Showing results by narrator "Kate Rudd" in All Categories

A hungry, stray dog is the last thing Cara Butter needs. Stranded in Georgia with only her backpack and a few dwindling dollars, she already has too much baggage. Like her twin sister, Hana, who has broken Cara's heart one too many times. After a lifetime of family troubles, and bouncing from one foster home to another, Cara decides to leave it all behind and strike out alone - on foot.

Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don't trust, don't stick out, and don't feel. But on this voyage, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is headed to an arranged marriage she dreads. Flora doesn't expect to be taken under Evelyn's wing, and Evelyn doesn't expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian. Neither expects to fall in love.

Eleven years ago, the Co-ed Slayer murdered nine female students on the Oregon State University campus. Lacey Campbell barely escaped his attack, but lost her best friend whose remains were never found. As the sole surviving victim, Lacey helped send the sadistic serial killer to prison for life. Now a forensic odontologist examining teeth and bones for the state Medical Examiner, Lacey is devastated when she arrives at a crime scene and identifies the skeletal remains as her college friend’s.

Eilean is rising. A foundling raised in an abbey, she was entrusted by its imprisoned druid, Mordaunt, with an ancient tome. Its magical words can change the world. Eilean’s first mission: translate it. Her second: rescue a benevolent Aldermaston sentenced to death as a heretic by the high seer. But wielding power, knowledge, and ambition has now made Eilean the hunted.

Catherine "C.C." Calhoun is determined to keep her family's estate, known affectionately as the Towers, in the family. She admits the cost of keeping up the crumbling mansion might be quickly exceeding what C.C., her sisters and her aunt can afford, but the only way to save the house can't be to sell it. Especially not to arrogant and handsome hotel magnate Trenton St. James III.

Kricket Hollowell never wished upon stars. She was too busy hiding in plain sight, eluding Chicago's foster care system. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, she now eagerly anticipates the day she'll stop running and finally find her place in the world. That day comes when she meets a young Etharian soldier named Trey Allairis, who has been charged with coming to Earth to find Kricket and transport her to her true home.

After her twin sister’s brutal murder, former US Army Sergeant Allison “Lex” Luther vowed to protect her niece, Charlie. So when two vampires try to kidnap the baby, it quickly turns into a fight to the death - Lex’s death, that is.

Fitting into the Old World isn't going very well for Boulder boundary witch Allison "Lex" Luther: she may have earned a place in a vampire's service, but now it seems as if every supernatural creature in town has found a reason to hate her. And when Lex and her partner are assigned to investigate the suspicious disappearance of two vampires during the night of the full moon, they find themselves with more questions than answers.

It should be the happiest weekend of Officer Stevie Taylor's life. She's finally going to marry Police Chief Zane Duncan and live happily ever after in Solitude, Oregon. But all wedding plans grind to a halt when a dead body is found at a nearby campground. A vacationing A-list TV actor has been murdered...and all hell is about to break loose.

Thirteen years ago, Vivi LeBrun was sketching a rooster and eating Oreos when she first met - and fell for - her friend's brother, David St. James. Since then, her love for David has only intensified thanks to years of friendship with his family, who rescued her from a lonely, tumultuous childhood. As she travels to Block Island to vacation with the St. James siblings, Vivi daydreams about reuniting with David, hoping he'll finally see her as his soul mate.

A devastating plague continues to rage through the land of Muirwood, and all hope is laid at the feet of the young woman Lia. Called as a magical protector, Lia volunteers to embark on one last quest to rescue the knight-maston Colvin - her great love - and his pupil, the alleged heir to the fallen kingdom of Pry-Ree. Undaunted by injuries, Lia sets off across land and sea warning the kingdom of the great plague that is upon them. The arduous journey leads her to the doors of Dochte Abbey, where her friends are supposedly held. However, a fallen enemy lies in wait for Lia, as well as an unbearable new truth.

Ransom Barton and his wife, Claire de Murrow, have arrived in Legault to reclaim the title that was Claire’s birthright. Claire intends to rebuild a war-ravaged palace to its former glory and to teach Ransom about the magical history of their new home. But when Ransom is summoned to return to King Benedict, his loyalty to Claire is tested. Fealty prevails, however questionable the king’s motives.

A simple blink is all it takes to yank Pru from the car with her dad into a world of hurt. She awakens in 2305 to find herself pinned under what's left of CHRONOS headquarters, thanks to a recent terrorist attack. Their prime suspect? Her mother, Katherine Shaw. And everyone wants to know how Pru got her hands on a CHRONOS key.

Theirs is a world of opposites. The privileged live in sky manors held aloft by a secretive magic known only as the Mysteries. Below, the earthbound poor are forced into factory work to maintain the engine of commerce. Only the wealthy can afford to learn the Mysteries, and they use their knowledge to further lock their hold on society. Cettie Pratt is a waif doomed to the world below, until an admiral attempts to adopt her. But in her new home in the clouds, not everyone treats her as one of the family.

This wasn't how Police Chief Zane Duncan expected to spend his first Christmas with fellow officer and girlfriend Stevie Taylor. But when a local motel calls in the discovery of a dead body, the couple's holiday takes a grim turn. This is the second murder in Solitude within the week, despite the fact that their primary suspect is already in custody. Together, Zane and Stevie must face a disturbing truth - their small town may be harboring two killers.

On her thirty-first birthday, hopeless romantic Kelsey Callihan has all but given up on happily ever afters, which is why she agrees to a risqué proposition from Sterling Canyon's notorious playboy, backcountry skier Trip Lexington. After all, every girl needs a little fun, and with Trip, there are no mixed signals or risks of a broken heart. And if his tips can help her land a husband in the process, all the better.

An electrifying and addictive tale of deceit and obsession from the bestselling author of The Good Girl In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her...

Rising from her humble beginnings as a lost orphan, Lia is summoned to be Muirwood Abbey’s protector and special guardian for Ellowyn Demont, the lost heir of the fallen kingdom of Pry-Ree. After the death of the ruthless king at the battle of Winterrowd, the great Aldermaston and Abbey leader calls on Lia to use her mystical talents to save Muirwood from two new threats—a vengeful queen accusing the Abbey of her husband’s death and a deadly plague threatening to destroy the land.

When Jonathon Roth and his family are invited by their neighbors, the Beasleys, to join them at a luxury retreat in Cozumel, who can refuse? It’s the perfect winter getaway. Relaxing on the beach, gourmet food, sightseeing, and free accommodations. But if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Villa Sara de Calakmul, owned by mysterious tycoon Jacob Calakmul, is more isolated compound than private resort. Armed guards patrol the jungle perimeters. Pictures of previous guests—long disappeared—adorn the walls.

When an elf is kidnapped by a nefarious gang, Raine must use her magical abilities and team up with some unlikely allies in order to rescue her friend.