Showing results by narrator "Jess Moran" in All Categories

Being the first librarian in their small town is everything Beatrice Montgomery has ever dreamed of–except no one in town knows what to make of her, or the library. But spending her days surrounded by books is an occupation beyond her wildest dreams, and she'll do whatever it takes to make the library a success. Lord Alexander Dunham's time is running out. Providing for his estate and the people dependent on him before his curse ruins his life is his first priority--and that means he needs a wife, immediately.

In twelfth-century Ireland, girls go missing—fleeing arranged marriages, carried off by outlaws, abducted by faeries. Rhiannon, treasured daughter of nobility, believes herself secure, shielded by her parents’ stone manor and friendship with the king. But as her beauty grows and suitors jostle for her dowry, she watches her father’s tenants wrung dry in order to supply the banquet for her older sister’s wedding, and realizes the marriage market is a game she does not want to win. A convent offers a life of books and learning, although it means turning her back on mortal men for good.

We are all surrounded by darkness. And we are all drawn to the light. The Orkney Islands north of Scotland are steeped in stories of selkies, seal folk who swim in cold ocean waters and shed their skins to sing and dance on land. One young girl named Isla uses legends of selkie brides to understand her parents’ troubled marriage and navigate her strained relationship with her mother. As Isla comes of age, she confronts the sacred points of transformation found between sea and land, nature and civilization, and past and present, uncovering the key to her identity.

When newly single and heartbroken Paige inherits an isolated cottage facing out to the wild sea on Dune Island from her great-aunt Violet, she is shocked. Paige never even met Violet, and she’s heard family stories about how a terrible incident involving the wealthy neighboring Hathaway family during World War Two led Violet to withdraw from everyone. But why would Violet leave everything to her? Then Paige finds an old envelope containing her aunt’s only piece of jewelry.

When Crown Princess Aria sees her kingdom on the brink of war with the magic-wielding Casters, she takes it upon herself to speak with the Widow Morton, the most dangerous Caster in the realm. If successful, Aria will not only ensure peace but also prove to her father that she is a worthy heir. But when her negotiations fail, Aria is dealt a terrible curse: Over the course of one hundred days, she will be unable to sleep, her body and mind doomed to waste away. And then the curse will pass to her sister, until every member of the king’s line is dead.

Magical baker Lillie Dean is settling into her new life in Silverkeep, along with all the creatures who'd come out of hiding after magic was made legal once more. The south side of town near the wharf is bustling with new neighbors, including merchant Jeremias Scarp, who's just procured a magical pendant that he swears is going to take his fledgling business to the next level. But when that pendant goes missing, Lillie's on the case to find out who might've taken it, while also avoiding the attention of powerful Mr. Globe.

After the Second Kingside War, magical folks like baker Lillie Dean are once again able to live freely and use magic openly. Lillie is taking this new freedom to heart, and has just moved to the seaside town of Silverkeep to start a brand new bakery and begin her life again.

A busy florist. Blooming magic. And a dashing yet infuriating new neighbor. It’s been months since the first gemtower responsible for keeping magic out of Ellamere shattered. The witch may be gone, but the memory of the chaos she wrought in the town still lingers. Since the fracture of the second tower, Tansy Fullbright has been holding her breath waiting to see if magic will take root in their beloved village.

The acclaimed author of the “mastery of mythology” (Independent Book Review) and the Fantasy Book of the Year (Independent Press) The Plain of Pillars returns with a literary horror novel that bends Shakespeare’s Hamlet into Irish Mythology, following themes of grief, identity, and power in a post-apocalyptic theatre where a crippled father and a little red fox fights monsters at the end of the world.

This book is not just for homeschoolers. We hope it will be used by any parent wanting to give their child knowledge of and an appreciation for ancient history and provide perspective on why studying history is essential.

The summer solstice has arrived, and, of course, the town of Silverkeep is divided on how to celebrate it. The magical folk, eager to reclaim their traditions after six years in hiding, have requested the town square to hold their event, but it's already been reserved by the transplants, who've grown accustomed to their own ways of celebrating.

This funny mother-daughter caper story stars seventy-three-year-old, overweight former beauty, Aurora, who is a perpetually broke, eccentric divorcee living in the wealthy enclave of Marin County. When Aurora discovers her father's widow has died, she decides to drive to Los Angeles to see if this means money for her.

This is the first of the Anne of Athelhampton trilogy, which is inspired by true historical events and characters from England's Dorsetshire in the 1500s. It is written by Giles Keating, who lives in Athelhampton's Tudor rooms just as Anne did five hundred years ago and who welcomes visitors to see the secret passages that she discovered, and the symbols in stone that she searched out to solve the Riddle.

Three hearts. Countless letters. One impossible choice. Through letters exchanged across oceans and Manhattan streets, Irish immigrant Catherine McGuirk navigates love, ambition, and heartbreak. Torn between her seafaring husband, the suitor she once refused, and her own dreams, Catherine's fate...

A grumpy tavern owner, his sunshine barmaid, and the curse that traps them together. Running his grandfather’s tavern is all Roan ever wanted—though the failing budget wasn’t part of the dream. But when a rogue sorcerer curses him, sending everyone into a magical sleep except Roan, his too-cheerful barmaid, and his loyal dog, his priorities shift fast: break the curse before he loses everything.

Ireland, 1879. Maura Doyle has always felt she was meant for more than her life as a poverty-stricken farmer’s daughter in County Laois could provide. Her father has arranged for her to marry into a wealthier local family, but she has more interest in her neighbor, Joseph O’Malley. Forced to leave school at age 16, she takes a full-time job as a maid in the local landlord’s mansion after a family tragedy. But the arrival of the lord’s son upends her role in the house and the equilibrium of the entire community.

A missing duchess, a stable boy, and a magical ball in an Anastasia inspired, Cinderella fairy tale retelling with found family feels. Years ago, Dietrich failed to prevent the disappearance of the Duke’s daughter, and the guilt has eaten at him ever since. His persistent searching has finally paid off, but now that he's found the missing girl, he doesn't know what to do. The obvious answer is to tell her father, but her plea to let her stay hidden leaves him torn between his duty to the Duke and the need to protect the girl he can't stop thinking about.

Emerson “Em” sees no problem with her matchmaking business at her Christian college. She successfully helps couples to find their forever spouses, and she can pay off her student debt on the side—despite her best friend Noah’s objections. But when an unmatchable girl, Harmony, enrolls in her senior year on campus…Em is determined to find a match for her, and prove to Noah that what she does is good and helpful.

Effie and Hope Thatcher grew up knowing that their grandmother found the last good man. Heartbreak and disappointment were as familiar in Thatcher house as estrogen and town gossip. Hope’s unexpected pregnancy announcement has twenty-three year old Effie realizing that she’s the only woman in their all-female house that hasn’t even dared to find love. With Hope’s beloved under scrutiny and the arrival of a surly safety inspector in Effie’s orbit, the lives of the Thatcher women are turned upside down as they question everything they thought they knew about how disappointing men could be.

In the dazzling world of 1920s New York City, Evie stands at a crossroads. Raised amidst the opulence of high society, she rejects the superficial life of parties and prestige her family expects her to embrace. Instead, Evie dreams of independence, adventure, and carving out her own destiny.