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Audiobooks Narrated by Katherine Press
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A breathtaking story of bravery, friendship and fighting for what you believe in, Umbrella Mouse to the Rescue is the eagerly anticipated sequel to Anna Fargher's bestselling and award-winning The Umbrella Mouse, based on the true stories of the heroic animals caught in the conflict of WWII.
Young mouse Pip Hanway is in France as she continues fighting for the French Resistance group Noah's Ark: a secret gang of animals operating beneath the feet of human soldiers, whose aim is to liberate France and secure the victory of the Allies. Determined to reach her ancestral home of the Umbrella Museum in Italy, Pip hopes she can find long-lost family and a home. But as Pip makes the perilous journey through occupied territory, she soon realizes that danger comes from all sides and that the enemy is all around, and she does everything she can to fight for her friends.
Beautifully illustrated by Sam Usher, Pip will take you on an incredible journey through a war that reaches even the smallest of creatures.
An ocean-drenched, atmospheric horror debut! Liv's best friend disappears on their first night aboard their dream semester-at-sea program - but is he really sick, like everyone says, or is something darker lurking beneath the water?
It should have been the trip of a lifetime.
When Liv lands an all-expenses-paid opportunity to study aboard the luxury cruise ship the Eos for a semester, she can't believe her luck. Especially since it will offer her the chance to spend time with Will, her ex-best friend, who's barely spoken to her since the night their relationship changed forever.
But as soon as she steps on board, Liv realizes just how out of her depth she is. With Will, with the rest of the Seamester students - including the brittle and beautiful Constantine, who may be hiding his own ties to the Eos - and most of all, with the Sirens, three glamorous and mysterious influencers who seem to have the run of the ship.
Liv quickly discovers that the only reason she was invited to join the trip is because another girl disappeared shortly after enrolling-and no one seems to know what happened to her. When further disappearances rock the ship and strange creatures begin haunting Liv's dreams, she wonders: Is the Eos hiding a dark secret within its shadowy decks?
The truth will come at a price . . . only, how much is Liv willing to pay?
What the sea takes for its own can never return…
Portugal, 1754. Cecilia Lamb knew being a sea captain’s wife would mean a life of waiting and watching the horizon for her husband’s ship. But John has been gone longer than any voyage should last. Everyone else has given up hope of his return. But she knows in her bones that he is not lost. Gone, but not lost.
Barely able to tear her eyes from the shimmering sea, she feels drawn to the sun-baked shoreline, and amid the bustle of the docks she feels certain that her husband will come back to her. Though along with that feeling is another sense – that something darker is coming. As she sickens, she doesn’t know what the next tide will bring – but she begins to fear as well as crave her husband’s homecoming.
Soon, even on dry land, Cecilia can feel the pull of the ocean at her feet, the movement of the tides within her. Warning, seduction or promise, she cannot tell, but one thing is certain – the sea holds many secrets, and some of them are too powerful to ever be drowned.
'A small Gothic masterpiece...I have read it many times, and with every re-read I marvel again at its many qualities - its darkness, its strangeness, its humour, its sadness, its startling images and twists of phrase' Sarah Waters.
Growing up in Edwardian south London, Alice Rowlands longs for romance and excitement, for a release from a life that is dreary and lonely. Her father, a vet, is harsh and oppressive; his new girlfriend, brash and lascivious.
Alice seeks refuge in fantasy, in her rapturous longing for Nicholas, a handsome young sailor, and in the blossoming of what she perceives as her occult powers.
Harrowing and haunting, a Gothic tale that is a strange cross between Daphne Du Maurier and Stephen King, but will also intrigue readers of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Diane Setterfield.
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Barbara Comyns (1909–1992) was born in England and raised in the care of governesses who allowed her and her siblings to run wild. She began writing and illustrating her work when she was a girl and in her teens, attended art school. She then married a painter and had two children. To support her family, she dealt in antiques and vintage cars, renovated apartments, and bred poodles. She later lived in Spain and died in 1992, leaving two children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and eleven books.
A timeless tale of courage, resistance and friendship, The Umbrella Mouse is a heart-stopping adventure drawing on the true stories of animals caught in the conflict of WWII, winner of the 2019 Sainsbury's Book Prize for Fiction and selected for Waterstones Book of the Month.
1944, and London is under attack. Young mouse Pip Hanway's safe and quiet world is turned upside down when her home, umbrella shop James Smith & Sons, is destroyed by a bomb. Orphaned and alone, she must begin a perilous quest to find a new home.
But the only way to get there is by joining Noah’s Ark, a secret gang of animals fighting with the resistance in France, operating beneath the feet of the human soldiers. Danger is everywhere and as the enemy closes in, Pip must risk everything to save her new friends.
Anna Fargher's debut novel takes you on an incredible journey through a war that reaches even the smallest of creatures.
'An ambitious and wonderfully well-achieved first novel' Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse.
'A spellbinding tale of bravery and hope, where courage is found in the smallest of heroes' Gill Lewis, author of Sky Hawk.
From the Costa Award-winning author Hilary McKay, comes a moving WWII story of family and friendship on opposite sides of a devastating conflict. The Swallows' Flight is the stunning companion novel to The Skylarks' War.
Erik and Hans are German boys. Ruby and Kate are English girls. They grow up in worlds that would never meet, until war tumbles their lives together.
Then one September afternoon there are choices to be made.
How is courage lost, and found?
Who is really the enemy?
And what does friendship truly mean, in the middle of a war?
Meanwhile Rupert and Clarry work secretly for peace – and a brighter future for them all . . .
“A triumph.” —Philip Pullman, bestselling author of the His Dark Materials saga
Four young lives across Europe are forever changed in the dawn of World War II in this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel from award-winning author Hilary McKay.
In England, Ruby has no friends because of the speckled blotches on her face that kids say look like dirt. And Kate is sickly all the time, her older siblings each taking turns looking after her. Ruby and Kate’s first meeting is nearly disastrous, but the two lonely girls soon strike up a friendship. Their connection becomes all the more important when England joins the war against Germany and the blitz begins overhead.
In Germany, Erik and Hans are best friends filled with plans for their future: Erik taking over their beloved local zoo, and Hans serving pastries right outside the gates. They never expected to be forced to join the national service, training as pilots and tasked with hurting people.
And in London a mistreated dog roams the streets looking for handouts, and for a friend.
All of these lives will cross in the most surprising ways in this heart-rending tale of war and compassion, and hope that can be found in even the most unexpected friendships, brought to life by award-winning author Hilary McKay.
Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2018.
The Skylarks' War is a beautiful story following the loves and losses of a family growing up against the harsh backdrop of World War One, from the award-winning Hilary McKay.
Clarry and her older brother Peter live for their summers in Cornwall, staying with their grandparents and running free with their charismatic cousin, Rupert. But normal life resumes each September - boarding school for Peter and Rupert, and a boring life for Clarry at home with her absent father, as the shadow of a terrible war looms ever closer.
When Rupert goes off to fight at the front, Clarry feels their skylark summers are finally slipping away from them. Can their family survive this fearful war?
The moment that changes everything ...
Henrietta Gaydon is making her debut in London society for the Season, but her popularity and apparent ease disguises the fact that she is out of her depth and that she dreads the objective of finding a husband. She longs for home, her father and Lord Henfield, who she has always treated as an older brother.
Charles Henfield stopped thinking of Henrietta like a sister when she was sixteen. And he is determined to try his luck with her in London. Mistakes and misunderstandings, the complication of a feud between mamas, and Henrietta's no longer fraternal feelings for Henfield, all conspire to make this a Season to remember.
From award winning author, Michelle Vernal comes an utterly heartbreaking, historical novel inspired by her birth family's connection with the Isle of Wight - Fans of Susan Sallis, Ella Carey and Fiona Valpy will absolutely love this captivating, unique story.
1944 The Isle of Wight - Sixteen-year-old Constance's life on the island is sheltered until the death of her brother, brings the reality of war crashing down around her. He leaves behind his pregnant widow, Ginny. When Constance meets a handsome Canadian airforce man, she's eager to escape her grief and be swept up by first love. It's a love which has ramifications she could never envisage. Present Day - When young British backpacker, Isabel Stark happens across a car accident on a lonely stretch of road in the South Island of New Zealand her life changes forever. The sole passenger, Ginny Havelock asks her to make a promise before she passes away - to find Constance and to say she's sorry.
'The Promise found it's way into my heart, and the haunting story of Constance and Isabel stayed with me long after I finished...' - ANNIE SEATON
It seems like they have it all. But we all have something to hide...
Moving to this village was supposed to be a fresh start for me and my thirteen-year-old son Harry. After the tragic death of my husband, it was a chance to leave everything bad behind and make better memories at Primrose Cottage, the postcard-perfect house with honeysuckle around the door.
However, things haven't exactly been easy since we arrived, and after what we've been though, I'm scared of letting anyone new into our lives.
But when one of the local dads asks Harry to join the weekend sports club, I find myself saying yes. The smile on my son's face gives me hope that I might have made the right decision in uprooting our lives.
All the other parents seem so kind in welcoming me into the fold. At least, they are to begin with... Until someone begins anonymously exposing secrets about everyone in the group.
As betrayals surface and the claws come out, I see how imperfect these people really are; and how far they'll go to hide the truth. Then when one of the parents ends up dead at the end of a party, I realise that it's not just lies and scandal they're covering up.
Too late, I realise that I should have stayed away...
Fans of Big Little Lies, Lisa Jewell and Louise Candlish will be absolutely hooked by this pacey listen with a jaw-dropping twist you just won't see coming.
