Showing results by narrator "Shakira Shute" in All Categories

My name is Evangeline Astley, and the only thing you need to know about me is that I never imagined this was how my life would go. I was supposed to devote all my time to painting gorgeous things to eventually open my own art gallery. Instead, I spent it all trying to sell my art to save my parents’ hotel.

Much to her mother’s dismay, spirited Anne Fletcher spent her youth seeking her father’s approval by hunting and riding. More comfortable in breeches than ball gowns, Anne sees the freedoms she once enjoyed slowly taken from her in the name of fashioning her into an eligible young lady. When her parents try to force her into marriage, Anne makes a desperate attempt to salvage her last vestige of independence. If she is to marry, she will do so on her own terms.

One moment, Emmie is writing her high school history paper; the next, she is lost in 16th century England, where she meets a dreamy but dangerous Tudor king who is destined for a dreadful fate. Able to travel back to her own time but intensely drawn to King Nick and the mysterious death of his sister, Emmie finds herself solving the murder of a young princess and unravelling court secrets while trying to keep her head on her shoulders, literally.

When Friska the dog came to live with Colin and his family, Colin thought that he and Friska would be friends forever. But, when Friska disappears, Colin begins to find out what "You are mine" really means, and who is saying those words to him.

Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed...until she's caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a reason: she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts. Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable’s past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.

When your flatmate is the hottest new party planner in the country, three things are bound to happen: 1. You’ll have to take a work call for her while you’re in your underwear. 2. You’ll have to fill in for her after an emergency...and pretend to be her. 3. You will royally mess it up...until a hot future duke steps in to save your bum. Yes, yes, that all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Until you consider the party being planned is for the Dowager Duchess of Devon’s 80th birthday, and the current duchess is the ultimate type A personality.

Nadia Morgan has everything she ever wanted: a nice house, three wonderful children, and a loving husband. Even running two businesses only adds to her feelings of accomplishment. But she also has a dark secret. Something happened twenty years ago that she's been trying to forget about ever since. Some things can't be left in the past… A phone call from an old acquaintance sets off a series of terrible events that lead to tragic consequences for those involved and has Nadia questioning her sanity.

In a world where not everyone believes in God, "blasphemy" is surely a concept that has passed its use-by-date. And yet blasphemy (like God and religion) seems to be on the rise. In this Very Short Introduction Yvonne Sherwood asks why this should be the case, looking at factors such as the increased visibility of religious and racial minorities, new media, and engines of surveillance (which are far more omniscient than the old gods could ever be), and the legacies of colonial blasphemy laws.

Changing the world begins one person at a time with innovation, both big and small. The Answer Is You is here to inform you that being a change agent starts with doing good deeds and being a community helper. Everyone can do something with the skills and resources they already have—they just need ideas for how. The Answer Is You inspires every person to start thinking critically about the problems we face and the solutions we might be able to offer to enact change.

Seventeen-year-old Marie mixes perfumes to sell on market day in her small eighteenth-century French town. She wants to make enough to save a dowry for her sister, Ama, in hopes of Ama marrying well and Marie living at the level of freedom afforded only to spinster aunts. But her perfumes are more than sweet scents in cheap, cut-glass bottles: A certain few are laced with death. Marie laces the perfume delicately—not with poison, but with a hint of honeysuckle she's trained her sister to respond to. Marie marks her victim, and Ama attacks.

Even a monarch needs a best friend and Queen Elizabeth II found one in a corgi pup she named Susan. From princesshood to queendom the pair forged an unbreakable bond, with Susan even participating in Elizabeth’s wedding day and joining her on honeymoon with Prince Philip. Over the course of her remarkable seventy-year reign the Queen had more than thirty corgi companions, and almost all were direct descendants of her cherished Susan.

My name is Lady Gabriella Hastings, and there are three things you need to know about me. One, my idiot brother will inherit the estate I’ve adored my entire life. Two, my father wants me to marry an idiot who has an estate like this. Three, my aunt’s goats keep escaping and terrorizing the public. Oh, and I have a huge crush on the gardener. But I have absolutely no time to sort out my own love life - because I’m too busy moonlighting as an online agony aunt to fix everyone else’s problems.

My name is Adelaide Astley, and if there was anything remotely exciting about me to tell you, I would. Sure, my uncle is the Duke of Leicester, and my mother bucked family tradition to marry “below” her and open a hotel, but I’m nothing but an aspiring author with a Tudor era obsession. Oh, and I’m spending the summer tutoring the daughter of the current Duke of Worcester. Alexander Winthrop-Bentley is so not my type, but hours of chess games and arguments over Tudor dynasties mean we’re thrown together more often than we should be.

The relationship between parent and child is more reciprocal than you might think. Your child’s well-being has a noticeable impact on your own well-being, which is why love - above all else - should fuel your parenting. When you strive to see life through the eyes of your child, you’ll be empowered to try new parenting practices. You must grow alongside your children - intellectually, emotionally, as well as spiritually.

After going through the door that called to them both in dreams, Emory and Romie find themselves in the Wychwood, albeit a twisted, rotting version of it that feels wrong. Meanwhile, tensions flare at Aldryn College when the truth about Collapsings comes to light, sparking rumours of the Shadow’s imminent return. Determined to cross into the Deep, Baz and Kai go through the door – only to be pulled back in time instead.

For an extraordinary love, Emmie Grace has given up her life in the modern world to move to the 16th century and marry the Tudor king she bravely saved from a dreadful fate. However, not everyone is pleased to see the glorious King Nick betrothed to the unknown and uncultured Emmie - especially the noblemen commanded to protect her. As Emmie is drawn deeper into Nick’s sumptuous and savage world - where beheadings are way more popular than time travelers - the Tudor court heads on progress across the country, and a growing rebellion against the promised queen looms.

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Cameron has lost her spark. After an embarrassing run-in with her ex-boyfriend, she’s told that she needs to get back out there and take risks. What she doesn't expect is to be transported to Regency England! Lucy Sinclair has her own problems – stifled by her father and trying to avoid an unwanted marriage proposal – when Audrey lands into her life, claiming to be from two hundred years in the future, it's a welcome distraction. While the girls try to understand what’s happening and how to send Audrey home, their sparks make a comeback in a most unexpected way.

The stories of Patricia St. John have been entertaining and challenging children and young people for generations. This new edition of The Other Kitten is as fresh as when it was first published in 1984.

Alyx Silverthorne’s broken world is falling apart. With her parents dead and her little brother Tommy infected with a zombie virus, she fears she’s about to lose everything that matters. But when her beloved sibling dies and returns to life stronger than before, their only choice is a dangerous cross-country journey to the capital for answers.

Emory is returning to the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magic for one reason: to uncover the secrets behind the night that left her best friend, Romie, and seven other students dead. But Emory has plenty of secrets herself, not least that her healing abilities have been corrupted by a strange, impossible magic, granting her power no one should possess. Turning to the only person she believes she can trust, Emory enlists the help of Romie’s brother Baz – someone already well-versed in the dangers of his own dark Eclipse magic.