Showing results by narrator "Rebecca McKernan" in All Categories

Viola, a child sold to pay her father's debts, has lost everything: her mother, her home, and her identity. Thrown into a life among criminals, she has no time for grief as she endures the brutal training of an apprentice thief. The Night Guild molds an innocent waif into a cunning, agile outlaw skilled in the thieves' trade. She has only one choice: steal enough to pay her debts.

Robbed of everything she loves, Viola mourns the sudden loss of her mother. Now burdened with an impossible debt to the Night Guild, she’s forced to train as a cunning thief. Subjected to cruelty at every turn, the scrawny criminal apprentice vows to survive long enough to become the kingdom’s best. Thrown together with unlikely allies, her burgeoning skills draw the attention of sadistic bullies and jealous rivals with dark intentions. But fueled by grief-filled rage, Viola won’t let anything distract her from preparing for the Guild’s most treacherous test.

They say only the brave ride Bridles Lane at night. Vicar Richard Dodge speaks of ghosts and demons, conducting elaborate exorcisms in his churchyard overlooking the lane. And with the villagers sheltering in fear, local smugglers carry their haul up the road to be hidden in the safety of the church. Isaac and Scarlett Bailey have spent their lives hiding contraband in Talland church. Forced into free trade by their father's mistakes, they want nothing more than to escape the smuggling syndicate and build a life above the law.

They say only the brave ride Bridles Lane at night. Vicar Richard Dodge speaks of ghosts and demons, conducting elaborate exorcisms in his churchyard overlooking the lane. And with the villagers sheltering in fear, local smugglers carry their haul up the road to be hidden in the safety of the church. Isaac and Scarlett Bailey have spent their lives hiding contraband in Talland church. Forced into free trade by their father's mistakes, they want nothing more than to escape the smuggling syndicate and build a life above the law. 

In 1806, a fateful decision sends Eleanor Marling from the salons of London to a prison ship bound for New South Wales. She is put to work at the female factory of Parramatta, where the women’s only hope of food and lodgings is to offer their bodies to the settlement’s men. Nell is given shelter by Lieutenant Blackwell, a brooding soldier to whom she is inexplicably drawn. Despite warnings from the other women, Blackwell’s motives seem decent, and beneath the roof of a military officer, Nell sees a chance to become more than a convict woman sent to the factory to be forgotten.

Half vampire and half angel, Violet was abandoned amongst the humans in London as a baby. Suddenly discovering monstrous powers on her 21st birthday, she thinks she's the most dangerous creature to prowl the streets. She's wrong. When a snarky angel falls into her lap and her adopted sister disappears, she's forced into a new role: huntress. 

Gabrielle Astley is quite used to being an afterthought, a burden, a nuisance. As the only child - and a useless female one at that - to a Baron, she was both spoiled materially and neglected emotionally. After her father's death, his third wife and her stepmother is remarried, to the stern and cold Marquess of Dunbury. Since the new Baron wants nothing to do with Gabrielle, the Marquess is her new guardian and Gabrielle finds herself in London, receiving her debut. Despite this turn of events, she can't quite shake her spite of her stepmother.

Olivia Bailey is up for The Challenge. But what about her fellow crew? Five guys, four nationalities. A billionaire's heir who likes to take charge in every aspect of life, an outback expert with a heart-stopping smile, a Spanish chef with mouthwatering moves, and sexy twins who reveal themselves slowly, until it matters, then they act fast. An adventure was what Olivia wanted, and it's certainly what she gets.

English settler Grace Ashwell flees an abusive lover in Hobart Town, with six-year-old Violet in tow. In her head, escape is easy: find work in the northern settlements and earn enough for passage home to London. But the terrain beyond the settled districts is wilder than Grace could ever have imagined. She and Violet find themselves lost in a beautiful but deadly land where rain thunders down mountains, the earth drops away without warning and night brings impenetrable darkness.

Half-vampire/half-angel, Violet was abandoned among the humans in London as a baby. Suddenly discovering monstrous powers on her 21st birthday, she thinks she's the most dangerous creature to prowl the streets. She's wrong. When a snarky angel falls into her lap and her adopted sister disappears, Violet is forced into a new role: huntress. But the deeper she's dragged into this supernatural world, the more she struggles to survive. 

Lady Arabella Windham, sister to the Duke of Manchester, has given up on ever attracting the positive attention of Lord Thomas Hood. After discovering he still sees her as the same hoydenish young woman she was in the past, no matter her current perfectly ladylike behavior, and realizing she will never match up to his infamous list of attributes for a wife, she throws caution to the wind and becomes more reckless than ever. Why bother being good if it's not going to even be noticed, much less acknowledged? 

Felix Hood had been fighting the urge to be leg-shackled ever since he met Gabrielle Astley, but once her honor was at stake, he knew he'd rather die than allow her to marry someone else. He's not a perfect man, and he has no experience with being in a relationship, but he's determined to make his marriage work, even if he has to spank his fiery bride daily to do so.   

Running away isn't always an escape...After a traumatic experience with her graduate school professor, Anne Fleming disposes of all her possessions, boards a plane, and plans to check out of life. But a chance meeting on an international flight leads her to Wildfell, a gothic mansion north of London. At first glance, Wildfell seems like the perfect place to hide out, and Anne is intrigued by its strange atmosphere and history of disappearances and deaths.

Lady Emma of Ravenwood Keep is prepared to give Sir William l’Orage land, wealth, and her hand in marriage. But her virginity? Not unless he loves her. The curse that claimed her mother is clear: unless a Ravenwood heir is conceived in love, the mother will die in childbirth. Emma is determined to dodge the curse. Then William arrives, brandishing raw sensuality which dares her to explore her own.

Unlucky in love, Maddie St. Clair hides behind an antique store and her mudlarking hobby. That is until she finds a medieval ring that throws her back to 1102 Cumberland and into the life of Lady Madeline Vincent, heiress to Norman lands and about to be married to an autocratic Baron, William Dowell, 900 years her senior.

Ilanna has lost everything: her friends, her home, her family, her dreams of freedom. All that remains is a burning desire to find the bastards who burned down her city and tried to kill her. But a traitor hides among the ranks of the Night Guild, poisoning her friends and allies with lies. Cast out and condemned to death, Ilanna has no choice but to turn to old enemies to save not only her life but her Guild and city in the process.

A cunning thief of unrivaled ingenuity, Ilanna is determined to secure her freedom. Nothing will prevent her escape from the Night Guild's callous cruelty, not even the most powerful man in Praamis, Duke Phonnis. Commanding a crew of pickpockets, bounty hunters, poisoners, and assassins, Ilanna schemes to disgrace the Duke. She must survive blackmail, a rival syndicate, and enemies within her own House to claim her spoils: vengeance for the deaths of her friends and gold to buy independence. But all Ilanna's skill may not suffice to protect the person who matters most: her son.

Peter Stewart grew up on a unique version of the Arthurian legends taught him by his father, a harebrained quantum physicist. But Peter disbelieves anything which cannot be scientifically explained. Lily Portman is an orphan with a secret: she can see creatures that are invisible to everyone else.  These creatures control every human being she has ever met to varying degrees...until she meets Peter and his father. When a mysterious stranger stages an accident which nearly costs Peter and Lily their lives, Lily learns that she is not crazy after all, and Peter discovers the truth of his father’s stories....

What's a girl to do when the guy she falls for is married to another man? This is exactly what happened to me. Seeing Josh Kendal stroll out of the Mediterranean Sea wearing tight navy swim trunks and looking like a hot new James Bond was a truly delicious moment. Catching sight of his wedding ring was like a kick in the shin and meeting his gorgeous husband, phew, that was enough to make any girl groan at the cruel joke God was playing on her. But all was not as it seemed, and when Josh needed a woman to sort out a 'delicate predicament' I was the one for the job.

Ciara, Immortal Fury, spends her days locating evil and administering justice. When her goddess mothers inform her they need a gifted child, Ciara agrees to their plan. She will swap places with Faolan MacKay's shy bride long enough to conceive, bear, and train a child in the old ways, before resuming her duties as avenger of wickedness. Laird Faolan MacKay's advisers are pushing him to wed. To silence his advisers, Faolan chooses a woman rumored to be meek and easy to ignore. One problem: Nobody ignores Ciara.