Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton.... Our four warriors and four witches, destined mates, have begun their adventure, knowing the fate of their world is at stake, but not having any idea there are other factions plotting against them. Now they face political intrigues, religious zealotry, father against son, wife against husband, a mother’s plotting, a sister’s envy, grief, betrayal, and despair as the prophesied journey across the sands of Firenze into the lush green of Wodell.

Living in London's poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins has little hope of a better life. When she's offered an opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees. After witnessing so much painful heartache and loss in the slums, the bride ship is her only prospect to escape a bleak future, not only for herself but, she hopes, someday for her sister. Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves home and takes to the sea - as ship's surgeon - in order to escape the pain of losing his family. When Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love.

One hundred and fifty years ago, global warming brought humankind to the edge of extinction. In a desperate bid for survival, 4,000 genetically enhanced soldiers - the last slice of humanity - were sent to eight space stations. To serve. To protect. Then the Critamal arrived, uninvited. Waves of aliens now work to break through the Orbitos' defenses, the black-shelled creatures seeking to colonize the vacated and barren world. War is their reality. All Romy can do is fight alongside her knot and watch from the mocking midst of the stars as Earth rises and falls in the distance.

Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately has suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by a poor choice. Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy and is held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town's baker and has worked hard to build a thriving business.

In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her people's fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Max's mind is a shadow of what it once was . . . leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Ara's new, ruthless queen. Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.

In the tradition of Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds - and one who never got the chance. Exploring the narratives of the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and other "she-wolves," as well as that of the Nine Days' Queen, Lady Jane Grey, Castor invokes a magisterial discussion of how much - and how little - has changed through the centuries.

Lord Francis and Lady Ottilia Fanshawe are preparing for the birth of their first child. But Lady Fan won't let a little thing like pregnancy get in the way of solving a local mystery. Their neighbor - Sir Joslin Cadel, who recently returned from a sugar plantation in Barbados - has collapsed and died on his doorstep. And his young ward, Tamasine Roy, claims to have murdered him. With Tamasine clearly suffering from some kind of mental disorder and the rest of Cadel's household acting suspiciously, it is clear all is not as it seems.

Sophie's husband, James, is a loving father, a handsome man, a charismatic and successful public figure. And yet he stands accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is convinced he is innocent and desperate to protect her precious family from the lies that threaten to rip them apart. Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case: an experienced professional who knows that the law is all about winning the argument. And yet Kate seeks the truth at all times. She is certain James is guilty and is determined he will pay for his crimes.

A shipwreck near Castle Black sees Dr. Nicholas Warner risking his life to save a woman from the churning sea. As he pulls her to the safety of the shore, the villagers are stunned by her presence. She is no stranger to them. They identify her as Viola Grantham, Lady Ramsleigh, wife of the recently deceased Lord Percival Ramsleigh...a woman who supposedly died nearly two years earlier. She confides in Dr. Warner about the son she bore in secret, the heir to her late husband and that she had only returned to secure his future and his place in society.

Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare’s colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland’s most famous story, “The Stranger”, left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the story lines of her favorite literature.

Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime. Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant. While there, he's devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she's marrying another man.

Zoe loves teaching science, she loves her garden, and most of all she loves her quiet, peaceful bungalow. Then at school, people start falling ill. The virus is airborne and highly infectious. It starts with flu symptoms, confusion, and sleepiness, which worsen until one day they just don't wake up. It decimates the population and leaves chaos in its wake. Now Zoe has to find a way to survive. Luckily, when the pandemic strikes, she already has a greenhouse full of vegetable seedlings, but not everyone around is as prepared.

Graham, Lord Blakemore, was believed to be lost at sea as a boy. While his mother, Lady Agatha, has never given up hope of finding her son again, others - eager for the title and the wealth that accompanies it - have been conspiring to have him declared dead against Lady Agatha's wishes. Her only ally in the house is her late husband's ward, Miss Beatrice Marlowe. But when a dark-haired stranger arrives on their doorstep claiming to be the lost heir to Castle Black, the plots and schemes of those who would have the castle for themselves take a dark and even more sinister turn.

Unable to prove that she’s the missing princess, and unable to bear life under Lady Tremaine any longer, Cinderella attempts a fresh start, looking for work at the palace as a seamstress. But when the Grand Duke appoints her to serve under the king’s visiting sister, Cinderella becomes witness to a grand conspiracy to take the king - and the prince - out of power, as well as a longstanding prejudice against fairies, including Cinderella’s own Fairy Godmother.

In her illuminating debut novel, Aimie K. Runyan masterfully blends fact and fiction to explore the founding of New France through the experiences of three young women, Rose, Nicole, and Elisabeth, who, in 1667, answer Louis XIV's call and journey to the Canadian colony. Known as the filles du roi, their duty is to marry and bring forth a new generation of loyal citizens. Despite their different backgrounds, all three women believe that marriage to a stranger is their best, perhaps only, chance of happiness.

Marcus Kincaid, earl of Ashford, has returned to England after a 10-year absence to find his younger sister embroiled in a potential scandal that could ruin her chance at marriage. His aunt has already called in reinforcements - The Paragon.

The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill.

Lee Miller, 1927 - New York: A classically beautiful young woman, she is discovered by Condé Nast. Lee Miller, 1929 - Paris: Protégé and lover of Man Ray, she invents with him the solarization technique of photography, develops into a brilliant Surrealist photographer, and plays the statue in Cocteau's film Blood of a Poet. Lee Miller, 1939-45 - Europe: Living at times with her future husband, the painter Roland Penrose, she becomes a US war correspondent and covers the siege of St Malo and the liberation of Paris.

Withering and waspish, Ursula Smart (not her real name) gate-crashes her mother's book club at an isolated country house for a long weekend retreat. Much to Mother's chagrin. Joining them are Mother's best friend, Mirabelle, Aunts Charlotte and Less, and Bridget with her dog, Mr. Bojangles. It doesn't matter that they've read Gone Girl three times this year already, this retreat is their chance to escape bustling suburbia. But someone has other ideas. A body is found in the grounds.

A spirited, deeply researched exploration of why capitalism is bad for women and how, when done right, socialism leads to economic independence, better labor conditions, better work-life balance, and yes, even better sex.