Showing results by narrator "Anne Marie Piazza" in All Categories

Polly Waterford loves running the Little Beach Street Bakery. She's at her happiest when she's creating delicious treats and the festive season always inspires her to bake and knead something extra special for the village residents. In fact, the only thing she loves more than her bakery is curling up with her gorgeous boyfriend, Huckle. She's determined that this Christmas is going to be their best one yet, but life doesn't always work out as planned....

Summer has arrived in the Cornish town of Mount Polbearne, and Polly Waterford couldn't be happier. Because Polly is in love: She's in love with the beautiful seaside town she calls home, she's in love with running the bakery on Beach Street, and she's in love with her boyfriend, Huckle. And yet there's something unsettling about the gentle summer breeze that's floating through town.

It is past 10 o’clock on a cold Friday night when Rebecca and her husband Jack’s doorbell rings. Outside is a woman who introduces herself as Jack’s ex-girlfriend, Cara. And she’s holding the hand of a shivering, blue-eyed, four-year-old girl who she claims is Jack’s daughter. Rebecca is shocked to discover he has a child from his last relationship - even one he hadn’t known about. Because becoming parents isn’t part of their life plan.

Polly Waterford is recovering from a toxic relationship. Unable to afford their flat, she has to move miles away from everyone, to a sleepy little seaside resort in Cornwall, where she lives alone above an abandoned shop. And so Polly takes out her frustrations on her favourite hobby: making bread. But what was previously a weekend diversion suddenly becomes far more important as she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, and each loaf becomes better and better.

Lydia and Theo face the unthinkable when a knock at the door changes everything. As Lydia begins to pick up the pieces, not every part of the puzzle fits together as neatly as it did before, and as she discovers the truth about the man she loves, she finds herself stuck in limbo. Lydia is faced with an impossible choice.

Poppy Greer is getting married and four of her old schoolmates are to be her trusted bridesmaids. They may have drifted but true friendships last a lifetime, don't they? Plus, who would pass on a free first-class ticket to white sands and bottomless cocktails on a private Caribbean island? But the women have underestimated their host, and each other. And as their darkest secrets are revealed, the trip of their dreams becomes the hen do from hell. Will anyone make it off the island alive?

With its winning mix of gripping narrative and easy-to-implement performance-raising tips, this book has become a best-selling classic. It’s garnered five-star reviews and wide-ranging endorsements - from Sebastian Coe and Dame Kelly Holmes to Lord Digby Jones.

Verona is the City of Love. But will Suzie find romance there or, like Romeo and Juliet, will it all end in tragedy? When Suzie is hired to accompany spoiled, abrasive Lady Alexandra Tedburn on an all-expenses-paid holiday to Italy, she fears the trip will be a disaster. But she soon discovers there's more to Alex than shopping and tantrums, and she's determined to help her realise her potential - against Alex’s authoritarian father's wishes.

Faust is one of the pillars of Western literature. This classic drama presents the story of the scholar Faust, tempted into a contract with the Devil in return for a life of sensuality and power. Enjoyment rules, until Faust’s emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, and the tragic outcome brings Part 1 to an end. Part 2, written much later in Goethe’s life, places his eponymous hero in a variety of unexpected circumstances, causing him to reflect on humanity and its attitudes to life and death.

Its the dream Christmas: snow, mountains... and, er, an ex-boyfriend. But can Zoe still find love in the Alps? Dumped on Christmas Eve by her long-term boyfriend, its been a rough year for Zoe Lumsley. But then she gets an invitation she cant refuse: an all-expenses-paid skiing holiday with old university friends. The bad news: her ex,Grant, will be there with his new girlfriend. But so will her former flatmate Billy, the organiser, and in the meantime, hes done rather well for himself.

The perfect escape on the French Riviera. Sun, sea and secrets... After a disagreement with a billionaire, architect Jess Milton is ‘let go’ from her job. However fortune intervenes - an elderly client asks Jess to dog-sit overweight, but loveable dog Brutus in St. Tropez. Fed up with the mega-rich, Jess is reluctant to visit the playground of billionaires, but an all-expenses-paid trip and the promise of sunshine seals the deal. Little does Jess know how much time she’ll be spending with the family living in St. Tropez.

It has been four years since Oakley, her mum, and her brother fled to Australia. With the trials looming, she makes the decision to return to England. Oakley is desperate for closure so she can put the past behind her and move on with her life. How will she cope when she comes face to face with the two people who hurt her the most and the one person she hurt the most? Her love for Cole never faded, but how will he react to her return after so long?

For 11 years Oakley Farrell has been silent. At the age of five, she stopped talking, and no one seems to know why. Refusing to communicate beyond a few physical actions, Oakley remains in her own little world. Bullied at school, she has just one friend, Cole Benson. Cole stands by her, refusing to believe that she is not perfect the way she is. Over the years they have developed their own version of a normal friendship. However, will it still work as they start to grow even closer?

Thirty years ago, Vanessa Springora was the teenage muse of one of France’s most celebrated writers, a footnote in the narrative of an influential man. At the end of 2019, as women around the world began to speak out, Springora, now in her 40s and the director of one of France’s leading publishing houses, decided to reclaim her story. Consent is the story of her stolen adolescence. Devastating in its honesty, Springora’s memoir lays bare the cultural attitudes and circumstances that made it possible for a 13-year-old girl to become involved with a 50-year-old man.

For grieving Nicole Clicquot, saving the vineyards her husband left behind is her one chance to keep a roof over her head and provide a future for her little girl. She ignores the gossips who insist the fields are no place for a woman. But one day, buying fresh croissants at the boulangerie, Nicole is shocked to hear a rumour about her husband. They say he died with a terrible secret. One that brings disgrace on Nicole and turns the whole town against her.

Holly is getting married, but not before a celebration weekend with her closest friends. After a night of arguments, a body is found floating in the swimming pool of their secluded cottage. Holly must face up to the truth—one of her bridesmaids is a killer, but which one?

The bright yellow walls of the maternity ward are plastered with images of perfect families. Stroking my bump, I can’t stop tears from falling down my cheeks. I know I made the best choice for my baby girl, but surrounded by happy-looking couples, I’m desperately aware I’m about to give birth all alone. But when my midwife, Jackie, introduces herself, I relax. She holds my trembling hand and reassures me with her warmth. I know she’s here to help.

While attending an exhibition at the Crystal Palace, young cook Kat Holloway is approached by a woman in distress. Lady Covington is a wealthy widow convinced that her entire family is trying to kill her. Kat feels compelled to help, so she escorts the lady home to discover whether she is delusional or in true danger. When it quickly becomes apparent that the threat is all too real, Kat promises aid.

Petunia De Vere enjoys being the personal assistant to lovable, bumbling Johnny Marchmont. But the job has its share of challenges, including the royal’s giant, intimidating bodyguard, Matthias. Pet and Matthias are polar opposites—she’s spontaneous and enthusiastic, he’s rigid and stoic—but she can sense there’s something softer underneath that tough exterior… For Matthias Vaughn, protecting others is the name of the game. But keeping his royal charge out of trouble is more difficult than he imagined because everywhere Johnny goes, calamity ensues.

When young cook Kat Holloway learns that the children of London's Foundling Hospital are mysteriously disappearing and one of their nurses has been murdered, she can't turn away. She enlists the help of her charming and enigmatic confidant Daniel McAdam, who has ties to Scotland Yard, and Errol Fielding, a disreputable man from Daniel’s troubled past, to bring the killer to justice. Their investigation takes them from the grandeur of Mayfair to the slums of the East End, during which Kat learns more about Daniel and his circumstances than she ever could have imagined.