Showing results by narrator "Karissa Vacker" in All Categories

Let’s face it, estate planning is complicated and confusing. And talking about your death is uncomfortable. It’s no wonder estate planning is one of those things parents put off until it’s too late. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Remember the story of Cinderella, the orphan mistreated by her evil stepmother and stepsisters? Consider an alternative legally "happily ever after" that starts with an estate plan and ends with Cinderella keeping the house! The reality is that children all over the world suffer because their parents fail to put an estate plan into place.

Anna Sullivan has just found out that she has another sister . . . And the news is rocking her world. As she tries to come to grips with her mother's infidelity and the knowledge that Pop wasn't her biological father, she loses sight of the fact that there is another person in this equation. Her half-sister, Nikki, who didn't ask for any of this either. But seeing her is just another reminder that Anna's whole life is a lie . . .

Cee-cee and Mick are madly in love but have been putting their wedding on the back burner because life keeps getting in the way. Well, no more! She is going to get her man down that aisle, come hell OR high water. But when the fates throw both at them all at once, she starts to wonder if they're ever going to get their happily ever after.

Todd Sullivan has been working his tail off to make his mother's veterinary clinic the best it's ever been so she can enjoy her retirement, but he's burning the candle at both ends to do it. When he gets a request for a house call, he thinks it's all in a day's work . . . until he walks into a cottage of horrors. Not only is it packed to the gills like an episode of Hoarders, it also comes complete with a cranky parrot named Barnaby who would sooner pluck his eyes out than trust Todd to help him.

In the wake of the devastating destruction of the luxury yacht Persephone, just three souls remain to tell its story - and two of them are lying. Only Frances Mace knows the terrifying truth, and she'll stop at nothing to avenge the murders of everyone she held dear. Even if it means taking down the boy she loves and possibly losing herself in the process.

Ellis and Easton have been inseparable since childhood. But when a rash decision throws Ellis’s life—and her relationship with Easton—into chaos, she’s forced to move halfway across the country, far from everything she’s ever known. Now Ellis hasn’t spoken to Easton in a year, and maybe it’s better that way; maybe eventually the Easton-shaped hole in her heart will heal. But when Easton’s mom invites her home for a visit, Ellis finds herself tangled up in the web of heartache, betrayal, and anger she left behind . . . and with the boy she never stopped loving.

When Callie is laid off from her reporting job, she returns to her hometown of Cattail Island and lands a gig at the local bookstore—the same one where she found comfort after her mother died.

For generations, the rangers of Black Water Island have guarded the Old Herd against the horrors released by the Rift. And Cal West, an apprentice ranger, fights daily to prove he belongs within their ranks. But even greater challenges await with the return of his childhood friend Meg Archer and the onset of a new threat that not even the rangers are prepared for. Now Meg and Cal, while struggling with their mutual attraction, must face their darkest fears to save the island from disaster.

Winning the crown was only the beginning. Jacs, now the rightful Queen of Frea, seems to be Queen in title alone. She scrambles to learn the customs and traditions of a Realm she had only read about in books. The Council of Four have her firmly under their thumb, and their ideas for the Queendom are oppressive and outdated. Their knowledge of her mother and Master Leschi’s whereabouts is the only leverage they need to make the new Queen dance to their tune.

Jacs, an inventor’s apprentice from the Lower Realm, has only ever dreamed of what the land among the clouds holds. That is until she finds a letter from Connor, an Upperite boy hoping to learn more about the land below. Little does Jacs know, Connor is actually Prince Cornelius of the Queendom of Frea. With wooden boats and hot air balloons, the two begin a secret correspondence. But their friendship is divided by a heavily-guarded bridge and an inescapable prejudice.

Macy and Ethan built their careers chasing the unknown, turning their YouTube channel, Ghost Patrol, into a viral sensation as they investigated the paranormal. But when they venture into the murky depths of the Louisiana bayou to investigate the disappearances of Emily Tremblay and Elizabeth Brockton alongside team members Tasha and Max, their latest case takes a lethal turn.

Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.

It’s summer in Alaska and the light surrounding the shipping-container-turned-storage shed where Liv Russo is being held prisoner is fuzzy and gray. Around her is thick forest and jagged mountains. In front of her, across a clearing, is a low-slung cabin with a single window that spills a wash of yellow light onto bare ground. Illuminated in that light is the father of her child, a man she once loved. A man who is now her jailor. Liv vows to do anything to escape.

Jacs, now the rightful Queen of Frea, seems to be Queen in title alone. She scrambles to learn the customs and traditions of a Realm she had only read about in books. The Council of Four have her firmly under their thumb, and their ideas for the Queendom are oppressive and outdated. Their knowledge of her mother and Master Leschi’s whereabouts is the only leverage they need to make the new Queen dance to their tune.

It's the mid-1950s and Margot Thornsen is growing up between a Park Avenue apartment in New York and her family's sumptuous Oyster Bay estate as the presumed heir to her late grandfather's steel fortune. Her domineering mother has charted a course for her-to forego education and marry well-but Margot is more interested in microscopes and beetles and books. When a devastating fire brings the family legacy crashing down and the sexual revolution dawns, a new path opens up.

This book spotlights female scientist Temple Grandin, whose experience being on the autism spectrum has informed her advocacy and her work as an animal behaviorist. Temple Grandin's pride in being different and how it shaped her world is celebrated in this biography.

Bethany Davis has worked in some of the most exciting restaurants in New York City. She's from Quinn Valley, a small Idaho town, and she hasn't been home for more than a few days in years. Her mother is sick, and it's a blessing, in a way, that her restaurant just closed and she's out of job, because now she can take as much time as she needs to be with her mom. If she's going to stay, though, she needs a job ASAP. But the only option available is at Quinn's Pub, owned by her first love, Ryder, and his sister Maggie.

Maggie Quinn loves her role as bartender and co-owner of Quinn’s. Calling Charlie Keane to place her weekly order is something she looks forward to. It’s no secret to her friends and family that Maggie has a crush on Charlie’s voice. She’s eager to meet him in person, but Charlie keeps rescheduling their business lunch - and he may have waited too long for his own good.

Hannah Keane is tired of being on the road. She's eager to move home and live a quiet life, writing music and teaching at the local kids' center. For David Quinn who is in no hurry to find love, she is the very last person on his list. Hannah even seemed to look down her nose at him the last time she saw him, like she did back when they were in high school. But, David starts to worry that something else is going on - that Hannah is running from something and won't be able to stay in Quinn Valley after all.

Mina’s life is going according to plan; she’s acing AP Calc and is perfectly content with her nonexistent social life. Though only a high school junior, Mina knows time is an investment, and she’s putting all her capital into academics. Oliver, a child abuse survivor who grew up in the foster care system, is ready to burn down his old life and start from scratch - complete with a new name and emancipation papers - in LA. When the two are thrown together through circumstance and develop an unexpected connection, they discover how hard it is to keep the past in the past.