Showing results by narrator "Amanda Dolan" in All Categories

Iris Thomas thought she’d never have to see Sasha Everett again after Sasha seduced her husband and broke up their marriage in a devastating betrayal. But as luck would have it, when Iris’ stepdaughter, Molly, and Sasha’s daughter, Bailey, wind up in the same second-grade class at an elite private school in Los Angeles, they form an instant bond and force the two women back into each other’s lives. Iris wants to put the past behind her and support Molly, but as time goes on, she suspects that Sasha may be guilty of something even worse than adultery....

To save her kingdom, she must ally herself with a rising rebellion and a powerful sorceress, and master the force of a wyvern's inferno…

I would not say things are going well, exactly. I live in a burnt-out car under a bridge, surrounded by rubbish. When Ruadan shows up to bring me back to the Institute, I leap at the chance. That is, until he throws me into the dungeons. I’m on the naughty list, and the mentor who once trained me is cold as ice. Now, I must pass every single trial or the Institute’s executioners will rip me to pieces. Good thing I can handle it. I was the queen of the gladiator ring, and I do not go down easily.

In this book, Amy Webb reveals the pervasive, invisible ways in which the foundations of AI - the people working on the system, their motivations, the technology itself - is broken. Within our lifetimes, AI will, by design, begin to behave unpredictably, thinking and acting in ways which defy human logic. The big nine corporations may be inadvertently building and enabling vast arrays of intelligent systems that don't share our motivations, desires, or hopes for the future of humanity.

Synthetic biology promises to reveal how life is created and how it can be re-created, enabling scientists to rewrite the rules of our reality. It could help us, for example, heal without prescription medications, grow meat without harvesting animals, or confront our looming climate catastrophe. Synthetic biology will determine the ways in which we conceive future generations and how we define family, how we identify disease and treat aging, where we make our homes, and how we nourish ourselves.

Luzia N.E. Drainway never really thought too much about the Astrosi. They lurk above and below Bastion City—a giant multileveled megalopolis she calls her home—and they tend to keep to themselves. On the rare occasions they use their magics to meddle with human affairs, most people with an ounce of sense steer clear of whichever unfortunate soul happens to be their victim. Luzia is far too dedicated to repairing and maintaining the frequently damaged Bastion to pay them much attention, and prefers to ignore the Astrosi just like everyone else.

One hot August night in 1993, a young couple go to a party. When their car breaks down, they are picked up by a truck driver who attacks the man and abducts the woman. She is never seen again. That woman was Fiona Green’s mother. When the trucker, Eddie Ward, is caught, a mass grave of bodies is discovered in his backyard but Fiona’s mother isn’t there. Thirty years later, on his prison deathbed, Ward insists that he didn’t kill her, so Fiona finds herself back in the small town where her mother disappeared.

After the disastrous events in Vlarone, Aileana and Xander are on the run from High King Edgar. The Crimson King will stop at nothing to get his hands on the bonded mates. In the sanctuary, Aileana must learn to harness her growing powers before she loses control. Back at Nonna's cottage, Daegal and Ryllae face problems of their own. They must travel to the Indigo Coast to visit the merfolk if they have any hope of lifting the curse placed on the Death Elf Princess. The journey isn't easy, and numerous roadblocks challenge their growing trust.

I’m Tempest Corentine—21, single, and already dreading the next 21 years. Except one month ago, the impossible happened. I formed a magical bond with someone I’ve never met. The link appeared in my darkest moment, and finding this person is my sole purpose.

Connecting with my dragon may kill us all. After completing the mate bond with Egan, things should be easy, but at every turn, there’s danger hovering close by. So we did the only thing we could - run and hide. However, there is one clear objective we must handle despite the cost--protect the thunder. With each decision Egan and I make determines the dragon shifters’ place in our world. We won’t go down without fighting, but I’m not sure we’ll still be breathing at the end.

The end has come. The balance is broken, the Gilded Amulet is lost, and Aileana has been taken. Never before has the outlook in the Four Kingdoms been so grim. Vowing to retrieve his bonded mate at whatever cost, Xander will not rest until she is found. Life and death rest in balance and fate is playing a dangerous game with their lives. Luckily, Xander is not alone. With the help of old and new friends, he journeys through Ithenmyr to find his mate before the Dragon Queen can destroy everything he holds dear.

There is no weapon more powerful than the [Psychokinetic] mind. Astrid, a mischievous noble teen, long dreamed of exploring the ancient cities preserved beneath the waves, left behind from a time before the ocean swallowed the world. She's been training all her life to become a magic swordsman capable of doing just that. But when an ancient monster long thought dead assaults humanity's last bastion–a floating ship-city–she awakens her System early.

My heart hasn't beat in a 1,000 years. I haven't uttered a word in prison, and the guards keep their distance. If they get too close, they die - until at last, my magic binds my soul to another. Unfortunately, the person destined to save me is a night elf - the enemy of my kind. And yet, when I see her in the cell across from mine, an ember starts to burn in my chest.

Video game preservationist and historian Kelsey Lewin tells the story of how a mundane-sounding game full of bug-catching, letter-writing, and furniture-collecting became one of Nintendo's best-loved franchises, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons eclipsing Super Mario Bros. for all-time sales in Japan, unlocking gaming’s massive potential to tap into our desire to plant trees, find friends, and make the world a better place.

‘A sweet, hilarious treat’ – Christina Lauren, author of The Soulmate Equation Their love story has gone viral. But it hasn’t even begun . . . Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been sacked, the subway doors ripped her favorite dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her...

When Mum died, I inherited a lot more than a pack of lies. I landed a $410,000 debt. Discovered her previous surname. And her real place of birth. Desperate to uncover the truth, I drive to a tiny dot on the map called Deception Valley. Coincidental name? Nope. There, I find her secret family - because she had one of those too.

Blackbriar Academy is an enchanted school on a magical island, and everyone wants in. It’s a home away from home for the most advanced mages in the world - and only the absolute best of the best are given an invitation. By some freak accident, I managed to get one. If I pass the trials, I get to stay. With nowhere else to go, Blackbriar is my one shot at having a real life, and I won’t let anyone take this from me. But there’s a catch. It turns out the people on this island are being trained to hunt the darkness - basically, they’re being trained to hunt me.

Journalist Haley Shapley takes us through the delightful untold history of female strength to understand how we can better encourage - and celebrate - the physical power of women. Part group biography, part cultural history, Strong Like Her delves into the fascinating stories of our muscular foremothers. From the first female Olympian to the circus stars who could lift their husbands above their heads, these brave and brawny women paved the way for the generations to follow.

My mother isn’t my mother. A werewolf wants me for his one-and-only baby mama. Oh! And I’m the new leader of a tribe I joined weeks ago. Messed up doesn’t begin to explain it. I’m more desperate than ever to uncover an explanation for Mum’s mounting betrayals. Because this time, I’m not sure forgiveness is possible.

Sam Wakefield's ancestral home, a decaying mansion built on the edge of a swamp, isn't a place for children. Its labyrinthine halls, built by her mad ancestors, are filled with echoes of the past: ghosts and memories knotted together as one. In the presence of phantoms, it's all Sam can do to disentangle past from present in her daily life. But when her pregnant sister Elizabeth moves in after a fight with her husband, something in the house shifts. Already navigating her tumultuous relationship with Elizabeth, Sam's even more unsettled by the appearance of a new ghost: a faceless boy.