Showing results by narrator "Saskia Maarleveld" in All Categories

In a sleepy German village, Allina Strauss’s life seems idyllic: she works at her uncle’s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fiancé. But it's 1939, Adolf Hitler is Chancellor, and Allina’s family hides a terrifying secret—her birth mother was Jewish, making her a Mischling. One fateful night after losing everyone she loves, Allina is forced into service as a nurse at a state-run baby factory called Hochland Home. There, she becomes both witness and participant to the horrors of Heinrich Himmler’s ruthless eugenics program.

To do list: graduate with honors, get into medical school, and snag the most sought-after celebrity photo of all time to cover my tuition. One more thing - resist the hot British guy who's my biggest rival. But from the first day I run into William on his motorcycle, he makes that difficult, since he's flirty, charming, clever, and keeps trying to convince me to spend the night with him. Trust me - stripping him down to nothing is on my wish list, but I can't let him get under my skin as I chase cheating directors and stake out clandestine trysts.

If you ask a Finn, they will likely be as baffled as you are. That’s why Melanie Dower, an expat who has been living in Finland for the past decade, has taken up the charge. Her vantage as an outsider entrenched in Finnish culture uniquely positions her to identify the keys to Finnish happiness that elude the rest of the world and that Finns take for granted. From sauna to strong social safety nets, Finnish life is made up of a constellation of habits and structures that leave its residents relaxed, healthy, and fulfilled.

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a picket fence, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn't exist. The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she's given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn't privy to Mr Smith's real identity, but she knows this job will be different.

Célie’s life is over. She took her final breath trying to save the people she loves—including the powerful and enigmatic vampire king, Michal, who refused to let her go. When Célie wakes, she cannot walk in the sun; she can hear her friends’ heartbeats and she craves their blood. Michal has cursed her to the eternal existence of a vampire. But Célie isn’t the only dead roaming the earth. Her sister, Filippa, has returned as a shadow of her former self, and other revenants are rising from their graves intent on revenge.

Every choice has consequences - but 17-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden that she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust. Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin - the deadliest of demons - has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her, including her best friend.

Thirteen authors, including Gail Z. Martin, David Gerrold, and Jonathan Maberry, come together to pen short stories innovating Sherlock Holmes, adapting and revolutionizing the iconic character. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most iconic and lasting figures in literature. His feats of detection are legendary, and he continues to capture audiences today in stories, movies, and on TV. In this new anthology, authors present the celebrated detective in more than a dozen different, wildly entertaining new ways.

I was born into British aristocracy, but I've made my fortune in Manhattan. New York is now my kingdom. Back in Britain, my family is fighting over who's the next Duke of Fairfax. The rules say it's me - if I'm married. It's not a trade-off worth making. I could never limit myself to just one woman. Or so I thought until my world is turned upside down. Now, the only way I can save the empire I built is to inherit the title I've never wanted - so I need a wife. To take my mind off business I need a night that's all pleasure.

Seventeen-year-old Evie Dasher knows firsthand the devastating consequences of humanity's war with the aliens. When she's caught up in a raid at a notorious club known as one of the few places where humans and the surviving Luxen can mingle freely, she meets Luc, an unnaturally beautiful guy she initially assumes is a Luxen...but is in fact something much more powerful. Her growing attraction for Luc will lead her deeper and deeper into a world she'd only heard about, a world where everything she thought she knew will be turned on its head....

Lou has spent her whole life running. Now, after a crushing blow from Morgane, the time has come to go home - and claim what is rightfully hers. But this is no longer the Lou her friends knew. No longer the Lou who captured a chasseur’s heart. A darkness has settled over her, and this time it will take more than love to drive it out.

In the small town of Gold Springs, Calliope Petridi and her two sisters carefully guard the secret of their magic and the price they must pay to practise it: memories. Luckily, all Calliope wants to do is forget: the mother who left without a trace, the sisters from whom she feels increasingly distant, and most of all, the way the love of her life shattered her heart two years ago.

In a night of terror, the barriers between the magical and mundane worlds were torn down—and the two merged into one, unleashing wonders and terrors beyond human imagination. Jet fighters fly past dragons and kids on broomsticks, creatures of magic and myth return to their old haunts and start wreaking havoc, and the outcast and dispossessed suddenly discover they have power beyond their wildest dreams.

In the snowbound city of Kiev, aspiring historian Mila Pavlichenko’s life revolves around her young son—until Hitler’s invasion of Russia changes everything. Suddenly, she and her friends must take up arms to save their country from the Führer’s destruction. Handed a rifle, Mila discovers a gift—and months of blood, sweat and tears turn the young woman into a deadly sniper: the most lethal hunter of Nazis. Yet success is bittersweet. Mila is torn from the battlefields of the Eastern Front and sent to America while the war still rages. There, she finds an unexpected ally.

Mermaid Annika is from the sea, and it is there she must return after her quest to find the stars. New to this world, her purity and beauty are nothing less than breathtaking, along with her graceful athleticism, as her five new friends discovered when they retrieved the fire star. Now, through space and time, traveler Sawyer King has brought the guardians to the island of Capri, where the water star is hidden. And as he watches Annika in her element, he finds himself drawn to her joyful spirit.

Bridger Macaulley used to be a player both on and off the ice. But now, while his teammates chase the next hockey victory, Bridger worries that the dean will discover he's housing his eight-year-old sister in his dorm room. Juggling a full course load and a big secret, it's only a matter of time until the other skate drops.

A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder. With twenty hit titles, and a highly anticipated movie tie-in, celebrated novelist Columbia Jones is at the top of her game. Fans around the world adore her. But on the final night of her latest book tour, one face in the crowd makes the author collapse. And by the next morning, she’s lying dead in a pool of blood.

Betrayed at the altar by the man I love, I don’t have the luxury to mourn my broken heart. The Blood Brotherhood Clan is under attack and dark secrets from my past begin to claw their way to light. Now I must fight beside the man who almost destroyed me. As the merciless prince leads his army on the battlefield, I wage my own war in the treacherous court, where smiles are sharper than blades and words can change the fate of a dynasty. If either of us falters, both of our Clans will be doomed.

Jane is unhappy. She’s a struggling writer trapped in an underwhelming marriage with husband Ted, scraping by to pay for a mortgage for a house and a life that she’s never really wanted. There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their time together at Oxford. But then the night of the formal which should have bound them together for good, drove them apart. Until now.

On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbours; the children, more than schoolmates. That is until one fateful summer - and several vanished bodies - shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that's left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can't run from the past forever.

For centuries, the Great Houses of Shallot have ruled the city through a complex network of power and influence, dividing and destroying factions that threatened their rule. But the latest crisis may be beyond their power to subvert and defeat. The commoners have finally found a leader, while the aristocrats are deeply divided amongst themselves; their magic is no longer trustworthy, and their right to rule is threatened as never before.