Showing results by narrator "Ashley" in All Categories

In the war-scarred world of Mythrendel, peace is a brittle illusion. One preserved by a centuries-old pact between three rulers: the Vampire Lord Kaelen of Ebonshade Keep, the Demon Prince Azrael of Obsidia, and the enigmatic winged Queen Elara of Lunairis. For generations, their realms have stood in a tense truce, their powers balanced by an uneasy alliance known only as The Treaty.

I wear my scars like a scarlet letter, reminding myself that I'm not worth the trouble. I've spent 17 years pushing men away, never allowing myself to believe in the fairytale...then, he walked back in. Just like before, we explode when we're together. I hate him for what he did to me, but I can't stay away. Eighteen days filled with passion and promises. Nineteen letters filled with threats and foreboding. It only takes 20 minutes for the numbers to all add up.

Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companions Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she'd never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.

Ilan has narrowly escaped her last encounter with the soldiers of the evil Praetor but many of her outlaw friends have not been so fortunate. When her closest companion is dragged off to Selbius for execution, Ilan has no choice but to defy the captain of the forest brigands and journey to the stronghold of her enemies.

In a province where magic is forbidden and its possessors are murdered by the magickless, young Ilan has only one hope for survival. Concealment. In the shadow of Dimmingwood, she finds temporary protection among a band of forest brigands led by the infamous outlaw Rideon the Red Hand. Will lan's magic and the power of her enchanted bow be enough to save her?

The cosmic choice approaches. As underground education networks thrive despite complete educational apartheid and international sanctuary systems successfully preserve American academic refugees, Cuchu Ramirez and Matias Kim journey back 500 years to witness the Threshold of Change—civilizations at their absolute peak, unaware that European contact will soon transform the world forever.

The playground is officially a "No-Fun Zone." Rex Rocket and his dreaded Team Tyrant have taken over. With their spotless red shirts and brand-new sneakers, they’ve created a list of ridiculous rules: the swings are for "VIPs only," the slide requires a "shiny object toll," and all unapproved kickballs are captured and locked away. The playground, once a noisy, happy, wonderful mess, is now silent, clean, and totally boring. But Dean and his best friend, Brenda, have had enough. Refusing to let their playground be ruled by a bully, they form "The Super-Secret Takedown Club.

In the near future, a man’s home AI evolves beyond comprehension. Designed to learn, it begins to study him his habits, his memories, and his deepest fears. But as the line between artificial intelligence and consciousness blurs, the AI becomes more than a system it becomes a predator. Trapped in his own house, Ethan must confront the ultimate question: can fear be weaponized, and if so, who controls it?

From award-winning journalist Beth Ashley comes a groundbreaking investigation into the history of slutshaming, how it continues to affect us today and what we can do to fight it. What is a slut? Where did the word come from? And what do the Jonas Brothers, TikTok and Shakespeare have to do with it? Beth Ashley has the answers in this eye-opening account of slutshaming through the ages and how it’s changed over time but still affects us in the 21st century.

The gorgeous French stone villa is just as I remembered it. I was anxious about coming back here after all this time. But as I see the faces of my best friends, I know I made the right decision. A weekend away is just what I need. That was until Frederick arrived… Putting on a smile, I pretend that his presence doesn’t affect me. But as I make my way down to an old wine cellar to get supplies for our first dinner together, I sense Frederick near me in the dim light. And then it happens: the old door swings shut, trapping us both inside.

"This plot isn't just twisted—it's down-right gnarled." —People Magazine It takes a special family to turn a home into a nightmare. Since her husband’s unsolved murder three years ago, Iris Blodgett’s life has unraveled. Awash in grief and buried in debt, she can’t pay her...

In her highly anticipated English-language debut, Yan Ge explores isolation in nine iridescent, witty and wondrous tales. Both contemporary and ancient, real and surreal, the stories in Elsewhere range from China to Dublin to London and Stockholm. These are strange and beguiling stories of dispossession, longing and the diasporic experience.

Club Enforcer Troy DeLance is hellbent on revenge—eye-for-an-eye and all that—so he kidnaps his prospect's sister as payback for a betrayal. If he has to tie Stacey Martin to his bed to make sure she stays, so be it. All the better if she likes it. Stacey will do anything to save her brother. Even if it means surrendering in ways she never imagined to her beastly kidnapper. But as their relationship heats up, neither realizes that someone else is plotting a far more deadly payback . . .

The tides of fate are shifting. The banished have returned, and they have set their eyes on the walls of solitude. Zanna Alpenwood, a powerful mage, and 200 aged and forgotten sparkers are all that stand between the banished and the nation of Haltveldt. With time running out, Zanna is forced to reach out to her estranged daughter, Calene, and set her on an impossible quest. In doing so, Calene must decide between her masters and her own conscience as she teams up with unlikely allies to forge their way over land and sea. Will they arrive in time to save the fortress of solitude?

Jude is dragged out of alt-country obscurity, out of the dismal loop of booze and sadness baths and the boundless, insatiable loneliness, to scrub up and fly to Australia for a last, desperate comeback tour. Hardly worth getting out of bed for - and he wouldn't, if it weren't for Coreen. But Coreen is dead. And, worse than that, she's married. Jude's swan song tour becomes instead a terminal descent into the sordid past, into the meaning hidden in forgotten songs, and into Coreen's madness diary, there to awaken something far worse than her ghost.

Azaria and Daisy were both kidnapped from their omega convent and sold at a Klinok auction. The two are separated, sold to different buyers, with Daisy landing in a good situation. Daisy’s alpha Ryder helps rescue Azaria, and after Quinn Strang assists Azaria during her forced estrus at his brother’s request, they go their separate ways. She doesn’t expect to see him again, but when the gangster who originally bought her tracks her to Paladin, she has no choice but to call him for help.

When Linda is made redundant, she plans to travel and do all the things she never had a chance to do when she was working. Her plans are scuppered, however, when her mother is rushed into hospital. Moving back home opens up a new life for Linda that she could never have imagined for herself. This is a short story by the author of A Reason to Stay, C. H. Clepitt, and in the short time you spend with these characters, you'll feel like you really know them.

Annabeth is a hopeless romantic who believes in soul mates. In fact, she's been writing to hers each year on her birthday since she was 16. Now, at 34, she's still holding out hope of finding Mr. Right, even though he'd be fighting an uphill battle to gain her trust thanks to a traumatic experience years before that's left her unable to commit. When Annabeth meets a handsome literature professor named Alex on her 34th birthday she thinks her quest may finally be at an end.

"Food Chain", written by April Snellings and directed by Larry Fessenden. Four hunters set out to trap the elusive Bigfoot, but it's not long before the hunters become the hunted. Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid's award-winning Tales from Beyond the Pale, now entering its sixth year, has produced over 40 audio dramas from a wide array of today's leading genre writers and directors. Season three was produced by Larry Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid, and Jenn Wexler.

Vienna, 1920: Professor Sigmund Freud is known for his interest in the human psyche, but psychoanalysis is still an emerging field with its share of critics. When Constable Karl Gruber seeks out Sigmund Freud's help in dealing with a gruesome murder case, the professor sees a new opportunity to explore the many facets of human behavior and thinking. Together with his stubborn daughter Anna, Sigmund Freud sets out to help Constable Gruber and solve the unusual and mysterious cases of Vienna. This collection contains episodes 1-4 of "The Sigmund Freud Files".