Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

Princess Oria has one chance to keep her word and stop her brother’s reign of terror: She must become queen. All she has to do is marry first. And marry Lonen, the barbarian king who defeated her city bare weeks ago, who can never join her in a marriage of minds, who can never even touch her—no matter how badly she wants him to.

Tatiana, a half-demon/half-human, was orphaned as a child by a horrific war between the demon and human kingdoms. A human Duke took her in, but only so that he could take advantage of her special skill: Tatiana can speak Shadowtongue, the native language of demons, unspeakable by anyone devoid of demon blood. Despite the abuse she receives from the Duke's family, she works hard as an interpreter between the kingdoms, in hopes of maintaining peace and winning her family's affection.

We all encounter problems and challenges on a daily basis, ranging from small things—traffic, losing your keys, or running late—to much bigger issues—job insecurity, health issues, and relationship struggles. What should a believer in Christ do in the face of such adversities? Authors Lewis and Sarah Allen propose that while the world may teach us one way to approach challenges, there is a better way—complete dependence on Christ and pursuit of wise living.

Child genius and budding inventor Frances is in trouble. Her dreams of scientific glory were dashed when her first big experiment nearly destroyed her whole town. So when a prestigious society invites her to their symposium, Frances sees it as a chance to redeem herself. On the way there, her train is hijacked, and she and her friend Luca flee into the Black Forest. Seeking shelter with a group of orphans, Frances learns the rules of the woods: Never travel alone. Never make a sound. Because something hunts in the shadows, something with glowing eyes and sharp teeth.

This collection investigates the origins of our most intriguing old-fashioned superstitions, many of which we still find ourselves abiding by today. Hundreds of the beliefs passed down through the generations have their foundations in our ancestors' efforts to ward off evil, which they blamed for hardship, illness, and injustice in times when life was, as often as not, "nasty, brutish and short."

Strange things have been happening to Layah and her younger sister, Izzie, ever since their mother dragged them to a rain-soaked cottage miles from anywhere in the Lake District: there is a peculiar whistling at night, a handful of unusual feathers appear and a sudden, frightening banging at the door. And their mother is behaving very oddly. Layah is mourning the loss of her dear grandmother in Poland - and can almost hear her voice telling her the old myths, legends and fairy tales from that place.

Frances Stenzel was just trying to prove her scientific worth to her parents so they would take her with them to their scientific symposiums for once—instead, she reawakened her great-grandfather’s secret and most terrible invention. Before it can destroy the town, she sets off after it, with her pet chimp and sarcastic robot tutor by her side.

For the last few months, I've been content just watching her from afar, but one rainy night changes everything. Saving her from being roadkill wasn't something I thought about for more than a passing heartbeat. The girl I love wasn't going to die on my watch.

Sister Veronica is back at the Convent; a changed woman as a result of her experiences with the corrupt clergy and the murder she lived through. Now - more than ever - she has a thirst for righting wrongs, even if it means getting herself into danger. So, when a two-month-old baby girl is left on the Convent doorstep one night, wrapped up in dirty blankets and placed in an open cardboard box, Sister Veronica steps in to help solve the mystery. And when she discovers a tarot card left with the baby, she is drawn deeper into the search for the mother.

When peddler John Durbeyfield learns that he may be a descendant of a noble family, he sends his oldest child, Tess, to “claim kin.” Blindly ushered into harm’s way, the strong-willed yet untinctured peasant girl is not prepared for the blighted course her life will take. Nor for those whose destructive desires will determine her fate, and force Tess to make only the most desperate of choices. From her tragic loss of innocence through betrayal and revenge, Tess’s struggle for survival challenged the era’s mores and the cruel indifference shown women in Victorian society.

The residents of an apartment block in Central Krakow are trapped in their own building. All windows and doors are sealed, phone lines are down and the internet is off. Seven people, cut off from the world. It quickly turns out that they are participating in a strange game played by the mysterious ‘THEY’. Suspicions are cast, and conflicts break out. Paranoia thickens. Until finally, blood is shed.

Veronica Pullman's comfortable suburban life comes to a shuddering halt when her young daughter, Grace, tragically dies in a car accident. Months later, unable to come to terms with her daughter's death, detached from her husband and alienated from her friends and family, a chance encounter on a rainy street pushes her into an unlikely new friendship. Scarlet is everything Veronica could've been: feisty, adventurous, unpredictable. But as she approaches what would have been Grace's 10th birthday, it becomes clear to Veronica that the friendship she thought was saving her life could be costing her everything.

Transforming Harry: The Adaptation of Harry Potter in the Transmedia Age is an edited volume of eight essays that look at how the cinematic versions of the seven Harry Potter novels represent an unprecedented cultural event in the history of cinematic adaptation.

At home, with a baby, no one can hear you scream. Most people think that once you’ve had your happy ever after, nothing can go wrong. But for Millie and Tom, their love did not have a fairy tale beginning. It was not love at first sight, at least not for Millie. When the strength of their love for each other finally brings them together, their marriage is a chance to heal the wounds of their past and build a brighter future. For Tom, the arrival of their daughter is everything he ever dreamed about. But for Millie, the reality of motherhood becomes a lot darker.

On a brisk day in 1970, a daughter arrives at her mother's home to take care of her as she nears the end of her life. 'Home' is the sprawling Italian castle of Roccasinibalda, and Diana's mother is the legendary Caresse Crosby, one half of literature's most scandalous couple in 1920s Paris, widow of Harry Crosby, the American heir, poet and publisher who epitomised the Lost Generation.

'I still have that recurring fear of something happening to me before I see you again, and before I can tell you myself just how much and how often I've realised during the last few months that I love you completely and to the exclusion of all others. Remember that, because if there wasn't you, my darling Mary, the world would seem very empty and meaningless.' Mary was only 21 when she met and fell in love with the privately educated 19-year-old David in 1938.

Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course. In Jane Yolen's first full collection in more than 10 years, discover new and uncollected tales of beloved characters, literary legends, and much more. A Scottish academic unearths ancient evil in a fishing village. Edgar Allan Poe's young bride is beguiled by a most unusual bird. Dorothy, lifted from Kansas, returns as a gymnastic sophisticate. Emily Dickinson dwells in possibility and sails away in a starship made of light. Winner of the 2018 World Fantasy Award.

As World War II progressed, the Okma family took six Jewish refugees into their house, hiding them in a secret room behind their fireplace. The youngest daughter, Kieks, joined the Resistance, delivering illegal newspapers, guiding British parachutists around The Hague and preparing safe houses for Special Forces who were dropped in from England.

The story concerns the attempts by a prince and his followers to shield themselves from a terrible plague which is devastating the surrounding area and to carry on living lives of pleasure. Their attempts ultimately prove futile. The Red Death is the name of the infectious disease which causes people to die within 30 minutes. Those who are infected bleed profusely from their skin, especially their faces, before they die. Some six months after the arrival of Prince Prospero's guests, a masked ball is held for them.

In the aftermath of an asteroid impact, Earth’s power grid is damaged nearly beyond recovery. The survival of our world may well depend on energy sources collected from an abandoned undersea settlement beneath the icy surface of Enceladus. Earth-raised Colonel Carter Rhodes, in charge of Earth’s recovery efforts, calls upon Gwen Baré, a Venusian engineer, to regain control of the deserted moon outpost and collect fuel for Earth’s collapsing power grids.