Showing results by narrator "Jesse Vilinsky" in All Categories

Squirrel is a hard-hitting, foul-mouthed orphan raised in a traveling circus, and her one goal in life is to discover her real name. If she knew that, maybe she'd be able to pierce the mystery of her past: Where did she come from, and who abandoned her on the side of the road twelve years ago? Now is her opportunity. The king is hosting a competition for entertainers across the land, and the champion will receive a potent reward: A single question from The Oracle. The right question could make a man rich beyond measure, but Squirrel has other plans.

Once every two generations, the young adults of Whitecliff must face the trial of Mother's Wrath, during which they will either receive magical powers or be swept away in the tempest. Dorea hopes the storm will bring her one of its elemental powers: lightning, water, or wind. To her shock, when the trial ends and the earth stops trembling, she finds herself gifted with all three.

In this second collection in the Music and Murder Mystery series, nine award-winning, bestselling authors have written their own interpretations of the Thriller song list. With original work from some of the best mystery authors out there, the anthology includes stories from Heather Graham, Jeffery Deaver, William Kent Krueger, Dahlia Rose, and David R. Slayton, among others. With poignant, frightening, and intriguing stories from some of the best writers in the genre, this eerie collection is sure to keep you up at night—and maybe even haunt your dreams.

The Argyros siblings have lost everything. With their father dead and their family home captured, they’re no longer the rulers of their fractured kingdom—and no longer bound to each other.

Shady Grove inherited her father’s ability to call ghosts from the grave with his fiddle, but she also knows the fiddle’s tunes bring nothing but trouble and darkness. But when her brother is accused of murder, she can’t let the dead keep their secrets. In order to clear his name, she’s going to have to make those ghosts sing.

Welcome to “In Real Life,” the hot new reality show that forces social media’s reigning kings and queens to unplug for three weeks and “go live” without any filters. IRL is supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime, watched closely by legions of loyal followers. But for these rising stars—including Elody, an Instagram model with an impulsive streak; Kira, a child star turned fitness influencer; Logan, a disgraced TikTok celeb with a secret; and Max, a YouTuber famous for exposés on his fellow creators—it’s about to turn into a nightmare.

Introvert Gina Mulley is determined to become a tattoo artist, and to find somewhere she belongs in her conventional Long Island town. But this is 1985, when tattooing is still a gritty, male-dominated fringe culture, and Gina’s whimsical style is far from the norm. Luck is on her side: Gina’s older brother Dominic owns a tattoo shop, and he reluctantly grants her one year to prove herself.

There are two things that Corinne Parker knows to be true: that she is in love with Maggie Bailey, the captain of the rival high school's cross-country team and her secret girlfriend of a year, and that she isn't ready for anyone to know she's bisexual. But then Maggie dies, and Corinne quickly learns that the only thing worse than losing Maggie is being left heartbroken over a relationship no one knows existed. And to make things even more complicated, the only person she can turn to is Elissa—Maggie's ex, and the single person who understands how Corinne is feeling.

It’s a man’s world, and Indiana Ana Aaron, a talented coder and IT specialist, doesn’t fit in. She says what she thinks, which frequently gets her in trouble and most recently has resulted in her transfer to a remote work team. She sees working from home as a chance at redemption (by keeping her head down and her camera off). But, almost immediately, her new boss makes a huge mistake in a report, and Ana feels compelled to point it out. She expects extreme repercussions, like before, but instead, the boss praises Mr. Aaron for his assertiveness and gives the team the afternoon off.

I escaped from the first wave of monsters with a magic sword, a kidnapped duke, and a big chip on my shoulder. It's not enough for me to run. Not when this tide threatens to sweep over the entire world. I'm the only one who can warn people of what's coming. I'm the only one who knows the truth. And I'm the only one who holds a sword able to fight against the tide of plague and monsters...or am I?

Lydia hasn’t felt comfortable in her own skin since the boys at her school started commenting on the way she looks in her uniform. Her cousin and friends think she should be flattered, but the boys - and sometimes her mom’s boyfriend, Jeremy - make Lydia uncomfortable and confused. Even more confusing is when Jeremy hovers too close and hugs a little too long. Then her mom surprises her by buying a dilapidated house in their neighborhood. Lydia hopes to find a little bit of magic in their new home.

It’s summer term at Mount Olympus Academy, and it’s definitely getting hot in here - even for a dragon-shifter like me. My best friend is being held by the monsters. My crush, Val, just brought his fiancée back to campus with him. And my first mission was a big fat fail. But there is a silver lining. His name is Nico, a one-eyed werewolf who’s been tortured by the monsters and has a major alpha thing going on. His mother, though, is a real piece of work. Maddox Tralano wants more killing, more bloodshed, and less monsters in the world.

Twelve-year-old Melanie has been in foster care her whole life, moving from home to home—unloved and unwanted. And although she has found relative contentment with her current foster parents, Melanie harbors a secret that, if discovered, would blow her world apart. Someone talks to Melanie, a presence no one else can see or hear, and this presence has a message for her: Something bad is about to happen.

Megan Harper is the girl before...just like Rosaline from Romeo and Juliet. Every one of Megan’s relationships has ended the same way - her ex replaces her with someone perfect. But instead of crying over every breakup, Megan spends her time on her two passions: pursuing her next fling and directing theater. She hates the spotlight, and she’s hoping to fulfill her college program’s acting requirement in the smallest role possible.

To Milla Bloom, everything seems easy for her best friend, Honey Wine. Milla envies Honey’s confidence, her charm, and her big chaotic, loving family—especially when they provide a welcome escape from Milla’s small family and their silent house. The two friends do everything and go everywhere together. So when Honey joins Milla’s school for sixth grade, why is it not as great as Milla expected? Will she ever find the courage to step out of Honey's shadow and into her own spotlight?

What Elisa, Lucia, and Alice see–and judge–of each other from the outside is drastically different from how each girl feels inside. They attend the same classes in the same New York City middle school, but no one knows that Elisa is trying to navigate the bewildering asylum process having just arrived from El Salvador; or that Lucia, who also speaks Spanish and brims with self-confidence, is caught in the middle of her parents’ heartbreaking divorce; or that Alice, who appears to be a rebel in combat boots, carries the burden of her mother’s progressing cancer.

After returning from the Winter Court, Scarlett and her sister, Ashleigh, are living at the Unseelie Court under its king, Kaelem's, protection. Scarlett's only desire is to keep her sister safe, but Ashleigh isn't happy to be trapped away from her mortal life. Scarlett feels more fae and less human every day. Her emotions run high and resisting the temptations of her new life are harder than ever. When the Fates share a prophecy about powerful magic up for the taking, Scarlett hopes it's the answer she's been looking for. But she isn't the only one the Fates have told.

This anthology, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg, offers a sweeping survey of robots as depicted throughout literature. Since the Iliad—in which we are shown golden statues built by Hephaestus “with minds and wisdoms”—humans have been fascinated by the idea of artificial life. From the Argonautica to the medieval Jewish legend of the Golem and Ambrose Bierce’s tale of a chess-playing robot, the idea of what robots are—and who creates them—can be drastically different.

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream of becoming a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super introverted dad, who raised Millie alone since she was a baby. Not her drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not her “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm. Millie needs an ally. And when an accidentally left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do—find her mom.

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.