underground passageways with a travelling circus. And at every turn, the archduke’s Necromancer is there to thwart their progress....

Infinity "Finn" Blackstone is the 17-year-old daughter of Blackstone's reclusive CEO - but she's never even met him. When disturbing dreams about a past she doesn't remember begin to torment her, Finn knows there's only one person who can provide answers: her father.

In a small Kent town in the 1950s, a bewildered little girl is growing up. Ostracised because of her colour, she tries her best to fit in, but nobody wants anything to do with her. A nanny climbs the steps of a smart London address. She’s convinced that her connection to the family behind the door is more than professional. And on the walls of an English stately home, amongst the family portraits, hangs an eighteenth-century oil painting of a mysterious black woman in a silk gown.

A rowdy family comes to stay at the holiday cottages where Laura's mum works. Laura notices that they are always leaving their puppy behind, and so she offers to take it for walks. But when the family is forced to leave, Laura finds herself having to say good-bye to the little dog much sooner than she thought.... 

Two hundred years ago, the first dinosaur was successfully cloned. Soon after, the human race realized they'd made a colossal mistake.... The dregs of humanity have been driven into hiding, living in underground Compounds. Thirteen-year-old Sky Mundy's father was part of the inner circle of Compound leaders until five years ago, when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Sky to try to track him down. Along with her best friend, Shawn, she steps out into the world above, a world of rampaging dinosaurs but also full of surprises.

Astra Ordott is in exile. Evicted from Is-Land for a crime she cannot regret, she has found work in an ancient fortress in Non-Land: headquarters of the Council of New Continents, the global body charged with providing humanitarian aid to the inhabitants of this toxic refugee camp. Recovering from a disorienting course of memory pacification treatment, Astra struggles to focus on her overriding goals - to find her Code father and avenge the death of her Shelter mother, Hokma.

How do you hold on to a love that is slipping away from you? How do you cope when every kiss is a countdown to goodbye? The first time Molly kissed Ryan, she knew they'd be together forever. But now, six years later, when Ryan kisses her, Molly realises how many of them she wasted - because the future holds something which they never could have predicted....

When Dani's mum gets the chance to study penguins in the Antarctic, she decides to send 11-year-old Dani to a strict girls' boarding school where students wear smart uniforms that include skirts! Having failed to change Mum's mind, Dani finds herself having to say good-bye to Granny Viv, her dog, Downboy, and her best friend, Arch. But when they arrive at St Grizelda's it seems that there have been some drastic changes: uniforms are out, and instead chaos, anarchy and goats are in! 

Twenty-five-years ago, four-year-old Justin Manning disappeared. Two months later his body was found in a shallow grave in the woods, shocking the small town of Dove Point. Janet Manning has been haunted by her brother’s death since the day she lost sight of him in the park. Now, a detective and a reporter are asking questions, raising new suspicions and opening old wounds. But if the man jailed for the murder is innocent, who did kill Justin?

They say there's no place like home. It's where the heart is....Meet the little boy who believes in miracles. Meet the mother who loves to bring babies home from the newborn aisle of her supermarket. Meet the husband who carves a longed-for baby out of ice as a gift for his wife. Meet the widow who is reminded of romance whilst standing at the kitchen sink. In this prize-winning short story collection, Carys Bray weaves together moments of joy, heartache, sadness and unwavering love as told through 17 very different notions of home.

Princess Ellie is pony-mad! So she's excited about visiting Prince John, as she can't wait to meet his ponies, Toffee and Fudge. She's enchanted by the snowy mountains, too, but when they go for a ride they soon discover that snow isn't always fun - it can be scary. Will Ellie and her friends have to spend the night in the freezing white wilderness?

Autumn 1940, World War Two: Bombs are raining down, destroying the cities of Britain. The evacuations begin, and soon children are being taken to the country for safety. Teacher Eve Parkins is in charge of one such group. The children are scared and Eve does her best to calm them, but the truth is that she too is haunted by a personal tragedy she cannot put behind her. Their destination is Eel Marsh House. Desolate and forlorn, it is situated on a causeway and is sinking into the treacherous tidal marshes that surround it. Far from home and with no alternative, Eve and the children move in.

Imagine being married for 28 years with three children, a lovely house and a husband who travels a lot - but you still love each other. Or: imagine being happily married for 17 years. You have one daughter and your husband travels a lot. One day you get a call that turns your world upside down: your husband is dead. You go to the funeral…and meet his other widow…

Sophie knows she should count herself lucky when she finds herself catapulted into the A-list after the surprise hit of a budget movie, but she just wishes she could be a proper actress, in proper, serious films. As Sophie’s career begins to decline her fate seems to be entwined with that of her favourite actress, Eve Noel: the epitome of 50s Hollywood glamour…

In Atlanta, Charlie Cortez MD diagnoses his mistress with an unknown neurodegenerative disease that is inducing violent psychosis. The apparent cause? Consumption of infected human flesh… In Vienna, Dr. Reeta Kapoor, eminent anthropologist, is forced to travel to a remote Indian archipelago in order to rescue her brother who is in grave danger. In Dubai, Kelly Maelzel is blackmailed into accepting a new job – protecting the visitors to a new project, a game reserve.

When the writer, Oxford scholar, and photographer John Jameson, visits the home of his vicar friend, Daniel Baxter, he is entranced by his youngest daughter, Daisy. Jameson charms her with his wit and child-like imagination, teasing her with riddles and inventing humourous stories as they enjoy afternoons alone by the river and in his rooms. The shocking impact of this unusual friendship is only brought to light when, years later, Daisy, unsettled in her marriage, rediscovers her childhood diaries in an old toy chest.

Bella's new next-door neighbour is Magda. Magda is lots of fun, and soon they are best friends. But Magda is also trouble! She breaks Bella's mum's best tea set, wrecks Bella's room and covers the living room in soot. And in Trouble at School, on Bella's first day at her new school she already has a best friend - or frenemy! - Magda! Bella wants to make a good impression, but with Magda around, things don't always go according to plan.