Showing results by narrator "Deborah Balm" in All Categories

It is 741. Only one thing stands between Charles the Hammer and the throne—he's dying. Despite his best efforts, the only thing to reign after Charles's death is chaos. Son battles son, Christianity battles paganism, and Charles's daughter flees his court for an enemy's love.

Warm beds, quaint mysteries, and the best rosemary bread this side of Pigsend Creek. Welcome to the Weary Dragon Inn. Get the next three books in the Weary Dragon Inn Cozy Fantasy series, including Beasts and Baking, Magic and Molemen, and Veils and Villains, in a convenient eBook Bundle. In Beasts and Baking, spring is on the horizon, and the Weary Dragon Inn is getting its annual deep clean. But before Bev can even finish scrubbing the windows, Carpenter Earl's workshop goes up in flames.

In the aftermath of World War I, Clarissa Dalloway is an upper-class politician’s wife, who longs for the carefree, impassioned days of her youth. Her marriage to a sensible man gives her many opportunities to socialize and progress in society, but this practicality also prevented her from following other romantic and personal passions. These old regrets come to new light as Clarissa is reintroduced to Peter Walsh, a man she loved—and who had proposed to her—in her younger days.

Sarah Jardin has been quite dreadfully in love with David Rochester her whole life. As the youngest of five daughters, her family and society neglect her. She's outspoken, brash, and terribly ungraceful. In short, not at all a lady . . . until she's taken under the benevolent wing of Lady Lancaster and invited to join the Young Ladies Garden Society. But Sarah's new life—filled with the mysteries and intrigues of high society—is interrupted by an unexpected scandal. Her scandal. I

On the Greek island of Spetses, author Kenneth Graham is trying to finish his novel. Not impressed by the place, he wants to finish his work quickly and return to civilization. But after the local history, customs, and mysteries draw him in, Kenneth meets the enigmatic Kyria, who is unlike any woman he has ever met. His internal conflicts soon become stronger. Kyria and the island have a hold on him he does not understand, and fact and fiction begin to blend. What malign presence does the island hold, and can Kenneth get to the bottom of it?

Nicholas Montford is tired of the London Season, tired of the marriage mart, and most of all, he is tired of encountering a certain duchess from his past. The Hatton viscountcy has an estate in Ireland, a place his father wrote fondly of in his journal. By journeying to Ireland, Nicholas could escape the duchess he once loved as well as see to a property that a Montford has not visited since he was a boy.

The Rending continues Yvonne’s story which started in The Gathering. If you like your fantasy with plenty of mystery and magic and a strong heroine, you’ll want to continue this fantasy series by Vanessa Nelson.

Missing girls. A plea for help she can’t ignore. An ancient enemy with plans of his own. Nine-year-old girls are missing from across the lands. Yvonne has promised to find them, and she always keeps her promises. Even when she doesn’t know where to start looking. There’s more trouble around. Mercenaries are disappearing. The ancient enemy has risen, more dangerous than anything she has encountered before. And an old ally wants her help.

When tragedy strikes, it leaves young Rose Herriott all alone in the world. What will become of her hopes and dreams? She lives in fear and daily torment, at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Her father proved to be a man with a charitable heart and a deep love for his favorite daughter. When a mysterious letter arrives, she realizes she is not alone as she once believed.

Librarian Cillian Harahel and Wizard Alise Phel have fled Convocation Academy in the dark of night and grip of winter, taking with them the hidden archives they liberated from hiding. The effort of magically holding onto the massive archives—everything to do with House Phel and the conspiracy against it—is draining Cillian nearly to death. Alise wants only to get him to the house of his birth, and hopefully save his life.

Bev may not know who she was before she showed up in the quaint village of Pigsend five years ago, but that doesn't bother her much. She's made a tidy little life for herself as the proprietor of the Weary Dragon Inn, where the most notable event is when she makes her famous rosemary bread. But when earthquakes and sinkholes start appearing all over town, including near Bev's front door, she's got to put on her sleuthing hat to figure out what—or who—might be causing them before the entire town disappears.

Agnes Lockwood is no stranger to crime scenes, but even she is shocked when she finds the body of a man lying on the floor of the ladies' room. With her partner Alan - the local DCI - they set about tracking the murderer. This time, they are joined by her friend Sandra. But is one of them holding back something that could further their inquiry?

It was strictly business as Adrian Spence claimed the woman his brother desired. A hasty wedding, and Lilliana Dashell was his—sweet revenge on the father who disinherited him and the brother who let it happen. Their wedding night is a revelation as passionate, innocent Lilliana ignites fires Adrian tries desperately to deny. By day he is a stranger. By night he is the lover of her dreams, and she a shameless wanton in his arms. But Adrian is determined that no woman will ever possess him.

Determined to avoid the strife-filled marriage of his parents, Marcus, the Duke of Ulvercombe, wants an amenable, biddable wife, and has set his cap for a certain pretty miss. Unfortunately, her vastly opinionated, frustrating, and lamentably beautiful guardian, Lady Clara Tinniswood, keeps distracting him, tempting him to consider a far more tempestuous—and passionate—union. Recently widowed Lady Clara Tinniswood wants only to organize a quiet new life for herself, beyond the control of any man. But one shockingly unguarded moment catapults her headlong into a forbidden passion.

Yvonne is looking forward to spending time with her adoptive children, and catching her breath after recent adventures. But nothing goes to plan. Her journey home is interrupted by an unexpected attack, and when she does get back to the house, her son is missing. Can Yvonne, and the allies she has gathered, stand against a new enemy who seems to have risen out of the dark?

Two young women are stabbed to death in Tyneside. But what's the connection? After a trip to the coast, Agnes Lockwood is shocked when she finds a young woman tucked away behind the litter bins in Newcastle Central Station. DCI Alan Johnson and Sergeant Andrews quickly set up an investigation. They soon learn that this is only the first case of its kind, when another stabbing takes place on the Newcastle quayside. Naturally, Agnes is keen to help with the investigation. DCI Johnson insists that she stays away from the case, but Agnes has never been a woman to be put off so easily.

In a fast-moving and compelling narrative, reporter David Ricketts takes listeners inside the rooms where extraordinary sums of other people’s money were wagered, trapped, and, ultimately, lost, in a scandal still sending shockwaves through the world of finance.

Lord Gabriel Phel wants one thing: to rebuild the shattered fortunes of his people and restore his ruined house to its former station in the Convocation’s highest tiers of elegant society. Fortunately, through a wild chance of birth, he was born with powerful wizard magic, the first in his family in generations. If he can obtain a familiar to amplify his magic, a highborn daughter he can marry, to be mother to his children, he’ll be that much closer to saving his family. With her, he can ascend to such a position of power in the Convocation that he can destroy it forever.

A month after solving the murder of the Duke of Everton, Miss Victoria Parker is ready to indulge in a week of leisure. And, what better setting than the quiet solitude of the farm belonging to the brother of her assistant, James Kensington? Although the getaway sounds promising, it does come with two caveats: Victoria and James must quieten their budding romance, and they must play guardian to James’ 18-year-old niece, Dinah, a task to which Vicky readily agrees, and a decision she will soon regret.

When Lanzarote anti-corruption activist Celestino is T-boned on a lonely road, he knows the collision was no accident. Wounded and fearing for his life, he hides in an abandoned fishing village, waiting for a chance to make it home. Meanwhile, his wife Paula is distraught and sets out to look for him. Paula’s search for her husband quickly descends into mayhem, danger, and intrigue.