Showing results by narrator "Ann Gideon" in All Categories

Julia Dorning thought she would die a lonely spinster. That was until nine months ago, when her world was turned upside down. Now she's got a dream career as a bakery owner, and a relationship with handsome Jared Moody - a life she never thought possible. Just as she's starting to feel comfortable in her new life, Julia is invited to battle it out on national television making cupcakes. An amazing opportunity, if she can muster up the confidence to do it, that is. Then, out of the blue, Jared goes and throws a wrench in their relationship, causing Julia to have to make some decisions.

Brody Green is finding it hard to recover after being dumped by his fiancée, Jenna Jones, then watching her walk down the aisle with someone else. Jenna is determined to make up for her love defection and find him the perfect woman, but Brody is done with love. First a divorce, then a broken engagement. From now on he’s keeping things light, no commitments. Luckily Brody’s business is booming. Beach Dreams Realty is the best real estate company in town. And the only one. Until…

Catherine Pine is hoping her Christmas is a bit more jolly than last year's. That one was her first without her husband, and with her kids and their families absent this year, she's worried. But things change when her good friend invites her on a Christmas cruise to lift her spirits. Suddenly every day is an adventure and she's making a bunch of new friends, including the lovable Sophie Miles.

Sebastian Whitcombe, Viscount Willowthorpe, comes to America to experience the great Wild West for himself before it disappears for good. The adventure comes with a convenient bonus—it postpones his father’s edict that he take a wife from the British aristocracy. Sebastian isn’t so much against marriage as he is an arranged marriage to the wrong woman.

An award-winning journalist, avid reader and new mom, Karma Brown dreamed of writing her first novel. But between diapers and tight deadlines, how could she? For Brown, the answer to this problem was to rise earlier every day and use that time to write. In The 4% Fix, Karma Brown reveals the latest research about time management and goal-setting and shares strategies that have worked for her as well as for others. How will you use this one hour—only 4% of your day—to change your life?

Wren is troubled. Ever since she performed the blood spell on Prince Ansel, her magic has become unruly. Worse, the spell created a link between Wren and the very man she’s trying to forget: Icy King Alarik of Gevra. A curse is eating away at both of them. To fix it they must journey to the northern mountains—under the watchful guard of Captain Tor Iversen—to consult with the Healer on High.

After months of searching for Violet James, Gabriel Runyon and his K-9 partner finally track her down—just in time to rescue her from her ex-fiancé. Now they must safeguard the single mother and her newborn daughter. Leaving Violet’s Alaskan hideout is the safest option, but with a winter storm rolling in, it’s not just a murderer they have to escape.

A satire of teenage life follows cynical soon-to-graduate Flannery Culp on a raucous journey through high school in the 1990s, covering SATs, college applications, friends, boyfriends, tabloid journalism, and TV talk shows. A first novel.

Aaron Whitworth hasn't had control over most aspects of his life, but he's always taken pride in being an honorable businessman and better-than-average horseman. When both of those claims are threatened, he makes the desperate decision to hire the horse trainer of a traveling circus as a temporary jockey for his racehorses. Sophia Fitzroy knows that most horsemen don't take her seriously because she's a woman, but she can't pass up the opportunity to get away from the tumultuous world of travel and performing.

As the fourth daughter of the perpetually in-mourning Queen Victoria, Princess Louise’s life is more a gilded prison than a fairy tale. Expected to sit quietly next to her mother with down-cast eyes, Louise vows to escape the stultifying royal court. Blessed with beauty, artistic talent, and a common touch, she creates a life outside the walled-in existence of the palace grounds by attending the National Art Training School—where she shockingly learns to sculpt nude models while falling passionately in love with famed sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm.

Gwen Robbins loves her job waitressing at the Pine Valley resort restaurant, and as a single woman, she has no trouble turning down any offers of dates from the restaurant patrons. Even when her boss, Seth Owens, shows interest in her, she's not tempted in the least, no matter how strong their attraction. But when Seth helps her through a crisis, she begins to see him in a different light. He's not the rich and privileged business owner she first makes him out to be but a man who's making huge sacrifices to follow his own dreams.

Michelle Bishop has spent most of her life hating her nemesis, Georgia Beauregard. When the town beauty queen herself suddenly dies, Michelle is the only one who isn't mourning. But Michelle has just discovered there is something far worse than a living, breathing bully. Try being haunted by a dead one.

In "Books and Roses", one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?", an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks", where doors can be closed only with a key - with surprising unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think", a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason).

Stacey Stapleton owns the premier bed and breakfast on Hawaii's big island, and she's not happy about the new 28-story monstrosity disguised as a luxury resort just down the beach. When she books a night to find out what the rooms at Sweet Breeze are like, she's impressed with the amenities, the view of the bay...and the tall, dark, and handsome room service attendants. But she's sworn off men and is focused on her own B&B, her Women's Beach Club of friends, and living up to her grandfather's legacy.

The Duke of Riverton has chosen his future wife with the same logic he uses to make every decision. However, his perfect bride eludes his suit, while the beautiful Isabella Berkeley seems to be everywhere. When the time comes, will Griffith and Isabella be able to set aside their pride and initial notions to embrace their very own happily-ever-after?

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she...cares for me. Even though a power like mine was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating

The girl everybody loves to hate has returned to the town she'd sworn to leave behind forever. As the rich, spoiled princess of Parrish, Mississippi, Sugar Beth Carey had broken hearts, ruined friendships, and destroyed reputations. But 15 years have passed, and now she's come home - broke, desperate, and too proud to show it. The people of Parrish don't believe in forgive and forget. But none of them have reckoned on the unexpected strength of a woman who's learned survival the hard way.

Once happily married, Jenna Jones is about to turn 40, and this year for her birthday - lucky her - she’s getting a divorce. She’s barely able to support herself and her teenage daughter. Her aging aunt Edie is finding it difficult to keep up her business running The Driftwood Inn, so she invites Jenna to come live with her and run the place. It looks like Jenna’s financial problems are solved! Or not. The town is a little more run-down than Jenna remembers, but that’s nothing compared to the ramshackle state of The Driftwood Inn.

On the first day of summer, Mara Jameson went out to water her garden—and was never seen again. Years after her disappearance, no one could forget the expectant mother whose glowing smile had captured the heart of everyone who'd known her: Maeve Jameson, still mourning the loss of a granddaughter she had struggled to protect . . . Patrick Murphy, a dogged police detective obsessed with a vanished woman . . . and Lily Malone, drawn to the rugged beauty of the Nova Scotia coast and its promise of a new life.

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she’d steal her sister’s place on the throne. Trained from birth to return to the palace and avenge her parents’ murder, she’ll do anything to become queen and protect the community of witches who raised her. Or she would, if only a certain guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic would stop causing trouble. . . .