Showing results by narrator "Vanessa Johansson" in All Categories

Loving the holiday season but hating its commercialism, Mallory coordinates an old-fashioned family Christmas of baking and trimming that attracts media attention, but Mallory begins to fear that the chaotic film crews will spoil her plans.

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: the call that comes in the middle of the night. When Kat Jenkins awakens to the police on her doorstep, her greatest fear is realized. Her nine-year-old son, Ethan, is missing - vanished from the cabin where he’d been on an overnight class trip. Shocked and distraught, Kat rushes to the campground, but she’s too late; the authorities have returned from their search empty-handed after losing Ethan’s trail in the mountain forest.

Full of wry humor and deep compassion for our modern vulnerabilities, the stories in Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best perfectly capture the heartwarming authenticity of Lobel’s famous amphibian friends while revealing razor-sharp truths about the world we live in today. Through Frog and Toad, we see the anxieties that are woven throughout our everyday existence, from our well-meaning but often failed attempts at practicing self-care to our struggle to balance the gifts and burdens of technology.

It's 1944 when twin sisters arrive at Auschwitz with their mother and grandfather. In their benighted new world, Pearl and Stasha Zagorski take refuge in their identical natures, comforting themselves with the private language and shared games of their childhood. As part of the experimental population of twins known as Mengele's Zoo, the girls experience privileges and horrors unknown to others.

Porter has made her way to the UK. She finds the hotel that she and Chesney supposedly stayed at, hoping that the room would somehow bring back a few of her memories. But Dark Sky is still in pursuit of her, and this time, after leaving a few dead bodies in their wake, they finally catch up to her. Will Dark Sky finish Porter off for good? Or will they try to bring her in to help her regain her memory and put her back into the program?

When Clyde the cat travels 200 miles back home only to find his former owner dead, the story makes national news. While everyone seems eager to tell Clyde's incredible tale, someone needs to step up to care for him. Because the media attention is creating chaos at the local shelter, cat quilter Jillian Hart agrees to foster the loyal orange tabby, hoping his location is kept secret. But while the media circus around Clyde continues, Jillian learns the real story behind his owner's death - he was murdered.

Jillian Hart and police chief Tom Stewart are enjoying peaceful, newly wedded bliss in Mercy, South Carolina, until a woman is found wandering the streets one night. She's in her nightclothes, disoriented, and carrying a kitten in a tote bag. A search of the woman's house reveals many more cats, a maze of cardboard boxes - and a dead man.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a more sinister plot than they ever could have imagined. One of Veronica’s high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost, and he’s haunted by the possibility that she’s waiting to reappear within a fresh body. Veronica seems like the perfect host. And even if he’s wrong, what’s the harm in creating one more ghost?

The pact is broken. The human world that Alex once belonged to is no longer safe. From every direction, lycans from other packs are arriving, forming an army that will hopefully be ready to fight Valkos and his werewolves. Assuming, of course, that they can stop fighting among themselves first. And that Alex can somehow find a way to lead them. Before she can do that, though, she must harness the new magic that's awakened in her - magic that took her grandfather years to master. She has weeks to master it.

This New Year will bring widowed nurse Abigail Powell a fresh start in a different city. Excited about the chance to create an unforgettable Christmas for her young son in picturesque Silver Bells, Colorado, Abby has been hired to take care of her dear friend’s recuperating grandmother. But sprightly senior Winnie insists she doesn’t need looking after. What she does need is help decorating her historic mansion, Holiday House, for a seasonal town fundraiser.

The life Olivia Harper always dreamed of isn’t so dreamy these days. The 16-hour work days are unfulfilling and so are things with her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when she hears that her estranged mother, Juliet, has been seriously injured, Liv has no choice but to pack up her life and head home to beautiful Cape Sanctuary on the Northern California coast. It’s just for a few months - that’s what Liv keeps telling herself. But the closer she gets to Cape Sanctuary, the painful memories start flooding back.

Megan Hamilton never really liked Elliot Bailey. He turned his back on her family when they needed him the most and it almost tore them all apart. So she’s shocked when Elliot arrives at her family’s inn, needing a place to stay and asking questions that dredge up the past. Megan will rent him a cottage, but that’s where it ends - no matter how gorgeous Elliot has become. Coming back home to Haven Point was the last thing best-selling writer Elliot Bailey thought he’d ever do.

For months, there's been no sign of Alex's sister, whom she fought so desperately to rescue. She's disappeared without a trace. A werewolf is stalking Alex's once sleepy Southern town. People are dying, and Alex thinks she knows the reason: her refusal to give in to Valkos. The growing body count is a warning. He is trying to break her, and now neighboring packs - once allies - are convinced that she is a risk that needs to be eliminated before she's broken.

Librarian Julia Winston is ready to ditch the quiet existence she's been living. She's made a list of new things to experience, but falling for Jamie Caine, her sexy military pilot neighbor, isn't one of them. Julia's looking to conquer life, not become the heartbreaker's latest conquest. But when two young brothers wind up in Julia's care for the holidays, she'll take any help she can get. Happy to step in, Jamie reveals a side of himself that's much harder to resist. Not only is he fantastic with kids, he provides the strength Julia needs to tackle her list.

With Sam's baby on the way, Dottie pours her heart and soul into putting the final touches on Sweeney House so Sam's wedding can launch the new inn. But her world is tilted when the last thing she ever anticipated comes knocking on her door. Is it possible that widowed Dottie could love again? Taylor grapples with a major change in her father's life and her paralyzing inability to forgive him for the past. Until she does, she can't fully give her heart away…but can she let go of resentment and rebuild that broken relationship?

On the coal-choked island of Luisonn, the tyrannical Stav Regime breeds rebellion among the working class. Firin, a face-changing con artist trained by her domineering father, dances between fake lives to escape punishment for her crimes—until armed rebels topple the regime. With freedom finally within her grasp, she discovers one of the heroes is her former lover, Bregan, who introduced her to her second love: the theater.

During the Midsummer Night's Festival, Allie decides to take her bichonpoo, Mal, home to spare her furry little ears from the sounds of fireworks. But on her way back, Allie spots a body in the lake. Just minutes ago, Winona Higer was crowning the event's Queen—could the competition have really been that deadly? While she ponders the mystery the next morning, Allie prepares her favorite dark chocolate cherry fudge recipe. But she's soon recruited to sub for the late Winona and serve as parade float judge, among other duties.

Cari Porter has just woken up in a motel room. She doesn’t remember anything about her past - how she got there, where she’s going, or even who she is. But she does have a list of names that she has a burning desire to kill. But those aren’t her only problems. There are also people after her. She doesn’t know them, either. But they’re coming...and they plan to kill her.

His Second-Chance Family by RaeAnne Thayne: Julia Blair is hoping for a fresh start. So when she sees an apartment-for-rent sign on Brambleberry House, she can’t help but feel that it’s a good omen. Having spent summers as a teen in a cottage near the rambling Victorian home, Julia easily pictures herself and her two children starting over in the one place that’s always felt welcoming to her. Katie’s Redemption by Patricia Davids: After two years away, Katie Lantz returns to her Amish community nine months pregnant - and unmarried.

When Quinn Southerland returns home to see his dying foster mom and finds her hospice nurse is Tess Claybourne, he's surprised—and not in a good way! He still hasn't forgiven the former high school queen bee for how she treated him back in the day. But recently widowed Tess has done a lot of growing up since then. Living through devastating loss has taught her valuable lessons about life—and herself. And as the two reconnect, Quinn starts to wonder if he could be wrong about Tess. But with everything in his past, is there room in his damaged heart for forgiveness…or love?