Showing results by narrator "Shaina Summerville" in All Categories

Book 1: High school senior Ally Duncan's best friend may be the Vanessa Park—star of TV's hottest new teen drama—but Ally's not interested in following in her BFF's Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally's ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. Book 2: Young actor Josh Chester has never been sure that acting is for him—he’s mostly interested in the parties and the hot Hollywood girls that come with the job. But he ends up taking a job on the hit TV series Daylight Falls, opposite Vanessa Park, a girl who is immune to his charms and also his polar opposite

The country's hottest TV cooking show is coming to Cape Cod. Lily Roberts is entering America Bakes! with her charming tearoom, Tea by the Sea! Filming is already proving disruptive, closing the tearoom during Lily's busiest season. But tensions really bubble over when infamous bad-boy chef and celebrity judge, Tommy Greene, loses his temper with Lily's staff, resulting in an on-camera blowout with Cheryl Wainwright. Just as Lily thinks the competition can't get more bitter, Tommy is found dead in Tea by the Sea's kitchen . . . murdered with Cheryl's rolling pin.

Mired in self-doubt and blind loyalty, Allegra Gil suspects her charmed life may be a gilded cage. She has a devoted husband, Benito, two loving children, a thriving therapy practice, and lifelong friends. But when a surprising discovery in a piano bench reveals a shocking family secret, Allegra questions everything she thought she knew about the two people who raised her. Was it true? Did her father, a respected pediatric neurosurgeon, harm instead of heal? And Allegra's mother—how much did she know?

All John Beauchamp wants is a simple life. He's a widower who is content running his Louisiana sugarcane farm. Then Shelby Mackey breezes in, announcing that she's pregnant with his baby. Their accidental night of passion has changed . . . everything. Shelby insists John doesn't have to be involved—she'll raise the baby on her own in Seattle. But John can't let her go that easily. Even without the baby, Shelby is a breath of fresh air. So when Shelby agrees to stay in Louisiana temporarily, John's determined to make that stay permanent—and as sweet as can be.

Being a parent is the hardest job in the world – there’s no denying that! Not only do you have to keep a child healthy and happy, you are in charge of disciplining them, turning them into a good human being for the sake of society. And there’s where everything starts to go downhill. No matter how fiercely you love your child and no matter how devoted they are to you, children doesn’t want to listen! They don’t want to listen to you when you want them to do something, and definitely not when you don’t want them to do something. The result – utter chaos!

Samantha Jones is a small-town journalist with a big secret. She is actually Samantha Gentry, daughter of one of New York's most powerful moguls. At twenty-two, she's decided that finding true love isn't easy for an heiress. But she's willing to change her mind when she meets a man who knows her secret—and claims to have a message from her father. Soon, the handsome stranger has Samantha traveling by boat to a remote island along the St. Lawrence River. But who is Chris Andrews and what does he want? Why isn't Samantha allowed to leave the island?

I'm a bookworm; he's a bodyguard. I have trouble speaking up for myself; he's direct, brash even. But the more I get to know my new pen pal, the more I see beneath the former navy SEAL's tough exterior. He's a hero, and he's hurting. But he's also so much more than he gives himself credit for. It doesn't matter that we live on opposite sides of the country and have never laid eyes on each other. We talk every day, sometimes for hours. Our attraction is undeniable, and our growing connection is becoming impossible to ignore.

Our emotions are often so intense and so powerful that we can’t seem to control them. Be it the positive ones like love and happiness, or the hatefully negative ones like anger and contempt, our emotions are better hidden inside us. When we unleash them to the world without a second thought, we might become the reason behind someone’s unhappiness and suffering.

Unfortunately, being a chronic people pleaser yet wanting to make sure he keeps a solid relationship with his best friend becomes difficult when said best friend asks for a huge favor: rent the spare room in his apartment to Luke's little sister, Calla.

For decades, performance management has been seen as an annual chore by managers and HR alike. But this process is changing, and there are ways to make it more effective for your organization and more useful for employees. If you read (or listen to) nothing else on performance management in your organization, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you assess performance more accurately, have more effective feedback conversations, and encourage the growth of your employees.

Colorado, 1924. Louisa Lind is a dutiful daughter to her adoptive parents. After the boy she loves marries someone else, she vows to assist her father and mother with church work and forget all about marriage. But when tragedy strikes, the suddenly penniless young woman reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal…from her dream man’s twin brother. Having completed his medical school studies, Theo Barnes has returned to Emerson Pass to apprentice under the town’s doctor. Smitten since childhood with the pastor’s adopted daughter, he gallantly offers to wed Louisa.

As one of the few female "cameramen" in the TV business, Jersey girl Petra "Pet" Wallis works hard to fit in on set. But as much as she tries to keep her cool, she can't help butting heads with her boss, Dane Kingston. The first time she met Dane, the hotshot producer/director mistook Pet for someone's girlfriend and chewed her out for messing with expensive equipment. Pet quickly corrected his error, but the two have had it out for each other ever since. Now, Pet is working for Dane again, this time on a high-profile special starring the singing sex goddess, Ruby Gale.

Murdock purchased my mother and I at an exotic creature auction years ago. Escape has always been the plan. But it's not that simple. Murdock is a warlock, equipped with spells and enchantments that keep us here. We're trapped without options, and I'm filthy desperate. So, when I find a book of demon summoning rituals in Murdock's nightstand, I don't think twice. I summon a demon to kill my owner.

In 1912, Eleanor Upjohn sits with her father near a work camp, overseeing the construction of a levee on the Mississippi. In a region shattered by war, levees mean stability and prosperity. While Eleanor is a modern woman-practical, impatient, and ready for the future—she cannot help but fall for a man still steeped in the ways of the Old South.

Sleeping with the father of the bride-a former NFL player and one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors-was not part of the plan. It was only supposed to be one night. One night to forget. But he made me feel wanted. Reckless. Alive. I'd been down this road before, and it only ended in disaster. Was I willing to risk my heart again?

In Just as You Are, psychologist Michelle Skeen and her daughter, Kelly Skeen, offer simple tips to help you overcome feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness, stop comparing yourself to others, and be more open and accepting of all aspects of who you are. You'll also learn how to be more aware of your thoughts and feelings in the moment using powerful mindfulness tools and build a plan of action for the future based on your values.

Just before Passover, the corpse of a young Christian boy is found drained of blood in front of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. The police find no murder weapon. No one claims responsibility. Someone leaks to the Israeli press that the boy's death is a ritual murder-a blood libel. The public is in an uproar, demanding that the security forces take action immediately. Intelligence Agent Maya Rimon is convinced that the boy's bizarre murder is part of a larger conspiracy.

As a child Adelaide Barnes felt sure she wouldn’t live to be an adult. However, she was wrong. She’s grown into a beautiful and ambitious young woman. What began as journal writing became a fictionalized manuscript about her family. Will she have the courage to pursue publication?

Mr. Rockwood is so cocky no one in the office knows his first name. And even though there are hundreds of single women dying to date the playboy, he chooses to irritate me every day. And unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it, because the annoyingly handsome—and he knows it—man-beast just happens to be my boss. Oh, but it gets worse. He approaches me, his intense chocolate brown eyes eyeing me up like I’m a delicious dessert he wants to devour. And he makes me an offer I cannot refuse. One million dollars to be his wife for one year.

Leif Lively is the hottest thing to happen to Magnolia Bend. But single mother Abigail Orgeron figures he's another heartbreaker and does her best to ignore the steamy glances he tosses her way. When he speaks, though, her resistance crumbles! His sweet words, humor, and laid-back ways captivate buttoned-up Abigail. For once, losing control feels so good, but this no-strings arrangement is getting serious. What will she do when Leif solves the family mystery that brought him to town and decides to leave? Because she's learning that the biggest love means taking the biggest risk . . .