Showing results by narrator "Laura Kirman" in All Categories

When Nina discovers her boyfriend in bed with another woman, she decides it's finally time to channel the spirit of her idol, Nora Ephron. Her sequel to the most beloved romcom of all time – If Harry Met Sally – has been gathering dust for years, but her best friend Astrid convinces her that this is the perfect moment to finish her script and make it as the Hollywood screenwriter she always wanted to be.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Stranger by Kate Riordan. When you're the outsider, who do you trust? Cornwall, 1940. For decades, Penhallow Hall has stood frozen in time, protecting the secrets of its isolated inhabitants. But the far corners of England are no shelter from the war, and Penhallow must finally open its doors to strangers. Three newcomers arrive, each looking to escape their past. They adjust easily to the routine - nightly blackouts, the threat of invasion - but tensions mount, and secrets are forced into the open.

Is it possible to freecycle love? Modern dating is hard, especially when all you meet are liars, oddballs, men who wear Superman pants and men who live with their mums. So why not date someone who already comes preapproved? Just because your friend's ex wasn't right for her doesn't mean that he won't be right for you. That's Marnie's new plan for herself and her three best friends - perennially single Helen, recently divorced Rosa and cynical lawyer Ani.

A dramatic and terrifying memoir of a 'catfish' scenario - when a woman meets a man online but nothing is what it seems. Twenty-five-year-old Megan Henley put her five-year-old daughter to bed one evening and switched on her laptop. A Facebook 'riend request seemed to be genuine. There were a few common friends and very similar interests, so Megan accepted. With that one simple act, she changed her life forever.

Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Lucy Dillon and Debbie Johnson. A Christmas Tail was first published as a four-part e-serial set in Primrose Terrace. Catherine "Cat" Palmer realizes that bringing an adorable puppy into work is a bad idea, especially when it gets her the sack. Deciding it's the perfect opportunity to launch her dog-walking business, Cat enlists the help of flatmates Polly and Joe.

On holiday with her family and adoring fiancé, Jed, Emily couldn't be happier. But overnight, the idyllic trip turns into a waking nightmare when one of the group is found dead in what appears to be a terrible accident. The devastated party returns to London to cope with their loss while trying to resume their normal lives. But new revelations set Emily on a perilous journey to discover the truth about what happened....

Amber Alessandra Leola Kimiko Miyamoto. As if her name made up for being tiny, half Japanese and half Italian, and starting a new school with a caveman phone. Dream on! But the hardest bit about being Amber is that a part of her is missing. Her dad. He left when she was little and if he isn't coming back, she'll have to sort things out another way…

I was winning until I met your gaze... Gambling at the roulette tables of the Kursaal, Gwendolen Harleth glances up to meet Daniel Deronda's arresting stare. Striking, selfish and wilful, she is at that moment the mistress of her destiny. Thirty years on, the flawed heroine and true protagonist of Eliot's last great novel writes her confessional to the man whose ever-imagined gaze has prevailed throughout her life.

When the world-famous conductor Leo Bruck dies suddenly, the three women who loved him meet for the first time at his graveside. Victoria, his partner of 20 years and mother of two of his children; Maddy, mother of Leo's daughter Phoebe; and 24-year-old Cat. Can these three very different women, whose lives become inextricably bound, break free from the masterful control Leo exerts - even from the grave?

A Daphne du Maurier-esque chiller set on the mysterious Cornish coast from the author of The Silent Companions and The Corset. Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft’s family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken. But Dr Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home.

Olivia has never experienced a snow-covered, 'traditional' Christmas before. Having grown up in a family that chose winter sun over decking the halls, she’s not sure what all the fuss is about. So when she and her colleagues are stranded in New York after a work trip, Olivia is happy spending the holiday season in the Big Apple. Jon, on the other hand, is desperate to get home in time. But, he sets out to show Olivia how enchanting Christmas can be. And when handsome New Yorker Elijah is added to the mix, could the magic of the season finally be working its charm on Olivia?

When Willow Lake asks her daughters for help renovating the family home, each has a reason to hesitate about returning to Maplewood. For quiet and bookish Emmy, going back to the town that ridiculed her fills her with dread. The youngest, Noelle, is perfectly comfortable in herself now but once wanted to fit in so badly that she walked away from her first love. A first love who still lives in Maplewood. And outspoken Rae is painfully aware of how much the townspeople hurt her little sisters growing up.

Jess has decided it's time to get out of her comfort zone. So when her best friend Bryony, a journalist on a gossip magazine, is sent to cover the Cannes Film Festival, Jess decides to seize the day and go along for the ride. Reality soon bites, though, when Jess and Bryony find they're staying in a hotel far away from all the action and Bryony's expenses budget barely covers a glass of wine. Undeterred, the two women are determined to live like the elite and enjoy one night out to begin their holiday. So what if they have to tell a few white lies along the way?

Rule one: anything can happen. Daisy Cooper's life has been pretty uneventful - until the moment it suddenly ends. Unfortunately, her death is (literally) an accident: Daisy wasn't meant to die for another 50 years. One terrible, embarrassing clerical error is behind it - and Death himself is to blame. As Daisy battles against her new reality, she starts to learn that letting go isn't just a challenge faced by those left behind. And while she learns how to survive this impossible new reality, friendship, hope and even love begin to come alive in the most unexpected ways.

For years, Jess has been told that the only man she ever loved abandoned her when she needed him most. But when she discovers a hidden box of cards and letters, she realises her life has been built on a foundation of lies. Fuelled by the words of the man she thought she'd lost, she follows in his footsteps, tracing his path in the hope she might find him again. Though years have passed and people change, in her heart Jess hopes that, maybe one day, they will be whole again. A tender and moving novel that will break your heart and put it back together again.

Newly divorced Jo is delighted to move into her best friend’s spare room almost rent-free. The high-tech luxury Camden flat is managed by a meticulous home assistant, called Electra, that takes care of the heating, the lights - and sometimes Jo even turns to her for company. Until, late one night, Electra says one sentence that rips Jo’s fragile world in two: ‘I know what you did’. And Jo is horrified. Because in her past she did do something terrible. Something unforgivable.

Jules and Holly have been best friends since university. They tell each other everything, trading revelations and confessions and sharing both the big moments and the small details of their lives: Holly is the only person who knows about Jules’ affair; Jules was there for Holly when her husband died. And their two children - just three years apart - have grown up together. So when Jules’ daughter, Saffie, makes a rape allegation against Holly’s son, Saul, neither woman is prepared for the devastating impact this will have on their friendship or their families.

Long before she was the Queen of Hearts, Catherine Pinkerton was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favourite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction.

I knew I was in Paris, I knew that was the Seine beneath me, the sky above, but when I looked around for help, the grand apartment buildings of the Quai Voltaire stared back at me, indifferent. In the sixth arrondissement everything is perfect, and everyone is lonely. This is the Paris of 13-year-old Paul. Shy and unloved, he quietly observes the lives of the self-involved grown-ups around him: his glamorous maman Séverine; her young musician lover, Gabriel; and his fitness-obsessed papa, Philippe.

Kate Turner is happily single - a bit too happily, in fact. Since returning to her hometown of Blexford, a sleepy village where everybody knows each other, and between catching up with her oldest friends Laura and Matt, a flourishing career as a fabric designer, and taking care of her beloved dad, love hasn’t really had a look in. But Kate does love Christmas. So when Laura insists she signs up to the 'Twelve Dates of Christmas', a brand new dating app service, she doesn’t need too much persuading.