Showing results by narrator "Madeline Pell" in All Categories

Germany, 1940. Roxy ducked behind the rusted train carriage in the darkness. She’d walked all night alone. She just needed to make it across the railyard and onto the final carriage of the train slowly pulling into the station ahead. Then she’d be safe. At least for a little while… Cared for by her aunt and extended family since losing her parents as a little girl, Roxy Popa has always felt like an outsider. She hates to follow the strict rules her family hold her to.

Emma’s life has been perfect ever since she met Benjamin. Behind his kind smile he’s not just a successful surgeon, but a devoted father to his daughter Lily. As she wakes up beside him in their king-size bed every morning, Emma can’t believe he only has eyes for her. She even feels like she’s finally helped him grieve the tragic death of Lily’s mother. But then the first letter arrives at Emma’s desk at work. A pristine white envelope with flawless calligraphy inside.

When I move to a remote spot in rural Kansas, I don’t know a soul. I’m delighted when I realise that the family next door has five children—perfect company for my baby boy. As I look at the smiling faces around the pine-scrubbed table in the sunshine-filled kitchen I feel a sense of hope. They’re all so loud. Soalive. But then I take a close look at their mom, SarahBeth. She’s strange, unfriendly, her face pinched. Almost as if she doesn’t want me there…

Transported to the magical realm of Avalon, Gwen finds herself in the hands of its dark and beautiful ruler—Mordred, the prince in iron. The prince holds total power in Avalon, trapping his rivals in an enchanted crystal prison. But he shows a strange gentleness to Gwen.

I knew the moment I met Daniel that I would marry him. As I meet his family for the first time, I say a silent prayer. It’s important that I make a good impression… and that they don’t discover why I’m really there. Over a lavish family dinner, I take in their tight-lipped smiles. His mother watches my every move, his brother flirts dangerously with me and his sister maintains her thunderous expression as she carefully avoids any questions about the family. I can tell they’re all hiding something from me. And little do they know, I already know what it is.

Hickory Hills is the perfect place to raise a family. Everyone knows everyone. Sometimes, that’s a bad thing. The morning after the Halloween party, the word spreads from house to house, each resident gasping at the news, each mother holding their child tighter. Shelby has gone missing. My daughter should be distraught, but she’s claiming they weren’t even friends anymore. When I go to talk to her, I hear her giggling on the phone with Shelby’s boyfriend. And then I find her Halloween costume, stuffed into a bag in her closet, covered in blood.

Dana Blair has spent her life letting others take the wheel, from her relationship with her husband to her business. Now, with her marriage unraveling, her son in crisis, and her career on the verge of collapse, Dana is left wondering whether she ever really had control of anything at all. Padma Paulsen is the opposite: a brilliant, fiercely driven ER doctor who’s given her all to her career. Her friendship with Dana has been the one constant in her high-pressure life. But then a tragedy on Padma’s watch leaves Dana’s daughter in critical condition and their bond in tatters.

Transported to the magical realm of Avalon, Gwen finds herself in the hands of its dark and beautiful ruler—Mordred, the Prince in Iron. The prince holds total power in Avalon, trapping his rivals in an enchanted crystal prison. But he shows a strange gentleness to Gwen. Seeing no other way to escape, Gwen strikes a deal with Mordred’s enemy. If she can break the crystal, she will be free to go home.

Vienna, 1937. When beautiful American Kitty becomes engaged to Austrian diplomat Edgar, she finds herself thrown into a very different world in Europe, and soon longs for home. But when the woman designing her wedding dress, Judith, takes Kitty under her wing, she sees the city of Vienna in a new light–a city of culture and music that she can explore with her new friend.

In the middle of our school’s bustling summer picnic, I watch Harriet walk purposefully toward my husband, Michael. She places her hand on his arm, introducing herself and laughing at something he says. A knot forms in my stomach as I watch them. We’ve been here before. But I can’t just walk away....

I never expected to find my happily ever after with Dr Mitch Ellis. I wore a lace dress with an extravagant train to our wedding at the biggest church in town. Mitch wanted to be sure everything was flawless. Now I can see I’ve made a grave mistake. Mitch wants me to be his quiet, perfect little wife, just like his last one. He doesn’t know who he is dealing with this time.

At just 19, Kendall Bettencourt is Hollywood’s hottest young starlet, with the world at her feet–but behind the glamour and designer dresses is a girl who longs for normal. Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is–her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life. With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend–she is the only girl that she has ever loved.

When she shattered the Iron Crystal and returned magic to Avalon, Gwen also shattered Mordred’s heart. Torn between her passion for Mordred and his rage at her betrayal, she fled into the wilds. Gwen’s choice has transformed Avalon, and the island teems with magical wonders freed from the crystal. But Gwen also released the vicious and chaotic elementals. Desperate for revenge against Mordred, some of them see Gwen as an ally, others as a hostage.

Cecilia has it all. The house on the beach. The cute figure. The beautiful baby. But she’s a long way from perfect. She’s let me into her gorgeous house as her nanny because now she’s on her own, she needs a little help with her baby daughter Peyton. She barely notices me. But I see everything. While Peyton naps, I rifle through her drawers and discover the dark secrets in her past, the threatening letter from her ex-husband. It's a shame that Cecilia doesn’t have my powers of observation. If she took some time, she might just recognise me. I’ve been following her for a while, after all.

My drink almost slips from my hand when the gorgeous blonde arrives by the infinity pool and gives my fiancé Dale a little wave. It’s her. His other woman, Hannah, with her own boyfriend in tow. When he cheated, I was devastated. He always made me feel like I was his whole world. This trip was supposed to be our last chance to reconnect. Dale swears he didn’t invite her here—but how did she know which resort we’d be at?

“The perfect sinisterly magical escape…full of longing, desperation, and betrayal.” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval trilogy and Once Upon a Broken Heart Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this “beguiling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)...

I thought my sister was killed a year ago. But now her baby is on my doorstep… I’m drinking a glass of wine in my quiet, empty house, listening to the silence and wondering if I will always be this lonely… And then I hear the knock. When I open the door, I can’t believe what I see. A small bundle, pink fists waving weakly under a patterned blanket, gorgeous deep blue eyes blinking up at me. A baby. I rush to pick her up, clutching her tightly. Who can she belong to? Why would someone abandon her at my door?

Paris, 1941. When Kitty is asked to return to Paris as an undercover agent, she knows the mission is her most dangerous yet. But she has been fighting the Nazis for too long to stop now. And her role within the Resistance has already cost her friends, family, and her own marriage.

Before my husband died, we were the perfect couple. Or so I thought. When a woman claiming to have been his mistress shows up on my doorstep with a child she says is his, I know she must be lying. Who is she and what does she want?

My sister died. Her friends lied. And now that I’ve brought them all together, I’m going to learn the truth....