Showing results by narrator "Patricia Santomasso" in All Categories

With the remote North Carolina island thrown into chaos, scientist Rachel Atwood must use her expertise to find answers and try to stop a savage plot. When Rachel is drawn into the danger, Jonah Gray—the man who stole her heart and then left her behind—returns to protect her. Whether she wants him to or not.

When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs. But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.

Annika never thought of herself as weak - until vampires murdered her parents and kidnapped her to their hidden kingdom of the Vale. As a brand-new blood slave, Annika must survive her dangerous new circumstances - or face death from the wolves prowling the Vale's enchanted walls. But sparks fly when she meets the vampire prince Jacen, and while she hates the thought of falling for the enemy, her connection with the mysterious prince could be the key to her freedom.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town. But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

I thought magic didn’t exist. I was so, so wrong. I'm just a typical college student...until a demon attacks me on the night of my 21st birthday. Luckily, I'm saved by Noah - a mysterious, sexy wolf shifter who appears and disappears before I can ask him any questions. Then, my mom is abducted by the same demon who came after me. And who turns up at the scene of the crime again? Noah. He’s hunting the demons who are taking humans, and he’s ultimately heading where I need to go to save my mom - the mystical island of Avalon.

At Elementals Academy, Summer finally finds the thing she’s wanted her whole life: a place where she fits in. Although that doesn’t last long, thanks to her magic not working the way it’s supposed to, and no one knowing why. But her biggest challenge isn’t schoolwork. Or magic. It’s Zane Caldwell—the iciest, most attractive, and most mysterious student at the school. Despite the way Zane’s warm to her one minute and cold the next, Summer feels an irresistible draw to him.

When Alex arrives in Provincetown to patch things up with his new wife, Mina, he finds an empty wine glass in the sink, her wedding ring on the desk, and a string of questions in her wake. The police believe that Mina, a successful romance author, simply left, their marriage crumbling before it truly began. But what Alex finds in their empty cottage points him toward a different reality: Mina has always carried a secret. And now she's disappeared.

On the island of Avalon, everyone has magical abilities. Except Selena Pearce. As if being the only nonmagical person on the island isn’t bad enough, her parents happen to be the king and queen of Avalon - and the most magical people alive. She’s never felt like she fit in on Avalon, but that all changes when she leaves the island and meets Julian - a mesmerizing, mysterious human.

According to legend, twin sisters Gemma and Mira are descended from witches. But they’ve never been able to use magic. On their 17th birthday, everything changes. They’re gifted with power over the elements, and right after receiving their magic, they’re tracked down and attacked by an ancient monster. They would have died, if not for Mira’s boyfriend, Ethan, showing up to save the day.

After waiting for years, Brandon Hale is finally about to marry Finley Cooper, the woman of his dreams. But when things start to go haywire on their wedding day, Brandon can’t shake the feeling that something terrible looms . . .

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn't like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter, and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance. But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona's city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona's worries.

When three local bullies pick on Iron Hills dwarf Eiravel (Val) Stonehold, she naturally defends herself. Why is she the only one who gets thrown out of the tavern after the brawl? On her way home, two bumbling dragons in human form, Axl and Livius, accost her and hand her a letter. What can the new Eternal Queen Julie possibly want with her? As it turns out, the queen wants her body.

The impossible has happened—Matt, the boyfriend Cora has both grieved and avenged, is . . . . . . Alive? As the doomsday clock ticks, Cora is thrust into a high-stakes game of alliance and betrayal. How can she unite beings of immense power and dubious loyalty to thwart a plan that could end humanity? With dark government forces emerging and her allies on the brink, Cora's legendary temper is a misstep away from igniting disaster. And she can't afford to lose her temper now.

When Melinda Marx receives a mysterious invitation to visit the quaint, historic oceanfront inn in Carova, NC, where she spent her childhood summers, it seems like the perfect opportunity to regroup after her painful divorce. But when she arrives, she learns this is no ordinary beach getaway. The inn’s owner has died, and four strangers with their own invitations are already there waiting for answers.

When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a 34-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping - and equally famous return - 20 years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.

The supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real . . . Such tales of the dark and the unknown have always fascinated us, and modern authors carry on the disquieting traditions of the past while inventing imaginative new ways to unsettle us. Chosen from a wide variety of venues, these stories are as eclectic and varied as shadows.

In a technologically-saturated era where nearly everything can be effortlessly and digitally reproduced, we're all hungry to carve out our own unique personalities, our own bespoke personae, to stand out and be seen. As the forces of social media and capitalism collide, and individualism becomes more important than ever across a wide array of industries, "branding ourselves" or actively defining our selves for others has become the norm. Yet, this phenomenon is not new. In Self-Made, Tara Isabella Burton shows us how we arrived at this moment of fervent personal-branding.

In Pledged, Alexandra Robbins followed four college girls to produce a riveting narrative that read like fiction. Now, in The Overachievers, Robbins uses the same captivating style to explore how our high-stakes educational culture has spiraled out of control.

A hidden world, secrets, love, betrayal...and dragons. Reality? Gone...yanked out from under me like a cheap Ikea rug. Here are the doozies I've learned since coming to the Dragon Born Academy: Dragons exist. Also, bondmates. I'm now bound to Ashe Carrick, who's basically Dragonborn Royalty. The downside? He wants nothing to do with me.

As a brand new blood slave, Annika must learn to survive her dangerous new circumstances or face imminent death from the monstrous wolves prowling outside the Vale's enchanted walls. But not all in the kingdom is as it appears, and when a handsome vampire disguised as a human steps into her life, Annika discovers that falling for the enemy is sometimes too tempting to resist.