Showing results by narrator "Nicola Barber" in All Categories

Wren is in the last place she ever wanted to be: backinside the dome. Held as a prisoner of her father, the Master General Enforcer,she is completely cut off from the outside. After a harrowing escape attempt,and finding Levi trapped in a cell, Wren's world is further turned upside downby what could be Pace's ultimate betrayal. Only Pace's whispered words keepher from losing all hope. "Things are not always what they seem." Those words,along with the sight of yellow-feathered Pip keep Wren fighting for what sheknows in her heart is right for everyone. She must break the glass.

When Wren's father realizes that his rebellious daughterand her friends are not falling into his plan of complacency, he turns themover to an even darker enemy. While Levi is certain his uncle will save them,the Quest and all their friends outside the dome seem to have disappeared.

The outside world is a brutal place, but Wren will not bebeaten. She holds strong to her belief that outside the glass there is thepromise of freedom and the hope for love. Wren must battle the forces that wantto enslave her, and the foolish whims of her own heart to free her world andfinally find where she belongs.

On his deathbed, King Tyran divides his land, leaving half to each of his two children - so they'll rule together. However, his son, Albrecht, is not satisfied with half a kingdom. And even though his sister, Ursula, is the first born, he decides that as a girl and were-bear, she is unfit to rule. So he invades her land, slaughtering her people and most of the were-beasts, and claims it for himself. As King Albrecht builds his iron rule and an army of beasts to defend his reign, Ursula is gathering the survivors and making plans to seize back the kingdom.

An unabridged audio collection of the "best of the best" science fiction stories published in 2010 by current and emerging masters of the genre as narrated by top voice talents. Stories in this year's collection include "Under the Moons of Venus" by Damien Broderick; "The Shipmaker," winner of the 2011 British Science Ficiton Association Award for short fiction, by Aliette de Bodard; Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" by Yoon Ha Lee, "Re-Crossing the Styx" by Ian R. MacLeod; "Eight Miles" by Sean McMullen; and more.

London, the Empire of Albion. The Great Dragons of old are long-gone. Now the world is governed by the science of Celestial Physicists, and everyone's life is foretold by the track on their wrist. When 13-year-old Paisley discovers from her track that she is destined to die, the race is on to protect her dragon-touched brother and find her missing mother. But an ancient power stalks the sewers of London, and the Dark Dragon is rising, intent on restoring the Great Dragons and destroying Paisley's family and her world forever.

From the winner of the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, a brilliantly haunting and suspenseful debut set in modern-day Britain where water is running out everywhere except at The Well - the farm of one seemingly ordinary family whose mysterious good fortune leads to suspicion, chaos, and ultimately a shocking act of violence.

Wren’s world has changed. The thing that she fought for - escaping the dome - has come to fruition, but it’s not the paradise she thought it would be. Most of the shiners have died, and according to James she is to blame for many of the deaths, a burden which sits heavy on her shoulders. Still some have survived and Wren is determined to keep them safe as they fight to establish a home outside while hiding from the rovers who have weapons that can kill from far away. But as long as she has Pace she knows everything will be fine.

The start of an epic new series from bestselling author John Connolly, and Jennifer Ridyard. For fans of The 5th Wave and I Am Number Four. Earth is no longer ours. It is ruled by the Illyri, a beautiful, civilised yet ruthless alien species. But humankind has not given up the fight, and Paul Kerr is one of a new generation of young Resistance leaders waging war on the invaders. Syl Hellais is the first of the Illyri to be born on Earth.

Dive deep into the world of medieval legends and disentangle reality from fear in this powerful series from the internationally renowned author of historical fiction Philippa Gregory. Luca Vero is a member of the secret Order of Darkness, tasked by his master to uncover the truth behind strange happenings. Together with Lady Isolde, her friend and confidant Ishraq, Luca's manservant Freize, and Brother Peter, Luca travels across medieval Europe - seeking out the signs of the end of days, judging the supernatural and testing the new science.

"Kissing you is like new paint and old pain. It is like coffee and car alarms and a dim stairway and a stain and it's like smoke.' ('Placing a Call') How does love change us? And how do we change ourselves for love - or for lack of it? Ten stories by acclaimed author Deborah Levy explore these delicate, impossible questions. In Vienna, an icy woman seduces a broken man; in London gardens, birds sing in computer start-up sounds; in ad-land, a sleek copywriter becomes a kind of shaman.

There once was a fisherman who sold all his catches to the king. One day, the fisherman caught a golden crab, which he set aside instead of selling it to the king. Much to the surprise of the fisherman and his wife, the golden crab could talk! He requested that the fisherman go to the king and tell him that he wished to marry his youngest daughter.

In 1948, Iris Digby vanishes from her London home with her American diplomat husband and their two children. Four years later, Ruth Macallister receives a postcard from the estranged twin sister she hasn’t seen since 1940. Since that one catastrophic summer in Rome, as war was engulfing Europe and Iris was falling desperately in love.... Within days, Ruth is on her way to Moscow, posing as the wife of Agent Fox in a precarious plot to extract her sister from behind the Iron Curtain.

Tod has grown up a PathFinder, one of an ancient seafaring tribe. Her mother, who died when Tod was young, had a very different history. She was from a mysterious magykal desert-dwelling family. When Tod's father disappears she is not only alone but soon finds herself swept into the path of an evil sorcerer. Now Tod must choose which of her pasts will help her to survive: PathFinder or Magician.

There once was a princess lost in a forest, terribly distraught, who stumbled upon a talking iron stove in the middle of the forest. The stove told the princess he could direct her back to her father's kingdom if she promised one thing - that she would return and marry him. She was scared, but agreed, and made her way back to her father. Her father did not want his only daughter to marry an iron stove, so they tried to trick the stove by sending first the miller's daughter, and then the swineherd's daughter. He was not tricked, so soon the king relented and sent his daughter.

Against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, recent Oxford graduate Claire is a mess. She's trapped in a disastrous relationship with a young academic, working a dead-end job, stunned by the emergence of secrets from her mother's past, and seemingly addicted to self-destructive behavior. But like the ceasefire that has brought renewed hope to Belfast, Claire too is afforded an opportunity to reflect, gradually learning to accept herself and to discover her sense of self-esteem and self-worth.

The Watersong Series takes you deep into a new world . . .Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water.

James Patterson's BookShots. Short, fast-paced, high-impact entertainment. The greatest story in modern history has a new chapter.... Posing as newlyweds, two ruthless thieves board the Titanic to rob its well-heeled passengers. But an even more shocking plan is afoot - a sensational scheme that could alter the fate of the world's most famous ship.

This warm, nuanced, hilarious story about friendship, fortitude - and dancing is impossible not to fall in love with. Jenny's voice is fresh and convincing, and she handles both darker and lighter elements of the story with equal panache.

When Clara Stahlbaum receives a beautiful yet mysterious egg-shaped box from her late mother, she wonders what it means. Searching for answers, Clara soon finds herself in a magical world - the Four Realms - where she meets a host of colorful and curious new friends and discovers the fascinating link between the Realms and her dear mother. But when she learns that the Realms are in danger of being destroyed, Clara vows to help.

When Clara Stahlbaum receives a beautiful yet mysterious egg-shaped box from her late mother, she wonders what it means. Searching for answers, Clara soon finds herself in a magical world - the Four Realms - where she meets a host of colorful and curious new friends and discovers the fascinating link between the Realms and her dear mother. But when she learns that the Realms are in danger of being destroyed, Clara vows to help.

1876. Among the depravity of Covent Garden's flower markets, orphaned Irish sisters Flora and Rosie Flynn sell posies of violets and watercress to survive. 1912. Twenty-one-year-old Tilly Harper leaves her native Lake District to become assistant housemother at one of London’s homes for orphaned and crippled flower girls. It is a chance to leave her own troubled past behind. Hidden between the pages of a lost notebook, Tilly finds dried flowers and a heart-breaking tale of loss and separation, as Flora's entries reveal how she never stopped looking for her lost sister.