Showing results by narrator "Christina Traister"

When our expectations are met and things go according to plan, we feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. Risking little, we feel safe, in control, and on-track. But when life throws us a curveball or does not live up to our expectations, we end up with an Expectation Hangover. This particular brand of discomfort is profoundly sobering and uncomfortable.

Sometimes what you don’t know can hurt you. In Riley Harper’s case, it’s what she says she can’t remember. Nearly a decade ago, Riley was the suspect in a murder investigation that destroyed her life and drove her into a psychiatric facility. Locked away for years, she was always guilty in the eyes of an unforgiving public. Now, after being released, all she wants is a fresh start, but the effort stalls when she becomes fixated on her new neighbor’s extravagant life. She can’t stop watching Samantha Light. And it’s curiously satisfying.

The first time single father Spence Kimball set eyes on Natasha Stanislaski, he was floored by her exotic beauty. But the former ballet dancer turned toy shop owner had a fiery temperament that kept men safely at bay. Sensing a hidden wound, Spence and his little girl joined forces to find a way into her closely guarded heart. For Spence realized he'd do anything to tame Natasha's fears...and show her how to love.

Onetime lieutenant of the evil Emperor Jagang, known as 'Death's Mistress' and the 'Slave Queen', the deadly Nicci captured Richard Rahl in order to convince him that the Imperial Order stood for the greater good. But it was Richard who converted Nicci instead, and for years thereafter she served Richard and Kahlan as one of their most lethal defenders. Now Nicci has set out on her own for new adventures. Her first job being to keep the unworldly prophet Nathan out of trouble....

When a teenager’s body is found at the base of the old water tower, Detective Jo Larsen is one of the first on the scene. Tragically, it appears to be a clear case of suicide. But the more Jo learns about Kelly Amster, the more she finds herself needing to understand why the high school sophomore would take that fatal plunge. As they interview family and friends, Jo and her partner, Hank Phelps, begin to fit together the pieces of a dark puzzle. Something happened to Kelly in their small town of Plainfield, Texas - and it sent the young girl straight over the edge.

Nothing in Sydney Hayward's background of wealth and privilege prepared her to take the helm of her family's corporation, and her new responsibilities left no room for complications. Mikhail Stanislaski was definitely a complication. Earthy and entirely masculine, Mikhail came from a world utterly different from her own. But the way she felt when he put his strong, work-hardened hands on her was wreaking havoc with Sydney's resolve.

As a special investigator for a hotshot Miami law firm, Bailey Carpenter is smart, savvy, and fearless. When she’s assigned to spy on a deadbeat dad in the middle of the night, Bailey thinks nothing of the potential dangers, only that she needs to gather evidence. Then she is blindsided - attacked and nearly killed. Now, the firm grip Bailey once had on her life is shaken. Her nightmares merge into her waking hours and she’s unable to venture beyond her front door without panicking.

When runners aren't running, they are talking about running, planning their next run, shopping for running. This book contains stories from runners, telling their stories to other runners about. running - how it has changed their lives, their bodies, and their spirits. Runners will love these inspirational stories of fellow runners challenging themselves, recovering from injuries, and staying motivated.

In the near future, a terrifying new form of dementia is affecting victims of all ages. Dr. Gillian Ryan is on the cutting edge of research and desperately determined to find a cure. She’s already lost her husband to the disease, and now her young daughter is slowly succumbing as well. After losing her funding, she is given the unique opportunity to expand her research. She will travel with a NASA team to a space station where the crew has been stricken with symptoms of a similar inexplicable psychosis—memory loss, trances, and violent, uncontrollable impulses.

When runners aren't running, they are talking about running, planning their next run, shopping for running. This book contains stories from runners, telling their stories to other runners about. running — how it has changed their lives, their bodies, and their spirits. Runners will love these inspirational stories of fellow runners challenging themselves, recovering from injuries, and staying motivated.

In 406 BC, to seal a tenuous truce, the young Roman Caecilia is wedded to Vel Mastarna, an Etruscan nobleman from Veii. Leaving her militaristic homeland, Caecilia is determined to remain true to Roman virtues while living among the sinful Etruscans. But, despite her best intentions, she is seduced by a culture that offers women education, independence, sexual freedom, and an empowering religion.

Isabel Johansen, a celebrated chef who grew up in the sleepy Sonoma town of Archangel, is transforming her childhood home into a destination cooking school - a unique place for other dreamers to come and learn the culinary arts. Bella Vista's rambling mission-style hacienda, with its working apple orchards, bountiful gardens and beehives, is the idyllic venue for Isabel's project… and the perfect place for her to forget the past.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs returns to sun-drenched Bella Vista, where the land's bounty yields a rich harvest…and family secrets that have long been buried.

Isabel Johansen, a celebrated chef who grew up in the sleepy Sonoma town of Archangel, is transforming her childhood home into a destination cooking school—a unique place for other dreamers to come and learn the culinary arts. Bella Vista's rambling mission-style hacienda, with its working apple orchards, bountiful gardens and beehives, is the idyllic venue for Isabel's project…and the perfect place for her to forget the past.

But Isabel's carefully ordered plans begin to go awry when swaggering, war-torn journalist Cormac O'Neill arrives to dig up old history. He's always been better at exposing the lives of others than showing his own closely guarded heart, but the pleasures of small-town life and the searing sensuality of Isabel's kitchen coax him into revealing a few truths of his own.

The dreamy sweetness of summer is the perfect time of year for a grand family wedding and the enchanting Beekeeper's Ball, bringing emotions to a head in a story where the past and present collide to create an unexpected new future.

From "one of the best observers of stories of the heart" (Salem Statesman-Journal), The Beekeeper's Ball is an exquisite and richly imagined novel of the secrets that keep us from finding our way, the ties binding us to family and home, and the indelible imprint love can make on the human heart.

Landlocked in Manhattan, rugged seaman Zack Muldoon needed a tough, no-nonsense lawyer to save his kid brother's delinquent hide. Public defender Rachel Stanislaski was not what he had in mind - until he discovered there was a lot more to the beautiful, coolheaded attorney than met the eye...and found himself falling for her, hook, line, and sinker.

A collection of killer stories from some of today's hottest crime fiction writers, edited by grandmaster and #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child. Killer Year is a group of thirteen authors whose first novels were published in the year 2007. Now, each member of this widely-praised organization has written a story with his or her own unique twist on the world of crime.

FBI agent Harmony Black and her team, Vigilant Lock, face a new type of threat: one from beyond the stars. They'd always heard the Red Knight was an urban legend: in 1954, three years before Sputnik launched, a mysterious satellite was sighted circling Earth, though no power on the planet had such technology.

People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories... Our contributors make up an all-star lineup of award-winning and bestselling writers, representing a dozen different publishers and as many genres. We asked each of them for the same thing - a story about a warrior. Some chose to write in the genre they’re best known for. Some decided to try something different. You will find warriors of every shape, size, and color here....

He is the man she had once dreamed about, but never dared to love. Now, Cynthia "Foxy" Fox is back in town and she's forced to confront race car driver Lance Matthews and all the old feelings simmering between them. Just as in the world of auto racing, Foxy knows the stakes are high - but so is the prize. Because this time, the only true victory would be love.

Framed for a casino massacre, Harmony and Jessie are on the run - in the real world and in their own. From the seedy casinos of Atlantic City to the steamy bayous of Louisiana and the imposing facades of Washington, DC, there's not a soul on earth they can trust. The only way they can clear their names is to take down the conspiracy from within and uncover the truth behind a secret that both the government and the powers of hell want to keep buried.

It’s been years since Abby O’Brien Winters set foot in Chesapeake Shores. The Maryland town her father built has too many sad memories and Abby too few spare moments, thanks to her demanding Wall Street career, the crumbling of her marriage, and her energetic twin daughters. Then one panicked phone call from her youngest sister brings her racing back home to protect Jess’s dream of renovating the charming Inn at Eagle Point....