Showing results by narrator "Nikki Patel" in All Categories

1939, India. Bindu holds her baby close, listening to the monsoon raging outside. She tries to hide her tears behind her sari as she hands her baby into a stranger’s arms, wondering if she will ever see her child again. When their small savings run out, Bindu reluctantly accepts an offer of marriage from the landlord’s entitled and often unpredictable son. In return, he promises to provide medical care for her beloved grandmother, but alone in a world she doesn’t understand, Bindu is desperately lonely. She soon finds solace in writing recipes and creating new spice mixes.

When his grandfather dies, Nik has the opportunity to learn about the man he never met. Armed with a key and new knowledge about his parents' past, Nik sets out to unlock the secrets that his mother has been holding onto his whole life. As the carefully crafted portrait Avani has painted for her son begins to crack, and painful truths emerge, can the two of them find their way back to each other?

On the day they are born, each Swift is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name and a definition, and it is assumed they will grow up to match. Unfortunately, Shenanigan Swift has other ideas. So what if her relatives all think she's destined to turn out as a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can be whatever she wants - pirate, explorer or even detective. Which is lucky, really, because when one of the Family tries to murder Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude, someone has to work out whodunit.

For 16 years, Selestra has been trapped in her tower on the Floating Mountain, preparing to take her mother's place as the King's Witch, who foretells deaths in the Festival of Predictions. Outrunning your fate earns a wish and the chance to steal the King's immortality. But die and your soul is forfeit. And though thousands have tried, nobody has ever beaten death. A soldier in the King's army, Nox is an unlikely candidate for the Festival, but, driven by revenge, he is determined to steal the King's immortality and kill the entirety of his court, starting with Selestra.

Lady Ela Dalvi knows the exact moment her life was forever changed—when her best friend, Poppy, betrayed her without qualm over a boy, the son of a duke. She was sent away in disgrace, her reputation ruined. Nearly three years later, eighteen-year-old Ela is consumed with bitterness and a desire for . . . revenge. Her enemy is quickly joining the crème de la crème of high society while she withers away in the English countryside.

Nicki - 30ish, care worker living in Brighton - is scrolling for her next hook up. A difficult home life, a job that's going nowhere, she seeks solace in random encounters. Amber - 17, college student, lost - desperately needs someone to notice her. She creates 'Kevin', a fake dating profile for a man in his thirties. Neither Nicki nor 'Kevin' has any idea what they're about to get into. They quickly match, and an unlikely friendship develops, giving each other the validation both sorely need. But can you ever truly connect when one of you is a liar?

Aarti has lived on the island with Aunt for as long as she can remember. Like the weather, Aunt rules her world with rare warmth. Aarti's only comforts are a book of Indian myths full of blue gods, a fox's friendship and a toy rabbit she finds in a locked room. Then, she learns Aunt has been feeding her lies. Fate intervenes when a half-drowned boy washes up on the beach. With his help, Aarti hopes to remember who she really is...and perhaps find a way home. 

An emotional, page-turning read about love, family and the secrets we keep, for fans of Amanda Prowse, Ayisha Malik and Balli Kaur Jaswal. Shortlisted for The Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award 2020. It was the perfect marriage... until they fell in love. After attending Oxford University, Chaya is torn between her duty to family and her life in the UK since her traditional Sri Lankan parents want her to settle down. Gimhana is hiding his sexuality from his family, and it's getting harder and harder to turn down the potential brides his parents keep finding for him.

After the battle of Al-Shaam - where the invading jinn army was defeated - Khadija, Jacob and their friends are heroes. Then, Khadija receives a letter: her sister, Talia, has been kidnapped and stolen into the magical realm of Al-Ghaib. Accompanied by Darian - who has been different since jinniya Queen Bidhukh's parting blow - Khadija embarks on a quest to rescue Talia. But Al-Ghaib, where the sky is emerald green, is a place of trickery: Khadija will have to have all her wits about her if she's to outfox her sister's captor.

Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London, but her bright future fades as she turns her back on school for gang life and crime. Betrayed by the police after a brutal gang rape, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local ‘top boy’. However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat – and the authorities answer by taking away her baby. Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation.

1942. Nisha's Malayan home has been destroyed by war. She and her mother, Amma, flee to her father's ancestral house in England, perched on a cliff top on the cold Northern coast. When Amma falls gravely ill, Nisha is left to face her formidable grandmother alone. The old woman's rules are countless, including forbidding Nisha to climb the Weeping Tree - a claw of leafless, twisted branches jutting upwards from the crag. But when a ghost child beckons Nisha to sit under its boughs and promises her Amma's life in return for three truths, the tree's pull proves irresistible.

For Khadija, the only escape from her arranged betrothal is the sky. When she spots a rogue hot air balloon fighting against its ropes, she leaps at the chance for adventure. She soon finds an unlikely ally in a poor glassmaker's apprentice, Jacob. But Jacob is a Hari, and Khadija a Ghadaean. The Hari are oppressed and restless and the ruling Ghadaeans brutal in their repression. The Hareef use forbidden magic, summoning jinn - wicked spirits made of fire - to enact their revenge, forcing Jacob and Khadija to choose what kind of a world they want to save.

When pregnant Jaya loses her mother, then her baby son, Arun, in a tragic cot death, her world crashes down. Overcome by grief and guilt, she begins to look for answers. Looking through her mother’s belongings, she finds two diaries and old photographs, carrying the smoky aroma of fire. A young boy smiles out at Jaya from every photograph - and in one, a family stand proudly in front of a sprawling mansion. Who is this child? And why did her mother treasure this memento of a regal family lost to the past?

A friend has your back. And may stab you in it. Wealthy, pampered Susan is living the perfect life in leafy Kingston. She'll never let anyone see the darkness she's concealing behind the diamonds and rosé. Grace is new to the group, seemingly the perfect wife and mum. Yet no one knows the truth of what’s happening behind closed doors. Loner Natalie hides the pain of her childhood behind a carefully ordered life. But how long can the past stay hidden? Three unlikely friends, brought together for a weekly class run by beautiful, friendly, instructor, Jade.

Welcome to the sleepy island of Penfurzy, where nothing exciting ever really happens. OR DOES IT? Adventure awaits Demelza and her new best friend in the whole world, Nessa, as they explore the island and uncover the mysteries of the Penfurzy Knights. With a honking pet goose sidekick, quirky islanders and a legendary treasure to find, it's up to Nessa and Demelza to ride their bikes, solve the puzzles before them, and face down danger with frisbees, water-balloons, feathers....and a toilet plunger.

Adventure awaits Demelza and her best friend in the whole world, Nessa, as they embark on a whole new adventure, solving mysteries, fending off bullies and celebrating the greatest friendship of all time. When an unexpected guest arrives in Penfurzy, Nessa and Demelza go out of their way to help them, entering a world of ancient myth and legend. They face ghosts and monsters, and Conan the bully, who just keeps getting in the way at the worst possible moment.  

A new mystery has rolled onto Penfurzy island, and the Rebel Bicycle Club are ready to investigate! Nessa, Demelza and Captain Honkers set-off to explore a travelling fun-fair when things begin to get strange. With new friends and a new legend to uncover, the best friends do what they do best: SAVE THE DAY FROM A FATE WORSE THAN HOMEWORK.

Annie is five when her beloved big sister, Gemma, leaves for school and is never seen again. The police search for weeks and Annie never gives up hope that Gemma will one day come home to her. Now, twenty years after her sister mysteriously vanished, Annie returns to her childhood home to care for her ill mother. Opening the door to Gemma's room, Annie finds it untouched from the day her sister disappeared, with her make up still on the dresser and her books open on her bed. Annie is certain that the answers to what happened to Gemma are here in her old room.

Orphaned Jenny and her chimney sweep brother Noah eke out life in a cellar dwelling in the heart of the slums. Noah is the main breadwinner, but he is treated horribly by his master. Worried for her brother's safety and health, Jenny resolves to put her talent for singing to good use and begins trawling the low inns and taverns at night entertaining the punters. When she catches the attention of a music hall manager and is offered a spot on the stage, it seems like a dream come true. But her newfound success can't include her brother.

Escape to the frost-sparkling Yorkshire Dales for some festive fun under the mistletoe! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for costume shop owner Becky Finn. Leaving London to move back home to the twinkly rural village of Egglethwaite, she plans to build a new life for herself with fiancé, Cole. Keen to raise funds for the struggling village hall she loved as a child, Becky finds herself at the head of a colourful group aiming to revive the Egglethwaite Christmas pantomime.