Showing results by narrator "Shakira Shute" in All Categories

When fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, she soon discovers that her family, the manor staff, and even the house itself are hiding secrets.

Nadia Morgan has everything she ever wanted: a nice house, three wonderful children, and a loving husband. Even running two businesses only adds to her feelings of accomplishment. But she also has a dark secret. Something happened twenty years ago that she's been trying to forget about ever since. Some things can't be left in the past… A phone call from an old acquaintance sets off a series of terrible events that lead to tragic consequences for those involved and has Nadia questioning her sanity.

When your flatmate is the hottest new party planner in the country, three things are bound to happen: 1. You’ll have to take a work call for her while you’re in your underwear. 2. You’ll have to fill in for her after an emergency...and pretend to be her. 3. You will royally mess it up...until a hot future duke steps in to save your bum. Yes, yes, that all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Until you consider the party being planned is for the Dowager Duchess of Devon’s 80th birthday, and the current duchess is the ultimate type A personality.

When bestselling romance author Ellie Aarons finds herself with chronic writer’s block, she’s pretty sure all she needs is a change of scenery. A beautiful lakeside cottage with her cat seems like a good idea. But she’s wrong. She needs more than a change of scenery—she needs a muse.

Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed...until she's caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a reason: she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts. Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable’s past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.

My name is Evangeline Astley, and the only thing you need to know about me is that I never imagined this was how my life would go. I was supposed to devote all my time to painting gorgeous things to eventually open my own art gallery. Instead, I spent it all trying to sell my art to save my parents’ hotel. 

Eventually, all wallflowers will have their chance at love...this is where it begins. Lottie Hughes likes people, as long as they aren't too close. Does it bother her that no one asks her to dance? Yes, but she's not sure how to drum up dance partners when she has almost no dowry and no title, and freezes up when anyone tries to talk to her. Ellen might be beautiful and considered a diamond of the first water by Society, but she is so very tired of the pressure to marry a titled gentleman. Charlotte Winters is destined to spinsterhood until she turns down an unwanted proposal. 

Following events at the lodge and my unfortunate encounter with the fence post, I've no choice but to turn to my father for help. Of course, my blood-covered entourage of guys don't exactly receive a warm welcome, but at least Grayson walks away in one piece. With suspects galore, I can't stay on the edge if I want to find the truth, so I'm forced to insert myself further into the Thornwood Academy social scene.

My name is Adelaide Astley, and if there was anything remotely exciting about me to tell you, I would. Sure, my uncle is the Duke of Leicester, and my mother bucked family tradition to marry “below” her and open a hotel, but I’m nothing but an aspiring author with a Tudor era obsession. Oh, and I’m spending the summer tutoring the daughter of the current Duke of Worcester. Alexander Winthrop-Bentley is so not my type, but hours of chess games and arguments over Tudor dynasties mean we’re thrown together more often than we should be.

When Bella stumbles upon her dead sister’s diary, she sets out on a mission to find her sister’s killer, but it leads her to the wrong side of town. And right into the path of Rocco, a loner, a bad boy, who is determined to keep her away. After all, you protect your own, and Bella certainly doesn’t belong with the likes of him. But it’s hard to move on when you’re chained to the past, and Bella is intent on getting justice for her sister…even if it’s at the cost of her own life.

Equileena is a sweet and rather shy person. She seems just a little bit out of reach, but no one can really put their finger exactly on why. She was found as a baby in the toilets of the police station and immediately brought to the city orphanage.

In a world where not everyone believes in God, "blasphemy" is surely a concept that has passed its use-by-date. And yet blasphemy (like God and religion) seems to be on the rise. In this Very Short Introduction Yvonne Sherwood asks why this should be the case, looking at factors such as the increased visibility of religious and racial minorities, new media, and engines of surveillance (which are far more omniscient than the old gods could ever be), and the legacies of colonial blasphemy laws.

Alyx Silverthorne’s broken world is falling apart. With her parents dead and her little brother Tommy infected with a zombie virus, she fears she’s about to lose everything that matters. But when her beloved sibling dies and returns to life stronger than before, their only choice is a dangerous cross-country journey to the capital for answers.

With single-minded determination, Henrik has worked toward gaining his knighthood so he may rise above the lowly station in which he was born. But just when the coveted position is within his grasp, he’s tasked with a mission that proves to be far more difficult than expected - secretly keeping a watchful eye on Lady Clover, a nobleman’s daughter with a sharp tongue and a knack for starting fights. 

After her brother loses their entire family fortune in a wager he cannot afford, Alice ventures into the Rose Briar Woods to make a deal with the formidable Fae marquis who now owns her family’s estate—a portrait in exchange for her brother’s freedom. But instead of Lord Ambrose, the young artist meets a mysterious masked man who saves her when her carriage is attacked by goblins. Right away, Alice realizes Lord Ambrose is not what she expects. He’s kind when the Fae are supposed to be cold. And he’s hiding a painful past—one that seems to have something to do with Alice.

New town. New job. New life. At least, that’s what Sophia Stone was going for when she moved to Willow Creek. But the family she works for as a live-in maid are strange. Almost mysterious, if she believed such mystical things as stories and legends. But what if everything she knows is wrong? What if the stories are true? And what happens if she falls in love with one of its characters? A great burden lies on Sophia’s shoulders. One where she has to make the biggest choice of her life. Can she choose between life and love? Or will she dance in the ashes?

One moment, Emmie is writing her high school history paper; the next, she is lost in 16th century England, where she meets a dreamy but dangerous Tudor king who is destined for a dreadful fate. Able to travel back to her own time but intensely drawn to King Nick and the mysterious death of his sister, Emmie finds herself solving the murder of a young princess and unravelling court secrets while trying to keep her head on her shoulders, literally. 

She was born to be a queen, yet she’s nothing more than a political pawn. With no name and no place to call her own, she’s doing her best to hold on to the only thing that belongs to her and her alone—her soul. A difficult task, given that she was kept alive for the sole purpose of being given to the formidable King Rowan of Northrend to fulfill the treaty signed by the three kingdoms of Greatland long before she was born. 

Much to her mother’s dismay, spirited Anne Fletcher spent her youth seeking her father’s approval by hunting and riding. More comfortable in breeches than ball gowns, Anne sees the freedoms she once enjoyed slowly taken from her in the name of fashioning her into an eligible young lady. When her parents try to force her into marriage, Anne makes a desperate attempt to salvage her last vestige of independence. If she is to marry, she will do so on her own terms. 

The relationship between parent and child is more reciprocal than you might think. Your child’s well-being has a noticeable impact on your own well-being, which is why love - above all else - should fuel your parenting. When you strive to see life through the eyes of your child, you’ll be empowered to try new parenting practices. You must grow alongside your children - intellectually, emotionally, as well as spiritually.