Showing results by narrator "Shakira Shute" in All Categories

One moment, Emmie is writing her high school history paper; the next, she is lost in 16th century England, where she meets a dreamy but dangerous Tudor king who is destined for a dreadful fate. Able to travel back to her own time but intensely drawn to King Nick and the mysterious death of his sister, Emmie finds herself solving the murder of a young princess and unravelling court secrets while trying to keep her head on her shoulders, literally.

When fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, she soon discovers that her family, the manor staff, and even the house itself are hiding secrets.

When beautiful and successful Susan Harris jumps from the roof of her apartment building, she sets a tremor through her New York City mothers’ group that forces them all to look at one another with new cynicism: How could this have happened right under their noses? To one of them? Between her death and the harrowing private school admission season on the horizon, these women are forced to explore the hard truths about themselves.

When Hannah met David, it was love at first sight. They were married quickly, but she knew it was the right choice. They're always laughing, the passion is unmatched, and they want the same things. Most of all, they both want a family. For David, it's doubly important. He tragically lost his first wife, Katherine, several years before. Hannah is, he says, the person who saved him from his grief. Although his friends worried he was moving on too fast, and Hannah sometimes still feels a strange jealousy towards his first wife, deep down she knows she's meant to be his happily-ever-after.

When your flatmate is the hottest new party planner in the country, three things are bound to happen: 1. You’ll have to take a work call for her while you’re in your underwear. 2. You’ll have to fill in for her after an emergency...and pretend to be her. 3. You will royally mess it up...until a hot future duke steps in to save your bum. Yes, yes, that all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Until you consider the party being planned is for the Dowager Duchess of Devon’s 80th birthday, and the current duchess is the ultimate type A personality.

My name is Evangeline Astley, and the only thing you need to know about me is that I never imagined this was how my life would go. I was supposed to devote all my time to painting gorgeous things to eventually open my own art gallery. Instead, I spent it all trying to sell my art to save my parents’ hotel.

This Very Short Introduction looks at Pakistan as one of the two nation-states of the Indian subcontinent that emerged in 1947. Pippa Virdee reaches into the ancient past to demonstrate the influence of trajectories of human settlement and civilization on Pakistan's contemporary political arena, and shows how the longer continuities between the land and its peoples are as important as the short-term changes in the political landscape. She considers Pakistan's religion and society, the state and the military, everyday life, popular culture, languages and literature.

When Bella stumbles upon her dead sister’s diary, she sets out on a mission to find her sister’s killer, but it leads her to the wrong side of town. And right into the path of Rocco, a loner, a bad boy, who is determined to keep her away. After all, you protect your own, and Bella certainly doesn’t belong with the likes of him. But it’s hard to move on when you’re chained to the past, and Bella is intent on getting justice for her sister…even if it’s at the cost of her own life.

When Friska the dog came to live with Colin and his family, Colin thought that he and Friska would be friends forever. But, when Friska disappears, Colin begins to find out what "You are mine" really means, and who is saying those words to him.

The princess always knew her name would come with a price, but she never knew how steep the cost would be. Falsely accused of killing her husband’s family, she’s on the run with the father she never knew. With his help and a band of outcasts, she’s learning just how much she might have to pay, not only to save herself but also all of Greatland. It’s up to her to learn who she truly is and restore the ways of the Ancestors. Yet what her heart yearns for most is to be reunited with the man she must speak her name to first—Rowan, King of Northrend.

Equileena is a sweet and rather shy person. She seems just a little bit out of reach, but no one can really put their finger exactly on why. She was found as a baby in the toilets of the police station and immediately brought to the city orphanage.

She was born to be a queen, yet she’s nothing more than a political pawn. With no name and no place to call her own, she’s doing her best to hold on to the only thing that belongs to her and her alone—her soul. A difficult task, given that she was kept alive for the sole purpose of being given to the formidable King Rowan of Northrend to fulfill the treaty signed by the three kingdoms of Greatland long before she was born.

After her brother loses their entire family fortune in a wager he cannot afford, Alice ventures into the Rose Briar Woods to make a deal with the formidable Fae marquis who now owns her family’s estate—a portrait in exchange for her brother’s freedom. But instead of Lord Ambrose, the young artist meets a mysterious masked man who saves her when her carriage is attacked by goblins. Right away, Alice realizes Lord Ambrose is not what she expects. He’s kind when the Fae are supposed to be cold. And he’s hiding a painful past—one that seems to have something to do with Alice.

Changing the world begins one person at a time with innovation, both big and small. The Answer Is You is here to inform you that being a change agent starts with doing good deeds and being a community helper. Everyone can do something with the skills and resources they already have—they just need ideas for how. The Answer Is You inspires every person to start thinking critically about the problems we face and the solutions we might be able to offer to enact change.

In a world where not everyone believes in God, "blasphemy" is surely a concept that has passed its use-by-date. And yet blasphemy (like God and religion) seems to be on the rise. In this Very Short Introduction Yvonne Sherwood asks why this should be the case, looking at factors such as the increased visibility of religious and racial minorities, new media, and engines of surveillance (which are far more omniscient than the old gods could ever be), and the legacies of colonial blasphemy laws.

Much to her mother’s dismay, spirited Anne Fletcher spent her youth seeking her father’s approval by hunting and riding. More comfortable in breeches than ball gowns, Anne sees the freedoms she once enjoyed slowly taken from her in the name of fashioning her into an eligible young lady. When her parents try to force her into marriage, Anne makes a desperate attempt to salvage her last vestige of independence. If she is to marry, she will do so on her own terms.

New town. New job. New life. At least, that’s what Sophia Stone was going for when she moved to Willow Creek. But the family she works for as a live-in maid are strange. Almost mysterious, if she believed such mystical things as stories and legends. But what if everything she knows is wrong? What if the stories are true? And what happens if she falls in love with one of its characters? A great burden lies on Sophia’s shoulders. One where she has to make the biggest choice of her life. Can she choose between life and love? Or will she dance in the ashes?

The relationship between parent and child is more reciprocal than you might think. Your child’s well-being has a noticeable impact on your own well-being, which is why love - above all else - should fuel your parenting. When you strive to see life through the eyes of your child, you’ll be empowered to try new parenting practices. You must grow alongside your children - intellectually, emotionally, as well as spiritually.

Alyx Silverthorne’s broken world is falling apart. With her parents dead and her little brother Tommy infected with a zombie virus, she fears she’s about to lose everything that matters. But when her beloved sibling dies and returns to life stronger than before, their only choice is a dangerous cross-country journey to the capital for answers.

Outcast by his titled father, Bryce Lyndley has nonetheless flourished, becoming a renowned barrister ruled entirely by his principles. The meeting to which he has been summoned at Nevon Manor, however, could transform his life—and warm his heart.