Showing results by narrator "Emily Zeller" in All Categories

After many months pretending to be someone else, Riley is devastated to learn that Alex has been brainwashed, and his new mission is to kill her; it is only her fake identity that is saving her from his wrath. The sadistic leader of the Champions, Damien, is finally dead, but his violent orders to his following Champions still remain, putting both Riley and Alex in constant peril. Will Riley survive if Alex finds out the truth about her? And can he handle learning the truth about himself?.

She’s served in battle. She’s killed. She’s watched as her friends have fallen away, either to death or to the brainwashing that forces the government’s agenda into young, hungry minds. But Riley is one of the few citizens who has seen the inside of the Stilts, the flooded buildings that surround Manhattan. Now that she knows what life is really like on the other side of the wall, she must decide which path to take. She can continue her career as a soldier in the Service, or she can turn spy against the government and begin working with the Volunteers.

Volka, 6T9, and Carl Sagan are called to help in the rescue mission....a mission that triggers telepathic nightmares in their starship so terrifying battle hardened Galactic Marines breakdown and weep. They’re about to discover some nightmares are real. The darkness is rising.

1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang.

We often don't realize how much control we have over our thoughts, feelings, and actions. On some days, the most minor irritation can upset us, but, on others, we are in our best form and can rise to challenges with grace. These fluctuations depend on the neural networks firing in our brains, but we have the power to consciously break hardwired thought patterns. Author Due Quach developed an intimate understanding of the brain during her personal journey of healing from PTSD.

At 17, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies. With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth - that she (one) hates germs, (two) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (three) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.

A severed left hand is found in a minivan abandoned on a dry riverbed. When Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force lieutenant Reiko Himekawa and her team join the investigation, the hand is quickly identified as belonging to building contractor Ken'ichi Takaoka, and from the amount of blood spilled in the van, it is presumed that he was killed. However, searches fail to turn up the rest of the body, and the mystery deepens when a childhood friend shown a photo of the victim declares, "That's not Takaoka".

Bailey Chen is fresh out of college, with all the usual new-adult demons: no cash, no job offers, and an awkward relationship with Zane, the old friend she kinda-sorta hooked up with during high school. But when Zane introduces Bailey to his monster-fighting bartender friends, her demons become a lot more literal. It turns out evil creatures stalk the city streets after hours, and they can be hunted only with the help of magically mixed cocktails.

This year, the girls are everywhere but home for the holidays. From a tropical cruise to a ski trip to Switzerland, it promises to be a Christmas to remember. Becca, Megan, Emma, Cassidy, and Jess have plenty of reading material to bring on their trips, too, because the book club is tackling the Betsy-Tacy series before their next meeting on New Year's Eve.

Helen Foster was saved from a watery grave by her BFF from the future and knows she's lucky to be alive. Sadly, she's not so lucky in love. Her blackmailed benefactor, Edward Clifton, the duke of Somervale, thinks she's dead. And Helen has to make sure it stays that way. But as Helen and her best friend, Mary, get charged with a new mission - save the Prince of Wales from assassination - avoiding Edward will be the least of her problems.

Right before the start of her freshman year, Emma's family unexpectedly moves to England. The book club is stunned, but thanks to videoconferencing, they can keep the club alive. They decide to tackle Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a particularly fitting choice. In England, Emma deals with a new queen bee, Annabelle, who makes her life miserable. And back home, Annabelle's cousins - who have swapped homes with the Hawthornes - whip the rest of the school into a frenzy.

Twenty-five-year-old Ivy Rowan rises from her sickbed after being struck by the great influenza epidemic of 1918, only to discover that the world has been torn apart in just a few short days. But Ivy's lifelong gift - or curse - remains. She sees the uninvited ones - ghosts of loved ones who appear to her, unasked for and unwelcomed, for they always herald impending death.

After a lot of swearing and only a little nookie, Valerie Dearborn has decided to make a change. No more lusting after Lucas the hot but emotionless vampire king who can't commit. Instead she's going to make it work with Jack. After all, not only is he breathing, but he's the love of her life...isn't he?

The essential short story collection set in the universe of Ninefox Gambit. An ex-Kel art thief has to save the world from a galaxy-shattering prototype weapon.... A general outnumbered eight-to-one must outsmart his opponent.... A renegade returns from seclusion to bury an old comrade....

He plays the bass with expert fingers. He plays women with intoxicating charm. And he’ll play me with the ease of a virtuoso. Who better to teach me to play than the master himself? I’m his model student, front row, pencil sharp. Pick-up lines? I’ve got them. Free drinks? By the dozen. Kissing? Let me grab my chapstick. But the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that there’s so much I don’t know - like why his touch sets off a chain reaction straight to my nethers…or how I’m certain each kiss is the best I’ll ever have…until the moment his lips take mine again.

Mech Pilot Jessica Kramer fights to survive in the armored arenas of Junctionworld, like her father and brother before her. She’s good, but not as good. If she ever hopes to be better, she’ll need to stop getting in her own way. When she discovers the circumstances behind her famous brother's death were more than just a result of the games, her path turns to vengeance. The deeper she digs, the harder the truth becomes, and the more sinister the plot to eliminate her as well.

Happiness is already here in this moment, just waiting to be discovered! Mindfulness expert Tzivia Gover offers an inspiring treasury of small, creative ways to shift your perspective and uncover surprising bits of joy over the course of your day. Whether you're making dinner, commuting, exercising, working at the computer, or brushing your teeth, every moment of your life offers an opportunity to uncover happiness. Short essays are accompanied by practical exercises to try.

It's a dream come true for Megan, who's jet-setting to Paris for Fashion Week with Gigi. Meanwhile, back in Concord, Mrs. Wong decides to run for mayor, so Emma and Stewart team up to make her campaign a success. Jess and Cassidy are also hoping for victories - Jess in the a cappella finals with the MadriGals, and Cassidy in the national hockey championships with her teammates. In the midst of it all, the girls - along with their Wyoming pen pals, who drop in for a visit over spring break - dive into Charlotte Brontë's classic Jane Eyre.

Xiao Yen is a paper mage: She folds paper into an animal or a thing, then does magic, so the paper becomes what she's folded. However, she's a woman trying to fill a man's roll during the Tang dynasty, in China, and the only people willing to hire her are foreigners. Things go from bad to worse for Xiao Yen on her first assignment. Before long, Xiao Yen must battle a warlord, attack a rat dragon, and destroy a Taoist immortal. But even bigger battles await Xiao Yen up ahead...

The year 2099. Riley Taylor has defeated the terrorist group the Champions and is now faced with a different sort of enemy: the State. Trouble is, there isn’t one single person to blame for the way life in America is now, and instead of confronting a foe, she must root out the evil in the system piece by piece, law by insidious law. To do this, Riley will need the help of the Volunteers. But rebuilding her crew from scratch will not be an easy task, and taking on the government will require a team of specialized allies.