Showing results by narrator "Lu Banks" in All Categories

There's only one woman I truly care about: my daughter. Until Maisy Stratford flounces into the front office of the Tennessee Thunderbolts with a heartfelt smile and a tray of baked goods. As the Bolts' newest hire, Maisy is optimistic, enthusiastic, and a goddess at manifestation. Everything I'm not. Known as Brawler, I'm a gruff, quiet, rough-around-the-edges, NHL defenseman. I haven't dated in decades. I've never been married and my daughter's a twenty-one-year-old mischief maker. I don't know how to talk about feelings or place my trust in the hands of a woman.

No females of my kind remain. Humans have the closest physiology to my species, but our reproductive urges are very different. For their safety, direct contact with human women has always been strictly forbidden. When my time ends, so will countless generations of Gallo lineage. The chains in my dungeon will never have to contain another mating-frenzied beast. I will have done my part to bring a peaceful end to my species while protecting the nearby human population.

In 2017, DNA tests revealed to the collective shock of many scholars that a Viking warrior in a high-status grave in Birka, Sweden was actually a woman. The Real Valkyrie weaves together archaeology, history, and literature to imagine her life and times, showing that Viking women had more power and agency than historians have imagined.

Wherever I am, I'm the biggest guy in the room. People don't just gawk when they see me. They keep their distance, which is fine by me. Why do you think I bought a fixer-upper in the country? I don't mind the manual labor, just like I don't mind the solitude. I've got my own business and projects, and no room for anything—or anyone—else. That is, until an angel shows up on my doorstep, clutching a month-old advert touting a room for rent in my house.

Daxton Ford tried to warn me. He never made promises. He swore a girl like me would only get hurt by a guy like him. Did I listen? He portrays dangerous, dark, and brooding. Or so he thinks. Daxton is trouble; anyone can see that. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and keeps his circle of friends small.

But I'm the girl who believes in the good. I'm the girl that even when every fiber in my body is telling me to not go there. I head straight for it, even if I know I'll fall.

College student Tara Staudenmaier will do anything for her family. When medical debt looms, she doesn’t hesitate to do whatever it takes. Even if it means putting herself - and her inexperience in love - up on the auction block. She only asks that nobody discovers her biggest secret. The reason she’s gone gray at 20 and now has something to offer a would-be suitor looking for a month-long affair.

Much to their surprise, the Peaches had a great summer running their food truck business selling their pies across the Mid-West, but they're happy to be back home in Duluth, Minnesota, where they can settle back into a routine just in time for the new school year. That is until Great Aunt Lucinda wants to gift them her historic mansion. But there are conditions: they're to turn it into a cozy bed-and-breakfast, something the Peach kids' mom always dreamed of before she passed away. And they only have until Thanksgiving to do the renovations and prove they can make the business work.

Rose Wu’s ordinary life as a concierge clerk was only meant to be a means to a financial end. Yet there is one resident in her high-rise luxury building who makes coming to work worth it. Cindy Ling, the enigmatic businesswoman who always has a lady on her arm, also has a wink to spare the mild-mannered clerk looking her way. When chance brings Rose up to Cindy’s penthouse suite, her life isn’t simply changed forever. It’s transformed.

Silver Spoon Falls was supposed to be an easy mark. Instead, I'm up to my ears in cartels and complications. I waltzed into enemy territory to investigate...and waltzed back out with a new mission in life. Protecting Snow Buchanan from her stepmother and her cartel of henchmen. Her seven furry friends doubt me. Her stepmother wants to kill her. And all I want is to lay siege to her heart. This curvy little princess will be mine.

After a tough year, Lucy, Freddy, and Herb Peach are ready for vacation. Lucy wants to read all of the books on the summer reading list. Freddy wants to work on his art projects. Herb wants to swim every day. Then their dad makes a big announcement: One of the inventions their mom came up with before she passed away has sold, and now they're millionaires!

When Emma Daniels's well-to-do family finds itself destitute, she answers an ad for the Gilbert Company seeking young women to be waitresses at hotel restaurants along remote railroad lines out west. The rules for a Gilbert Girl are strict: work hard, act respectably at all times, and no courting allowed. None of them present a problem for Emma, at least until she meets the hotel's builder, Monroe Hartley.

The mob boss meets his match in Silver Spoon Falls. At first glance, the curvy little doll turns my entire world upside down and inside out. The only thought on my mind is making Dr. Annabelle Girardi mine. Forever. The emergency room doctor drops into my world and turns things upside down. I might have my work cut out for me but I'll do whatever it takes to win her heart. Because walking away from Belle isn't an option. There isn't any price I won't pay to spend the rest of my life with my soulmate.

Attorney Maureen Gould has a dark secret and a hunger for justice. When a powerful movie producer attacks, and then fires, his young female assistant, Maureen sets out to make things right. Enter defense counsel and Maureen's estranged father, Frank Gould, a man more evil than his client. Inside and outside of the courtroom, Frank pulls every dirty trick known and makes up a few of his own.

My cocky next-door neighbor is the most infuriating person in the world—so why did I just hook up with him? Although we pretty much grew up together, we've never managed to get along. I guess he's good-looking, with his baby-blue eyes, amazing hockey-player physique, and boyish smile . . . if you're into that. Which I'm totally not.

After dropping out of NYU, moving across the country, and spending the last two years as co-owner of a successful activewear brand, Mackenzie Jean has decided it's time to go back to school. Does she want to finish her degree? Absolutely. But enrolling at Michigan State University is about so much more. Somewhere along the way, she lost herself in the fog of her anxiety, and it's time she rediscovers who she is.

Conventional wisdom about running is passed down like folklore (and sometimes contradicts itself). In Running Smart, Mariska van Sprundel, a science journalist and recreational runner who has had her fair share of injuries, sets out to explore the science behind such claims.

Lioness. That's the first word that comes to mind when I see the brilliant redhead selling cupcakes at the hockey arena. With the soul of an artist and the spirit of a nomad, Bea Turner is gorgeous, quirky, and refreshing. She's also my teammate's little sister. As the Tennessee Thunderbolts' Rookie, I should steer clear. I'm here to play hockey and provide much-needed financial security for my family. To do that, I need to avoid distractions.

I've been Queen Bee at our theme park for ten glorious, uncomplicated years. I'm far better at creating fictional magic than real life miracles. So when Landon Arden, my best friend's twin brother and my old high school bully, starts to work at Honeywood, I'm wishing for some gift from above to fix this mess.

The woman I crave more than anything wants nothing to do with me. I'm going to do whatever it takes to change her mind. One night with Juniper and I hardly remember any of it. No wonder she's pissed as hell, won't talk to me, or barely look at me. I do what any Johnson worth his salt would. I take her away to my cabin until she's ready to talk. One thing is for certain we won't be leaving until I own Juni like she already owns me.

When I sign with the Tennessee Thunderbolts, I have two goals: prove my injury hasn't benched my career and get back to New York. But then, I meet Mila, the enigmatic therapist tasked with rehabbing my shoulder. With her long ponytail, professional demeanor, and girl-next-door look, Mila is nothing like my usual type. She's better—a good girl with sad eyes and a tragic past our small town loves to dissect.