Showing results by narrator "Zura Johnson" in All Categories

This used to be about dungeons...but these days it's more about sharing a pot of tea, or teaching someone the proper way to make a sandwich, or deciding whether your mysterious egg needs more sunlight. Yes, you still venture into dungeons—two in one day, if you're feeling ambitious—and there are still monsters to fight and treasures to find. But when you come out, what matters isn't the treasures you've gathered, it's whether everyone's coming to temple day or if you can all find something fancy enough to wear to the opera.

Aveen is the perfect lady, placid and well-mannered, concealing her discontentment beneath false smiles and gentle nods. As the eldest, her duty has always been to her family legacy and her sister's happiness. But when she finds herself forced into betrothal to a man she loathes, she swears she'll do anything to escape. Even if it means bargaining with a wicked fae prince.

Hotshot Attorney Ashley D'Angelo takes refuge at her grandmother's tranquil home after a terrible case makes her reevaluate everything - even her successful career. Still, no matter what her sisters think, the place isn't magical. She won’t succumb to any “Rose Cottage Curse” and wind up falling head over heels in love.... But after a minor fender bender provides a memorable first meeting, Ashley can't believe how compelled she is by salt-of-the-earth Josh Madison.

Yvaine has taken her place as Queen of the Odelians, promising to lead the charge in the coming war. They've barely scratched the surface of her magick, and time has run out. The darkness inches through the Forgotten Wood, promising to sap the last bit of life from Zenafrost. Yvaine has no choice: The War Party must set out on a desperate quest through the Forests of Galion, following the rumor of a legend. Braving the druids of old, a long-warded curse, and the depths of an ancient library, they search for any means to defeat the forces of the Deceiver.

After losing her husband, Sarah is doing everything she can to hold herself—and her young son Theo—together. When Elena appears, calm, capable, and eager to help, she seems like the answer to Sarah's prayers. Theo adores her, and for the first time in months, Sarah feels like she can finally breathe. But soon, little things start to feel… off. Lullabies Sarah has never sung filling the house. Documents moved. Unfamiliar items appearing in Theo's room. And the way Elena looks at her son—as if he belongs to her.

Owen Larrabee is not my soulmate. He wasn't when I confessed my love to him on his wedding day, and he isn't now. I should probably say that I wasn't the bride when that happened. I don't have the best timing. He's got a temper, he's moody, and he has a history of being misunderstood and making big mistakes. I, on the other hand, make pumpkin cupcakes, spend my Friday nights curled up with a beloved romance novel, and long to be kissed in the rain. Owen is my best friend's older, off-limits brother and the only boy I ever thought I loved.

Sarah Kurchak is autistic. She hasn’t let that get in the way of pursuing her dream to become a writer, or to find love, but she has let it get in the way of being in the same room with someone chewing food loudly and of cleaning her bathroom sink. In I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, Kurchak examines the Byzantine steps she took to become “an autistic success story”, how the process almost ruined her life, and how she is now trying to recover.

Marrying for love was never in the stars for Creslyn. Drake is calculating, cruel, and wields a blade of death. But something about him draws her in, his shadows call to the darkness she keeps locked away inside of her. She isn't foolish enough to expect love from a marriage contract, but when they bind their vows in blood, Creslyn does the unthinkable—she claims Drake as her mate.

Rei Deimos, half succubus-half satyr, is a magic-sensing, chaos-wielding mess. When her brother decides she needs to get her life together, he kicks her out of their house. With nowhere else to go, Rei finds herself at the tavern of an inn, with nothing but a bottle of red wine to keep her company. It's there that the grumpy demon runs into a mysterious cloaked figure who she soon discovers is Amora Lianna of Cerys, the runaway princess with one goal in mind: to find her missing magic.

A malignant blight ravages Tearmann, wreaking havoc on the lives of the Danú. If Tadhg and Keelynn cannot find a way to stop it before it reaches the castle, there won’t be anything left for them to save. While the blight rages on, Aveen and Rían face troubles of their own. Between confronting ghosts from the past and fending off the Phantom Queen’s thirst for vengeance, peace and happiness seem too far out of reach. It isn’t a matter of if the Princes of Tearmann will fall, but when.

Stories creep through Scrying Hollow—whispers of a great beast. Come dusk, the first howl catches the wind and rustles the trees. Make haste, for it's no wolf bounding through the Hollow. The Hound comes for you. Liliwen, the eldest daughter of the Valet family, knows the tales well. You see, her father was the first to die to the Hound. Seven years later, heartbreak threatens again when Liliwen's brother is ambushed by the beast. Eviscerated and barely alive, her brother escapes and stumbles home. Once more, death waits upon Liliwen's doorstep.

A chilling documentary history of the most notorious cults of the past two thousand years, from the Celtic druids whose ritual sacrifices inspired the folk horror film The Wicker Man all the way up to the Peoples Temple and Heaven’s Gate.

Becoming a parent, once the expected outcome of adulthood, is increasingly viewed as a potential threat to the most basic goals and aspirations of modern life. We seek self-fulfillment; we want to liberate women to find meaning and self-worth outside the home; and we wish to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change. Weighing the pros and cons of having children, millennials and zoomers are finding it increasingly difficult to judge in its favor. With lucid argument and passionate prose, Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman offer the guidance necessary to move beyond uncertainty.

Stay-at-home mom Eloise Williams is PTO president and a respected local philanthropist who sits on the boards of many distinguished charities. In addition to being a doting wife and mother, she is also a serial killer.

Novalise has until the end of Midsummer to marry, but when fate binds her to a male who wants nothing to do with her, she finds herself uncertain of what to do—choose a husband on her own or let her brother decide for her. When a notorious assassin arrives with a tempting solution to her problem, Novalise strikes a bargain in hopes of winning her mate's heart.

Thirty years ago, Harold Biddle died in a tragic accident—but there's more to the story. Now, the teenage kids of Harold's classmates are determined to find out what happened to him all those years ago... as long as Harold's spirit doesn't exact his revenge first! But Harold Biddle isn't the only monster roaming the streets of Port Lawrence. From doppelgängers to haunted books and one creepy dummy, Isaiah, Margot, James, and the rest of their friends have to fight to stay alive or risk becoming monsters themselves!

The world of Zenafrost is burning. Darkness has overtaken the lands, corrupting everything it touches. After discovering the truth of her birth, Mara—Princess of Delinval, daughter of the Dread Queen, prophesied bringer of the dawn—has no time to sift through the rubble of her former life. Not with the salvation of the world resting upon her shoulders. By sheer luck and the help of her allies, Mara has somehow managed to survive the first Trial of the Odelians.

I don’t trust people, and for good reason. My parents kicked me out the second I turned eighteen, and my friends from high school or college all lost touch. No matter how close we get, how much they claim they love me, they always abandon me. The only person I can rely on is me, which is why I’ve built my own business from the ground up making bookish merch and accessories. So far, I’m hitting or exceeding all my goals and that’s all I need.

Everything you need to know about ear, face, and body piercings—from how to find a skilled professional piercer to best practices for safe healing and optimal results. “As a piercer, nurse, and educator, I can say without a doubt that this is the most complete book ever written for all...

Sidra Solei is a cynical, deep-sea siren whose heart hardened after the final battle between her pod and the humans. When her sister arrives in the one place Sidra finds solace to inform her their pod's hunger has become too great, Sidra is determined to act. Dead set on saving her starving pod, Sidra sets off beyond their territory for the first time since childhood. In the vast, open sea, she crosses paths with a pesky seal intent on stealing her catch. But when they're both caught in the same fisherman's net, Sidra discovers the seal is actually a selkie named Breena.