Showing results by narrator "Shaina Summerville" in All Categories

Long ago, Lily's grandmother Rose worked as a kitchen maid at Thornecroft Castle, and now Elizabeth, dowager countess of Frockmorton, is celebrating her hundredth birthday. Rose still has fond feelings for her onetime employer, so a group trip to Yorkshire is planned. It's also an opportunity for Lily to visit her boyfriend, who's currently working in England. Much has changed, however, and the ancestral home is now a luxury hotel, which will be closed for a week to accommodate the big bash, much to the chagrin of Elizabeth's grandson, Julien.

Taylor is a fixer when it comes to quilts, cases, and her family. As she continues to mourn her mother, she hopes to turn her unintentional rival Sissy into her first friend in sleepy Comfort, Oregon. But when her new pal’s favorite aunt suffers a poisonous fate, Taylor must switch her attention from cotton to killers. As Taylor digs deeper, she finds a host of frustrated family members, all of whom could have done the deed. With her town in danger and her anxiety on the rise, she follows the victim’s fortune to pin a top suspect as quickly as possible.

Josephine Barnes wrote every day to her beloved fiancé battling in the trenches of the Great War. Devastated when he’s killed in action, she vows never to marry and buries her grief in the construction of the town’s first library. But she’s left breathless when she receives a request from a gracious gentleman to visit and return the letters containing her declarations of desire. Philip Baker survived the war, but returned home burdened with a secret. Though he knows it’s wrong, he can’t stop reading the beautiful sentiments left among his slain comrade’s possessions.

I'd considered myself carefree and content until I met my best friend's older brother. Brody Benson has a way of wrecking my composure with a single glare. He's broody and crass and far too attractive. As if that isn't enough, he earns more money in a month than I'll likely make in my lifetime. We couldn't be more different. That's why I settle for catching quick glances of him in passing. Meanwhile, he prefers to pretend I don't exist. But then the unthinkable happens.

Our emotions are often so intense and so powerful that we can’t seem to control them. Be it the positive ones like love and happiness, or the hatefully negative ones like anger and contempt, our emotions are better hidden inside us. When we unleash them to the world without a second thought, we might become the reason behind someone’s unhappiness and suffering.

LaRaine came to Hollywood in search of a rich husband and an easy life. But just as she got the chance to star in a movie, her wealthy fiancé cut her loose, ending her gold-digging career before it started. A few flops later, LaRaine's career is on its last legs, and she's looking for a safe haven. Instead, she'll find Deseret. In the wild expanse of the Utah desert, she meets a hard-bitten rancher during a location scout. He moves her in ways she didn't know were possible, and fills her with a love that will inspire her to remake herself as someone new.

Just because arts organizations are non-profits doesn't mean they shouldn't make money; it means the money they make goes back to fund the mission—whether that's music, visual arts, theatre, dance, or one of many other mediums that enrich our lives.

I've tried to forget him. He refuses to allow it. Now, here we are, forced to spend the holidays together, pretending everything is as merry as ever. It isn't. I know this. He knows this. Everyone else? Not so much thanks to the man determined to be mine. Despite all that's happened between us, he swears not everything has changed. He might be right.

Apparently, conservative Midwestern voters want more than my brains, connections, and good looks to vote me in as a congressman. That's right, to appear as the all-American family man they want . . . I need a wife. ASAP. The lovely Odette Hastings seems to fit the bill. She's a wholesome small-town girl, and conveniently in need of cash. I'll give her the money to take care of her elderly parents, and she'll be the political arm candy I need. We both win, right? The only problem is Odette is a little too beautiful, a little too intelligent, and way too distracting.

Kensey Deaton comes from an elite werewolf lineage, but just because her family is royalty, doesn't mean she'll fall in line like some perfect little princess. She has plans and they don't include an arranged marriage! Slade McAlister has his own family drama. His Alpha father happens to be the most reviled wolf on the eastern seaboard, and it's a stigma he can't escape. So when his neighbor Kensey—the girl of his dreams and his nightmares—proposes a solution to solve both of their problems, he sees an opportunity he can't ignore.

For decades, performance management has been seen as an annual chore by managers and HR alike. But this process is changing, and there are ways to make it more effective for your organization and more useful for employees. If you read (or listen to) nothing else on performance management in your organization, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you assess performance more accurately, have more effective feedback conversations, and encourage the growth of your employees.

A bloodcurdling drama unravels in the shadow of Mengele's dark, twisted obsession. Ernst must face his nemesis as he battles to save Shoshana, Bluma, Perle, and ultimately, his heart. Marcel Petoit has weaponized Gisele's dark secrets. Will she escape his evil grip? Will Herschel and Naomi ever see their girls again?

There isn't a male heart in Helena, Montana, that Jill Randall couldn't break with her charm, brains, and dazzling looks. So when a tanned mountain of a man named Riordan shows up at her door to stop his brother from marrying Jill's gentle, shy roommate, the ever-persuasive seductress takes charge.

Afternoon tea isn't just about flavorful brews and delicious treats. It's also about presentation—fine china teacups (never mugs!), with carefully coordinated saucers and plates. With her fragile stock running low, Lily has an excuse to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies: visiting an antiques fair for replacements. Lily snaps up a charming Peter Rabbit-themed tea set in a wicker basket, perfect for children's events. But a few days later, a woman named Kimberly marches into the tearoom, rudely demanding to buy it back—then later returns and removes an envelope hidden in the lining.

I was having the worst day ever, and to cheer myself up I was trying on wedding gowns at a boutique. Which is cool, until my frenemy walked in with her posse of women. "Emma! You're getting married too? So am I!" I'm not getting married. I don't even have a boyfriend. I just find wearing a wedding dress can turn a bad day around.

I'm a bookworm; he's a bodyguard. I have trouble speaking up for myself; he's direct, brash even. But the more I get to know my new pen pal, the more I see beneath the former navy SEAL's tough exterior. He's a hero, and he's hurting. But he's also so much more than he gives himself credit for. It doesn't matter that we live on opposite sides of the country and have never laid eyes on each other. We talk every day, sometimes for hours. Our attraction is undeniable, and our growing connection is becoming impossible to ignore.

I arrived in Emerson Pass Colorado with my entire life in one small suitcase. Compared to Boston, life wouldn’t be easy in this tiny frontier town. Everyone was counting on me. My family…to provide for them back home. The mayor…to teach all the children living here. I was determined to make it work and succeed in the unruly West. But things didn’t start off well. A stray gunshot spooked the horses, and I ended up face-first in the snow. Until rescue came in the strong, capable hands of a handsome stranger…

I'm completely in love with my husband. And he takes care of my needs . . . as long as they're financial or physical. Anything more is too much to ask. I know that while I might have his name, I don't have his heart. It's almost like he keeps me in a very specific box: WIFE. He only opens that box when we're home alone, anything else would make me too much a part of his life. Even though I love him, I can't live like this anymore. I don't want to, but I ask him for a divorce.

I've been in love with my best friend for what seems like forever. But she wanted the one thing I couldn't give her. Now, she's pregnant with another man's baby. The "donor" wants nothing to do with her . . . or the child, so I do the one thing I've always wanted to do. I claim her—and her baby—as mine. She worries the whole town is gossiping. She has no money, no family and she thinks I'm doing this because I feel sorry for her. If only she knew. Allie is my best friend, and I tried to be content with only that. Things have changed though, and I'll stop at nothing until I make her my wife.

It's no secret that the big-shot CEO of Got Cake? wants to buy my bakery but I declined his offer - even though it was presented to me on a notecard with a triple chocolate donut. For the record, I did not eat his overpriced donut.... I threw it in the trash. Off the record-I totally ate it, and oh my heck, it was finger-licking delicious.