Showing results by narrator "Kae Denino" in All Categories

When Lana Lewis' best - and most difficult - employee abruptly quits and goes to work for the competition just days before the Sunshine State Barista Championship, her café's chances of winning the contest are creamed. In front of a gossipy crowd in the small Florida town of Devil's Beach, Lana's normally calm demeanor heats to a boil when she runs into the arrogant java slinger. Of course, Fabrizio Fab Bellucci has a slick explanation for jumping ship. But when he's found dead the next morning under a palm tree in the alley behind Lana's café, she becomes the prime suspect.

Laid-off journalist Lana Lewis is thriving as the proprietor of Perkatory, a coffee shop on quirky Devil’s Beach Island, Florida. She’s juggling a relationship with police chief Noah Garcia, enjoying the company of her best friend, Erica, and relishing the companionship of her golden Shih Tzu, Stanley. The only problem is her neighbor, Gus, who incessantly uses his leaf blower, disturbing everyone in the neighborhood. Lana has learned to tune it out, but Erica’s rage boils over, and she confronts Gus. Then Gus is found dead, and Erica immediately becomes suspect number one.

Cassie Tate witnessed something that no human was ever supposed to see: an elf in his true form. In that instant, the 17-year old girl was thrown directly into the middle of an age-old war between light and dark elves. But before she is captured and executed, Cassie is rescued by an unlikely hero - Triktapic - an elf with a heart so dark that he strikes fear into the entire elfin realm.

There were three things I knew about Capo Macchiavello: He was gorgeous. He was reclusive. He was considered one of New York's most savage animals. And he wanted me as his wife. A simple arrangement - you do for me, I do for you. Nothing owed, no expectations. Except for one: never leave. Life was never that simple, though. By the age of 21, I was parentless, jobless, and homeless, and I had come to learn the hard way that nothing was ever free. Even kindness comes with strings.

A modern retelling of the myth of Artemis and Orion - with a few twists! She doesn't know she's Artemis, mythical huntress and goddess of the moon - but he does. And that's all he needs to make sure he gets his happy ending this time. Except he's expecting the Artemis he remembers. Who he gets instead is Noelle, who has a potty mouth and a Jersey attitude.

Cora feels indebted to the man, Eddie, who saved her and her baby Esther. She travels on the Oregon Trail with him. He intimidates her and has her doing most of the work. He’s jealous, and she knows not to look in another man’s direction. An early snowstorm leaves her in danger of frostbite, and when Harrison Walsh carries her off to his wagon to be treated, Eddie becomes enraged and drops Cora’s trunk off at Harrison’s wagon. Harrison Walsh was happily married until three months ago, when his wife died.

Stress is a modern-day epidemic, and with the tumult of busy schedules and major life changes that young adults experience, they’re particularly vulnerable to its negative effects. In The Mindful Twenty-Something, the founder of the extremely popular Koru Mindfulness program developed at Duke University presents a unique, evidence-based approach to help twenty-somethings reduce stress and make important life decisions with respect to school, relationships, sex, career, and more - with clarity and confidence.

It's a steamy September, and business is brisk at Perkatory, the hottest coffee shop in Devil's Beach, Florida. Much of the clientele pours in from Dante's Inferno, the hot yoga studio next door. But the bright, sunny Gulf Coast days turn decidedly dark roast when the body of the studio's owner turns up in a nearby swamp.

Jack, an environmental activist, had been banned from the garden previously, because of his many fights with Darla about organic produce. Lana promises her boyfriend, police chief Noah, that she’s going to stay out of this case, having been too involved in previous cases. But when she learns that Jack died from an accidental overdose, and Darla is the top suspect because of her shady past, Lana can't help but poke around in an attempt to clear Darla's name.

Ellis Atwood is the devil. Ok, maybe that’s too harsh. Ellis Atwood is ruining my life. First, he demolishes a perfectly good wedding trellis. Second, he destroys a gorgeous doggie wedding that I spent ages planning. (I kid you not.) Third, he makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and that is not ok. I prefer the cold and harsh way my fiancé makes me feel so much better. (Wait, that didn’t come out right.) Fourth, and there is a fourth, he gets me all wound up and flustered.

I’m used to demons and voodoo. What I was not prepared for was my life turning into a fairytale, complete with the Wicked Step Mother. My awful step mother is the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. She’s always hated me for being a Succubus. It just got a hundred times worse after my father died mysteriously. I inherited the family company, but I can’t remove her as VP because she’s made the entire board into her zombies.

Have you ever wondered if social drinking has unintended consequences to your health, family, relationships, or your profession? Have you ever thought that losing control of your drinking couldn’t happen to you or someone you love? All the women you know are too smart. Too rich. Too kind. Too together. Too much fun. Pick one. We live in a boozy culture, and the idea of women and wine has become entrenched. Is your book club really a “wine club”?

Two years ago, Quincy Sinclair lost his beloved wife. He walls off his heart, placing his attention solely on his cotton crops and raising his two young children. He counts heavily on his sister’s help, not only with running the home, but in caring for his traumatized children - particularly his son who hasn’t spoken since his mother’s death. When Quincy’s sister announces her betrothal and imminent move across the country, Quincy is frantic. How can he survive without Helena’s help?

Ava and Pip is a funny and heartfelt story of Ava, an outgoing girl who wants to help her sister come out of her shell, and who wants to become a writer when she grows up.

Sixteen-year-old Bella Kynaston has been the victim of a brutal rape by someone she can only describe as "the scar-faced man." With little recollection of what happened, she must somehow rebuild her life. Being the person she once was proves more difficult than she imagined. To complicate matters, Bella has just met Jeremiah Detrone, the new guy in school. He’s attractive, funny, and smart. All things she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Too bad she’s conflicted over so many unexpected emotions. Without realizing it, she falls down a rabbit hole and begins walking a dangerous line.

Hockey isn’t just a sport, a game, a career. To me, hockey is life. When I’m on the ice, nothing else matters—I’m in my zone—always 10 plays ahead of the opponent, and always in control. Except for that night. That game. The first one she’d ever been to—Gracelyn Bolton. And I found her. Even while slammed against the wall, tangled up with the enemy’s ace goon—known only for his fighting, not his stats—I spotted her, only her, amongst a crowd of hundreds. And when I finally track her down, the list of reasons why things won’t work is long…throwing me completely off my game.

As best friend and emissary to her mer kingdom's princess, Periwinkle Wentletrap juggles many responsibilities. At the moment those include getting the princess (and herself) ready for the upcoming Sea Harvest Dance. When a trip to the Thalassinian marketplace for pearls and dressmaking supplies leads to a reunion with her long-time crush, Peri is once again caught up in the swirl of emotions she feels for a thoughtful pearl trader.

What straight-A student and all-around good mergirl Coral Ballenato wants is to forget her longtime crush on her best friend’s older brother. Four years of pining from not-so-afar is more than enough. Moving on should be easy now that he’s swum off to college. Until Zak Marlin comes home for a charity event, newly-single and begging her to be his pretend girlfriend for the week.

What happens to cats when they die? For Jem, a calico cat, it's a catastrophe. She knows she's not meant to be in the afterlife. Not yet. She's certainly not ready to face the cats she knew before. Not now. Maybe not ever. Clearly, a mistake has been made. Surely, it can be corrected, and Jem can return home to her life on Earth.

Kiara is experiencing a string of bad luck. First, she gets rear-ended at a stop. Then her internship lets her go because they don’t feel she has enough passion for the field. And then her rich neighbor’s friends burn her house down during a wild party. Yeah, Kiara isn’t having a very good time. And Teddy, her rich neighbor, is about to incur her wrath. Rich, spoiled, and essentially her exact opposite, he makes an easy target. But the truth is that Teddy isn’t quite who she thinks he is. His wealthy father didn’t even know he existed for the first five years of his life, and since he has known a life outside of privilege, he longs for something more. And part of that something more is Kiara. But like everything in life, it is complicated. She is unsure she can trust him, and he is facing the possibility of being cut off from his trust fund if he doesn’t marry the high-society Whitney. Will this Cinderella story have a fairy tale ending?