Showing results by narrator "Karissa Vackers" in All Categories

The first time Allie Brazas was sexually assaulted, she was 17. Three years later, after joining the Navy, she became the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her acting Command Master Chief. Life seemed to be turning around for Allie when she got married to an active duty K9 handler. Two months later, he was killed in action in Afghanistan. Alone, confused, and overwhelmed with grief, Allie wasn’t sure if she’d ever escape the hole that life kept pushing her into. It wasn’t until she embraced her journey that Allie was able to climb out of that hole.

Two talented junior chefs have sliced and diced their way into the finale of Next Best Junior Chef. This week's theme: innovation. Which junior chef will rise to the top and earn the title of Next Best Junior Chef? And whose goose is cooked? Two contestants compete on- and off-camera, but only one will win the whole enchilada. This is a finale you won't want to miss!

It's the mid-1950s and Margot Thornsen is growing up between a Park Avenue apartment in New York and her family's sumptuous Oyster Bay estate as the presumed heir to her late grandfather's steel fortune. Her domineering mother has charted a course for her-to forego education and marry well-but Margot is more interested in microscopes and beetles and books. When a devastating fire brings the family legacy crashing down and the sexual revolution dawns, a new path opens up.

This is a story about three siblings. Like any family, sometimes they don't get along. It's a story about a secret that they've all kept since they were children. It's a story about lying. A story about murder. It's a story where only one can win.

In this poignant, funny, and romantic novel, four nights of epic partying will see two teens through their highest highs and lowest lows over the course of one unforgettable year.

Rowan is stuck. Her dreams of becoming a screenwriter are stalled, along with her bank account, as she and her fiancé Seth try to make sense of what’s next for them after leaving LA. But when the couple takes a trip to a cabin in the Adirondacks, hoping the change will provide inspiration for Seth’s novel-in-progress, Rowan finds herself drawn into a story greater than her own—that of socialite-turned-feminist-crusader Eddie Calloway, who vanished one day in 1975 and was never found or heard from again.

When nineteen-year-old aviatrix Katie Burke crash lands her biplane on the only street in No Name, New Mexico, her arrival changes her life and the lives of everyone around her. As Katie and her craft need repair, locals take her in and help her, including a schoolteacher who longs for Katie's friendship, an interracial couple who own the town's diner, a handsome young mechanic who lives in a teepee, and a shell-shocked veteran of World War I.

Annika has lived a life of comfort and luxury as the Princess of Kadier—but now, after the death of her mother, she’s weighted under the looming threat of a loveless marriage arranged by her cold father. Far outside the palace walls, on the outskirts of the land Annika’s family has long ruled over, Lennox is waiting for his moment. His people displaced, his father gone, Lennox knows that it’s up to him to lead his people into a battle to overthrow the Kadierian monarchy. After Annika and Lennox’s worlds collide, they can’t stop thinking of each other.

Is it asking too much to live a typical 12th grade existence? Kelsey Kendler just wants to earn some money for university, hang out with friends, maybe even snag a boyfriend. But her pill-popping mom and distant dad scare off anybody she tries to bring home, making those last two things feel impossible.

CEO Luke Cannon has just traded seats with his identical twin. Little did he know that an innocent kiss while pretending he was his brother would soon create havoc. What happens in the air doesn't stay up there. Once on the tropical land, Kate believes that the handsome stranger who gave her the best kiss of her life is now her new client, Drew Cannon, fiancé to the beautiful and wealthy Lauren Kincaid. While Kate struggles with the intense feelings she thinks she has for Drew, Luke discovers Kate's been hired to plan his brother's destination wedding.

Margot went to college in South Carolina for a new start. It’s a chance to get away – from her small town, her family and the memories of her dead best friend. She gets her wish when the enigmatic Lucy invites her to join two other girls in a shared house for their second year. But as Margot gets to know the girls, she begins to realise that something’s off about Lucy, she’s not quite what she seems. Six months later, Lucy is missing and a boy from the frat house next door is dead, leaving Margot in the wake of the investigation.

A whirlwind romance. When Theodora Scott met Connor - wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family - she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he's brought her to Idlewood, his family's isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives. Stay away from Connor Dalton. Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can't ignore the footprints in the snow outside her window or the cabin's strange familiar feeling. Then, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

Blair Harbour, once a wealthy, respected surgeon in Los Angeles, is now an ex-con down on her luck. She's determined to keep her nose clean to win back custody of her son. But when her former cellmate, Sneak Lawlor, begs for help to find her missing daughter, Blair is compelled to put her new-found freedom on the line. Joined by LA's most feared underworld figure, Ada Maverick, the crew of criminals bring outlaw tactics to the search for Dayly.

In partnership with Texas Monthly, Pamela Colloff's "The Witness" is now available as an audio download, where the length and timeliness of a podcast meets the high-quality production of a full-length audio program. For more than a decade, it was Michelle Lyons's job to observe the final moments of death row inmates - but watching 278 executions did not come without a cost.

Madison Porter loves Honey Springs, but her days are one big rinse-wash-repeat routine of working for the mayor’s office and caring for the town’s matchmaking cat, Belle. She once bid on the town’s ice-cream shop with hopes of running it herself, but the sweet deal seemingly wasn’t meant to be. Patrick Manning moves to the tiny town of Honey Springs to start over. After outbidding his competition for a building space, he now owns The Bean & Brew.

Five women. One question: what is a woman for? In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in vitro fertilisation is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers. This is a story of resilience, transformation and hope in tumultuous - even frightening - times.

Holly Danner has a complicated relationship with fame. It's not easy being the only cast member of a 1990s song-and-dance show who didn't become famous. When she was 11, she used to do anything for a laugh (or at least a laugh track) on Diego and the Lion's Den. If she talked about it—which she almost never does - Holly might explain how her childhood best friends came to dominate the worlds of pop music, film, and TV while she was relegated to a few near-misses and a nanny gig for her niece. She'd even be telling the truth about making peace with the whole thing years ago.

When young lawyer Lizzie gets a call for help from an old friend accused of murdering his wife, she reluctantly says yes. Zach is the chief suspect in his wife, Amanda’s, murder but there’s no way he could be guilty – is there? The further Lizzie dives into the glossy world of Brooklyn’s Park Slope, the more she realises that things don’t add up. Zach doesn’t know the most basic details of his wife’s past, and Amanda’s friends barely know he exists.

With bouncy rhyming language, What Can A Mess Make? inspires listeners to embrace their imaginations, linger in the beautiful messes on every page, and make some messes themselves.

Navigating the healthcare system can be challenging and add stress to an already difficult time, but with the help of this useful patient checklist, you’ll be ready for whatever life throws at you.