Showing results by narrator "Melanie" in All Categories

Take a trip to a terrifying carnival and uncover the secrets within, solve a mysterious puzzle box and await your reward, join a travelling circus and witness the strangest ventriloquist act you've ever seen. In this follow-up to the bestselling Cursed: An Anthology, you'll unearth curses old and new. From a very different take on Snow White, to a new interpretation of The Red Shoes, the best in fantasy spin straw into gold, and invite you into the labyrinth.

The last thing Ryne Miller expected when waking up after the world ended was to find himself the ruler of a tribe of beautiful women. Being the ruler isn’t all fun and games, though. It requires doing what needs to be done. To survive. After a confrontation with Kodi and the Kol'Tah, Ryne promises to kill Matoax and prove himself worthy of becoming a Warlord to unite the Do’dekkah and Kol'Tah. He must travel to the Kol'Tah lands with his tribe members to access the Magic Fount.

Have you ever been in awe of beautifully manicured raised beds and container gardens but felt intimidated to try them? Have you dreamed of growing fresh, home-grown produce right in your backyard, patio, or deck but thought it was impossible? If so, then you’ve come to the right place! You see, becoming a proficient raised bed and container gardener doesn't have to be tricky or require a lot of space. Even if you have never sown a seed before or feel like you lack the "green thumb," it's easier than you think.

While Jodey Whiting was stuck in hospital battling pneumonia over Christmas, a letter dropped on her doormat from the Department of Work and Pensions, asking her to attend an assessment. Despite her health problems, the powers-that-be callously halted benefit payments for the mum-of-nine. With no money coming in, Jodey killed herself, aged just 42. Another DWP letter pronouncing her "fit to work" was sent to her home three days after her tragic death. A Mother's Job is the story of how Jodey's mum Joy Dove, 67, took on the system—and won justice for her daughter.

Carmen and Grace have been inseparable since they were little girls—more like sisters than cousins, survivors of a childhood marked by neglect and addiction and a system that never valued them. For too long, all they had was each other. That is, until Doña Durka swept into their lives and changed everything, taking Grace into her home, providing stability and support, and playing an outsize role in Carmen’s upbringing too.

Louise gets a frantic call to take in a damaged and destructive young girl. Separated from her siblings, Sparkle is hostile and angry. A short while after settling in, Sparkle begins to identify as pansexual. A revolution is underway in the Allen household, with Sparkle's transition motivating all of the young people to explore what becoming an adult means for them.

Economist Dia Fenner has settled down in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband Ethan and infant daughter Ava. She is now the fiscal adviser to the new Libertarian Governor of North Carolina. When the Governor proposes an ambitious plan to simplify taxes, lower rates, and eliminate tax perks to certain groups, she puts Dia in charge of selling the plan to the public and pushing it through the General Assembly. Yet immediately there is strong pushback from those who will lose their tax favors.

When Sky and her older sister Avril were taken into care, the social workers knew this was a case like no other. Raised by unhinged parents who hoarded compulsively, creating horrific conditions no child should live in, the two girls arrived at foster carer Louise's home, neglected, malnourished and indoctrinated. Louise had to draw on all of her experience as one of Britain's leading foster carers to rehabilitate and change the course of their lives.

After the tragic death of Bridget’s parents, her grandmother took her in. Vera Bitter raised her from behind a closed door—cold and uncaring from the moment she arrived at Bitter House. After Bridget’s high school graduation, Vera kicked her out without so much as a goodbye, and Bridget never heard from her again. Which is why, when she receives word of Vera’s passing and discovers she’s inherited the family manor, she’s immediately filled with dread. Those worries are amplified when she arrives at Bitter House after years away to find an enigmatic piece of her past waiting for her.

Alex has awakened the power of runes, but his journey has only begun. He has breathed life into the roving fortress that’s now home for him and his burgeoning harem of beautiful women. Together, they set off for the city of Seren, where the next step of growing his power awaits.

When Enzo stops to help a broken-down car, he’s shocked by his discovery. Skye is frightened, on the run and with tiny siblings in tow. Enzo’s honor dictates he offer them sanctuary and Skye a job. But could their simmering attraction solve another problem—his need for a bride?

Ashley is a young single mum raising her daughter, Eden, and working hard to do the very best job she can - until one night she can't find a babysitter and makes the decision to leave Eden home alone for a couple of hours, asleep inside a wardrobe. It is an action that begins a terrible downward spiral for both of them. When Eden arrives at experienced foster carer Louise Allen's home, she has entered the care system because her mother is in prison. Eden is five years old and will not speak to any human.

New York City, summer 1889. Society-girl-turned-investigative-journalist Genevieve Stewart and wealthy Daniel McCaffrey have arrived at the docks to see their friends, Rupert and Esmie Milton, off on their honeymoon. But the romantic idyll comes to a screeching halt when a crazed man bursts into their stateroom screaming about demons and drops dead before their eyes. The dead man is Marcus Dalrymple, who had once asked Esmie to marry him - and inside Marcus's pocket, Daniel finds a medallion that they trace to a Lower East Side bar called Boyle's Suicide Tavern.

Shane Cassidy's wish list is short this year. The young widower just wants his little daughter to be happy and his quiet son to come out of his room once in a while. Shane is determined to be there every minute for his kids, but when he runs into big trouble with the family horse farm around Christmas time, he realizes they just might need a helping hand. It turns out hiring a new nanny might wind him up in a whole new kind of trouble.

Jen Taylor has a secret. In 1987, the body of 14-year-old Kelly was found on a railway track, and Jen believes she was responsible for her death. Now an adult, Jen is approached by Kelly’s mother, who asks her to help investigate her daughter’s murder. But Jen is hiding more than anyone knows. As the investigation is reopened by Jen along with her former friend Claire, secrets from the past come to light, and when another murder takes place, the case takes a sinister turn.

For two months out of the year, Daphne Noelle got to live her dream of owning a bakery. Her little pop-up bake shop—one that looked just like a gingerbread house—brought joy to every customer who stopped by to enjoy her sweet treats. She loved meeting people and making them smile, and being in such a festive setting every day was just the icing on the cake! For the last three years, everything had gone smoothly, but this year, there was one guy who was determined to ruin it all.

Standing in my bathroom, the luxurious marble tiles cool under my feet, I stare at the test in my trembling hand. The second line is unmistakable: I’m pregnant. This is all my husband Theo and I have ever wanted, but I didn’t think it was possible. I should be excited, but all I can think about is telling my stepdaughter. Because Ellie’s always hated me, ever since she realised it was no longer just her and Theo. Now she’s seventeen, beautiful and smart–smart enough to see through me. And if Ellie decided to uncover my secrets, it wouldn’t be just my marriage at stake… it would be my life.

In Artificial Intelligence, Mitchell turns to the most urgent questions concerning AI today: How intelligent - really - are the best AI programs? How do they work? What can they actually do, and when do they fail? How humanlike do we expect them to become, and how soon do we need to worry about them surpassing us? Along the way, she introduces the dominant methods of modern AI and machine learning, describing cutting-edge AI programs, their human inventors, and the historical lines of thought that led to recent achievements.

Only a monster would kidnap a woman from her brother's wedding, but that's what I've become. Now this innocent girl is my captive. Mine to use and punish in the most shameful of ways.

The Splinter came, and the world ended. Ryne Miller woke up five hundred years later. Now, all alone and with no one he knew left alive, he chances across humans among the concrete wilderness. And these aren't people like him. No, these are stone-age like tribespeople—three women whose tribe has been slaughtered by a Great Beast. They seek a Chieftain. One who can lead them into glory. One who can harness the power of the crystals and its magic-giving mists.