Showing results by narrator "Shiromi Arserio" in All Categories

Young fire elemental Solvei struggles with the terror of returning to the underground passage. She must complete this months-long trip if she wants to save the pact nations from a surprise invasion by an enemy they didn't know they had. However, her fear of being trapped has grown out of control. The very idea of taking that journey again fills her with dread . . . but it's the only path forward.

Nura has worked all her life in the mica mines, earning just enough to keep her family afloat–and enjoy the odd delicious gulab jamun from the market. Some day she's going to find the Demon's Tongue, a legendary treasure buried deep in the mines, and her family will never have to worry about money again. But when a terrible accident buries her best friend below ground, Nura goes in search of him and passes over into the magical and terrible world of the jinn. Across a pink sea and under a purple sky, she finds her way to a palace, where great riches and a whole new life are on offer.

I have come back to Arcadia, but all is not as it should be. An impostor sits on Windhelm's throne, and calling herself Queen. I don't know where my parents are or what's become of them. I don't know where my brother is, or if he's even still alive. And in less than two weeks, Fate itself will hunt me down and end my existence as if I wasn't meant to exist in the first place. This is it. If I don't figure out how to fix the mistake I made, Arcadia itself could fall and become something entirely monstrous. I just wish I knew where to start.

Fossi Lovejoy knows she is too odd, too intelligent, too old, and too poor to ever marry. So she busies herself in her father's ministry and her mathematical equations, choosing to focus on what she has, not what she lacks. But then Lord Whitmoor publishes one of her private theorems, taunting her to respond. Fossi is compelled to action—when you have so little in life, you defend the few things that are yours with ferocious tenacity. Even if it means matching wits with the infamous Lord Whitmoor. Can two people past their youth find unexpected love?

Prince Darius of Kallorway is the strongest mage in his family--and the only reason his weak father is still clinging to his throne. Starting at the Academy at the same time as Verene, the crown prince is cold and distant and shows no desire to connect with her. Instead he seems suspicious of both her presence and her claimed lack of power. Surrounded by unfamiliar politics and long-held enemies, Verene discovers that some at the Academy want her gone by whatever means necessary. As the threats grow ever more sinister, she starts to question all of her assumptions.

In 2012, Emme Wilde can't find the right guy. She wants to feel that swept-off-your-feet dizziness of true love. But so far, her dating life has come up short. Star Trek geek? Nice but too serious. Hippy artist? Cute but too vulnerable. Instead, Emme obsesses over the portrait of an unknown man in an old locket. Granted, a seriously dreamy guy with delicious, wind-swept hair she just itches to run her fingers through. But still. Dead men may be great listeners, but they are not exactly boyfriend material. Emme travels to England, determined to uncover his history.

Verene has survived first year. But discovering she possesses a new and dangerous ability has only complicated her tenuous position at the Kallorwegian Academy. Not yet ready to share her new powers with anyone, Verene finds herself with even fewer friends than before.

Verene is determined to complete her fourth and final year at the Academy, despite her family's opposition to Darius, and his own obstinance about the future of their relationship. And Darius needs to graduate in order to claim his throne. But with the threat of Conall looming over them, they must be more than just trainees if they hope to save both their kingdoms from the coming war - especially since Verene's abilities may be the only thing that can save them all.

In 1815, Timothy, Viscount Linwood—handsome, arrogant, privileged—never veers from the refined rules of his world. Cheerfulness and other unsavory emotions are for lesser persons. Anything that smacks of trade is to be shunned. Honor and pride above all else. Consequently, when he discovers his estates are bankrupt, he decides to woo and marry an heiress post-haste. After all, love is for lesser-mortals. But Fate intervenes and draws him to a vibrant woman who makes him want things he can never have. Can a pompous lord change enough to find redemption?

Quin is kept busy placing planet-saving spheres on poisoned worlds. A device has been created on an isolated world that can hide anyone or anything from even the most powerful, including the gods. Quin; the spheres; the device - Vardil Cayetes wants all of those things. Who can stop him, now that he is back and stronger than ever?

Siriaa has been destroyed at the command of an enraged criminal. The poison infecting that planet has been flung into the universe, landing upon hapless worlds in its path. The Orb has dropped Quin onto another world five years in the future, where she is compelled to seek revenge against Vardil Cayetes, the one responsible for Siriaa's destruction.

Lucas isn’t having the best summer. While normally he’d be away at camp, this year he’s stuck home, watching over his younger neighbor Noah and mourning the death of his beloved cat. Even going outside is dangerous, thanks to mysterious fires making the air unsafe to breathe. Fires that Noah claims are caused by real life dragons. At first Lucas laughs it off—Noah’s dad has always been fond of conspiracy theories. But when the family suddenly flees town and strange rumors start spreading online, Lucas realizes he needs to find out for sure.

Bitsy is no one’s ideal princess. She’s heard it all: that it’s a shame she’s so plain, so lacking in grace. That the best thing for her to do is simply wait (and wait some more) and hope some prince will grant her a happy ending. Then Bitsy pricks her finger on a spindle and falls down, down, down. Into a world where cutthroats and con artists are more common than curtsies. Where no one ages and everyone is beautiful. Where an inscrutable evil rests at its core.

The one thing Mrs. Bennett most dearly wants is to see her five daughters settled. When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley moves in to nearby Netherfield Hall and takes an interest in her eldest daughter, Jane, her dream is almost within her grasp. Yet, problems arise when Bingley's friend, the prideful Mr. Darcy, meddles in their relationship, earning him the disdain of Jane's sister, Elizabeth. However, Mr. Darcy can't help finding a match in the intelligent, free-spirited Lizzy Bennett, despite her country manners.

In a modern world ruled by territorial Greek gods, the human race has been oppressed, exploited, and now nearly destroyed by the constant infighting of gods. However, a human girl with the power of a goddess is coming of age. Alessandra is the Oracle of Delphi - the last prophesized - and bears the mark of the double omega. Soon after she turns 18, Alessandra is told her destiny: to step between the warring gods and the human race and save her world from certain ruin.

The scene is the Caribbean, 1718: Englishwoman Mary Read is forced to disguise herself as sailor Martin Read; then things get more complicated when she falls in love with another sailor, Peter Meredith, a brilliant man but rather clueless about the sea... who also has no idea that his best friend is a woman. To make matters worse, they're both captured by pirates. To make matters worse yet, one of the pirates is Anne Bonny, Southern belle turned scourge of the Caribbean.

Wylend Arden, Fifth-level warlock and King of Karathia for more than 20,000 years, had quite a story to tell. "It began like this," he said, his smile slightly crooked as he lifted his cup of wine to me. "I had an older brother, born to one of my father's legitimate mates. His name was Wellend and he was heir to the Karathian throne. On his 16th birthday, my father gifted him with the Heir's Ring, as was proper." After thousands of years, Wylend's niece and nephew are making a bid for the Karathian throne.

Eiren, the youngest daughter of the Aleynian royal family, has been living in exile in the deep desert of their kingdom. When the invading force from Ambar captures her family and demands that Eiren alone return with the Ambarians to their distant, mountainous lands, she agrees for the sake of her people. Gentle, perceptive, and able to sense the thoughts and feelings of those around her, Eiren is a storyteller—and unsure why the Ambarians have chosen her instead of her more brazen siblings.

Detective Ngaire Blakes is back on the case when a skeletonized murder victim is discovered - a crime that took place during the Springbok Tours of 1981. A period that pitted father against son, town against city, and police against protesters. When the victim is identified as Sam Andie, a young African American man transplanted from the States to NZ by his family, Ngaire must investigate whether racial motives were behind the death.

Aika is playing a dangerous game. Torn between the loyalties she thought she had and revelations she wishes she didn't, she will burn the city down to get the answers she needs. To get the vengeance she craves. But when the boy from her past starts asking questions that could get them both killed, she is forced to choose between the people she needs to die and those she wants to save.