Showing results by narrator "Rachael Beresford" in All Categories

Violet never wanted to move to Perfect. Who wants to live in a town where everyone has to wear glasses to stop them going blind? And who wants to be tidy and perfectly behaved all the time? Violet quickly discovers there's something weird going on - her mam is acting strange, and her dad has disappeared. When she meets Boy she realises that her dad is not the only person to have vanished...and that the mysterious Watchers are guarding a creepy secret!

The earthlines speak to Mirasol, but her family has lived in the demesne for centuries, and many of the old families can hear the land. She knows that the violent deaths of the last Master and Chalice have thrown Willowlands into turmoil; but she is only a beekeeper, and the problems of the Circle that govern Willowlands have nothing to do with her - although she wonders what will become of her demesne, because the Master and Chalice left no heirs to carry on their crucial duties.

Mistakes happen, to be sure. Rarely are those mistakes as unfortunate as the one made by Nathanael, Viscount Fotherby, when he abducted the now Lady Merton to save his friend from marriage. Nate has been trying to make amends ever since, leaving behind his self-centered ways to fulfill his duties - and that includes finding a wife of his own. One woman sparks his interest-a lady he helped when she was rescuing a child. Alas, there is a devilish complication....

He told me I was his muse. He lied. Anton Sachov, the artist, the man who only sees in monochrome. He wants something from me. Something precious; the meadow green of my eyes, the rich mahogany of my hair, the creamy white of my skin, the stark red of my blood, even the darkness of my soul. And he will do anything to get them.

In spite of being a nameless orphan, Merletta is determined to win the prestigious rank of record holder. And she has no intention of letting a little thing like universal disdain stop her. Lord Heath knows nothing of mermaids, but coming from the noble House of Dragonfriend, he's no stranger to magic. Except, in spite of having a dragon for a best friend, Heath is the only magic-less member of his family. Not that he covets the power around him. All he wants is to defuse the growing tension between the power-wielders and their royal cousins.

Margaret Pole is no stranger to fortune's wheel. From her childhood as firstborn of the heir apparent of England, she was brought low as the daughter of a traitor. After years of turmoil as the Tudor dynasty made its roots, Margaret finds favor with her cousin, King Henry VIII. Will the remnant of the York dynasty thrive under this tempestuous king or will Margaret discover that there is a price to pay for having an excess of royal blood? Step into Tudor England....

After too many years on the battlefield, Merrick de Beaucourt is looking forward to a simple life of peace and quiet with a docile wife at his side. But when he finally fetches his bride-to-be from a secluded English convent, he finds he needs more than his knight's spurs to bring order to his life.

Death is not what Bridget Sway expected. Not at all. The afterlife is a mess of bureaucracy littered with nonsensical rules. It's a fashion disaster for a uniform and a job that doesn't pay. It's a heinous communal living situation with housemates who have no concept of privacy or personal space. And it's a handsome parole officer who is a stickler for those nonsensical rules that no one has bothered to explain. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, someone has stuffed a dead ghost in her locker...and the afterlife police are ready to pin the murder on her.

Desperation is a dangerous state of mind. It was desperation that drove me to London to salvage my family's reputation and finances in the first place. And it is desperation - and perhaps a little desire - that has gotten me into the situation I find myself in now. You see, I've become ensnared in the investigation of a traitor by Lord Dewhurst - the most insufferable, sinfully handsome man I've ever met. I know it is shocking, but in order to catch this spy and clear my name, I've no choice but to play the agent's bride.

Missing shoes, stolen paperclips, and stalkers. Oh, what an afterlife! Bridget finally gets her first assignment as an Independent Authority agent: The not-so-glamorous case of The Paperclip Theft. Regardless, she is determined to close the matter quickly and move on to something more challenging. And then, the dead body of the Afterlife Arrivals commander topples out of the stationery cupboard.

After a lifetime with a grief-stricken father and a self-absorbed brother, Felicity isn't daunted by sacrifice. But when protecting her father means falling afoul of the curse that has swallowed the Summer Castle, and Prince Justin along with it, her own safety is not all that's at stake. The prince's monstrous form is the least of her concerns—the whole castle has been trapped by his pride, and his absence from the capital is driving the kingdom to ruin.

She was the mother of Henry VIII and wife of Henry VII, but who was Elizabeth of York? Raised as the precious eldest child of Edward IV, Elizabeth had every reason to expect a bright future until Edward died, and her life fell apart. When Elizabeth's uncle became Richard III, she was forced to choose sides. Should she trust her father's brother and most loyal supporter or honor the betrothal that her mother has made for her to her family's enemy, Henry Tudor? The choice was made for her on the field at Bosworth.

She's a plain Jane. He's uber famous. Who's stalking who? Author Sally Speck has it all-a promising career, great friends, a loving family. So when superstar celebrity Tom Darlington takes an interest in her, she thinks, why not? But the fun fling soon turns into a nightmare, as she's relentlessly hounded by the media and harassed by Tom's crazed fans. But more worrying is Tom's increasingly obsessive and frightening behavior.

Ingrid Barrøy is born on an island that bears her name - a holdfast for a single family, their livestock, their crops, their hopes and dreams. Her father dreams of building a quay that will connect them to the mainland, but closer ties to the wider world come at a price. Her mother has her own dreams - more children, a smaller island, a different life - and there is one question Ingrid must never ask her. Island life is hard, a living scratched from the dirt or trawled from the sea, so when Ingrid comes of age, she is sent to the mainland to work for one of the wealthy families on the coast.

I shouldn't want her - but damn, I need her. As my best friend, she's off limits, right? Wrong. After discovering her boyfriend's cheating, Molly shows up at my doorstep broken and alone. She's been my rock since my world collapsed, and now the tables are turned, it's my turn to support her. But something's changed, and how I'm feeling about her is against all the rules. She needs a shoulder to cry on; not another man to break her heart.

Abigail Mercer was thrilled at being reunited with Spencer Law, whom she met once and later married by proxy. But now Viscount Ravenswood denies all knowledge of their union! Too many witnesses have made it impossible for the secretive Spencer to reject his bride without causing a scandal. So he has proposed a marriage in name only until they can locate his mysteriously absent younger brother - who is responsible for everything! - and untangle this messy affair.

When Inge Maria arrives on the tiny island of Bornholm in Denmark to live with her grandmother, she's not sure what to expect. Her grandmother is stern, the people on the island are strange, and children are not allowed to run wild or express themselves the way they did back in Copenhagen -- especially if you are a girl. Inge Maria tries not to feel sorry for herself, but she misses her mama. And on top of everything else, mischief seems to have a way of finding her no matter how hard she tries to be good.

Imagination: A Very Short Introduction explores imagination as a cognitive power and an essential dimension of human flourishing, demonstrating how imagination plays multiple roles in human cognition and shapes humanity in profound ways. Examining philosophical, evolutionary, and literary perspectives on imagination, the author shows how this facility, while potentially distorting, both frees us from immediate reality and enriches our sense of it, making possible our experience of a meaningful world.

Eleven years ago during Christmas, Martin Banks' family was thrown into the streets by wealthy landlord Edwin Hartwell. Now, this holiday season, fate has handed Martin an unexpected gift: vengeance. Defeating Hartwell at cards gives Martin the chance to financially ruin the man - but damn, instead of money, Hartwell offers his daughter as payment. And double damn, Martin stupidly accepts. How did retribution turn into seduction? Martin refuses to let himself fall in love, so there must be rules to this game. And perhaps a bit of romance.

She can pour tea, manage a household, and sew a modest gown. In short, Eleanor Caulfield is the perfect vicar's daughter. Yet there was a time when she'd risked everything for a black-eyed gypsy who left her brokenhearted. Now he stands before her - dark, virile, and ready to escort her on a journey to find the truth about her heritage.