Showing results by narrator "Natalie Beran" in All Categories

Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine's sense that something isn't quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of guilt takes a yet darker turn. Young as she is, Justine must decide where her loyalties lie.

She's the key to everything . . . Sofie has a choice--she can eke out an existence in the shadow of Felicitos, the tethered way station where she works on the breakaway planet of Garmen, or she can try to bring it crashing down. When she teams up with Leo, a man who's dedicated his life to fighting her enemies, her choices start to narrow, until her secrets are the only thing keeping her alive. Leo is all too aware he doesn't know enough about Sofie, something his own security detail is not slow to point out, but he can't keep away.

When Alyssa inherits her late grandmother's house in the quiet town of Kotahi Bay, she hopes for a fresh start. But as she settles into her new home, Alyssa quickly learns that her family legacy is more than just property—it's a powerful magic and a centuries-old ghost desperate to break free. The townspeople expect her to step into the role of local witch, but haunting memories of a night filled with fire and loss make that impossible. Torn between a restless spirit and mounting pressure from the town, Alyssa faces an impossible choice.

Siblings Greta and Valdin have, perhaps, too much in common. They're flatmates, beholden to the same near-unpronounceable surname, and both make questionable choices when it comes to love. Valdin is still in love with his ex-boyfriend Xabi, who left the country because he thought he was making Valdin sad. Greta is in love with fellow English tutor Holly, who only seems to be using her for admin support. But perhaps all is not lost. Valdin is coming to realize that he might not be so unlovable, and Greta, that she might be worth more than the papers she can mark.

Alyssa was just getting used to life in Kotahi Bay when an old friend arrives, bringing a kitten and more complications. Then a handsome stranger with a dark past moves in next door, and everything she believed about magic—and herself—begins to unravel. When the town's guardians call upon her for help, Alyssa must face a choice that terrifies her more than any ghost ever could. But with new threats emerging and old secrets surfacing, running is no longer an option.

About Interference: The tiny moon of Cepi is on a countdown to destruction, and while Nyha Bartali has been persuaded to take her four wards for a final look at the archaeological wonder, now she's eager to leave. The only problem is someone has other plans—plans to exploit Nyha and the girls in her care in order to give themselves time to steal Cepi's secrets. Mak Carep knows his team's presence on Cepi is the last flex of his planet Arkhor's muscles before the moon is blown to bits.

Nestled in a cozy cottage with a lush garden and an abundance of bookshelves, Ursula hopes for a peaceful escape. But strange occurrences quickly unravel, leaving her feeling as though she's being watched. Unusual visions of a mysterious purple-haired woman and out-of-season plants add to her unease. As she becomes acquainted with the enigmatic Rowan and his eccentric house truck, Ursula begins to suspect that he may hold the key to understanding the bizarre happenings in this enchanting world.

Trillin isn't technically a person. She's a tiny breakaway piece of consciousness from the all-devouring Endless, doomed to eventually rejoin it. But when a human witch stumbles into her world, Trillin suddenly has a new reason to figure out individuality—one shape-shifting tentacle at a time.

All Sian wanted was a quiet moment to make out with her new girlfriend. Instead, she and the adorably monstrous Trillin find themselves trapped by a world whose fairytale magic has very strict ideas about who gets a happily-ever-after. Princesses exist to be rescued. Heroes do the rescuing. And monsters? Monsters get killed. In a world where happy-ever-after has teeth, Sian and Trillin are going to learn to bite back.

When her zany neighbour Doris Cleaver invites Ruth Finlay on a hiking tour with a mixed group of trauma survivors, neither anticipates that they'll have to solve a murder. When one of the party, a nurse from Melbourne, is found dead in her room before they’ve even started the hike in Apollo Bay, they know there is a killer in their midst. Then, on that same day, one of the tour group disappears.

When Ruth lets her neighbour and sidekick Doris accompany her on a trip to Cape Bridgewater, an idyllic coastal location known for its pristine natural beauty, the last thing she expects to find is a body. With a feature to write and the promise of romance in the air, Ruth is reluctant to investigate another mysterious death. But Doris has other ideas, and drags Ruth into the confusing world of a local family's inheritance dispute over a rundown old farm.

Meet the Tobin family. Joy - the mother: Unconscious in a hospital bed, Joy's latest act has thrown the family into turmoil. Frances - the middle child: Seemingly perfect wife and mother, Frances is having inappropriate dreams about an ex, and might be about to derail her whole life. Conor - the protector: Successful and famous, high-flyer Conor is walking a fine line between self-promotion and self-detonation. Sinead - the baby of the family: Bohemian rebel, trying to write the story she needs to tell, but despising herself for failing to do it.

With the tragic passing of her mother, Grace is sent to a father she thought was dead, relocating from the bustling streets of inner Melbourne to an island home she doesn’t remember. When she answers the call for help from a sign in a store window, Grace thinks she’s found the perfect job. But behind the smile of a welcoming town sits a community bathed in lies and deceit, and it’s not long before this new arrival is caught in the middle of a deadly mystery.

Life is already complicated enough for Awa Bryant when she starts having weird dreams—waking dreams—and strange coincidences start appearing in her real life. She meets dream-charmer Veila, a quirky glowing creature who helps to guide Awa through the mysterious Dream realm. At first, the Dream realm is a glorious escape from Awa's daily struggles, but something is not right… Soon, Awa discovers she has a bigger quest, and everything she cares about is at stake. Will she be brave enough to face her fears and save her friends?

Agnes Hart’s Ladies College wasn’t the kind of name associated with bad press. One of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, this is where high society sends their daughters, the school seen as the very pinnacle of education. But when Grace Miller receives a letter from a concerned parent, it’s not long before the dark reality of this institution comes to light. Murder is the order of the day…if only someone could prove it.

When Ruth Finlay accompanies her neighbour Doris Cleaver and the Mahjong club on a long weekend in the picturesque town of Bright, she’s hoping for a relaxing time researching the town for a feature article. Instead, the death of one of the tour party catapults her into an investigation she could surely do without.

They say you can never go home. They don't tell you that it's because the people you left behind split time itself into a million glittering shards, trying to figure out where you went. In the final book of the Monster Girlfriend trilogy, Sian and Trillin return to where it all began. . . . kind of.

When feature writer Ruth Finlay and her elderly neighbor Doris Cleaver visit an antique and collectibles market in the small town of Myrtle Bay, they get a lot more than they bargained for. After Ruth's old tennis coach is found dead, they discover that there's no lack of people who harbor a grudge against the victim, and a tangled web of family ties and lies begins to unravel. But can Ruth and Doris find the killer in time to avert a second murder?

The fragments Awa Bryant trapped just after she learned she was a long-awaited Dreamweaver are terrifyingly close to breaking free—so close that even in the waking world she can hear their efforts to crack their giant glass prison.

From the outside, Awa seems like a normal teen, struggling with anxiety over school and friendships. Secretly, she holds a rare power. She is a Dreamweaver, one who walks between worlds: that of waking life and the Dreamrealm. Now, she's finally managed to master some of her powers and alchemize the shadow fragments that were plaguing the beautiful Dreamrealm. Still, she knows there's so much more that has to be done in order to face the terrifying shadow.