Showing results by narrator "Laurel" in All Categories

Sadness can be about so many things from places to people, from thoughts to actions. Our classic authors including Arnold Bennett, James Joyce, Willa Cather, Joseph Conrad, Ivan Turgenev and many others use their pens and stories to demonstrate the many ways this feeling can take a hold of lives and its consequences.

My coronation is near, but life is more dangerous than ever. King Lore and I share no trust, but that doesn't stop us from wanting each other. We're like an inferno waiting for a single match. But as we travel to the High Court of the Fae for our wedding, a stalker lurks in the shadows. Someone doesn't want me to be queen, and they're willing to kill me to keep me off the throne. My only chance is to trust Lore, but I have too many secrets that could get me killed.

The first part of Willa Cather’s Great Plains trilogy, O Pioneers! follows the tragedies and triumphs of Alexandra Bergson, a strong and independent young woman who inherits the family farm following the death of her father.

When you return from a work trip to find your husband dead in the pond, it’s best not to call him a liar and a cheat in front of the cops. Especially when you’ve spent the last few years telling anyone who’ll listen that you sometimes fantasize about killing him. It makes you look kind of, well, guilty.

I’ve made lots of mistakes. But never one like this. Back in high school, the girl next door spent a serendipitous night in my arms. But she wasn’t my type or really up to my level. So I walked away not knowing her secret - our secret. Years later, I’m still at the top of my game, ruling my own chunk of the world. She walks into my office a different woman. Strong, sexy, and dead set on revenge. I need to walk away again, but I can’t. She’s a different person, and yet, all the things that first had me taking a chance with her pull me back in - deeper this time.

It was the day that changed everything. When the Nazis came and broke into our home. Destroyed everything that was safe for us. They took our home and our security. I thought it couldn’t get worse. But then they also took my sister. After that day nothing was the same again. I thought I’d never see her again. I thought she was lost to me forever. I joined the Resistance, vowing to fight against the evil German army with every last spark of fire in my body. I know what I have to do. And nothing can stop me.

The day Jessica Hamel-Akré discovered the ideas of George Cheyne—an 18th century polymath and London society figure known as 'Dr Diet'—it sparked an intellectual obsession, a ten-year study of women's appetite and a personal unraveling. As Hamel-Akré follows Cheyne through the pages of medical studies, novels and historical scandals, she meets ash-eating mystics, wasting society girls, impoverished female fasters and early feminist philosophers. In doing so she uncovers a twisted three-hundred year history of harmful ideals and male domination that still influences today's diet culture.

Single woman of 29, Lily Bart is Edith Wharton's quintessential trapped heroine. Orphaned following the death of her parents, Lily understands that she must use her beauty, grace, and charm to attain the social position she longs for, but she is caught between her desire for wealth and a strong moral conscience, which sabotages every opportunity she encounters.

My world was a gray blur until I met them. My shifters. The men who rescued me from the lie I was living. For a brief moment, even in the midst of chaos, I found happiness. Then, Strand found me again. Now, my new life hangs in the balance. Doctor Shepherd isn’t done with his little experiment, and he wants me back. Alive. When Strand hunters rip me away from everything good I fought so hard for, something inside me snaps.

There is unrest in the wolf world. Fights for territories and hostile takeovers are happening everywhere. When tragedy strikes Maya's pack, her mother arranges for her to marry an alpha who can solidify the pack's future. But this alpha is not just strong—he's cruel and bloodthirsty. Maya risks it all when she runs away, determined to leave her past behind. But how long can she run? And what will she do when the shadows from her past catch up with her? People will be hurt, lives will be lost, but will a shot at true love be worth it all?

I refused to be trapped in hell ever again. But even devils have dreams. If I had one wish this Christmas, it would be to give Krystina what she desperately wanted more than anything—a baby. I would do anything for my wife, but that was before the world fell into chaos.

Drawing on Cindy’s own research, teaching and fieldwork in democratic theory and practice over the past three decades, How to Be A Citizen is a hopeful handbook for a more egalitarian and democratic world. Cindy proposes six ideas across six areas we should care about most – leadership, public education, race and immigration, the environment, community and fundamental rights – and shows us how we can take steps in each of these areas to be better, truer citizens.

This transformative audiobook is your compass to navigate the tumultuous waters of burnout and emerge stronger, more resilient, and full of vitality. With a masterful blend of expert insights, practical strategies, and compassionate guidance, "The Burnout Fix" offers a lifeline to those who find themselves trapped in the clutches of stress and exhaustion.

My name is Arianna Spero. I was an ordinary girl living an ordinary life until my mother lapsed into a coma. Now, I am her only hope. She made a deal with the devil, and on my 18th birthday he came to collect. But there's a way to save her. There's something the princes of hell want more than my mother. Me. So I signed my soul away and promised to pick a prince to marry. I would take the blood oath, become one of them, and give them an heir. I would become a princess of hell, and my mother would live.

When Caroline Williams wakes up in a hospital bed in Paris with no memory of her past, she finds that returning to the life she has forgotten is harder than she thought. Especially as her feet seem to know where to go and her cavernous apartment seems devoid of any memories...Taking her mind off her foggy past is the discovery of a stack of World War Two love letters written by a young mother named Celine to her beloved, Luc, found in a box in the spare room.

The cat is out of the bag, and everyone learns that Callyn is the next alpha queen. She gains a friend in Catori Na'Estse, a girl who was also wronged by Kelsey. Callyn has officially claimed all of her mates and has shifted, gaining some new abilities along the way. Soon, they realize there are people who don't want to see her ascend to the throne. They will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn't take her rightful place as alpha queen. After almost losing her life, Callyn realizes just how far some people will go for power, greed, and jealousy.

A week ago, it took everything I had to save the werewolves from the Dark Moon curse, but I did it. Unfortunately, it left me with a nasty case of the curse myself. To make matters worse, I'm the most powerful werewolf who ever lived. And I'm apparently a goddess. As a result, I’m stuck in a cell, because I’m a danger to everyone around me. Even though I don't want to be locked up, I know it’s the best thing for everyone. If I were to get out and succumb to the curse, I could destroy us all.

Mandy's brother Ned is in trouble. He has been accused of murdering the woman who had been clearly trying to seduce him. Their guardian, the Duke of Margate, is summoned to help. Mandy had always assumed he was an old man. But, the duke was far from old. He was, in fact, virile, dashing, and oh so good looking. The duke enjoyed being a confirmed bachelor…and then he met Mandy. But, first things first - they had to prove Ned innocent.

How in the hell did I end up here - on a heavily wooded road in the middle of a racist county - all alone, with nothing but my twisted mind for protection? After convincing the August Knights Motorcycle Club to allow me to work off a debt my sister owed them, I found myself in the middle of madness and mayhem. I should've known that this was what life inside this dangerous club would be like, right?

Swearing to herself she’d never get involved with an alpha due to a devastating loss, Shante, a therapist with magic and an omega, has now gained the attention of an alpha demon. When he asks her for help controlling his beserker rage, she can’t say no. However, maintaining her walls around the handsome alpha proves more challenging than she anticipated.