Showing results by narrator "Natalie Beran" in All Categories

Nestled in a cozy cottage with a lush garden and an abundance of bookshelves, Ursula hopes for a peaceful escape. But strange occurrences quickly unravel, leaving her feeling as though she's being watched. Unusual visions of a mysterious purple-haired woman and out-of-season plants add to her unease. As she becomes acquainted with the enigmatic Rowan and his eccentric house truck, Ursula begins to suspect that he may hold the key to understanding the bizarre happenings in this enchanting world.

It’s been a year since his ex-boyfriend dumped him and moved from Auckland to Buenos Aires, and Valdin is doing fine. He has a good flat with his sister Greta, a good career where his colleagues only occasionally remind him that he is the sole Maaori person in the office, and a good friend who he only sleeps with when he’s sad. But when work sends him to Argentina and he’s thrown back in his former lover’s orbit, Valdin is forced to confront the feelings he’s been trying to ignore—and the future he wants.

Like every other girl in her class, twelve-year-old Justine is drawn to her glamorous, charismatic new teacher and longs to be her pet. However, when a thief begins to target the school, Justine's sense that something isn't quite right grows ever stronger. With each twist of the plot, this gripping story of deception and the corrosive power of guilt takes a yet darker turn. Young as she is, Justine must decide where her loyalties lie.

From the outside, Awa seems like a normal teen, struggling with anxiety over school and friendships. Secretly, she holds a rare power. She is a Dreamweaver, one who walks between worlds: that of waking life and the Dreamrealm. Now, she's finally managed to master some of her powers and alchemize the shadow fragments that were plaguing the beautiful Dreamrealm. Still, she knows there's so much more that has to be done in order to face the terrifying shadow.

The fragments Awa Bryant trapped just after she learned she was a long-awaited Dreamweaver are terrifyingly close to breaking free—so close that even in the waking world she can hear their efforts to crack their giant glass prison.

Life is already complicated enough for Awa Bryant when she starts having weird dreams—waking dreams—and strange coincidences start appearing in her real life. She meets dream-charmer Veila, a quirky glowing creature who helps to guide Awa through the mysterious Dream realm. At first, the Dream realm is a glorious escape from Awa's daily struggles, but something is not right… Soon, Awa discovers she has a bigger quest, and everything she cares about is at stake. Will she be brave enough to face her fears and save her friends?

Saffron vowed to love Miles no matter what life threw at them both. But when her mother-in-law moves into their happy family home, Saffron’s shiny life begins to tarnish. Even as Caprice’s barbed comments turn to something more sinister, Saffron hopes the new nanny’s arrival will shield her from the worst of it. She’s starting to feel paranoid in her own home. Little does she realise that Caprice longs for a new daughter-in-law—and she’ll do anything to make that happen.

Lorraine Henry is generally content to keep her head down and get on with her work as a records clerk at the Masterton police station. But when children start going missing in her small town, Lo can't help but pay attention. After all, she has Bradley, her young nephew, to worry about, and the cops don't seem to be putting much effort into finding the kids. And then the unthinkable happens: Bradley disappears. Distraught but determined, Lorraine vows to bring him home no matter what.

Meet the Tobin family. Joy - the mother: Unconscious in a hospital bed, Joy's latest act has thrown the family into turmoil. Frances - the middle child: Seemingly perfect wife and mother, Frances is having inappropriate dreams about an ex, and might be about to derail her whole life. Conor - the protector: Successful and famous, high-flyer Conor is walking a fine line between self-promotion and self-detonation. Sinead - the baby of the family: Bohemian rebel, trying to write the story she needs to tell, but despising herself for failing to do it.

Cassandra, a young corpo programmer, uncovers a plot of technological menticide targeted at the city's oppressed population. Armed only with a stolen data drive containing plans and schematics to this nefarious conspiracy, she must escape the clutches of her corrupt and malevolent employer, ZenithCorp. Run! If she is to stop the rollout of this technology, her only option is survival.

Pregnant. Single. Dating. It's going to be... a bumpy year! Trish Kirkpatrick never expected to find herself unmarried, pregnant... and not entirely sure who the baby's father is. With her ex, Pete, and her colleague, Elliot, in line for daddy duty while waiting on the DNA results, Trish finds her complicated world getting even more chaotic when a meet-cute on a plane to Tokyo with gorgeous architect Scott sparks a new flame. Now, as her bump grows so do Trish's troubles.

Twenty years ago, Liz left Easthaven to escape the memory of one tragic night at Lakewell Manor. Only she and her best friend Tamsin saw what really happened, and in the aftermath they drifted apart. Now she’s forced back after a nasty divorce, with two daughters in tow, the shadows of that terrible night lurking on every corner. With a custody battle looming, she’s one wrong move away from her life falling apart completely.

On a winter’s day in the Dandenong Ranges, Australia, pianist Ginny returns home to her eccentric mother, Harriet. Ginny tries to apprise the truth of her father’s disappearance. In an effort to distract her daughter from interrogations, Harriet proposes they collaborate on an exhibition of paintings and songs. Meanwhile, on the edge of Dartmoor, artist Judith paints landscapes of the Australian Outback to soothe her troubled heart, as her wayward daughter Madeleine returns and fills the house with darkness.

Once every 10,000 years, the walls between worlds grow thin. The stars align, and Hell is close. It is the time of the Sha'Daa. The hordes of Hell are about to ride out upon mankind; the forces of evil are trembling with eagerness at the doors of our dimension. Oh, wait a minute.... Actually, they’re not all eager. Some have become members of the Elks, or are involved with a fun crowd at the local high school (though, granted, they’re drinking the cheerleaders’ blood. Not enough to do any real harm).

Emily falls passionately in love with working-class Walter, despite fierce opposition from her class-conscious father. She sees marriage as a partnership of equals and resolves to elope to escape such a male-dominated society. Emily’s actions will see her struggle to survive the subsequent devastation brought about by the war, as she and her four-year-old son are thrown into the midst of danger and death.

Erica is 17 and in her last year of high school. Donny is 42 and everywhere - in her yoga class, at German Club, in her parents' spare room. The story of a young woman who finds herself subject to the gravitational field of a charismatic man, The Boyfriend is a cautionary tale about blindly accepting traditional 'love' narratives. This clear-eyed, dismaying and often hilarious examination of sexual desire, trauma and growth is a remarkable debut and a perfect novel for our time.

Marquess Hugh Seaworth is far too busy enjoying himself in London to think about matrimony. Despite being next in line to a dukedom, Hugh wants to get as much enjoyment out of life as he can before he is forced to settle down. However, his father, the current Duke of Westbrook, has other plans. When an unknown young lady steps out of the carriage and into his life, Hugh is forced to reconsider his plans for London.

Lady Amelia - pressed by her father to marry soon. Lord Northfell - a handsome suitor with deep secrets in his past. Can they overcome his secrets and find love together? Will Arthur and Amelia overcome their initial differences and reach out to help each other? Or will their similarly-proud natures lead them to ruin? A story of conflict, courage, and passion set in the ultra-sophisticated and unpredictable world of Regency London.

The youngest daughter of the Duke of Westbrook, Harmonia Seaworth is gentle, beautiful, and sweet. She has never expected her life to be anything but ordinary and, as the last daughter left at Seaworth Manor, had thought it would consist of nothing more than caring for her ailing father and watching her sisters' children grow. Surely she wouldn’t be expected to find a husband before her father’s passing as well.

Carr Fergusson's grand old homestead is in need of a housekeeper - and when shy, city-bred Cally Jones arrives at Glencairn Station to take the reins, she discovers not only a new way of life, but a house packed to the rafters with romantic intrigue. Carr's son, Ash, has finally seen fit to return to the family farm, and it's not just Cally's head he's turning. But what has really brought him home? Meanwhile, Ella Harrington is striving to juggle the demands of her new career with her love for her gorgeous bad-boy boyfriend.