Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

How did human minds become so different from those of other animals? What accounts for our capacity to understand the way the physical world works, to think ourselves into the minds of others, to gossip, read, tell stories about the past, and imagine the future? These questions are not new: they have been debated by philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, evolutionists, and neurobiologists over the course of centuries. One explanation widely accepted today is that humans have special cognitive instincts.

Exiled from her old life as the daughter of a vizier, Zaria still grieves the lost friends of her childhood. She’s grown accustomed to her new role as a servant, though—up until the day she stumbles on the fabled lost cave of treasures. The wealth inside is enough to transform anyone’s life, but Zaria isn’t the first to find it. A gang of cutthroat thieves got there first, and their behavior makes Zaria question everything she sees. With an unknown enchantment at work, and forty criminals desperate to protect their hoard, she doesn’t want anything to do with the gold.

Gwen has discovered both the love she once lost and her courage. But her greatest challenge still lies before her. She has chosen to fight for her people and that means standing against the mountain queen and all the fears of her childhood. Charlotte is ready to risk everything to save her husband and reverse the consequences of her mistakes. But freeing Henry means getting entangled in the mountain kingdom's fight for freedom and that fight might take the one thing Charlotte isn't willing to give.

Abducted, held captive by unknown men for unknown reasons, Mary Mason had to use all of her resourcefulness to escape what would surely have been a terrible fate. But in the course of her escape, she encounters new dangers in the form of a mysterious man. Is he friend or foe? Can he be trusted, or will she prove to be just a pawn in whatever game he is playing?

Tom is a successful author, but he’s struggling to finish his novel. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won’t leave him alone. Evie is smart, well read, and unstable. She lives with her father, and her social-media friendships are not only her escape - they’re everything she has. When she’s hit with a restraining order, her world is turned upside down, and Tom is free to live his life again, to concentrate on writing. But things aren’t really adding up.

We all encounter problems and challenges on a daily basis, ranging from small things—traffic, losing your keys, or running late—to much bigger issues—job insecurity, health issues, and relationship struggles. What should a believer in Christ do in the face of such adversities? Authors Lewis and Sarah Allen propose that while the world may teach us one way to approach challenges, there is a better way—complete dependence on Christ and pursuit of wise living.

Sarah and Evelyn have already risked everything to help Ava win a crown. But they soon learn that a coronation is a beginning, not an ending. Not everyone in Rangmere is happy to see the young queen on the throne, and intrigue and danger lurk all around. The cousins find themselves fighting not only for their new kingdom but also for their own survival in the royal court. When a new threat emerges, the two girls must defeat it to both save the crown and secure their own happily-ever-afters.

When Jess Tidy was Mark Winter's student, she made a shocking accusation. Mark maintained his innocence, but the damage was done. Karen Winter stood by her husband through everything, determined to protect her family. Now, 10 years later, Jess is back. And the truth about that night is finally going to come out....

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.

Rachel Stone’s world was destroyed by a stalker, Alan Griffin. After he went to prison, she rebuilt her life. But someone is stalking her again. Her phone, her emails and her social media are hacked. Rachel believes it’s Griffin, out of prison and looking for revenge. She needs to find him and make him leave her alone. But as Rachel is drawn into a hunt, she realises that something even more horrific is happening - something that will make her confront the childhood that has lingered like a ghost and will force her to face the truth about her new life.

Snow has always lived under the shadow of her cruel stepmother, with only her beloved father and her childhood friend - the huntsman, Alexander - to make life bearable. When her father dies, she should be crowned queen, but instead she finds herself fleeing for her life. With no allies, no skills, and no food, her future could be over before it has truly begun. But there's more at stake than just one life. If Snow can't claim her throne, her kingdom faces destruction. Snow has to make a choice: focus on her own salvation or put everything on the line - even those she loves the most.

Like any mother, Chrissie wants to protect her family. She would do anything to keep them safe. So when a mysterious stranger turns up at her door, offering to prevent the deaths of the people she loves, it sounds too good to be true. The only problem: she must choose someone to die in their place. A substitute. When her daughter Holly has a terrible accident, Chrissie has no option but to enter the programme. In that horrifying moment, she would do anything to save her.

Rumors have long swirled about the strange kingdom of Eldon. The only thing more frozen than its mountains are the inhabitants themselves. But Princess Celine has never backed away from a challenge, so she eagerly accepts an invitation to visit. Yet the situation in Eldon is even worse than Celine feared. And if the kingdom is to have any hope of freedom or a future, she's going to have to call on new skills and new allies - including the crown prince, Oliver. But against an enemy stronger and colder than ice, all her fire may not be enough.

A wave lifts the stern of the boat, rigging groans in protest and a crash comes from down below, as the wails of the cargo rise above the howl of the storm. It's a wild Christmas Day on the rugged Northern Irish coast. But there's no time for turkey and pud with the family for Detectives Harvey and Birch. DS Aaron Birch leans into the wind and driving sleet. Thick, scudding clouds make the streets of Lisburn almost as dark as early evening. Then he gets the tip-off. Smugglers coming into a boatyard in Bangor.

How can we make sense of our lives when we do not know where we come from? This was a pressing question for the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, whose prewar memories were vague or nonexistent. In this beautifully written account, Rebecca Clifford follows the lives of 100 Jewish children out of the ruins of conflict through their adulthood and into old age.

Daniel Sullivan needs a wife; the bank insists they will only finance his business if he gets married. What's he to do when the woman he's interested in is promised to another?

Melanie Summers presents Book 6 in the Paradise Bay Romantic Comedy series. Contains mature themes.

Ursula Smart, along with her dysfunctional family, heads to Scotland for a gentle weekend of foraging and camping in the Outer Hebrides. Their boat capsizes. Washed up on an uninhabited island, the Smart women face starvation, freezing conditions, and - worse - no Wi-Fi. A fun break swiftly turns into a desperate battle for survival. Someone begins killing them off one by one.

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.

Zara is an unwilling thief, trapped by fate in an abandoned castle whose brutally scarred king resents her presence as deeply as she longs to escape. But after an unimaginable betrayal, they will have no choice but to work together, and in the process, find a love they would risk anything to keep.