Showing results by narrator "Lauren" in All Categories

There’s a price on Everley Donovan’s head. Fleeing from the queen’s false accusation of murder and sorcery, the girl with the clock heart knows there’s only one way to prove her innocence. Everley must catch Killian Markham, the fugitive prince guilty of the crimes for which she’s been condemned. To do that, Everley must follow him into the towering realm of the Silver-Clouded Plain. It’s where flesh-eating behemoths thrive, long-lost gods hide, and an artifact of destructive force awaits the death grip of the immortal prince.

Summer's end approaches, and it's time for the Harvest Festival, the last big event of the season, held by Mamie Fish, wife of millionaire railroad tycoon Stuyvesant Fish, at their grand "cottage", Crossways. The crowning jewel of the evening will be the guest of honor, Prince Otto of Austria. As acting editor-in-chief of the Newport Messenger, Emma must attend the Harvest Festival. The next morning, the prince is found dead in the side garden at Crossways, making it clear a murderer crashed the party.

When L.A.-based real estate developer Bella Ross arrives in the sleepy mountain town of Maple Falls, she has one mission: to acquire the local failing Christmas shop, Always Noelle, securing the promotion of her dreams. Nothing can get in her way. Except the shop owner’s stubborn grandson, Jesse Harrison. Both refuse to budge, until an unlikely wager is struck: Bella and Jesse will compete in the Maple Falls Holiday Games, an annual tradition of eccentric feats of strength and skills. Winner decides the selling price.

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish - to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age - her tyrannical father has made that much clear. And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter.

Marjorie Steel and Bryce Simpson have finally declared their love for each other, but their chance for happiness is once again yanked out from under them. As Marjorie is forced to confront her demons and find an inner strength to save herself and another, Bryce rushes to solve the puzzles his dead father left behind. An ominous lawyer, twins with a secret, and a premature birth present new obstacles as the two lovers scramble to escape the conundrum and leave their families in peace, all while their desire for each other becomes more and more insatiable.

Top-secret government operatives can't afford emotional attachments. Years ago, Beckett Hanson broke the rule and fell in love. Hard. She was a spy—like Beckett—until she went dark eight years ago. She simply disappeared. And for Beckett, that meant hardening his broken heart and being the job. Until one phone call changes everything. Indigo Grey left her life behind eight years ago when she became pregnant. Since then, she's lived a "normal" life with her son, until a trip lands them both in some serious hot water. Now her son's life is in danger and Indigo is desperate.

Trying to help her hard-working father and twin sister to adjust to life in Stoneybrook, Abby Stevenson becomes the newest member of the Baby-sitters Club and shares her first adventure....

We have all heard of post traumatic stress, but few of us think about the possibility of post traumatic growth—the positive ways in which we can be transformed by our trauma. Yet this is precisely what can happen when we face our hurts, struggle through the rubble of our broken relationships, and unearth the ways God wants to use our trials to refine and mature us.

Titan was one of the nation’s most loved and respected Heroes, until an infidelity scandal tore his image and family apart. After decades spent out of the limelight, Owen Daniels has decided to take up the mantle of Titan once again to try and make amends for his years away. Unfortunately, the Titan Scandal is still common knowledge, and no Hero team wants such a polarizing figure. With no other options, Owen is forced to take a job overseeing a group of corpies, corporate-sponsored Supers who do rescue work… as long as there are cameras around.

In the grip of WWII, Maria realizes that her occupied Ukrainian town is no longer safe for her friend Nathan, because he is Jewish. Maria agrees to flee with him - into the heart of the Reich in Austria. They hope that by working on a farm there with other foreign workers, they can escape the dangers behind them and hide in plain sight. Of course, danger follows them, and Maria and Nathan will have to fight, together, to escape Hitler’s web. But what will happen if they're separated?

Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops - until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop’s duties, the two women become fast friends - as well as amateur sleuths.

Valentine's Day is Abby's least favorite holiday. Mushy stuff like valentines, red hearts, and a school dance turn her into a Valentine's Scrooge. When Ross Brown, a perfectly nice guy in Abby's English class, invites her to the dance, Abby tries to set him up with her twin sister, Anna.

A fifth grade class, repelled by the overweight new student who has serious home problems, finally learns to accept her.

Iris Maynard lost her husband in World War II, her daughter to illness and, finally, her reason to live. Walled off from the world for decades behind the towering fence surrounding her home, Iris has built a new family…of flowers. Iris propagates her own daylilies and roses while tending to a garden filled with the heirloom starts that keep the memories of her loved ones alive.

Everley Donovan’s mission: retrieve the hallowed sword of Avelyn stolen by the wicked Prince Killian, who slayed her family and left her for dead. Should she fail, the seven worlds will come to an end, as could time itself. And no one treasures time more than Everley, whose lifesaving clock heart cannot beat forever. She has set sail with a rogue crew for the otherworlds, where the key to dethroning the prince lies deep within the Land Under the Wave.

Since I walked away from my rich and royal family and became a house flipper of haunted and magical homes, life was nice and simple. Until I met Byron, the sexy ghost of an incubus...with some intriguing secrets. Now I'm in possession of one of the most dangerous magical artifacts in the world...although I'm still figuring out exactly what it does. What I do know is that I don't want this in the hands of the corrupt magical council.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

Arthur built and operated the Propitius Hotel from 1905 until 1928, until dozens of bodies were found in his hotel, along with countless hidden torture rooms throughout the hotel. Arthur disappeared, seemingly never to be caught. He then returned—nearly 40 years later—under the guise of a priest leading a congregation of 100 people back to his hotel, where he once again committed mass murder.

The Commonwealth Civil War has stalemated, but both sides - desperate to win at all costs - are looking for ways to end the fighting before everything they’ve built is turned to ash. King Hadrian, on the edge of madness, searches for allies who might help, at a price. His enemies, all too aware the battle is far from won, search for long-forgotten truths that might tear the king’s forces apart and end the war in a single blow. For Admiral Kat Falcone and Commodore William McElney, caught on opposite sides, everything they’ve ever loved is at stake.

Over a decade ago, Groff moved to her adopted home state of Florida. The stories in this collection span characters, towns, decades, even centuries, but Florida—its landscape, climate, history, and state of mind—becomes its gravitational center. Storms, snakes, and sinkholes lurk at the edge of everyday life, but the greater threats and mysteries are of a human, emotional, and psychological nature. Groff's evocative storytelling and knife-sharp intelligence first transport the listener, then jolt us alert with a crackle of wit, a wave of sadness, a flash of cruelty....