Showing results by narrator "Esther" in All Categories

Aria Summers knows what she wants. A life on the road, with best friend Rosie and her beloved camper-van-cum-book-shop and definitely, definitely, no romance. But when Aria finds herself falling - after one too many glasses of wine, from a karaoke stage - into the arms of Jonathan, a part of her comes back to life for the first time in years. Since her beloved husband died, Aria has sworn off love, unless it’s the kind you can find in the pages of a book. One love of her life is quite enough.

Abraxas learned long ago that a life without his soul is not one worth living. Heart shattered with the loss of his mate, he does the only thing he can think of and packs up his children and he leaves the Kingdom of Umbra. The journey across the sea is arduous and long, but soon he finds himself on a very familiar shore: Dracomaquia. But the island may not be as uninhabited as he originally thought...

What if searching for “the one” is getting in the way of your journey of self-discovery? What if singlehood wasn’t just a stepping stone to marriage? As a single 20-something in search of answers to these questions, author and entrepreneur Esther Marie leans into self-discovery and finds a life of boundless adventure. Living in the tension of uncertainty about the future, Esther chronicles eight years of her life, including awkward dating stories, solo travels, deconstructed beliefs, refueled faith, a near-death encounter with a bear, and way too many camping trips.

What is a maiden to do when her prince is not a prince, her hair won’t stop growing, and someone has cursed her to sleep for 300 years? In Polyhymnia’s case, it seems expedient to get up with the help of a kiss or two, trailing her hair behind her, and find out who did it. Nothing quite works out as planned, however, and Poly can’t be sure if that’s because she never seems to be able to remember things like the mysterious spindle that keeps showing up around her, or if it’s the fault of the wizard who woke her but never stops long enough to explain anything.

A wonderful selection of 22 fantastical summer stories by one of the world's best-loved children's authors, Enid Blyton. School's out! So go on a picnic in the woods, visit the seaside or take a trip on a magic aeroplane in this enchanting collection of stories perfect for summer holidays.

A young woman hunts for her wayward shadow at the school where she first learned magic - while another faces a test she never studied for as ice envelopes the world. The tasks assigned a bookish boy lead him to fateful encounters with lizards, owls, trolls, and a feisty, sarcastic cat. A bear wedding is cause for celebration, the spinning wheel and the tower in the briar hedge get to tell their own stories, and a kitchen maid finds out that a lost princess is more than she seems. The sea witch reveals what she hoped to gain when she took the mermaid's voice.

December 1952. As the young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to deliver the first of her traditional Christmas Messages, dedicated staff work behind the scenes to prepare for festive celebrations at the Sandringham Estate. Among the hard workers are Jack Devereaux and Olive Carter – old friends who are about to be reunited. Over the course of five years, while Olive works as a royal correspondent and Jack is a chef in the Queen’s household, their paths will cross time and time again. But as the two grow closer, their relationship is threatened by a secret that Olivia is afraid to reveal.

Durante un tiempo pensé que podría ser diferente a mis hermanos, pero una jodida explosión cambió toda mi vida y me convertí en un Urriaga más. El alcohol, las drogas y el dolor me ahogaron, pero la vida te da segundas oportunidades, al menos eso fue lo que creí. Casi podía ver esa puta luz al final del túnel de la que todos hablan, estaba seguro de que Catalina sería mi salvación, hasta que descubrí que me he enamorado de la hermana de un hombre al que yo mismo asesiné.

Paper, Paper! Read all about it! Acrobat Murderer eludes police! But the newspaper story cannot tell the reader what is really happening—that this is another episode in the invisible war fought by hidden combatants. As Britain hurtles towards a crisis that must be averted at all costs, the police scramble to find a man who has escaped them. An assassination triggered The Great War. Could the same happen again?

Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately has suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by a poor choice. Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy and is held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town's baker and has worked hard to build a thriving business.

Meet Sister Veronica Angelica, a secret crime fiction writer and lover of custard cream biscuits. When she discovers a dead man in the grounds of the Catholic Youth Hostel, a building next door to her Convent, she can see he's been brutally murdered. What she doesn't know is that Jamie had a secret he'd been about to confess. Being forbidden by the Cardinal to contact the police, the nuns at The Convent of the Christian Heart are instructed to contain news of the murder. As Sister Veronica tries to uncover the truth, another murder takes place, plunging her deeper into the mystery.

Elixir tells the story of Edouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent, the son of a perfumer and a fellow aspiring chemist, who met on the Left Bank while pursuing their passion for science. Spurned by the scientific establishment, the pair ended up working out of Edouard's family perfume shop, Laugier père et fils. By day they prepared the revitalizing elixirs and rejuvenating eaux it was famous for, but by night using the ingredients of the perfumery and the principles of alchemy, they pursued the secret of life itself.

Sarah and Evelyn have already risked everything to help Ava win a crown. But they soon learn that a coronation is a beginning, not an ending. Not everyone in Rangmere is happy to see the young queen on the throne, and intrigue and danger lurk all around. The cousins find themselves fighting not only for their new kingdom but also for their own survival in the royal court. When a new threat emerges, the two girls must defeat it to both save the crown and secure their own happily-ever-afters.

When Daisy dreamed of leaving home on an adventure, she never imagined ending up trapped in a tower, cut off from the world and invisible to others. The years pass slowly, leaving Daisy desperate to reclaim her old life, however dull. But her captor has bigger plans, and Daisy knows she can’t just rescue herself. She has to shatter her captor's enchantments forever. When opportunity comes, however, it arrives in an unexpected guise. Young and handsome, Prince Xander has come to rescue a princess from a tower. Instead, he finds himself battling at Daisy's side for the fate of a kingdom.

Paige Chadwick is having the worst day of her life. Her tyrant boss has made her three days late for her sister's destination wedding trip, and now she's stuck on the wrong Caribbean island with the wedding just hours away. Enter Mac Gamble, a brooding yet irresistibly attractive pilot, who reluctantly agrees to get her to the church on time. When a fast-moving storm leaves them stranded on a deserted island, they're forced to rely on each other to survive. As they navigate their new surroundings, tempers flare and an undeniable attraction grows.

Tensions rise in Clover Springs as two communities clash. Mrs. Grey finds herself in the middle of the chaos as her past comes back to haunt her. With Father Molloy and her other friends by her side, she can forgive those who hurt her, but can she forgive herself? Can she open her heart to a life filled with love and kindness or will the chains of the past destroy Clover Springs?

Withering and waspish, Ursula Smart (not her real name) gate-crashes her mother's book club at an isolated country house for a long weekend retreat. Much to Mother's chagrin. Joining them are Mother's best friend, Mirabelle, Aunts Charlotte and Less, and Bridget with her dog, Mr. Bojangles. It doesn't matter that they've read Gone Girl three times this year already, this retreat is their chance to escape bustling suburbia. But someone has other ideas. A body is found in the grounds.

Nic always hated clubbing. She only went out that night because she'd promised a friend. She wakes up, naked and bound in an abandoned cottage in the middle of nowhere. Dappled light comes in through a dirty window. Her body is covered in cuts. Across the room her friend groans in pain. A shadow passes the window. He's back. He picks up a knife. He begins to cut her friend. In that moment of bloody frenzy, Nic wrenches free and runs. She's finally safe. But this is just the beginning.

We don't often think about the act of knowing, but if we do, the question of what we know and how we know it becomes murky indeed. Longing to Know is a book about knowing: knowing how we know things, knowing how we know people, and knowing how we know God. This book is for those who are considering Christianity for the first time, as well as Christians who are struggling with issues related to truth, certainty, and doubt. As such, it is a wonderful resource for evangelists, pastors, and counselors.

Lore has spent years dedicated to one purpose. Save the kingdom, give her people the freedom they deserve, and show the humans that they were in the wrong. But when she finally returns with her dragon at her side, she realizes that some things are not so black and white. The kingdom they return to is not the one they have seen before. The elves have taken over, the throne is now theirs, and the humans they left behind are nowhere to be found. Umbra is a husk of what it once was, with the same mistakes repeated by the hands of a different species.