Showing results by narrator "Charlotte" in All Categories

Queen Victoria had over 30 surviving grandchildren, and to maintain and increase power in Europe, she hoped to manoeuvre them into dynastic marriages. Yet they often had plans of their own, and her matchmaking was further complicated by tumultuous international upheavals. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Russia and Europe, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions.

I thought I'd hit the jackpot when I was upgraded to first class on my flight to London. That is, until he sat next to me. Gabriel Scott: handsome as sin, cold as ice. Nothing and no one gets to him. Ever. He's a legend in his own right, the manager of the biggest rock band in the world, and an arrogant ass who looks down his nose at me. I thought I'd give him hell for one, long flight. I didn't expect to like him. I didn't expect to want him. But the biggest surprise? He wants me, too.

Minty is the kind of girl who notices things. Pockets of cold air on a stairway. Cries on the wind. Ghosts. On night-time jaunts from the house where she's staying while her mother recovers from an accident, Minty stumbles upon a moondial that takes her back in time. She finds Tom, a sickly kitchen boy, and Sarah, a girl with a birthmark who is only allowed out at night because her family think she has the mark of the devil.

My name is Alana Montoya. My husband is the King of L.A. And I am his Queen. I never asked for this life, but now that it’s mine, I will fight for it with every breath in my body. Our love is fire and fury, burning brighter than the heat of a thousand suns. But when secrets and betrayal threaten our chance at happiness, will the flames be enough to vanquish our enemies, and destroy our doubts and fears? Or will the ashes and embers of what we once had be all that remains? A war is coming to L.A, and when it is over, only one side will be left standing.

Cousin to Elizabeth I - and possibly Henry VIII's illegitimate granddaughter - Lettice Knollys had a life of dizzying highs and pitiful lows. Entangled in a love triangle with Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, banished from court, plagued by scandals, embroiled in treason, Lettice would lose a husband and son to the executioner's ax. In the first ever biography of this remarkable woman, Nicola Tallis takes us through her dramatic life and the grand sweep of the Tudor Age and the events that define it.

Even though he's the epitome of tall, dark, and incredibly handsome, Remington Winslow has been a single bachelor for most of his life. It's cliched and basic—until you consider the fact that once upon a terrible time, he got left at the altar. And I'm just trying to survive a tangled web of unexpected motherhood and running one of the top real estate firms in the city that never sleeps. He's the jaded guy who doesn't want to settle down, and I'm the career-focused woman with more baggage than a 747 can hold. We're just two friends who used to be in love.

Strangers might remember a trip to see a girl hang, but who would spare a thought for the who’s and how’s and whys? 'At thirteen, Mary, the daughter of a poor seamstress, longs for fine clothes as her neighbours hunger for food and warmth. For the love of a gorgeous red ribbon she finds herself seduced into a life on the cold, dangerous streets of late 1700s London. Her saviour is Doll, a gaudy young woman who takes her under her wing.

Tout le monde s'attendait à voir Violet Sorrengail échouer lors de sa première année à l'Académie de la guerre de Basgiath, y compris elle-même... Pourtant cette aventure endiablée n'était qu'une première épreuve, destinée à éliminer les faibles, les indignes et les malchanceux. Le véritable entraînement commence maintenant, et Violet se demande déjà comment elle va s'en sortir. Ce n'est pas seulement l'épuisement, la brutalité, ou le fait que le programme soit conçu pour pousser les cavaliers au-delà de leur capacité de résistance à la douleur.

Vita's gift shop would do better if she ran it as a business, not as somewhere to daydream. But she's not one to tell herself off: she leaves that to Tim, her ex. Active, outdoorsy Oliver runs his trees-surgery business as calmly as his home - but his love life is intensely private. When Vita and Oliver's paths cross at a pear tree, there's a chance of something blossoming. As spring turns to summer, both Vita and Oliver are given second chances. Bu will they take them - or walk away?

Jenny Starling has her dream job cooking for Lord and Lady Avonsleigh in a genuine castle. Then one of the castle’s treasures, a fabulously jewelled dagger, is used to murder a staff member. The victim is found stabbed through the heart in the conservatory. Lady Avonsleigh insists that Jenny help the police find the murderer. But how can Jenny solve this case when the murder was committed in front of several reliable witnesses, none of whom saw a thing?

Present day: When thirty-six-year-old Robyn Willoughby discovers an exquisite yet blood-stained Tudor map in her father’s antique map shop, desperate for a distraction from her problems, she decides to investigate. But as Robyn delves into the mystery, she finds herself caught up in a centuries-old secret—one that will change her life forever.

Rien ne prédestinait Violet Sorrengail à être une cavalière. Elle était censée intégrer le quadrant des Scribes et mener une vie tranquille parmi les livres. Elle dont les os sont si fragiles qu'ils peuvent se briser en un instant… Mais aujourd'hui est le jour des conscriptions, et en tant que fille de la Générale - elle-même cavalière et dresseuse de dragons -, Violet n'a d'autre choix que de satisfaire les ordres de sa mère, et de rejoindre les épreuves de sélection pour devenir dragonnière… L'élite de la Navarre!

Novelist, journalist and literature’s greatest whistleblower, Émile Zola was one of the 19th century’s pre-eminent authors. He is renowned for his philosophy of naturalism, which informed his 20-volume Rougon-Macquart cycle, an epic family saga set during France’s Second Empire, and for his controversial intervention in the Dreyfus affair through his infamous protest letter, J’Accuse.

In my world, loyalty is everything. I shouldn’t have let her get close. I shouldn’t have let her get under my skin. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let another take her from me. He’ll pay with his life, because nothing will keep me from reclaiming what I lost.

Once upon a time, Gray Hartson was her big sister's boyfriend. The most popular guy at school who never noticed a fourteen-year-old dreamer. Then he left town to become a superstar and never looked back.

Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken. Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there's an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel.

In a few breathless moments, I will be Mrs Alejandro Montoya. He is the King of L.A. and everything a woman could want. Handsome, powerful, rich, and hotter than hell itself. But I am not just any woman. I am Alana Carmichael and I’m only here to save my father. I will not bow to any king. This is no fairy tale. This is my nightmare.

This book is not just a history of battles but a celebration of enduring human spirit and artistry. Each chapter offers enlightening and thrilling narratives that make The Female Monuments Men a must-listen for anyone passionate about history and art.

October 1943. Nancy Dalton, working at the RAF base at Scampton in Lincolnshire, has been holding vigil for the Lancaster bomber pilots whose missions seem endless. But her watchfulness has not prevented her own pilot brother from failing to return. In the midst of mourning him, fresh recruits arrive to continue the war effort, among them charismatic Canadian Steve Allard. The months ahead will be long and hard, with danger a constant companion, and although both Steve and Nancy never intend to complicate wartime life with romance, their attraction becomes impossible to ignore.

Prudence Carlson has been lucky in life. A fulfilling wedding-planning business run with her girlfriends in Colorado, plus the best guy friend ever in her firefighter bestie Finn. All that's missing from it is a baby. Luckily, it's the 21st century - Pru can take matters into her own hands. She doesn't need to find true love to create the future love of her life.