Showing results by narrator "Lyssa Browne" in All Categories

Do you feel like you are the only one struggling while raising your teenager? Academic stress, mental health, tech usage, competitive athletics, self-esteem issues, adolescent apathy, disrespectful behavior—it's tough to be a teen these days, and just as tough to parent one. If you're in the thick of it with your adolescent—or if you're getting a jumpstart on this difficult time—this book can help you untangle the complex challenges and improve your relationship with your kids.

For Jess Ballard, the signs could not be clearer; if the Durupinen want to maintain their control over the Gateways to the spirit world, they will have to battle for them at the ancient Skye Priosún, where even now a rebellion is brewing, ready to burst the barriers of the ancient stronghold. It is a near-impossible proposition. The only chance the Durupinen have is to infiltrate the priosún from within-with nothing left to lose, Jess volunteers herself for the job.

As Jess Ballard is struggling to adjust to her new life in London without Finn Carey to watch over her, she has thrown herself into her role as a tracker, using her gift to communicate with and help as many spirits as she can. But just as she begins to settle into a new city, the city reveals a mystery too intriguing - and dangerous - to ignore. Something sinister is drawing restless spirits to a tiny old museum, luring them with a promise of salvation it cannot deliver upon.

Summer, set in New England, is a novel by Edith Wharton, published in 1917. The novel details the sexual awakening of its protagonist, 18-year-old, Charity Royall, and her cruel treatment by the father of her child. Only moderately well-received when originally published, Summer, has had a resurgence in critical popularity since the 1960s.

It's been more than a year since Jess and Hannah Ballard fought to return the power of the Gateways where it rightfully belongs, and the Durupinen world is slowly adjusting to its altered relationship with the spirit world.

After uncovering and destroying a Necromancer plot to take over Skye Priosún, Jess and Finn are united at last and longing to move on with their life together. But the Durupinen world has other plans. An enigmatic rune keeps revealing itself to Jess - in artwork, in dreams, and even scrawled upon the ancient stones of the Geatgrima at Fairhaven. No one can identify it, but its warning is clear: Something dangerous is coming, a revelation that could end the Gateway system forever.

It's summer in St. Louis and Mercy Watts is on vacation from her parents. The great detective and his nosy wife are on a cruise and Mercy thinks she's off the hook for doing any investigating for them. But when a family friend has a fatal heart attack, Dad has one of his famous feelings and orders Mercy to look into it. Mercy tries not to get sucked in. She really does, but she's her father's daughter. Soon Gavin's death leads to a more grisly one, the death of a bride on her wedding day. Can the two be connected?

For hundreds of years, the Durupinen have carried the power of the Gateway in their bloodlines. Now, a dire warning from the past might mean that power must come to an end. Jess Ballard has often considered her gift a curse - but now it may truly become one, unless she can convince the leaders of the Durupinen world to restore the power of the Gateways where it rightly belongs. The Durupinen have always considered themselves a force for what is good in the world, but has the intoxication of power left them unable to distinguish between what is right and wrong?

"A Hunger Artist" is a short story by Franz Kafka first published in 1922. The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is typically Kafkaesque: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large. "A Hunger Artist" explores themes such as death, art, isolation, asceticism, spiritual poverty, futility, personal failure, and the corruption of human relationships.

It's been several years since Jess and Hannah Ballard foiled a cataclysmic prophecy that could have destroyed their fellow Durupinen, an ancient clan of women who allow spirits to cross between the worlds of the living and the dead. The girls swore, after the devastation and chaos they endured, they would never get caught up in the inner workings of the Durupinen again. They were wrong.

A series of brutal murders has the homicide division of San Francisco's Hub 9 working overtime. But as the bodies mount, they begin to question whether the attacks are random or somehow connected. When one of their own falls victim, Detective Salvi Brentt and her homicide team join forces with the narcotics and cyber divisions to track down those responsible. They soon discover that a volatile new drug-tech experience, involving black market neural implants, has hit the streets, causing the epidemic of violence and missing persons.

Once every five years, the Northern Clans of the Durupinen gather at Fairhaven Hall. There, at the ancient castle, surrounded by the very spirits they are bound to protect and serve, the clans settle disputes and shape the laws that govern the Gateways to the spirit world. For the first time, Jess and Hannah Ballard have to represent their clan. It is an awesome responsibility - a great honor...and they are sure it's going to be the most boring week of their lives.

Folly Beach, South Carolina, has survived despite hurricanes and war. But it's the personal battles of Folly Beach's residents that have left the most scars, and they are why a young widow has been beckoned there to heal her own. To most people, Folly Beach is simply the last barrier island before reaching the great Atlantic. To some, it's a sanctuary for lost souls, which is why Emmy Hamilton's mother encourages her to buy a local bookstore, Folly's Finds, hoping it will distract Emmy from the loss of her husband.

Spurred by the injustices that nearly destroyed their family, Jess and Hannah Ballard are preparing to win back a seat on the powerful Durupinen Council. The odds are stacked against them, but that's never stopped them before. But as Hannah faces the harsh realities of political intrigue, Jess must face a frightening new reality of her own.

Cassie Madison has it all: A high-powered advertising career; a stylish Manhattan apartment; and a sophisticated, rich, and gorgeous fiancé. It's a far cry from her childhood in Walton, Georgia, home of the annual Kudzu Festival and hot, sticky summers. And then there are all the bad memories, the heartache. When Cassie's estranged sister calls to say that her father is dying, Cassie knows it's time to set aside her feelings and go home and face the sister she hasn't seen in 15 years.

An on-stage attack left Honor Blackwood with more scars than just the one on her face. It’s been 10 years since she left her spot as Nashville’s brightest country music star. Is now the time to return? And is she brave enough to do it? Country rebel and rock star Jared ‘Jed’ Marshall is hot property on the Tennessee music scene in more ways than one. But when he sets his sights on Honor, is it pure attraction or just distraction on his mind?

Thirteen-year-old Evan Hanson is always the last in her family to know what's going on. Her father, Gene, who's been meaner since he began serving in Vietnam, isn't around much, and she likes it better that way. But then her brother, Adam, gets drafted and her anti-war mother, Endura, takes him across the border to Canada, leaving Evan alone with Gene and her younger, special needs brother, Teddy. When he realizes Endura isn't returning, Gene takes Evan and Teddy to Eat and Get Gas, his mother's cafe and gas station.

Event planner Lexi Mannis has a busy life in Chicago - too busy to have a boyfriend. For special occasions, she has her stand-in boyfriend, Mac Northrop. Mac offers (almost) all the perks of a real boyfriend - furniture assembly, a date to big events, and someone to cook for. But they've never been "with benefits"...until one wickedly hot night crosses the line.

When Tessie King inherited the Royal Palace Hotel, Lake Tahoe's biggest resort, she inherited a cranky board of directors along with it. A board that is demanding higher revenues, or Tessie's out. Faced with the possibility of losing her father's legacy, Tessie turns to her staff to help her come up with a plan: film the season finale of Battle Buffet, the hottest cooking competition show on TV, at the resort. It's a scheme sure to bring in the big bucks. But is also brings big trouble.

Three Wise Cats is an inspirational tale about three cats and their journey to witness the first Christmas. The old Siamese Ptolemy was alongside his master when a star of unusual brightness was seen in the heavens, indicating an event of momentous significance, and leading to a great place and fulfill the prophecy: The three shall find the one.