Showing results by narrator "Saskia Maarleveld" in All Categories

If you ask a Finn, they will likely be as baffled as you are. That’s why Melanie Dower, an expat who has been living in Finland for the past decade, has taken up the charge. Her vantage as an outsider entrenched in Finnish culture uniquely positions her to identify the keys to Finnish happiness that elude the rest of the world and that Finns take for granted. From sauna to strong social safety nets, Finnish life is made up of a constellation of habits and structures that leave its residents relaxed, healthy, and fulfilled.

Shapeshifting visitors, unsolved murders in the forest, black metal bands and an online bank of thousands of people’s dreams – the star is back, and the limitless scale and ambition of Karl Ove’s new universe is clear. This is life, death, the human condition, and the opportunity to bring listeners in on the real-time creation of an epic and utterly immersive world.

When Ellie Kent moves to an English village with her new husband Graham, she fears the villagers will always see her at that young American who snared their attractive vicar during his sabbatical in California. But this challenge is nothing compared to what happens when she stumbles across a body in the churchyard. The villagers insist they don't know the murdered man, so suspicion mounts that the killer must be the incomer - the vicar's new wife. As evidence piles up against her, Ellie tries to stay one step ahead of the police to unravel a decades-old literary mystery and love story.

Some said it was tragic, what happened to the Van Laars. Some said the Van Laars deserved it. That they never even thanked the searchers who stayed out for five nights in the freezing forest trying to help find their missing son. Some said there was a reason it took the family so long to call for help. That they knew what happened to the boy. Now, fifteen years later, the daughter the family had in their grief has gone missing in the same wilderness as her brother.

It's 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is well and truly over. Living alone in her late mother's country home, Isabel's life is as it should be: led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel's doorstep - as a guest, there to stay for the season. Eva is Isabel's antithesis: sleeps late, wakes late, walks loudly through the house and touches things she shouldn't. In response Isabel develops a fury-fuelled obsession.

Lose yourself in the descriptions of pattern, texture, and color of fabric while hunting for antique quilts at yard sales, junk shops, and country stores.

For Helen and George, the remote fixer-upper in Cornwall was supposed to be a dream home, and a way to leave behind the problems they’re both running from. But something about the place feels wrong from day one. And why does Helen have a creeping feeling she’s seen this house before?

Experience the smells, sounds, textures, signs, and tastes of the kitchen as a daughter lovingly prepares squash stew for her family on a brisk fall day.

Marcus Whitmore was made a vampire in the 18th century. Over 200 years later, he finds himself in love with Phoebe Taylor, a human who decides to become a vampire herself. But her transformation will prove as challenging now as it was for Marcus when he first encountered Matthew de Clermont, his sire. While Phoebe is secreted away, Marcus relives his own journey from the battlefields of the American Revolutionary War, through the treachery of the French Revolution, to a bloody finale in New Orleans.

To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces....

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a picket fence, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn't exist. The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she's given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn't privy to Mr Smith's real identity, but she knows this job will be different.

As a sorority pledge, there are commandments that Katie Vickery must live by. One: Thou shalt not show up for the party without a date. Two: The guy shall be an athlete, preferably an upperclassman. Unfortunately, Katie just broke up with her jerkface football player boyfriend. Even worse, her last encounter with him resulted in utter humiliation. She'd rather hide under the bed than attend a party where he'll be. Yet staying home would mean letting him win.

"Welcome to Vermont! The first three full-length novels in Sarina Bowen's bestselling True North series are yours to enjoy. The set includes: Bittersweet, Steadfast and Keepsake. You'll meet a grumpy orchardist who makes award winning hard cider, an ex-con ready for redemption and a tempting still-waters-run-deep sort of guy who was raised in a cult. And remember: farmers like to get dirty. Come for the hot lumbersexuals. Stay for the food, family and friends!

On May 25, 1983, Star Wars cemented its legacy as the greatest movie franchise of all time with the release of Return of the Jedi. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, forty storytellers re-create an iconic scene from Return of the Jedi through the eyes of a supporting character, from heroes and villains, to droids and creatures. From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors and trendsetting artists.

I was pretty good at living without regrets until a way too close call during a skydive. Instead of my life flashing before my eyes, I saw one face, one regret that's been gnawing at me ever since - Presley. And now I know I have to win her back at any cost. Fate steps in when we discover hidden stories from the past. And they're an opportunity I can't pass up. The just might be the path back to the woman I let get away while we chase down a love story a hundred years in the making.

Humanity thought the war with demonkind was over. Now, after less than a generation to rebuild, the demon corelings have returned with a vengeance. The Spear of Ala—the fortress that stands at the gates of the demon’s hive—is the last bastion against the horde, and reports say it may already have fallen. Olive Paper is expected to take the vanguard in the fight. Only an heir of Kaji can wield the artifact that opens the gates of the Spear of Ala, and as Ahmann Jardir’s child, Olive seems destined for a role as leader and savior.

Lucy, a smart, attractive, and well-respected botanist, travels to Blackwell Manor to take care of her sick cousin, Kate, who is married to Miles' younger brother. For Lucy, the trip is a welcome respite from her work and recent discovery of a breakthrough serum that could eliminate the scourge of vampires from London. But Lucy finds more than she bargained for when she arrives at the Manor.

Hunter Armstrong sauntered back into my life unexpectedly, all lopsided grin, mischievous eyes and rugged determination. Not to mention a huge heart. He's nearly impossible to resist, but that's what I have to do as we follow the clues in a trail of love letters from a century ago. But with every new twist in the story, this treasure hunter seems to set his sights more firmly on reclaiming my heart.

In this sequel to Under an English Heaven, newlywed American Ellie Kent is looking forward to her first English village Christmas, but a missing Oxford student and an abandoned baby soon draw her away from the fireside into danger. When a body is discovered on Boxing Day, Ellie comes to believe all these events may be linked through a group of teenage girls who identify with Shakespeare's tragic Ophelia. The police scoff at her theory, so Ellie pursues her own investigation to identify their secret Hamlet, who may be a killer.

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead. Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be-real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He's way out of Corey's league. Also, he's taken. Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the "gimp ghetto" of McHerrin Hall.