Showing results by author "Luca" in All Categories

With her West Highland terrier Hamish at her side, Lucy plans to relax and read up on the women of nearby Bletchley Park. But the villagers of Little Maudley have other ideas and she finds herself caught up in the campaign to turn a dilapidated telephone box into a volunteer-run library. Along the way, she makes friends with treehouse designer Sam and finds herself falling for the charms of village life. And it seems Bunty has a special connection to Bletchley and the telephone box, one that she's kept secret for decades....

Would-be gardener Daisy can't believe her luck when her parents announce they're off on a midlife-crisis gap year, leaving her in charge of their gorgeous garden. After a turbulent few months, a spell of quiet in the countryside is just what she needs. As Daisy wrestles the garden, her feelings for handsome Irishman George begin to take root. But Daisy's heart's desire - her parents' garden - is under threat.... Village life is turning out to be far from peaceful.

For generations, the people of the Howling Vale have fought against this madness, largely in vain. Now, Kosomir Vornarov, the city’s Master Patriarch, risks everything – his reputation, friends, even his people’s survival – to destroy the flesh-eater menace entirely and forge a brighter future in his name. Two ambitious lords, two haunted souls. Whose madness will prove the stronger?

Females have returned to Earth, brought here by technology I do not trust. They’ve been claimed and nested and kept far from me. The broken one. The dark one. I will always be alone. When a box falls from the sky and a black-suited human female appears, I am in awe. I am in need. Only, she is surrounded by men. So, I will sneak up on her. I will stalk her, learn everything about her, and wait for the right moment. And when the time comes, I’ll set my trap.

In the early morning of 20th April 1949, HMS Amethyst was fulfilling orders to travel to Nanking to stand guard for the British Embassy during the height of the Chinese Civil War when she was fired upon by guns from the riverbank. Shells pounded into the ship, killing the commanding officer and destroyed the bridge before the ship grounded on the bank. How did the Amethyst escape the battering of Chinese Communist guns?

For centuries I have suffered. Solidified and silenced, all because I failed to destroy what I was created for. Except now, after so long… There is a female. One who always seems to be by my side. Day after day. Night after night. She talks to me. Touches me. Tells me things. She shares stories of a world I no longer know. She is a reprieve from my punishment. A sweet delight. She liberates me from my solitude. But when I rise, my adversary seizes his opportunity, and she's caught between us. He only wants her to get to me. She isn't his. And I'll do anything to protect what's mine.

Dawn on Sunday, June 22, 1941 saw the opening onslaughts of Operation Barbarossa as German forces stormed forward into the Soviet Union. Few of them were to survive the five long years of bitter struggle. A posting to the Eastern Front during the Second World War was rightly regarded with dread by the German soldiers. They saw epic battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk, and yet it was a daily war of attrition which ultimately proved fatal for Hitler's ambition and the German military machine.

Isla's got the designer clothes and dream job as head stylist at an exclusive salon. She's been so single-minded in this quest that she's forgotten to have a life outside of it. When her aunt is in desperate need at her own salon, Isla heads to the remote island of Auchenmor to help. Finn is 35, and reality has just hit him hard. Now his best friends are about to have a baby, and everything is changing. When into his life walks Isla...

This collection comprises another 40 stories by and inspired by the originators of weird fiction. From White's seminal body-shocker, Lukundoo, through to Howard's dastardly Pigeons from Hell, and Benson's nightmarish The Room in The Tower. Time immemorial; worlds unimaginable.

Relive the magic of captivating legends and folktales in this rich collection on Celtic Mythology. In 58 BCE, when Julius Caesar – the famous Roman general – wrote a commentary on the Gallic wars, he described the “Celt” speaking people who lived in the area then known as the Gaul. These people had their own culture, gods, and beliefs – called Celtic Mythology – which were very different from the Romans. The influence of this mythology, however, was not limited to a small territory.

Hillside Farm, nestled in the rolling hills of the Welsh countryside, is a safe haven for Ella. Living on the remote farm, with just horses and her aunt Bron for company, Ella thinks she has finally found a place where she can forget her past and find peace. But the arrival of a small girl called Hope and her father, Harry, changes everything. As Ella helps the pair come to terms with their loss, she realises that she too deserves happiness. But is it too late to find it?

Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads; the sound of 'blush words' that aren't in the Bible. But when a tragic accident ruptures the family, her curiosity warps into a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies - unlocking a darkness that threatens to derail them all.

Liam McLaren: London's most ruthless financial hotshot and the big boss at Ashbury Thornton Equity Group. Just whisper his name and even the city’s toughest traders break out in a cold sweat. And lucky me, Gemma Jones, as the head of HR at his company, I’ve got a front-row seat to the McLaren Show. Brooding intensity, perfectionist demands, and a glare that could stop your heart mid-beat. Every. Damn. Day.

Tim Johnson took his baby daughter out for a walk, and she never made it home. Johnson claims he was assaulted and the girl was snatched. The police see a different crime, with Johnson their only suspect. A year later, Sam Bryne is on course to be elected as one of the youngest MPs in Westminster. He's tipped for the very top...until he vanishes. Detectives Murphy and Rossi are tasked with discovering what has happened to the popular politician - and in doing so, they unearth a trail that stretches into the past....

Frustrated that she spends all her time as either a mum to a football-obsessed teenager or a wife to a workaholic husband, Hannah wants something for herself. When the chance comes to take over the post office in Little Maudley, a charming Cotswold village, Hannah grabs it with both hands. She’ll have a career at last and also get her son, Ben, away from his trouble-making mates. But village life is not so picture-perfect after all.

For the past century, I have served, defending my crops in solitude, baring my scythe as an omen. But when the crops aren't seeded, I find myself standing over a field of dirt and weeds. It is her fault. The female who has inherited the farm. She might be the new queen of these lands, but in her wake, she brings only ruin. So, I will scare her away. I will claim these fields, and she will learn to fear me! Until one evening, she is attacked by the crows. She cowers behind me for protection, begging them to spare her life.

When Kate is dumped on her best friend's wedding day, she realises she's now homeless as well as jobless. She decides to take a job on a remote Scottish island. Her grouchy new boss, Roddy, is unimpressed with her and makes it clear she's got a lot to prove. Island life has no room for secrets, and Roddy's trying to keep something quiet. When his ex appears back on the island, tensions rise. What is Fiona planning - and can she be stopped before it's too late?

“A rich sensory trip . . . this indispensable guide to all things smelly is as good as it gets.” —Sunday Telegraph One man's passion for perfume leads him to explore one of the most intriguing scientific mysteries: What makes one molecule smell of garlic while another smells of rose? In...

When Rilla Clark's long lost father dies, she leaves New England and heads to his cottage in the Scottish Highlands to sort out his affairs. Rilla's determined that her visit will be a fleeting one. The little village of Applemore holds a lot of memories for her, but looking back might just open up her heart, which she's kept well-guarded until now.

Syssi's paranormal foresight lands her a job at Dr. Amanda Dokani's neuroscience lab, but it fails to predict the thrilling yet terrifying turn her life will take. Syssi has no clue that her boss is an immortal who'll drag her into a secret, millennia-old battle over humanity's future. Nor does she realize that the professor's imposing brother is the mysterious stranger who's been starring in her dreams.