Showing results by narrator "Amy Melissa Bentley" in All Categories

Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust. But what happens when you're the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect - read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice - stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you've had a thing for since you were nine years old? Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype.

Claire Hansen was a Keeper, gifted - or cursed - with the job of being one of Earth's Guardians, "summoned" to areas where anomalies existed, where rifts had opened - or had been opened. Such places were the world's danger spots where, if they weren't sealed in time, all the minions of hell might break through. After she'd closed the portal into hell at the Elysian Fields Guest House, Claire and her talking cat, Austin, found they'd acquired a new companion - Dean.

Growing up Amish and leaving the fold, Emma Gingerich left her Amish community in Eagleville, Missouri, at the age of 18. Her memoir Runaway Amish Girl: The Great Escape captivates even the timid listener. Disagreeing with the beliefs of Amish traditions and upbringing, the pressure became too much for her to bear. Forced to make a personal decision, Emma found the courage to leave the only life she had ever known. She had no idea the emotional turmoil she'd inflict on her family and friends.

When an esteemed institute in London hires Althea and her dive master buddy, Trace, to document a high-stakes treasure expedition, they are pulled into a game that neither of them had realized they were playing.

Inheriting a cottage in Pine Lake was supposed to be the escape from her stressful life as a social worker. Instead, Amalie Holmes is taking witch lessons from her crazy, lightning-wielding grandmother, juggling guardianship of a sassy pre-teen, and taking over a pet shop, all while trying to get used to her super-loud, super-new family. Too bad she can't clone herself. Maybe there's a spell for that? When the head of the local Witch Council is found dead, and Amalie's Grandma Vivian is named the prime suspect, Amalie's new-found family is in jeopardy.

It's Halloween in New Orleans, and the staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum is setting up a fantastic haunted house tour for their visitors. But when flashy movie star Blaine Taggart and his entourage move into the mansion next door, gift shop proprietor Ricki James-Diaz gets a fright of her own.

It's October in Daybreak Harbor, which means everything Halloween. The town is going all out for the holiday, hoping to one-up the festivities in neighboring Salem, Massachusetts, and Maddie James is delighted to be part of the planning for the annual happenings. But trouble brews when Maddie's youngest sister, Sam, books a famous medium, Balfour Dempsey, to come to town for the celebrations and stay in the local haunted inn—along with his equally famous black cat. The town busybody books a secret reading with Balfour and doesn't want anyone to know why.

Aaron Ebersol left the Amish community 17 years ago when he could no longer bear the restrictions or the constant tension with his father. Despite years of unanswered letters to his parents and the roots he's put down in Missouri, Aaron rushes back to the Amish community of Paradise, Pennsylvania, after receiving word of his mother's stroke. Hesitant to get too close to the family he was once a part of, he decides to stay at the Heart of Paradise Bed & Breakfast. Talking with Linda allows him to explore his feelings about his family and his position in the Amish community.

Maggie Crozat is back home in bayou country during the most magical time of the year. In Pelican, Louisiana, Christmastime is a season of giant bonfires on the levee, zydeco carols, and pots of gumbo. Except, this year, the Grinch has come to stay at the family-run Crozat Plantation B&B. When he floods travel websites with vicious reviews, Maggie thinks she's identified him as rival businessman Donald Baxter. That is, until he's found stabbed to death at Maggie's workplace. And Maggie and her loved ones become top suspects.

With her first witch exam looming in front of her, Amalie's got a lot on her plate. Between practice exams, a mystery man who seems to hold some family secrets, pre-teen Taylin skipping school, and the hot-but-distracting detective finally asking her on a date, she's not sure what to do first. When one of her Aunts shows up to a family dinner with blood on her hands, her to-do list suddenly gets a whole lot longer. When the murder of a local stitch-witch turns out to be tied to the murder of her Great-Aunt 15 years ago, the past and future collide.

Thanks to Winnie's new cider shop, Smythe Orchards is out of the red and folks can get their fix of the produce and other delectable products they love all year round. The locals are even booking the shop for events, including a June wedding! Winnie couldn't be happier to see the barn filled to the rafters for the big bash - until her doting ex, Hank, is caught in a heated argument with the groom. Winnie plans to scold Hank after the party, but spots him running off instead. And when the groom turns up dead, apparently hit by the honeymoon getaway car, Hank is the main suspect.

Would a billionaire’s son ever fall for his maid? Maybe in a fairytale. But in real life? I’m not holding my breath. I’ve always been invisible to Nash Hastings—the beautiful boy I’ve been in love with since one magical night last summer. A night he doesn’t even remember until an accidental text puts it back on his radar. But I can’t tell him the girl he met at his family’s garden party is now a housekeeper in his family’s mansion. Because if he knew it was me he was texting, the fairytale would be over. I’m no princess and don’t belong in his world. If only my heart knew its place.

With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever - winning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition.... Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bake-off, and she's not afraid to dump a little coal in everyone's stocking to do it.

She'd been told her fiancé died in a military training accident, but Gina Santino's gut told her otherwise. Still, she never imagined his killers would come after her. Now she is dodging bullets and running for her own life, not sure who to trust. Her fiancé had left specific instructions for her to contact fellow US Army Ranger Ian Masterson should anything happen to him. But how could she trust a man who abandoned his team years ago? With no other choice, Gina must place her life in his hands in order to stay alive long enough to find the truth.

Physical therapist Quinn Reese fled San Francisco to be free of her soon-to-be ex-husband, professional football player Jake Medero. Staying at her mother's house in Rarity Cove seems like her only option until she can get back on her feet financially. When the St. Clair family makes her a lucrative offer of employment, Quinn sees the potential for starting over, even if it means working with Carter, who broke her heart years ago.

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital. Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur.

Jack Frost stole me away from Avilion for more than kicks and giggles: Someone is plotting an attempt on Queen Nicnevin's life, and I'm just the dryad to help hunt down the assassin. But the underworld of Annwyn holds more than just knives in the shadows - it holds the secrets of my past and future.

Thirty-one-year-old Carolyn Lapp has never been married - but she's been a mother for 15 years. In a community with strict standards and a long memory, Carolyn knows she might never find a man who will have her and her son, Benjamin. Carolyn's family tries to marry her off to a widower with a daughter who needs a mother. A marriage of convenience doesn't sound so bad, yet despite her loneliness, Carolyn knows what she really wants: a traditional Amish family and a marriage for love.

Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person. But when she's running late for her first day at a dream job and the barista yells for "Amy" three times with no answer, she does the unthinkable. Izzy takes that PSL. But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she's ever seen, spilling the drink all over his GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising until he says the words, "See you tomorrow, Amy." Uh, oh-she'll definitely have to straighten him out the following day.

It's an ordinary day at Harry's Hair Stop until Imogene hears her favorite client's dying wish. Two days later, she finds herself in the embalming room at Greener Pastures Mortuary, bottle of hair dye and scissors in hand. Styling her client's hair for the funeral is creepy. She'd expected that. But she hadn't expected the body to buzz like it was loaded with corpse caffeine. Was it her imagination, or was something more sinister at play? Determined to prove her sanity, she teams up with the mortuary's handsome night watchman to investigate.