Showing results by narrator "Sarah Coomes" in All Categories

1904 INDIA: beautiful and headstrong Clarissa Belhaven and her delicate sister Olive find their carefree life on their widowed father's tea plantation threatened by his drinking and debts. Wesley Robson, a brash young rival businessman, offers to help save the plantation in exchange for Clarrie's hand in marriage, but her father flatly refuses. When Jock Belhaven dies suddenly, his daughters are forced to return to their father’s cousin in Tyneside and work long hours in his pub.

The Night of Endless Swords nearly saw the destruction of Sharakhai, and since then the Kings have come down hard on the rebellious Moonless Host. Hundreds have been murdered or given to the Confessor King for questioning. Hundreds more have fled. Including Çeda, who has discovered that Onur, the King of Sloth, has returned to the desert to raise an army and challenge the remaining kings.

For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on “climbing boys” - orphans owned by chimney sweeps - to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless, and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived - and a girl. But when Nan gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears her time has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature - a golem - made from ash and coal. This is the creature that saved her from the fire.

Çeda's mission is partly complete...so now she must continue to uncover the riddles her mother has left - especially when those scattered clues are incomplete. The answers lie in the desert, where the few remaining members of the Thirteenth Tribe are hidden, and though they doubt she can make a stand against the Kings, they are prepared to help her in her quest. The remaining Kings, however, have not been idle. One of their own has been murdered, and the hunt is on to find the culprit.

When Jill's husband discovers he can never have children, it tears a hole in their marriage that Jill doesn't know how to repair. Frustrated, she seeks comfort in her friends: fierce Leigh, with her high-powered career and doting family, and sweet, uncomplicated Wendy, who has a rock-solid marriage any woman would envy.

An epic new fantasy series of mystery, prophecy and death within the ancient walled city of the Twelve Kings.... In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai, but she's never been able to do anything about it. This all changes when she goes out on the night of Beht Zha'ir, the holy night when all are forbidden from walking the streets.

Lady Grace Warren will do anything to protect her sisters, even betroth herself to a man so depraved that all of London fears him. Faced with a lifetime of misery, Grace has only one chance for escape: to relinquish her virtue before her wedding. Such abandon will destroy her reputation - and ensure her freedom. But when she disguises herself as courtesan to lure a handsome nobleman, she cannot anticipate the tender surprise destiny has in store….

Hannah Bartlett was tossed out of her home at the tender age of 15, when a man of the cloth stole her innocence. To survive the streets, Hannah entered into a life that she never imagined. Now, known as Madam Genevieve - the owner of London’s most infamous bordello - she dedicates her life to rescuing young girls from the streets and protecting them from a shameful fate. Vicar Rafe Waterford meets Hannah at one of his sister-in-law’s country gatherings…and immediately falls for the mysterious beauty. Despite his declarations of love, Hannah insists they cannot be together. But Rafe is like no other man…and he refuses to forget a love so passionate and consuming.

The fairy tale courtship did not turn into a happily-ever-after. Not until her husband dropped dead, that is. He had been horrible enough to Christiana during their short marriage, and she was not going to allow the traditional period of mourning to ruin her sisters' debuts as well. So she decides to put him on ice and go on as if nothing's happened.... Until the real earl appears.

Çeda is the youngest pit fighter in the history of the great desert city of Sharakhai. In this brilliant new story, a prequel to Twelve Kings, she has already made her name in the arena as the fearsome, undefeated White Wolf. None but her closest friends and allies know her true identity. But this all changes when she crosses the path of Rümayesh, one of the sadistic creatures known as ehrekh which were forged long ago by the god of chaos.

Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity. The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown. But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot....

When Jonah Armstrong, the Earl of Haywood, returns to London after a three year absence, his plan is simple: reenter society, find a wealthy bride, and save the Haywood name from ruin. He has no time for distractions. Yet when he encounters Lady Cecelia Randolph, Jonah can’t resist a flirtation. After all, his feud with her brother, the Duke of Hadleigh, necessitated Jonah’s recent exile; he’s entitled to his revenge. But within seconds Jonah realizes he’s underestimated Cecelia.

For generations, Arienh’s people have feared the Viking raids. She knows all too well the terrible toll the Northmen have taken on the Celts, having lost most of her own family to their swords. So one stormy night when she encounters and wounds a Viking warrior, she has every right to want him dead. And yet she hesitates…. Ronan knows Arienh doesn’t recognize him. He was just a boy when his kinsmen raided her village and Ronan risked his own life to protect her. Now he has returned to claim the beautiful girl who captured his heart years before. But wooing a Celtic woman is no easy task.

In Joy to the World, three popular romance authors come together to offer a heartwarming collection of holiday regency romance. Based on lines from a beloved Christmas carol, these three novellas have depth, faith, and satisfying stories all packed into the perfect length for listeners to curl up and take a brief break from their holiday busyness.

Can a clever girl inventor uncover a ruthless pirate's heart of gold? Thrilling sea adventure takes on a hint of steampunk in the second book by the author of the acclaimed Hour of the Bees.

Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent - and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way. Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.

Navigating her way through nightmarish lands devoid of sunlight, Eyelet Elsworth races to free her beloved Urlick Babbit, the first person to understand and accept her - differences and all. Framed for murder and sentenced to execution, Urlick is running out of time. And the Commonwealth's tyrannical new ruler, Penelope Rapture, is strangely eager to speed up the clock.

Seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth has only one hope left: to find her late father's most prized invention, the Illuminator. It's been missing since the day a mysterious flash wiped the sun from the sky. Living in darkness is nothing new to Eyelet. She's hidden her secret affliction all of her life—a life that would be in danger if superstitious townspeople ever guessed the truth. Orphaned when her mother is executed for a crime she did not commit, Eyelet sets out to track down the machine—her one and only chance at a cure.