Showing results by narrator "Hannah Curtis" in All Categories

Anna Holley, the third of four sisters, has always felt a little bit forgotten. A family tragedy when she was a child had her retreating deep into shyness, and social anxiety kept her on the fringes of the cozy chaos of the busy vicarage. After several years away from home, Anna returns for Christmas, and an important announcement from her father. As much as she once loved the village, coming back is hard and puts Anna’s social capabilities to the test. Avoiding her sisters’ bossy questions, she heads out to the local pub one night, and meets a handsome stranger nursing a pint. 

Esther Holley, the eldest in the family, has always had her life firmly in control until a miscarriage knocks her off course. Two months later, still emotionally spinning, she separates from her husband, Will, a sheep farmer and man of few words and moves back in with her parents. Life as a singleton 30-something living in her parents’ house is miserable, but Esther is determined to reboot her life, including going on a few unfortunate dates. She’s shocked when tight-lipped Will shows up on her doorstep determined to woo her back.

Brought to you by Penguin. On the Six-Thousand Ship, things have started to feel changed. Since bringing aboard a number of strange objects from a newly discovered planet, the crew – both human and humanoid – have begun to feel a yearning. They want to be near the objects, to feel them...

A missing heir. An out of sorts duchess. A Season in High Society that just became far more interesting… London, 1891. With the gossip broadsheet The Society Page speculating that her husband is getting far too cosy with their female neighbor back at his country estate, Alice, Duchess of...

A few years into her marriage and under pressure to surrender to domesticity, Joanna Biggs found herself longing for a different kind of existence. The relationship was calm and her husband was a good man, but was this all there was? She divorced without knowing what would come next. Newly untethered, Joanna returned to the free-spirited writers of her youth and was soon reading in a fever - desperately searching for evidence of lives that looked more like her own, for the messiness and freedom, for a possible blueprint for intellectual fulfilment.

A second chance. A tropical paradise. A friendship that could cost her everything. When Samantha's life falls apart, an unexpected message from an old friend offers her a way out—and a ticket to paradise. Swept into a luxurious world of beaches, cocktails, and curated perfection, Samantha...

Isla knows her family kept things from her. When she inherits the cliffside cottage where she spent her childhood, she must face dark shadows of her past—the mother who rejected her in favour of her art, the aunt whose death haunted them both, and the silence that permeated every room. Digging through the belongings of someone she realises she never really knew, Isla finally has the chance to find answers to the secrets her mother spent a lifetime hiding.

When yoga teacher Amelia falls victim to an online scam, her colleague Paige really comes through for her. And with their daughters Marnie and Taryn becoming best friends, the two families grow even closer. But all is not as it seems. Paige has an agenda.

Beauty, make-up, art, power: How to Be a Renaissance Woman presents an alternative history of this period as told by the women behind the paintings, providing a window into their often overlooked or silenced lives. Can the pressures women feel to look good be traced back to the sixteenth century?...

Rachel Holley has always dreamed of a wedding - the white dress, the fairy tale, and, of course, the happily-ever-after. But when her fiancé breaks it off the night before, claiming she doesn’t love him, Rachel’s fairy tale ends in ashes. Homeless, hopeless, and feeling like her life has been completely derailed, Rachel must start over in all sorts of ways - and hold her head up high in the fishbowl of her tiny village.

They chose separate paths, never imagining fate would offer them a second chance. Amy Bridwell reluctantly accompanies her family on a Grand Tour of the Continent—the very trip her former sweetheart proposed they take as newlyweds. Receiving no suitable marriage offer in the six years since...

London in the 1920s is no place for a woman with a mind of her own. Gang wars, violence, and an unforgiving world have left pickpocket Alice Diamond scrambling to survive in the Mint, the gritty neighborhood her family has run for generations. When her father goes to jail yet again and her scam artist brother finds himself in debt to the dangerous McDonald crime syndicate, Alice takes over. Fighting for power at every turn, she struggles to protect her father’s territory and keep the people she loves safe from some of London’s most dangerous criminals.

The ridiculous music. The excessive presents. The stupid Christmas sweaters. Felicity wants nothing more than to escape it all, and she pounces on the chance to work shifts over the holiday season at an animal rescue center. After all, it’s the only place that brings her true happiness. But one day, her evening is disturbed by a stranger named James—dressed as a penguin and cradling a weak kitten. As Felicity and James work together to nurse the sick feline back to health, it gives them the perfect excuse to bond over their mutual dislike of all things festive. And soon, sparks fly.

In the hidden shadows amongst the trees, tales of witches are whispered. What is it about the wild that draws us in and has captured our imaginations for so long? The Witch and The WildWood delves into stories of the woods as told through some of its most enchanting inhabitants: witches, fairy...

As the youngest Holley sister, Miriam has always been a bit of a rebel. After spending several years backpacking through Europe and Australia, she’s now back home...unemployed and pregnant, with no boyfriend or husband in sight. At first, Miriam only wants to hide away from the shocked and prying eyes of her father’s parishioners, but her sisters won’t let her. Determined to help her find her way, they urge Miriam to accept a job working as an assistant to Simon, the new vicar...and to think about what will happen when the baby comes.

Funny and doom-drenched, The Employees chronicles the fate of the Six-Thousand Ship. The human and humanoid crew members complain about their daily tasks in a series of staff reports and memos. When the ship takes on a number of strange objects from the planet New Discovery, the crew becomes strangely and deeply attached to them, even as tensions boil toward mutiny, especially among the humanoids.

The night that throws a wrecking ball into Abby’s life starts out perfectly at first. There’s still a hint of summer sun in the purple-streaked sky. Abby and her best friend, Sienna, look on fondly as their two husbands laugh under the garden gazebo. None of them know it’s the last time they will be together again. What starts out as just a little fun has devastating consequences for the couples. Alone with Sienna’s husband, Greg, Abby finds him unexpectedly charming. Caught up in the moment, she reveals a secret she swore never to tell.

She lost her sister. Now someone is making sure she loses her mind. Four years after witnessing her sister Beth disappear without a trace, Maya Brennan is still drowning in the aftermath. The guilt and isolation of a small Irish coastal town force her to believe she could have imagined it all...

Felicity Brooks always hated Christmas. But after one unforgettable festive season with James the Penguin Man, she's finally learned to embrace twinkling lights, hot chocolate kisses—and the power of starting again. Now, months later, Felicity's trying to keep it all together. Her dream of motherhood has been shattered. She's somehow ended up planning a wedding for her ex and his chaotic bride-to-be. And then—just to keep things interesting—her estranged father turns up at the animal rescue center where she works, unannounced, after thirty years away.

The best of Deep Magic: Volume 1—fantastical worlds of space adventures, changelings, and dragons await—stories with depth, strong protagonists, high tension, all told while pulling at your heartstrings, or making you smile with understanding. In this volume, you'll find twenty-two stories, including many novelettes. Go on adventures from deep space to ancient Rome (with magic), to Mars, and many other new fantasy worlds.