Showing results by narrator "Saskia Maarleveld" in All Categories

Every choice has consequences - but 17-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden that she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust. Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin - the deadliest of demons - has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her, including her best friend.

Six years ago, in the aftermath of the House War that nearly tore Shallot apart, Akin Rubén and Caitlyn Aguirre were betrothed in a bid to keep their rival families from returning to war. Now, with both of them on the brink of maturity, that marriage is starting to loom. The moment of choice, when they must decide to go through with the wedding or risk their families resuming their rivalry, is fast approaching.

With a dad who disappeared years ago and a mother who's a bit too busy to parent, Emmy is shipped off to Wellsworth, a prestigious boarding school in England, where she's sure she won't fit in. But then she finds a box of mysterious medallions in the attic of her home - medallions that belonged to her father...who may have gone to Wellsworth.

After escaping the claws of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the Brethren, Mack is trying to lead a quiet lonely life in Inverness in rural Scotland, away from anyone who might happen to be a shapeshifter. However, when she lands a job at an old bookstore owned by a mysterious elderly woman who not only has a familiar passion for herbal lore but also seems to know more than she should, Mack ends up caught in a maelstrom between the Ministry of Mages, the Fae and the Brethren.

Caitlyn and her friends have returned to Jude’s Sorcerous Academy, but all is not well in the school. The Great Houses of Shallot are on the verge of going to war, and the conflict is spilling into the school; in the background, powerful and secretive forces prepare to finally reveal their plans to reshape the world. Caught in the middle, torn between her family and her friends - and burdened with a secret she dares not share - Cat must unlock the secret of the Zero Equation...or watch helplessly as her family, friends, and school are destroyed by war.

Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones - and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who's ever come close to discovering its secrets. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there's no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman.

Arriving in New Orleans in 1722, Original vampire siblings Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah Mikaelson believe they've escaped their dangerous past. But the city is lawless, a haven for witches and werewolves unwilling to share territory. The siblings are at their mercy... especially after Klaus meets the beautiful and mysterious Vivianne. Her impending marriage is key to ending the war between the supernatural factions - and Klaus' attraction to her could destroy the uneasy alliance.

As the daughter of a respected general, Elizabeth Schuyler is accustomed to socializing with dignitaries and soldiers. But no visitor to her parents' home has affected her as strongly as Alexander Hamilton, a charismatic, ambitious aide to George Washington. They marry quickly, and despite the tumult of the American Revolution, Eliza is confident in her brilliant husband and in her role as his helpmate. But it is in the aftermath of war, as Hamilton becomes one of the country's most important figures, that she truly comes into her own.

Life's no fun being a dragon, especially when you are forced into responsibilities that involve trying to keep the peace between an array of shifters, mages, and faeries in order to bring down the scariest and deadliest foe the Otherworld has ever seen. And that's not to mention the fact that your own soul mate hates your guts. Mack Smith, a fiery Draco Wyr, is battling to come to terms with her emotions, her heritage, and her true capabilities. All she has to do is defeat Endor, win back Corrigan, and live happily ever after.

Dying sucks, and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things-including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming that Ember's curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested.

June 1946. As the residents of Winthrop Island prepare for the first summer season after the sacrifice of war, a glamorous new figure moves into the guest cottage at Summerly, the idyllic seaside estate of the wealthy Peabody family. To Emilia Winthrop, daughter of Summerly’s year-round caretaker and a descendant of the island’s settlers, Olive Rainsford opens a window into a world of shining possibility. While Emilia spent the war years caring for her incapacitated mother, Olive traveled the world, married fascinating men, and involved herself in political causes.

Set before the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story! Han and Qi'ra don't have a lot in common other than not having a lot. They're street kids on the industrial planet Corellia, doing whatever it takes to get by, dreaming of something more. They each jump at a chance to prove themselves in the perilous world of Corellia's criminal underbelly, only to discover they are on the same mission for the same unscrupulous boss. When the job goes disastrously wrong, Han and Qi'ra are on the run.

It's been years since my mother was in my life. I healed. I learned to accept love. I lived. That's all done. She was away, and now she's back. I avoided her for a year and a half, but I couldn't hide anymore. Mason had an internship in Fallen Crest, so we headed back for the summer. And when we got there - no one was prepared for what happened.

For Helen and George, the remote fixer-upper in Cornwall was supposed to be a dream home, and a way to leave behind the problems they’re both running from. But something about the place feels wrong from day one. And why does Helen have a creeping feeling she’s seen this house before?

They met when they were teenagers. Now they’re adults, and time has been kind to some and unkind to others—none more so than to Bea, the one they lost nine long years ago. They’ve gathered to reminisce at Bea’s family’s estate, a once-glorious mansion straight out of a gothic novel. Best friends, old flames, secret enemies, and new lovers are all under one roof. But when the weather turns and they’re snowed in at the edge of eternity, there’s nowhere left to hide from their shared history. As the walls close in, the pretense of normality gives way to long-buried grief, bitterness, and rage.

Jodi and Todd are at a bad place in their marriage. Much is at stake, including the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, as she, the killer, and he, the victim, rush haplessly toward the main event. He is a committed cheater. She lives and breathes denial. He exists in dual worlds. She likes to settle scores. He decides to play for keeps. She has nothing left to lose. Told in alternating voices, The Silent Wife is about a marriage in the throes of dissolution, a couple headed for catastrophe, concessions that can’t be made, and promises that won’t be kept.

The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's - and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them. It is 1868, and a 21-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here....

With the dust still settling from the brutal attack on the Agathos court and Rogue's school, Bo Blackman is forced to live with her new-found status as a celebrity. She's still determined, however, to track down those responsible - and to solve the mystery of Tobias Renfrew, the daemon billionaire who disappeared over fifty years ago. Her investigations will lead her to places as far removed as a military base and the sinister Black Market. One thing is for sure - once Bo's done, nothing will ever be the same again.

A brutal uprising in the Kingdom of Alluvia has shaken the Allied Lands, and Emily finds herself accused of starting it. Desperate, all too aware the kingdom is on the verge of becoming a vortex of chaos, Emily travels to Alluvia in the hopes of calming both sides long enough to secure peace. However, she's unaware that the uprising is merely the first step in a plan to shatter the Allied Lands beyond repair.

#1 New York Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anthony Doerr brings his“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) to selecting The Best American Short Stories 2019. Doerr and the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, winnow down twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.