She looks like an angel … acts like a human … and must risk her life and heart to save the faerie realm.Sela is a young, feather-winged faerie, living a life of magical ease. Her fellow Fae portray themselves as benevolent gods, worthy of human allegiance. But Sela would rather carouse with mortals than rule them.When Sela gets caught illegally fraternizing with humans, her leaders cast her out of magical society, declaring her a fallen faerie. They command her to masquerade as a human and spy on the Darros, a family scheming to take down the Fae. If she helps stamp out the conspiracy, her exile will end. Sela agrees to tutor the Darros’ son, Kovian, in the Fae language.When she arrives, she discovers Kovian isn’t a little boy. He’s eighteen. He’s gorgeous. And he despises faeries. Wearing her human glamour, Sela intends to charm him into revealing his family’s plot against the Fae. But she finds herself truly falling for him, while he pushes her away at every turn.Despite Kovian’s hostility, Sela is determined to earn his trust, learn his secrets, and save her people … if his family doesn’t discover her true identity and kill her first.
Tag: Terrible Audio Narration
Review: I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.
In I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.
Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.
Review: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 5
Pirates and vampyres. Sunken catacombs and monsters’ crèches. Plagued riches and eldritch eggs. Demon summoners and bridges to other worlds.
The alien but oddly familiar realm of Maradoum welcomes you home with a magical medley of stand-alone short stories set in the same world as the Convent Series, beginning with “A Dead Wizard’s Dream”.
From the ancient mysteries of Gorodzmeya – the lizard city in the desert – to the deities who protect the people of Quing Tzu, from the hidden treasures of Shimyahein to the sacking of the Spardican coast, this sword and sorcery anthology will keep you at the edge of your seat with stories of comeuppance and revenge, of mighty warriors and creatures of evil, of the lost finding family, of omens and urchins, and of portals to realms beyond what is known….
Featured in Chronicles of Maradoum, Volume Five:
Shazarad the Terrible
Nymph Eggs
The Shark and the Shadowers
Catacombs and Crèches
God of Gold
The Giant and the Sea Urchins
Vampyre Coven
The Adventures of Captain Mayhem
The Curupira’s Curse
The Nightmare Bridge
The Lost City
Review: The Wonderful World of Scary Ass Shit 2
Your parents are lying bags of dicks. Everything in the woods: wolves, bears, and squirrels, aren’t just trying to eat you. It would be nice if they were, but there are other sphincter tightening horrors living in the woods that just want to be inside you: your body, that is.
The Aurora Wasteland exists, let’s get that out of the way right now. What matters more is that it’s larger and more prominent than anyone could have known. Spread across counties, countries, and notches…or whatever you want to call them. It’s everywhere, even in the most invasive places your grandmother would never tell you about. The strange and weird is like sand in your underpants.
Something is causing hikers to vanish on Mount Tekarra, which just so happens to be situated in the heart of the Brightness Falls National Park, maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s ok if you haven’t, it’s not really a come visit and expect to leave still living type of place.
Logan, Gabe, Monahan, and Jeff, having survived the cornfield maze creature, aren’t really talking about what happened to them. Mostly because they simply don’t understand it all. Since the merge, things have only gotten more confusing and weird. None of them are living the lives they remember, except they are…make sense? Because it really doesn’t to them.
Memories of their two lives continue to blend as each of them struggles to figure out who they are, what they are, and who they are…wait, did I say that already? Doesn’t matter, because the Aurora Wasteland isn’t giving them time to take things slow. Monahan’s co-worker Simone just so happens to be one of those missing hikers. You know, the ones from a few paragraphs up? With her newfound connection and lady boner for the Aurora Wasteland, Monahan sets out to find her co-worker while dragging her reluctant, apparent friends behind her.
As the book tethered makes its way through the group, a second book by the so-called discoverer of The Aurora Wasteland emerges. One that has been around for years, and has molded the lives of the team more than they know.
It’s ok to be confused and scared, but I should warn you that if you’re listening to this, then it’s already too late. The Aurora Wasteland has you. It knows you. There is no escape. Trust me, it’s better you just figure out what’s going on, for your own sake and sanity.
Review: Quest
Sylvalla escapes Avondale castle and the life of a princess, in search of the adventure she’s always wanted.
Once found, adventure bites back.
Fortunately, she’s not alone. Unfortunately, her new-found companions are less than heroic. Jonathan, would rather make money than learn wizardry. Dirk, would rather live a long and happy life than confront danger. And at 150, old Capro would rather stop gallivanting, and harangue unsuspecting wizardry students about his glory days over a nice cup of tea.
Quest has everything, heroes, monsters, chases, escapes and a complete lack of true love.
A celebration of adventure fantasy, Quest is a quirky and original fantasy from award winning and USA Today Bestselling author, A.J. Ponder on behalf of Wizardly historian, F Fraderghast. Become a student of magic today, and discover the true fighter, warrior, and most unprincesslike Princess Sylvalla, as she battles for her place as a hero.
Review: Rise of the Sparrows
A cursed omen who dreams of death. A girl who calls fire with a wish. A group of resistance fighters who need the king to die.
Prophecy has brought them together, but will it destroy them too?
Rachael is no stranger to struggle: her parents abandoned her when she was five, she is homeless, and the villagers avoid her because they fear her prophetic dreams. Rachael is okay with that—if they leave her alone, they won’t harm her, and she can look after herself. But then she meets Cephy, and Cephy isn’t used to being away from her mother’s warmth.
When her father beats Cephy again, she burns the house and her family down with her magic. The scared villagers call on the White Guard to take them away and execute them, but neither girl is ready to die. Together, they escape into a world they know nothing about… towards a Mist Woman with dark plans and a resistance plotting regicide.
Rachael wants only to live in peace, but the resistance needs her, and it promises a better tomorrow for all magically gifted. It’s everything Rachael wants and more…
But is she prepared to commit the ultimate crime and claim the throne to get it?
If you like plot twists, kickass heroines, and dark destructive magic, then you’ll love the first instalment in this page-turning epic fantasy trilogy.
Review: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 4
Gods and dogs. Apes, bandits, and cat-people. Wyverns and were-beasts. Arcane arts and assassins. Carnage and mayhem.
Travel back to the enigmatic realm of Maradoum with the fourth Chronicles, set in the same world as the Convent series, beginning with A Dead Wizard’s Dream.
From the forbidden forests in the downtrodden land of Paeu to the strange and secretive folk high in the Kutzian mountains, from the cracked black wastes of Zamphia to the lush jungle of Shala’Hyddin, please enjoy this collection of zestful and zany sword and sorcery short stories collected in one volume for your entertainment, including but not limited to battles with supernatural forces, zealots’ raids, succouring spirits, and tales of star-crossed love and togetherness.
Featured in Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 4:
“Nightingales”
“Dogs of War”
“Curse of the Sidhe”
“The Pygmy and the Bandits”
“Prophet’s Blade”
“Morkri and the Mouser”
“The Sorcerer’s Tower and the Were-Beasts”
“Dragon Stance”
“Shadows of the Damned”
“Kappas and Drowned Lizards”
“Undead Monkeys”
Review: Daughter of the Yellow Dragon
Pinnacle Book Achievement Award winner
Genghis Khan united a nation and created a vast empire for his heirs. But after 200 years of civil war, his empire has fallen into the dark ages.
Mandukhai dreams of being a fierce warrior woman, but her dreams are shattered when she is forced to become the second wife to the Great Khan.
Unebolod spent his life in the Great Khan’s shadow, preparing for a day when he can seize control of the empire. But when he forms a dangerous alliance with Mandukhai, it swiftly transforms into a passion that could destroy them both.
Just as the two are certain their fate will one day bring them together and make Unebolod the next Great Khan, a young prince surfaces to steal the Great Khan’s attention and the hearts of the nation.
Daughter of the Yellow Dragon is the first book in a gripping, gritty historical fiction series based on the epic life of one of the most underrated women in history. The series draws you into a world of brutal Mongol steppe life, deadly political games, and supernatural beliefs.
Please be advised: This book contains adult situations, graphic violence, assault, and personal loss.
Daughter of the Yellow Dragon is the Winter 2021 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award winner for outstanding historical fiction.
Review: The Year of Magical Thinking
When celebrated writer Joan Didion’s life was altered forever, she wrote a new chapter. In this adaptation of her iconic memoir, Didion transforms the story of the shattering loss of her husband and their daughter into a one-woman play performed by Tony Award winner Vanessa Redgrave, who originated the role on Broadway in 2007. Written with Didion’s trademark style of cool observation, The Year of Magical Thinking weaves back and forth in time, taking listeners on a poignant journey through heartbreak, grief, and resilience. It’s an unforgettable theatrical experience that resonates with anyone who has ever loved.
Review: The Fair Queen
For fans of Cassandra Clare and Holly Black comes a new story that will lure you into a world of magic and monsters, and never let you go.
The trees in Hartwood Forest are hiding an ancient secret, a door into a magical realm where fairy princes and monsters are one and the same. Seventeen-year-old Aria is bored of her small town and dreams of a life filled with excitement and adventure. She’s about to learn the meaning of “be careful what you wish for”. After a chilling encounter at the local summer fair, Aria is ripped from her normal life and dragged through the Veil into the Fair Realm by a strange, silver-eyed boy and his band of fairy soldiers. They believe she is the legendary Fair Queen, the subject of a prophecy that promises to unite the war-ravaged realm and bring an end to the centuries-long conflict between the Five Kingdoms.
But it can’t be true. Can it?
Beset by terrifying creatures at every turn and hunted by a tyrannical king who will stop at nothing to prevent the prophecy from coming true, Aria will have to rely on her wits if she’s to escape the Fair Realm with her life.
Book One in The Fair Chronicles, a new young adult fantasy series for fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Folk of the Air.