Showing results by narrator "Sarah A." in All Categories

Forced by her parents to take holy orders, 16-year-old Suzanne is trapped in a monastic life and endures harrowing physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The depiction of her struggle for autonomy is coated in the mysticism and madness of her environment, as the overwhelming effects of power are laid bare. Diderot, a key figure of the Enlightenment, uses the novel to question the moral authority of the Church and pour scorn on its complicity in oppression and intolerance.

An epic new fantasy series of mystery, prophecy and death within the ancient walled city of the Twelve Kings.... In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai, but she's never been able to do anything about it. This all changes when she goes out on the night of Beht Zha'ir, the holy night when all are forbidden from walking the streets.

For social worker Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is a calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, Mallory retreats to her childhood home on the Rhode Island coast to contemplate her future. Instead, she’s confronted by her past, not only in the renewed tensions with her mother but in the unexpected appearance of a familiar face—and the wrenching losses that drove her away a decade ago.

Bismarck's War tells the story of one of the most shocking reversals of fortune in modern European history. The culmination of a globally violent decade, the Franco-Prussian War was deliberately engineered by Bismarck, both to destroy French power and to unite Germany. It could not have worked better, but it also had lurking inside it the poisonous seeds of all the disasters that would ravage the twentieth century.

Courageous, intimate and raw, Wrestling with Freedom deftly expresses the struggles of living consciously in dark times and tunes us to that elusive inner voice promising us a more hopeful tomorrow. It’s a book that will touch deeply, resonating with all who have felt their own dreams shipwrecked upon the jagged realities of our present world.

Her daughter died. Did she take mine? A year ago, my best friend Rachel’s daughter died. Ever since then I have held my own beautiful little girl tighter. I watch Luna shriek with laughter as she tips her toys all over the floor and I look anxiously at Rachel, sipping her tea. But Rachel reassures me that being near Luna helps fill the gaping hole of her grief, just a little. So when Luna is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night, it is Rachel who holds me tightly. She looks at the blue and white police tape crisscrossing my little girl’s bedroom and promises me they will find Luna.

May 1938. The young novelist Aoyama Chizuko has sailed from her home in Nagasaki, Japan, and arrived in Taiwan. She's been invited there by the Japanese government ruling the island, though she has no interest in their official banquets or imperialist agenda. Instead, Chizuko longs to experience real island life and to taste its authentic cuisine.

“Our secrets are out, so why remain enemies? You always knew I was a pretty little monster. Why are you so shocked that I’m a villain?” Oh, how the tables have turned. With painful truths revealed, I, Alpha Malifer Nightshade, must now face the consequences of my deceit. I played a dangerous game, hoping no one would put the pieces together, but I failed to account for one strong opponent: my fated mate.

Eli Bennett: quarterback at our biggest rival high school and my brother’s worst enemy. So why can’t I stop thinking about him? For one, he’s totally gorgeous, and boy, does he know it. He’s an arrogant trash talker who brings drama wherever he goes. And for some reason, he’s set his sights on me.

Only ten days into their marriage, Imogen and Lev Carmichael are on a honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean when Imogen suspects her husband of being unfaithful. Amid the recriminations, denials, and rage, Lev falls overboard into the water. It’s a miracle he’s found alive. And with no memory of what pushed him—and Imogen—over the edge. Back home among family and friends, Imogen and Lev are finally starting to readjust. As terrified as Imogen is of Lev’s memories returning, it’s her suspicions of infidelity that get the best of her.

The best news on the planet is that your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be happy. In fact, author Karen C.L. Anderson will take it a step further and say your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be free, peaceful, contented, and joyful. You can emotionally separate without guilt: Inspired by her own journey, Anderson's Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters shows women how to emotionally separate from their mothers without guilt and anxiety so they can finally create a life based on their own values, desires, needs, and preferences.

Charlotte Brookes flees her lecherous guardian McBride, taking her younger sister with her. After a year on the road, they stumble into a Yorkshire village where the Wheelers, owners of the village shop, take them in. This new life is strange for Charlotte, but preferable to living with McBride or surviving on the roads.

Ten years ago, Sarah Prout walked away from an abusive marriage with two suitcases, two kids, and $30,000 in debt. Today she is happily married, running a million-dollar business, and helping people around the world achieve the life of their dreams. She credits her success to manifesting and the law of attraction, beliefs that thinking positive or negative thoughts attracts positive or negative experiences into your life. Prout’s message is simple - when you choose to guide your emotions, the Universe will show up and support you to find success, love, and more.

Biblical womanhood - the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers - pervades North American Christianity. From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women. Yet biblical womanhood isn't biblical, says Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr. It was born in a series of clearly definable historical moments.

It should have been a simple journey - a drive from Minneapolis to Green Bay, Wisconsin. But a couple of unplanned detours lead Grace MacBride, Annie Belinsky and police deputy Sharon Mueller deep in the northern woods, far from civilization and a mobile phone signal. Then the car breaks down. The nervous search for a landline and a mechanic leads the women to Four Corners, a sleepy crossroads town. And place they soon wish they'd never stumbled on - because something terrible happened in Four Corners....

It’s the ultimate test of endurance: two-hundred-and-fifty miles in the brutal heat of the Sahara, with only the supplies you can carry on your back. Adri is ready. Returning to ultra-running in the wake of a scandal, she needs to prove to herself – and her young son – that she’s a winner. When a fellow runner is badly injured, Adri knows something isn’t right. Yet in a race this extreme, even a dead body can be explained away. But there’s a killer stalking the hot sand. And the problem with running faster than everyone else, is that you’re miles ahead of anyone who can save you...

Treachery causes Gwyneth Fairchild's world to crumble. The daughter of a British general, she barely saves her life by fleeing London aboard a ship to America. Her goal is to find refuge with the Lane family in Maryland, having been told by her father she could implicitly trust Winter and Bennet Lane, even though their nations are once again at war. After meeting their son, Thad, she wonders how safe she truly is when she discovers that the Lanes trade in a dangerous commodity - espionage.

When archaeologist Ursula Morrow accidentally infects herself with an alien parasite, she fears she may have jeopardised her career. However, her concerns become irrelevant when Earth is destroyed, billions die, and suddenly no one needs archaeologists anymore… Two years later, she’s plucked from a refugee camp on a backwater world and tasked with retrieving the artifact that infected her, as it just might hold the key to humanity’s survival.

When Jemima loses her beloved grandfather, keeping his allotment alive seems like ideal way to feel close to him. She's never fitted in before - is this her chance to find where she really belongs? Finally Melissa has the allotment she's been longing for to distract her while her husband works away - even if it is chest-high in weeds. But when she looks for help in the wrong place, she finds she's the hottest topic of gossip.

How can I be nearing middle age when 26 feels like yesterday? After the craziness of my 20s and hard work of my 30s, what’s next? Who am I now that youth is behind me? These were the questions Lise Carlaw and Sarah Wills asked themselves as they entered a milestone decade—their 40s. And they’re not alone. The second phase of life can seem daunting. But it’s so much more too. There is power in knowing who you are, ditching ‘nice’ for what’s important and arriving at the stage in your life when you decide rather than ‘slide’.