Showing results by narrator "Saskia Maarleveld " in All Categories

Isabella Rubén is a traitor - at 12 years old. Disgraced, abandoned by her friends and shunned by her family, Isabella is sent into exile with scant hope of returning to her former home. Her destination, Kirkhaven Hall; a stone mansion miles from civilization, inhabited only by a pair of older exiles. As she tries to settle into Kirkhaven Hall and a life far from the one she enjoyed before her fall from grace, she discovers that the hall has secrets. Intruders on the grounds, ghostly shadows moving at night, and a plot that may destroy everything she once held dear.

As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she uncovers the truth about her own family and comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life. A rich and rewarding novel of campus life, of sexual awakening, and ultimately, of the many ways women can become mothers in this world, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus asks to what extent we need to look back in order to move forward.

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only read about.

Mare just wants to settle down with the girl she loves, which would be easier if Denna weren’t gifted with forbidden and volatile fire magic. Denna must learn to control her powers, which means traveling in secret to the kingdom of Zumorda, where she can seek training without fear of persecution. Determined to help, Mare has agreed to serve as an ambassador as a cover for their journey. But just as Mare and Denna arrive in Zumorda, an attack on a border town in Mynaria changes everything.

Isa de Smit was raised in the vibrant, glittering world of her parents' small art gallery in Amsterdam, a hub of beauty, creativity, and expression, until the Nazi occupation wiped the color from her city's palette. The "degenerate" art of the Gallery de Smit is confiscated, the artists in hiding or deported, her best friend, Truus, fled to join the shadowy Dutch resistance. And masterpiece by masterpiece, the Nazis are buying and stealing her country's heritage. So when the unpaid taxes threaten her beloved but empty gallery, Isa decides to make the Nazis pay.

Morocco, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Frenchwoman Marie-Madeleine is not the kind of woman who goes through life sitting down, something her new husband can attest.

You'd think that life would finally be dealing Mack Smith a kind hand. Living in London and with the opening of the new and improved city version of Clava Books mere days away, things appear to be settling down. Other than the terrible nightmares about dragons, that is. Or the fact that she's being constantly tailed by a string of mages, shifters, and faeries, all of whom are constantly demanding her attention. And that's without even bringing the temptation of Corrigan, Lord Alpha of the Brethren, into the equation.

While the high-profile murder of a young country singer turns Nashville inside out, danger lurks in the woods beyond the city’s border. There was a witness to the terrible crime, a college student who stumbled onto the scene. When the girl goes missing, the police don’t know if she’s run for cover or been taken…or if something more sinister is happening. The truth will shatter Taylor’s career and bring her face to face with a deadly assassin who wants nothing more than to finish what they started.

Thirty-two and finally setting up her veterinary practice in the town she once called home, Emma Burnett is on her own and loving it. Independent and driven, she's not letting any man get in the way of her dreams. Not again.

A people pleaser through and through, Christy Manning takes off work to drive from Seattle to Cougar Point, Montana, for the birth of her sister’s first child. But when the blessed event arrives early, her brother-in-law is M.I.A. and her sister refuses to leave without him. Things are looking hopeless, until Christy calls Sheriff Cody Franklin. Even before he saves the day, sparks are flying between them. There’s just one problem: She’s reluctantly accepted a proposal from another man.

It's 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is well and truly over. Living alone in her late mother's country home, Isabel's life is as it should be: led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel's doorstep - as a guest, there to stay for the season. Eva is Isabel's antithesis: sleeps late, wakes late, walks loudly through the house and touches things she shouldn't. In response Isabel develops a fury-fuelled obsession.

It’s been more than 10 years since Kelley Armstrong began the Otherworld series and drew legions of fans to a realm roamed by witches, werewolves, necromancers, vampires, and half-demons. Many of the novels have become best-selling favorites, but not all of the Otherworld adventures have been easy to find. At last, Otherworld Nights shares short stories that have previously been available only online or in obscure collections.

New York Times best-selling author Keri Arthur received the coveted Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for her urban fantasy tales. In Darkness Unbound, Risa Jones’ werewolf-and-Aedh lineage allows her to see reapers - supernatural beings that escort the souls of the dead to the afterlife. But when Risa discovers that a practitioner of blood magic is preventing souls from moving on, she knows she must set things right before all hell breaks loose.

Vanja Schmidt knows no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love. Abandoned to Death and Fortune as a child, she has scraped by as a lowly maidservant with her quick wits and the ability to see her godmothers’ hands at work in the world. But when they demand her lifelong servitude in exchange, Vanja decides that gifts not given freely...can always be stolen. A wicked retelling of “The Goose Girl", Little Thieves is a delightfully witty YA fantasy about the fickle hands of fate, and changing the cards we’re dealt.

Lou has spent her whole life running. Now, after a crushing blow from Morgane, the time has come to go home - and claim what is rightfully hers. But this is no longer the Lou her friends knew. No longer the Lou who captured a chasseur’s heart. A darkness has settled over her, and this time it will take more than love to drive it out.

The student witches are growing increasingly reckless, preying on the mundanes below the mountains as their tutors plot and scheme to take advantage of the chaos. And no one seems to know why. Emily is in no condition to intervene. But she cannot refuse. Heading to Laughter, Emily finds herself dragged into a world of schoolgirl games, staffroom politics, and a deadly plot aimed at the heart of the Allied Lands themselves.

Jina Modell is assigned to work as an on-site drone operator in the field with a GO-team, an elite paramilitary unit. Team leader Levi doesn't have much confidence in Jina making it through the rigors of training. In the following months, however, she begins to thrive in her new environment, displaying a grit and courage that wins her the admiration of her hardened, battle-worn teammates. Meanwhile, a powerful congresswoman is working behind the scenes to destroy the GO-teams, and a trap is set to ambush Levi's squad in Syria.

It's been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone. But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks.

London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.

Emily had hoped for some peace in the wake of the war. A chance to sit down, relax, and come to terms with everything that happened over the last year. But it was not to be. The post-war world is in chaos, with mundane revolutionary factions clashing with magical supremacists, kings fighting to maintain what remains of their power, magitech changing the world, and shadowy forces preparing themselves to take advantage of the coming conflict… all unaware of a growing threat rising from the long-forgotten past.