Julia Franklin has narrated 88 audiobooks on Listento.it by 50 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 2,514 ratings. The most-rated is A New Earth.
The Governess and the Sheikh
Summary
Marguerite Kaye is critically acclaimed for her scintillating brand of historical romance. Here, Sheikh Prince Jamil al-Nazarri commands all in his realm with shocking ease - everyone except his willful daughter. In the hopes of instilling some discipline in her, Jamil welcomes an English governess into his home. His plans are upended, however, when he becomes drawn to this beguiling woman.
©2011 Marguerite Kaye (P)2012 W.F. Howes
Quiet Acts of Violence
Summary
Manchester today. A dead baby. A missing mother. A cradle of secrets. From the author of the Scott and Bailey series, Quiet Acts of Violence is a novel about family and betrayal, injustice and poverty, the ties that bind and those that break us. Has the woman killed her child? Is she at risk to herself? Someone in the neighbourhood of old terraced streets has the answers. But Detectives Donna Bell and Jade Bradshaw find lies and obstruction at every turn, in a community living on the edge, ground down by austerity and no hope. A place of broken dreams. Of desperation. And murder. When a stranger crashes into Jade's life, her past comes hurtling back, threatening to destroy her and the world she has carved out for herself. Donna struggles to juggle everything: work, marriage, kids. It's a precarious balancing act, and the rug is about to be pulled from under her.
©2020 Cath Staincliffe (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK
A Leap of Faith
Summary
Random House presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of A Leap of Faith by Trisha Ashley, read by Julia Franklin. Sappho Jones stopped counting birthdays when she reached 30, but even with her hazy grip on mathematics she realises that she's on the slippery slope to the big four-oh! With the thought suddenly lodged in her mind that she's a mere cat's whisker away from becoming a single eccentric female living in a country cottage in Wales, she has the urge to do something dramatic before it's too late. The trouble is, as an adventurous woman of a certain age, Sappho's pretty much been there, done that, got the T-shirt. In fact the only thing she hasn't tried is motherhood. And with sexy potter Nye on hand as a potential daddy - or at least a donor - is it time for her to consider the biggest leap of all? It's either that or buy a cat.... Wonderfully wry, heartwarming and life-affirming, Trisha Ashley's hilarious novel is perfect for fans of romantic comedies by Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell. And it contains recipes! This novel was originally published in 2001 as The Urge to Jump.
©2017 Trisha Ashley (P)2017 Random House AudioBooks
The Scarlet Kimono
Summary
England, 1611, and young Hannah Marston envies her brother's adventurous life. But when she stows away on a merchant ship, her powers of endurance are stretched to their limit. Then they reach Japan and all her suffering seems worthwhile until she is abducted by Taro Kumashiro's warriors. In the far north of the country, warlord Kumashiro is intrigued to learn more about the girl who he has been warned about by a seer. There's a clash of cultures and wills, but they're also fighting an instant attraction to each other. With her brother desperate to find her and the jealous Lady Reiko equally desperate to kill her, Hannah faces the greatest adventure of her life. And Kumashiro has to choose between love and honour...
©2011 Jonathan Franklin (P)2011 WF Howes Ltd
Justice Postponed
Summary
Biographer Rona Parish has a new project - contributing a series for the local glossy magazine, Chiltern Life, documenting life-changing experiences from those who have lived through them. When her father suggests she speaks to his friend, Frank Hathaway, who was in Iraq during the invasion of Kuwait, Rona decides to pay him a visit. But Frank was also badly injured in a failed rescue attempt following a car crash the previous year and has been tormented by flashbacks ever since. As Frank's flashbacks start to yield more clues as to what happened on that fateful night, Rona finds herself drawn into another dark and compelling mystery.
©2014 Anthea Fraser (P)2015 Soundings
Innocent in the Sheikh's Harem
Summary
Marguerite Kaye’s red-hot romantic tales transport readers to a time where love and passion reign supreme. Lady Celia Cleveden is the picture of pragmatism and sensible behavior, having no interest in uncouth louts or brutish rakes. That is, until the wild prince Ramiz of A’Qadiz rescues her amidst the shifting desert sands. Ramiz offers Celia a place in his harem - a proposal the cultured lady would normally refuse. But with their torrid nights burning hotter than the desert’s midday sun, Celia feels compelled to at least consider the sheikh’s enticing offer.
©2010 Marguerite Kaye (P)2011 W.F. Howes
Beating about the Bush
Summary
Ella Norton has opted for the simple life. Gone are the power suits, the high earnings and the high stress of city life - and instead she's got her own cottage, a course in horticulture and a crush on her dynamic tutor, Matt. But life isn't all rustic paradise. Ella has two lodgers - gorgeous, worldly Miranda and unglamorous, naïve Faith - who can't stand each other. And then there's the matter of Matt's wife and the fact that something dodgy and possibly illegal seems to be going on next door. When the police arrive and set up a stakeout in Ella's bedroom, things begin to spiral seriously out of control....
©2000 Linda Taylor (P)2010 Random House Audiobooks
Retribution
Summary
Biographer Rona Parish is keen to finish her series on successful single mothers for local glossy magazine Chiltern Life - and interviewing the mysterious Nicole Summers should finish off the series nicely. But on one of her visits to Nicole's house, Rona makes a shocking discovery.... Meanwhile, Rona has also taken on a new project - finishing the book acclaimed biographer Russell Page was writing before the recent car crash that killed him. But when Russell's wife hands over his notes and papers, Rona soon starts to realise that something isn't quite right. As Rona throws herself into trying to find the answers to her many questions, a catastrophic event from the past is about to have massive ramifications for the present.
©2016 Anthea Fraser (P)2018 Soundings
Half the World Away
Summary
Lori Maddox chooses to spend the year after university travelling and visits China, where she finds casual work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester her parents, Joanna and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog. When Joanna and Tom hear nothing for weeks, they become increasingly concerned and travel out to Chengdu in search of their daughter. Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, Joanna and Tom are forced to turn detective, following in their daughter’s footsteps. When a woman’s remains are discovered close to the last sightings of Lori, it appears they have found their daughter. But nothing could prepare them for the shocks still in store....
©2015 Cath Staincliffe (P)2015 Soundings
The Girl in the Green Dress
Summary
How far would you go to protect your child? Can you really keep them safe? What if who they are puts them at risk? And what if they have blood on their hands? Teenager Allie Kennaway heads off for prom night, cheered on by dad Steve and her little sister, Teagan. But Allie never comes home, beaten to death in an apparent hate crime because of her transgender identity. As police investigate the brutal murder, a crime that has appalled the country, one parent is at her wits' end with her son's behaviour. Are his outbursts and silences hiding something much darker than adolescent mood swings? And if her suspicions are correct, then what does she do? Another parent will fight tooth and nail to save his boy from the full force of the law. After all, blood is thicker than water, and everyone should look after their own. But if he succeeds, then Allie and her family will never get the justice they deserve. A groundbreaking story of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, in a world of change.
©2017 Cath Staincliffe (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group
The Gilded Fan
Summary
It's 1641, and when Midori Kumashiro, the orphaned daughter of a warlord, is told she has to leave Japan or die, she has no choice but to flee to England. Captain Nico Noordholt’s ship is her last chance, but he doesn’t really want a female passenger, especially a beautiful one. During their journey, Nico and Midori form a tentative bond, but they both have secrets that can change everything. Christina Courtenay won RoNA’s 2012 Best Romantic Historical Novel of the Year Award for her novel Highland Storms and Best Historical Read for A Silent Touch of Shadows
©2013 Christina Courtenay (P)2013 W F Howes Ltd
Cause of Death
Summary
Summer in Frantham had been long and lazy, and DI MacGregor had enjoyed the peace after a traumatic year. In the Martin household at Peverill Lodge, change is afoot. Tim is now engaged and preparing to move out, an event Rina views with mixed feelings. And there is news of the revival of her television career. But nothing stays peaceful for long. Old enemies have returned, the skeletal remains of a woman are found during excavations at the local airfield and then a man is murdered outside a local pub just a few miles away from Frantham. Storm clouds are gathering, and Rina, Mac and their friends are about to be swept up into the maelstrom.
©2012 Jane A. Adams (P)2014 Soundings
The Jade Lioness
Summary
Nagasaki, 1648: Temperance Marston longs to escape England and explore the exotic empire of Japan. When offered the chance to accompany her cousin and Captain Noordholt on an expedition to Nagasaki, she jumps at the opportunity. On a foolhardy venture, she meets Kazuo. Kazuo is fascinated by her blond hair and blue eyes, but he has a mission to complete: Kazuo must restore his family's honour. But when Temperance is kidnapped, he has to make a decision - can he save her and keep the promise he made to his father?
©2015 Christina Courtenay (P)2016 W F Howes Ltd
Outrageous Confessions of Lady Deborah
Summary
Just who is Lady Deborah? I am the Dowager Countess of Kinsail, and I have enough secrets to scandalize you for life. I will never reveal the truth of my soul-destroying marriage--some things are too dark to be told. But at least no one can guess that I, a famously icy-hearted widow, am also the authoress of the shamelessly voluptuous romances currently shocking the ton! Only now I have a new secret identity, one that I will risk my life to keep - accomplice to Elliot Marchmont, gentleman, ex-soldier and notorious London thief. This adventurer's expert touch ignites in me a passion so intoxicating that surviving our blistering affair unscathed will be near impossible…
©2012 Marguerite Kaye (P)2013 W.F. Howes
The Lost Child
Summary
A sweeping story of orphans and outcasts, haunted by the past and fighting to liberate themselves. At its centre is Monica Johnson, cut off from her parents after falling in love with a foreigner, and her bitter struggle to raise her sons in the shadow of the wild moors of the north of England. Intertwined with her modern narrative is the ragged childhood of Emily Brontë’s Heathcliff, the antihero of Wuthering Heights and one of literature’s most enigmatic lost boys.
©2015 Caryl Phillips (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd
Wish You Were Here
Summary
When Flora, James, and their two teenage daughters are offered the holiday of a lifetime in a chateau in the South of France in return for one simple good deed, they jump at the chance. But Flora didn't anticipate a mysterious guest and a whole heap of family baggage coming along too…. Their dream holiday suddenly takes some very unexpected turns.
©2015 Catherine Alliott (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd
Second Honeymoon
Summary
Ben is, at last, leaving home. At 22, he’s the youngest of the family. His mother, Edie, is distraught. He husband, on the other hand, is rather hoping to get his wife back, after decades of family life. Ben’s brother is struggling in a relationship in which he achieves and earns less than his girlfriend. His sister is wrestling with debts and the end of a turbulent love affair. As the children’s lives become more complicated, they retreat to the simplicities of their childhood. But can you ever go home? Meet the Boyd family and the empty nest, 21st century style.
©2006 Joanna Trollope (P)2010 Isis Publishing
Mixed Doubles
Summary
From the best-selling author of Three Amazing Things About You and The One You Really Want. Jill's Mansell's Mixed Doubles is a deliciously romantic read for fans of Lucy Diamond, Cecelia Ahern and Cathy Kelly. Rules are made to be broken when you're playing mixed doubles.... New Year is looming, and best friends Liza, Dulcie and Pru are making their resolutions. Liza wants to get married - she's never had any trouble hooking a man. The trouble is, she can never stay interested once she's got him. Dulcie thinks marriage sucks. Her husband, Patrick, may be gorgeous and charming, but the impulsive Dulcie needs more excitement in her life. She wants a divorce. Pru loves her roving husband, and she secretly enjoys the periods when he's making up for his outrageous behaviour. All she wants is to stay married. Liza, Dulcie and Pru have no idea what the New Year has in store - but Fate has some sneaky plans up her sleeve....
©1998 Jill Mansell (P)2010 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Surplus Girls' Orphans
Summary
Manchester, 1922. Molly Watson has had enough. Engaged for the last three years to a penny-pinching pedant, she finally decides she'd rather be a surplus girl than marry a man she doesn't truly love. Aware of the need to support herself if she is to remain single all her life, she joins a secretarial class to learn new skills and a whole world opens up to her. When she gets a job at St Anthony's Orphanage, she befriends caretaker Aaron Abrams. But a misunderstanding leaves them at loggerheads and damages her in the eyes of the children she has come to care so deeply about. Can she recover her reputation, her livelihood and her budding friendship, before it's too late?
©2021 Polly Heron (P)2021 Soundings
Don't Let Me Go
Summary
Charlotte Nicholls has a secret that haunts her. She and three-year-old Chloe have left their home and friends, and are now building a new life for themselves elsewhere. All Charlotte wants to do is to forget the past, to blot out what went before, and to look only to the future. At last she and Chloe feel safe. Then, suddenly, their nightmare returns, and Charlotte finds she has no power to prevent what comes next…
©2013 Susan Lewis (P)2013 Random House Audiobooks