Showing results by narrator "Samantha Desz" in All Categories

Soon, Rebecca Gray won't be able to see. Diagnosed in her 20s with a degenerative eye disease, each day her world grows a little darker. She's moved to the suburbs to raise her son, Jackson. In the wake of her husband's death, it should be a quieter, easier way of life.

Memphis "M" Engel is stubborn to a fault, graced with an almost absurd knowledge of long-lost languages and cultures, and a heck of an opponent in a fight. In short: She's awesome. Ashwin “Ash” Sood is a little too posh for M's tastes, a little too good-looking, and has way too many secrets. He desperately wants the ancient map M inherited from her archaeologist father, believing it will lead him to a relic with the power to destroy the world. M obviously can't trust him.

Single mother Lee has the daily routine down to a science: shower in six minutes. Cut food into perfect squares. Never leave her on-the-spectrum son Mason in someone else’s care. She’ll do anything - anything - to keep his carefully constructed world from falling apart. Do anything to keep him safe. But when her best friend Grace convinces her she needs a small break from motherhood to recharge her batteries, Lee gives in to a weekend trip. Surely a long weekend away from home won’t hurt?

We know that homophobia harms LGBT individuals in many ways, but economist M. V. Lee Badgett argues that in addition to moral and human rights reasons for equality, we can now also make a financial argument. Finding that homophobia and transphobia cost 1 percent or more of a country's GDP, Badgett expertly uses recent research and statistics to analyze how these hostile practices and environments affect both the US and global economies.

All seventeen-year-old Maggie Warshauer wants is to leave her stifled life in Filliyaw Creek behind and head to college. An outsider at school and uncertain of her own sexual identity, Maggie longs to start again somewhere new. Inspired by a long-dead biologist's journals, scientific-minded Maggie spends her days sailing, exploring, and categorizing life around her. But when her beautiful cousin Charisse disappears on prom night and is found dead at the marina where Maggie lives, Maggie's plans begin to unravel.

A young woman is swept into a life of intrigue, revenge, passion, and betrayal when she falls for the world's most notorious prince, Vlad Dracula. The year is 1464. King Matthias controls Hungary, his family, and the fate of the world's most notorious political prisoner, Prince Vlad Dracula. Ilona Szilágy, the king's cousin, is young and ambitious. Dracula is determined to marry into the family. It is love at first sight, but the king has other plans. The Impaler Prince, however, never takes no for an answer.

In The Master of Drums, biographer Elizabeth J. Rosenthal crafts a celebratory, honest, and exhaustively researched portrait of a twentieth-century music legend. When he died, Gene Krupa may have left behind a world of grieving friends, colleagues, fans, students, and progeny, but as The Master of Drums proves, his dynamic musical and cultural influences live on.

Book burning. Jewel stealing. Vampire hunting. Not exactly what I expected from a day's work as a detective, but at least things are no longer dull at the agency. Although I'm not sure how much longer the doors to that agency will be open, since the due date for getting my detective license just went whizzing by faster than a fairy on pixie dust. But, after making good use of my groveling skills, HQ has given me an extension to solve a case and complete my application. Which would be great if the only clients I have weren't dead clients, missing clients, and persnickety clients.

Morelli here. Cassie seems to find herself too busy eating pastries, breaking out of jail, and saving the Magic world (again) to bother with writing her own book description, so she's fobbed the chore off on me. Some people, am I right? Anyway, Black refuses to let me see a single page of the manuscript, but since I was there for most of the story, I can tell you this book is going to be full of . . . Eager-for-battle ghosts, misbehaving tower ravens, on-call dragons, spell-crafting elves, rat-stomping trolls, a tiny bit of necromancy, and a very heroic (if I do say so myself) half-troll.

Ever have one of those weeks? You've taken an overdose of magic, you've just melted a twelve-year old girl, and Magic HQ has sent a letter "requesting" you come by to discuss your magic control issues. No? Just me then? I don't want to go. I've got a boss in a wheelchair (my fault), a zombie cat who demands his treats on schedule, and no interest in sorting out the quirks of another magical community. But when someone slips me information tying my parents' disappearance to HQ, I can't pack my bags quickly enough.

A sweeping history of three generations darkened by the long shadow of the Holocaust, The Cello Still Sings is a vivid, moving, and true story of personal discovery. As a child Janet is haunted by the eerie hush surrounding her parents' experiences. George and Katherine, two professional musicians and Holocaust survivors, bury the memories of who and what they were before, silencing the past in order to live.

Living Conjure is a beginner's guide to Conjure written by an authentic Conjure woman with over four decades of working experience. Starr Casas learned Conjure the old-fashioned way: at home, from her relatives and ancestors. She would like to share that knowledge with a new generation of practitioners.

Kids today are experiencing the climate crisis firsthand. Camp canceled because of wildfire smoke. Favorite beaches closed due to erosion. Recess held indoors due to extreme heat. How do parents help their children make sense of it all? And how can we keep our kids (and ourselves) from despair? Environmental journalist and parent Bridget Shirvell has created a handbook for parents to help them navigate these questions and more, weaving together expert advice from climate scientists, environmental activists, child psychologists, and parents across the country.