Showing results by narrator "Samara Naeymi" in All Categories

Everything about my life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, I have only one purpose―to sacrifice my life for my sister if death comes for her. I’ve been living under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present. Now the queen is dead and the ageless King Eidolon has sent my sister a gift―an eerily familiar gift―and a proposal to wed. I don’t trust him, so I do what I was born to do and secretly take her place on the eve of the coronation.

An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment. Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities, while elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage.

Leyla King has been a keeper of family stories since long before she sat down across from her grandmother with a tiny cassette tape recorder. And in this beautifully crafted memoir, she braids matriarchal memory into a vivid saga of love and survival as her ancestors flee war and poverty. From Haifa to Ramallah, Damascus, Beirut, and finally Texas, Leyla makes global politics deeply personal as family squabbles, ambition, mental illness, romance, and religion shape their immigrant journey.

Differences in libido is a common issue in romantic relationships, often leading to insecurity, conflict and communication breakdown. It can be difficult to find help, as most research on the topic adheres to a narrow, heteronormative model of sexual intimacy — a way of thinking that hinders our ability to enjoy sex to the full. Dr. Fogel Mersy and Dr. Vencill’s Desire rejects this model.

Joss is an ordinary freshman college student–or she was, until magic irrevocably changed her life. When her brother is kidnapped and her family murdered, it awakens something deep inside her—something primal. Joss's unwavering resolve to save her brother and deliver retribution leads her to discover a perilous realm, brimming with power, danger, and death. The realm of the Fae.

It can come in waves - like tidal waves. It changes societies. It disrupts life. It ends lives. As far back as 3000 B.C.E. (the Bronze Age), plagues have stricken mankind. COVID-19 is just the latest example, but history shows that life continues. It shows that knowledge and social cooperation can save lives. Viruses are neither alive nor dead and are the closest thing we have to zombies. Their only known function is to replicate themselves, which can have devastating consequences on their hosts.

More than a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Experiencing this loss, you may wonder why it happened, what happens next, and what it means for your future. You may also feel incredibly alone. For more than 20 years, Dr. Kate has taken care of those navigating the physical and emotional pain of pregnancy loss. After experiencing two miscarriages of her own, she wrote Your Guide to Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss to offer others the same compassionate conversation she has with her patients.

Setting out from her classroom, Jessica Lander takes the listener on a powerful and urgent journey to understand what it takes for immigrant students to become Americans. A compelling listen for everyone who cares about America’s future, Making Americans brims with innovative ideas for educators and policy makers across the country.

After decades of pushing away traumatic memories from childhood, Colette De Luca is ready to start a family of her own. It’ll be healthy, a wish come true, with a man she believes is the love of her life. Thankfully, she thought ahead when she was younger and froze her eggs for this very moment. Greta O’Brien, a wealthy hedge-fund manager, is forced to confront the making of her own family when tragedy strikes her twin teenage sons.

His family farm and the surrounding community now emptied by war, young Hani embarks on an epic quest–assisted by a brooding yet brilliant donkey–to find his lost sister in the ruins of Troy. Some war stories transcend time and circumstance, and so it is with the resourceful and heartbroken Hani, who must employ every bit of intelligence, every scrap of ingenuity, and ultimately every ounce of his spirit and humor to withstand the forces of civilization’s collapse.

In 1954, Joyce Johnson’s Barnard professor told his class that most women could never have the kinds of experiences that would be worth writing about. Attitudes like that were not at all unusual at a time when “good” women didn’t leave home or have sex before they married; even those who broke the rules could merely expect to be minor characters in the dramas played by men. But secret rebels, like Joyce and her classmate Elise Cowen, refused to accept things as they were.

Private Matthew Petticrew arrives in France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, an arrival that a war-weary France desperately hopes will help to end the turmoil. Having faced unthinkable things on the front, he is captivated by the sound of a lullaby, sung by a voice so pure he knows he must have imagined it. But rumors sweep through the trenches like wildfire, dubbing the voice "The Angel of Argonne", a mysterious presence who leaves behind wreaths on unmarked graves and footprints in the war-pocked soil.

Psychiatrist Olivia Cole is a shell of herself after only two years with her tyrannical husband, the outwardly perfect Sebastian. On their two-year anniversary, she’s subjected to one power move too many when Sebastian whisks her away on a surprise trip—first to the charming capital of Sweden, then to an unexpected final destination. Miles from home and help, the only way for Olivia to wrest back control of her life is to give Sebastian an even bigger, shocking surprise.

Asha’s husband, Charlie, isn’t dead, but he’s been gone just the same since the day his aneurysm trapped him in a coma. Everything that made him Charlie left this world a year ago for a limbo that has trapped Asha, too. She doesn’t want to stay in this situation, but she can’t bear to kiss the love of her life goodbye. Luckily, she’s not alone. Asha has the support of her best friend, her father, and then, unexpectedly, Jason.

After the traumatic birth of her daughter at a New York City hospital, Rowan O’Sullivan returns home to her apartment with her perfect newborn, Lila. At her side are her husband, Gabe, and June, a part-time babysitter hired to help Rowan in any way she can. But in this time of joy, Rowan can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. She feels dread. She’s breaking.

My twin sister is the true queen of Aryd. She survives, hiding and clinging to life in the desert, while I reign as the false queen alongside the monstrous King Eidolon. There’s only one escape from this gilded prison: Reven. My Shadowraith. My heart. Only the shadows that he struggles to control are growing more sinister, more powerful. It’s just a matter of time before they turn on him…and on me.

Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane Smith-Hutton was the wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo. Marlene Dietrich, the German-American actress and singer, was of course one of the biggest stars of the 20th century. These four women, each fascinating in her own right, together contributed to one of the most covert and successful military campaigns in WWII.

In the elite world of luxury real estate, it is often kill or be killed, something agent Andi Hart knows all too well—and after recent events, she’s ready to set her own rules. So when her boss challenges the team to find a buyer for a glitzy Malibu beach house, with a prize commission of a cool $1 million, she knows it’s her ticket to a new life. But she’s not the only one who not only wants but needs the money. Each of her four colleagues has secrets they’re eager to hide—secrets $1 million would go a long way in concealing.

In the 12 unforgettable tales of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: A group of children steal a haunted doll; a runaway bride encounters a sea monster; a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time; an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman.

Only five days have passed since Jade was brought to a distant world and a new life. Mobile for the first time ever, Jade is given the chance to do something she’s always wanted: attend school. Dracona isn’t your typical school, however. In Andara she needs to learn all the skills an adventurer needs. For her, that means how to cast magic and use weapons without hurting herself. She’ll have to learn fast because the obstacle course isn’t the only thing challenging her progress; she’s racing against the clock to learn how to beat the Mesmer before they find her.