Featured Audiobooks | LoveReading

The Beekeeper of Aleppo: A moving testament to the human spirit

Narrated by Art Malik, The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a moving, powerful, compassionate and beautifully written testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Told with deceptive simplicity, it is the kind of book that reminds us of the power of storytelling. In the midst of war, he found love In the midst of darkness, he found courage In the midst of tragedy, he found hope Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. Afra has lost her sight, and so they embark on a periluosjourney towards an uncertain future in Britain. As they travel, Nuri is sustained by the knowledge that waiting for them is his beekeeper cousin Mustafa, who is teaching fellow refugees in Yorkshire to keep bees. Nuri and Afra set off through a broken world, on a dangerous journey in which they will confront the pain of their unfathomable loss, and in doing so find a way back to each other again. 'This is a novel of international significance. Courageous, provocative, haunting, it will open our eyes.' Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz 'This book dips below the deafening headlines, and tells a true story with subtlety and power' Esther Freud 'This compelling tale had me gripped with its compassion, its sensual style and its onward and lively urge for resolution' Daljit Nagra 'Christy Lefteri has crafted a beautiful novel, intelligent, thoughtful; and relevant. I'm recommending this book to everyone I care about. So I'm recommending this book to you' Benjamin Zaphaniah

Christy Lefteri (Author), Art Malik (Narrator)

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The Betrayals

From the Number 1 bestselling author of THE BINDING ‘Another triumph’ Erin Kelly ‘Totally addictive’ Joanna Glen ‘A rich delight’ Sandra Newman ‘Just beautiful’ Joanna Cannon ‘Dizzyingly wonderful’ The Times If everything in your life was based on a lie Would you risk it all to tell the truth? At Montverre, an exclusive academy tucked away in the mountains, the best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu: an arcane and mysterious contest. Léo Martin was once a student there, but lost his passion for the grand jeu following a violent tragedy. Now he returns in disgrace, exiled to his old place of learning with his political career in tatters. Montverre has changed since he studied there, even allowing a woman, Claire Dryden, to serve in the grand jeu’s highest office of Magister Ludi. When Léo first sees Claire he senses an odd connection with her, though he’s sure they have never met before. Both Léo and Claire have built their lives on lies. And as the legendary Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer, secrets are whispering in the walls…

Bridget Collins (Author), Sam Woolf, Sarah Ovens (Narrator)

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The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did): THE #1 SUNDAY

'Hugely warm, wise, hopeful and encouraging' Alain de Botton Every parent wants their child to be happy and every parent wants to avoid screwing them up. But how do you achieve that? In this absorbing, clever and funny book, renowned psychotherapist Philippa Perry tells us what really matters and what behaviour it is important to avoid - the vital dos and don'ts of parenting. Instead of mapping out the 'perfect' plan, Perry offers a big-picture look at the elements that lead to good parent-child relationships. This refreshing, judgement-free book will help you to: · Understand how your own upbringing may affect your parenting · Accept that you will make mistakes and learn what you can do about them · Break negative cycles and patterns · Handle your own and your child's feelings · Understand what different behaviours communicate Full of sage and sane advice, this is the book that every parent will want to read and every child will wish their parents had.

Philippa Perry (Author), Philippa Perry (Narrator)

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The Boy from the Woods: New from the #1 bestselling creator of the hit Netflix series The Stranger

Brought to you by Penguin. THE LATEST BOOK FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND CREATOR OF THE HIT NETFLIX DRAMA THE STRANGER A brilliant new thriller from the international bestselling author described by Dan Brown as 'the modern master of the hook and twist' Thirty years ago, a child was found in the New Jersey backwoods. He had been living a feral existence, with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. Everyone just calls him Wilde. Now a former soldier and security expert, he lives off the grid, shunned by the community – until they need him. A child has gone missing. With her family suspecting she’s just playing a disappearing game, nobody seems concerned except for criminal attorney Hester Crimstein. She contacts Wilde, asking him to use his unique skills to find the girl. But even he can find no trace of her. One day passes, then a second, then a third. On the fourth, a human finger shows up in the mail. And now Wilde knows this is no game. It’s a race against time to save the girl’s life – and expose the town’s dark trove of secrets… 'One of the world’s finest thriller writers is at the very top of his game' PETER JAMES 'Coben never, ever lets you down' LEE CHILD 'Coben is a phenomenon - the most reliable of American thriller-writers, the least likely to disappoint ... the true mystery is Coben's extraordinary capacity to keep writing such wonderful thrillers' THE TIMES 'Coben remains one of the most reliable thriller writers around' - CRIME REVIEW 'Coben is simply one of the all-time greats—pick up any one of his thrillers and you’ll find a riveting, twisty, surprising story with a big, beating heart at its core' GILLIAN FLYNN © Harlan Coben 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Harlan Coben (Author), Steven Weber (Narrator)

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The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse

Narrated by Charlie Mackesy. Brought to you by Penguin. Discover the universal tale of four unlikely friends that has captured the hearts of readers of all ages, now available in audio. Charlie Mackesy's mesmerizing debut combines the simplicity of 'The Giving Tree', magic of 'The Velveteen Rabbit' and the curiosity of 'Paddington' - Elisabeth Egan, New York Times Experience the world of a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who find themselves together in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship and love. Charlie's words and illustrations have brought comfort to many and have been shared online by readers around the world, as well as on t-shirts for Comic Relief, on magazine covers, on street lampposts in lockdown, in school classrooms, local cafés, and hospital ward walls. They've even been used as screensavers for NHS hospital computers in difficult times. The shared adventures and important conversations between the four friends are full of life lessons that have connected with readers of all ages. Enjoy the journey of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse brought to life in audio by its author and illustrator Charlie Mackesy, with a beautiful music score and the real wildlife sounds of rural England. © Charlie Mackesy 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Charlie Mackesy (Author), Charlie Mackesy (Narrator)

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The Boy: A Novel

An unfathomable loss or an unthinkable crime? #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most harrowing thriller yet. A panic-stricken woman runs in the dead of night, battered and bloodied, desperate to find help…. When Detective Nick Fourcade enters the home of Genevieve Gauthier outside the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, the bloody crime scene that awaits him is both the most brutal and the most confusing he’s ever seen. Genevieve’s seven-year-old son, KJ, has been murdered by an alleged intruder, yet Genevieve is alive and well, a witness inexplicably left behind to tell the tale. There is no evidence of forced entry, not a clue that points to a motive. Meanwhile, Nick’s wife, Detective Annie Broussard, sits in the emergency room with the grieving Genevieve. A mother herself, Annie understands the emotional devastation this woman is going through, but as a detective she’s troubled by a story that makes little sense. Who would murder a child and leave the only witness behind? When the very next day KJ’s sometimes babysitter, twelve-year-old Nora Florette, is reported missing, the town is up in arms, fearing a maniac is preying on their children. With pressure mounting from a tough, no-nonsense new sheriff, the media, and the parents of Bayou Breaux, Nick and Annie dig deep into the dual mysteries. But sifting through Genevieve Gauthier’s tangled web of lovers and sorting through a cast of local lowlifes brings more questions than answers. Is someone from Genevieve’s past or present responsible for the death of her son? Is the missing teenager, Nora, a victim, or something worse? Then everything changes when Genevieve's past as a convicted criminal comes to light. The spotlight falls heavily on the grieving mother who is both victim and accused. Could she have killed her own child to free herself of the burden of motherhood, or is the loss of her beloved boy pushing her to the edge of insanity? Could she have something to do with the disappearance of Nora Florette, or is the troubled teenager the key to the murder? How far will Nick and Annie have to go to uncover the dark truth of the boy?

Tami Hoag (Author), Hillary Huber (Narrator)

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The Butterfly Room

Full of her trademark mix of unforgettable characters and heart-breaking secrets, The Butterfly Room is the new spellbinding, multi-generational story from Sunday Times bestseller Lucinda Riley. Posy Montague is approaching her seventieth birthday. Still living in her beautiful family home, Admiral House, set in the glorious Suffolk countryside where she spent her own idyllic childhood catching butterflies with her beloved father, and raised her own children, Posy knows she must make an agonising decision. The house is crumbling around her, and Posy knows the time has come to sell it. Then a face appears from the past - Freddie, her first love, who abandoned her and left her heartbroken fifty years ago. Already struggling to cope with her son Sam's inept business dealings, and the sudden reappearance of her younger son Nick, Posy is reluctant to trust in Freddie's renewed affection. And unbeknown to Posy, Freddie - and Admiral House - have a devastating secret to reveal... Praise for the Author: "Masterful storytelling and imaginative power are the trademarks of Riley's novels." LANCASHIRE EVENING POST

Lucinda Riley (Author), Nicolette Mckenzie (Narrator)

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The Chalk Man

A riveting and relentlessly compelling psychological suspense debut that weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry, and will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same. In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago. Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.

C. J. Tudor (Author), Euan Morton (Narrator)

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The Chase

The night Heavenly Young gave her innocence to Dr. Kenneth Beckman and Seth Cooper, her world was ripped apart by betrayal and tragedy. She leaves behind everything and everyone to fulfill a deathbed promise and start her life over. But her solitary quest forces her to face her past and question where her future truly lies-alone or in the arms of the two unforgettable men she loves? After putting his heart on the line, Seth's devastated when Heavenly walks away from him and Beck. Hell-bent on reclaiming her, they chase her down and help her complete her solemn duty. But Heavenly is caught between independence and love, forcing him and Beck to make her a deal. She'll give them total commitment for eight weeks. If she still wants her freedom after that, they'll let her go-for good. After Beck's reckless mistake implodes the fragile bond he and Seth share with Heavenly, he's determined to prove they can give her both the adventure she seeks and the devotion she craves. So the men devise a game to break down her barriers and bind her in bliss. But when their dreams are within reach, a demon from Beck's long-forgotten past returns, bent on revenge that might cost him his life. Contains mature themes.

Isabella Lapearl, Jenna Jacob, Shayla Black (Author), Christian Fox (Narrator)

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The City of Tears

'A gorgeously written, utterly absorbing epic . . . I absolutely loved it' - Lucy Foley 'This is historical fiction to devour. Nobody does it like Kate Mosse' - Anthony Horowitz, on The Burning Chambers 'A novel with vast scope and ambition, brilliantly achieved . . . I was utterly immersed in this spell-binding story' Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister June 1572: for ten, violent years the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Neighbours have become enemies, countless lives have been lost, and the country has been torn apart over matters of religion, citizenship and sovereignty. But now a precarious peace is in the balance: a royal wedding has been negotiated by Catherine de’ Medici and Jeanne d’Albret, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last. Meanwhile in Puivert, an invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend this historic wedding in Paris in August. But what Minou does not know is that the Joubert family’s oldest enemy, Vidal, will also be there. Nor that, within days of the marriage, on the eve of the Feast Day of St Bartholomew, Minou’s family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace . . . A breath-taking novel of revenge, persecution and loss, sweeping from Paris and Chartres to the City of Tears itself – the great refugee city of Amsterdam – this is a story of one family’s fight to stay together, to survive and to find each other, against the devastating tides of history . . . Following on from the Sunday Times number one bestseller, The Burning Chambers, Kate Mosse’s The City of Tears is the second thrilling historical epic in The Burning Chambers series, for fans of Ken Follett and Dan Brown.

Kate Mosse (Author), Hattie Morahan (Narrator)

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The Court of Miracles

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris's criminal underground in the wake of a failed French Revolution. Liberty 1828 and the citizens of Paris still mourn in the wake of their failed revolution. Among them, in the dark alleys and crumbling cathedrals of the city, the most wretched have gathered into guilds of thieves, assassins – and worse. Together they are known as The Court of Miracles. Family Eponine has lost more than most. When her father, Thénardier, sells her sister to the Guild of Flesh she makes a promise to do anything she can to get her sister back, even if that means joining the Court of Miracles, the very people keeping her sister a slave. Treachery Eponine becomes perhaps the greatest thief the Court has ever known, finding a place among them and gaining another sister, Cosette. But she has never forgotten the promise she made, and if she’s to have any hope of saving one sister, she will have to betray the other. This beautiful reimagining of Les Misérables tells the stories of your favourite characters and what might have happened if the French Revolution had not come to pass.

Kester Grant (Author), Kristin Atherton (Narrator)

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The Cousins

Brought to you by Penguin. The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother's resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who's been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It's the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone. THE BRILLIANT NEW THRILLER FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ONE OF US IS LYING KAREN M MCMANUS © Karen M. McManus 2020(P) Penguin Audio 2020

Karen M. Mcmanus (Author), David Garelik, Julia Whelan, Kate Reinders, Sarah Skaer (Narrator)

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