Showing results by narrator "Katy Sobey" in All Categories

Belle Wilde loves December. Yes, she’s just lost her job, and Christmas is not a good time to find yourself ‘financially challenged’. And yes, her parents are still going on about the fact that she really should have it all together by now. But Belle believes that in December, magic can happen. Rory Walters hates December. Whilst it looks like his life is together, he’s still reeling from a winter’s night five years ago when his life changed forever. Now back at home, he’s certain that this will be yet another Christmas to endure rather than enjoy.

When several young prostitutes are found murdered in Liverpool, DI Leigh Moss knows there is only one person she can turn to for help with the case. Gangland queen Grace Carter knows the streets of Liverpool better than anyone and can ask questions Leigh can’t...but will Grace help? Grace doesn’t trust easily, but when she discovers that her family might be linked with the gruesome murders, she decides to give Leigh a chance. But helping Leigh is risky, and as Grace is dragged deeper into the murky world of vice, her own life is put in danger.

Navigating life as a young autistic person with ADHD isn't always easy. Luckily, Sarah Boon is here to share her own experiences, helping you to explore how autism and ADHD overlap and identify the strategies that will make day-to-day life easier. With chapters focused on adulting, relationships and communication, emotional wellbeing, and mental health, navigating the workplace and more, this book offers practical, tried-and-tested guidance to help you understand your autism and ADHD and overcome some of the hurdles that adulthood may throw your way.

She’s the shoulder you cry on when the father of your children disappears. She’s the person you turn to when he comes back, begging for forgiveness. She’s by your side when you discover his guilty secrets. She helps rock your babies to sleep when they cry. She’s your friend when you have no one else. She’s the woman upstairs, whose feet you hear treading above as you drift off at night, thankful you aren’t alone.

My heart is a kaleidoscope, and when we kiss it makes my world unravel.... Last summer, Gottie's life fell apart. Her beloved grandfather, Grey, died, and Jason left her - the boy to whom she lost her virginity (and her heart) - and he wouldn't even hold her hand at the funeral! This summer, still reeling from twin heartbreaks, Gottie is lost and alone and burying herself in equations. Until, after five years' absence, Thomas comes home: former boy next door. Former best friend. Former everything.

Elsie Martin may lead a quiet life, but working in her beloved local library is enough to make her happy. After all, books have always been her armour against the world. So when the library is threatened with closure to make way for a new housing development, Elsie knows it has to be saved—and that, despite being painfully shy, she needs to lead the campaign to save it.

Since having her first child nine years ago, Sarah Ockwell-Smith has worked tirelessly to prepare parents for the birth of their child. An antenatal teacher and a doula, with a background in psychology, she founded an award-winning company Babycalm ™ with one aim in mind—to turn stressed-out new parents and crying babies into happier parents and calmer babies. BabyCalm will help you understand your baby and yourself as a new parent.

Brooke is delighted when Oliver decides to rent her old family home with his three-year-old son, Finley. Finally someone to bring happiness to the run-down house across the street. They seem like the perfect tenants, but Brooke is a little unnerved when they move in with just a single bag between them. Where are their belongings?

Dr Isla Fenwick has a life that most modern women of 1933 might envy - her career gives her status, her pedigree adds freedom and her oldest crush, Jovian Mandeville, has reappeared in her life with a marriage proposal. Her life is beginning to feel complete. However, she insists on keeping a private promise she made to her late mother to work at the coalface of medicine in India before committing to life as a dutiful wife.

This collection of narratives from autistic adults is structured around their decades of experience of life, covering 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60 and 70s+. These are varied and diverse, spanning different continents, genders, sexualities and ethnicities, yet the author highlights the common themes that unite them and skilfully draws out these threads. Each chapter is based on accounts from one age group and includes accounts from people of that age, giving an insight into the history of autism and signifying how gaining a diagnosis (or not) has changed people's lives over time.

Harriet Manners knows that the hottest observed place on earth is Furnace Creek in Death Valley. She knows that dolphins shed the top layer of their skin every two hours. And she knows just how badly auditions can go, especially when you’re a model. But she has no idea how to get herself out of the extreme embarrassment of the school play or what to do when arch-nemesis Alexa decides it’s the perfect opportunity to humiliate her.

Amelie has lived in Cornflower Cottage since she was born. She did her homework at the scrubbed kitchen table and helped her mum hang washing from the line on the old oak tree in the garden. And when her beloved parents died, Cornflower Cottage became Amelie’s armor against the world. The trouble is that Cornflower Cottage is too big for just her. With a broken boiler and a leaking roof, Amelie knows she must do something to make ends meet.

When Rosie inherits the café on Marigold Marina, following her husband’s tragic death, she is determined to pour her heart into his dream. But when Kit, the owner of a bookshop barge, starts to come by regularly, she finds it difficult to ignore his dark eyes, disheveled curls, and warm smile. And just as Rosie starts to hope, letting herself open her heart a second time, she discovers the shocking secret that the husband she loved for so many years kept hidden from her.

Amelia loves her life in Paris. But with the surprise inheritance of her childhood home, she has no choice but to return to the small village of Meadowbank to restore her great-aunt’s old farmhouse. However returning to Meadowbank means she has to confront her past, including old flame Adam—the one person she regrets leaving behind. When Amelia discovers a locket hidden in the farmhouse, containing the picture of a mysterious World War Two soldier, she starts to uncover the secrets of her great-aunt’s past.

Sixteen-year-old Bessie works long hours as a weaver in Blackburn, helping to support her family. Meanwhile, her older sister, Peggy, works as an apprentice at the Girls' School, hoping for a more prosperous future as a schoolteacher. Jennet and Titus Eastwood have always made decisions for their daughters' futures. But as the sisters near adulthood, they are determined to make their own choices. And with temptation in the way, will the girls find love - or infatuation - leads them astray?

Florence, 1943. As the bells toll in the solemn dark streets and enemy soldiers loiter by the city’s beautiful bridges, schoolgirl Gabriella is racked with guilt. She is ashamed of the crush she had on the soldier with raven-black hair, a crush that allowed a secret notebook to fall into the hands of the enemy. Faced with her brother’s haunted eyes and the prospect of never seeing her father again, Gabriella is determined to make things right. She seeks out her old schoolfriend Stefanina, an unlikely member of the Italian resistance with her beautiful curls and scarlet ribbon.

When Sophia wins a postgraduate place at Ivy Drama College, she can't believe her luck. The college is owned by one of the most well-respected young actors in London, Marc Blackwell - who not only founded the college but teaches the students. Known for his strict classes and belief in discipline, Marc has a reputation for being arrogant and aloof, yet Sophia soon finds herself drawn to this cold, fascinating young man. Soon Sophia is embarking on a journey of sexual discovery that promises to explore all that is forbidden between teacher and student.

From Robyn Cadwallader, author of the internationally acclaimed novel The Anchoress, comes a deeply profound and moving novel of the importance of creativity and the power of connection, told through the story of the commissioning of a gorgeously decorated medieval manuscript, a Book of Hours...

In a field outside Bromsgrove, two elderly brothers live in adjoining railway carriages. No one visits, and they never speak to each other. Until the day Zohra Dasgupta, a young postwoman, delivers an extraordinary letter - from a woman claiming to be the sister they thought had been murdered 50 years earlier.

Norfolk, 1940. In the dark days of the war, Emmeline’s nursery is the only thing giving mothers hope. But how long can she keep that hope alive? An inspiring and emotional story of love and strength in the darkest of times. Emmeline’s daughter, Lydia, has already been evacuated and now, as Emmeline loses neighbours and friends to the bombs raining down around her, she must leave London too – for safety and a fresh start.