Showing results by narrator "Melissa Frank" in All Categories

Rising from the shame of an abusive childhood, Victoria Woodhull, the daughter of a con-man and a religious zealot, vows to follow her destiny, one the spirits say will lead her out of poverty to "become ruler of her people". But the road to glory is far from easy. A nightmarish marriage teaches Victoria that women are stronger and deserve far more credit than society gives. Eschewing the conventions of her day, she strikes out on her own to improve herself and the lot of American women.

Sariah, the rogue stonewiser who defied the all-powerful Guild. Kael, the rebel leader who loves her against all odds. Together they must find their stolen child, the only one capable of preserving the future of stonewising and defeating the rot ravaging the land. They must challenge the stones and confront their cursed fates, because only by embracing their destinies do they stand a chance to save their child and their world.

A captive witch. Her scarred prince. A daring escape.... Lilette has been kidnapped. Forced to live among the vicious tongues and poisoned blades of the prince's harem, Lilette is desperate to escape. But she can't do it alone. She finds an ally in the prince’s own brother, Han, whose kindness threatens to break down the carefully constructed barriers around her heart. Together, they hatch a desperate escape plan. But beyond the palace gates, another danger looms. An enemy has been searching for Lilette since her disappearance years before.

A witch. Her guardian. A stolen magic.... Witch song controls nature - everything from the changing of the season to the storms. So when drought chokes the land and Brusenna and her mother's little farm isn't affected, the villagers distrust of witches hardens into hatred. But Brusenna has far more to fear than the villagers. When the witch hunters penetrate Brusenna's protected forest, she learns an impossible truth. She is the last witch. The other witches' powerful magic has been stolen and twisted to a dark purpose by a terrible evil.

First kisses. Daring adventures. Centuries of secrets.... The witches have been driven into hiding. Without their magical songs, the seasons are breaking apart and the boundaries of nature have splintered. With only their guardians to protect them, two witches must stand between the world and utter destruction. One must pave the way, the other must take up the fight, and both face an impossible and deadly choice. A choice that will cost them everything.

Sariah's reward for revealing the stone truth is a death sentence. Banished and on the run, Sariah must find a way to carry out the stone's mystifying legacy, before the executioners murder her kin, her enemies slaughter her lover, and the mysterious bracelet she has been forced to wear kills her.

Women have made great strides toward equal rights over the past 100 years, especially in the West. But when considering the ongoing fight over reproductive rights and equal pay - and the prevalence of sexual violence and domestic abuse - it is clear that a significant gap still exists. With scripture often cited as justification for the marginalization of women, it is time to acknowledge that one of the final barriers to full equality for women is religion.

As a Stonewiser, Sariah can read the stories hidden deep within the sacred stones. She has the power to witness the past and change the future. But when she discovers dangerous lies that have been interwoven with the truth in the stones, she is forced to turn to her enemy: A man who is as intoxicating as he is powerful...and her world won’t ever be the same again.

Reyna Leoine has good reason to hate the Vampyr after what one did to her mother. Her goal in life is to stay as far away from them as possible. When she compulsively accepts a dare to enter their domain - the Gladiator - Reyna questions her sanity. When the leader of the local Vampyr clutch claims her as his, Reyna does the sensible thing. She runs. Tariq recognizes his Heart’s Blood the minute he sees her sitting at the bar. After centuries of being alone, he has no intention of allowing her to escape him. When she manages to do just that, Tariq goes a little crazy.

In 1997, a beautiful, yet lost, girl on the cusp of adulthood juggles pressure from her boyfriend, family and society to understand who best to model her life after, opting for guidance from the world's two most famous women, Lady Diana and Mother Teresa, who died within six days of one another that same year.

In 1888, Nellie Bly, a feisty, investigative reporter for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper, pitched a story idea of traveling around the world in 75 days to beat the record achieved by Phileas Fogg, the character in Verne's book. While the editor thought it a great idea, he naturally thought the trip should be made by a man. The idea was shelved for over a year.

On March 13, 1971, LT Bart Creed, USN launched from the deck of the USS Ranger in support of Operation Lam Son 719, the ill-fated invasion of Laos by ARVN forces. Shot down while strafing an enemy truck on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, LT Creed lay injured and surrounded by enemy forces. Despite heroic attempts to rescue him, the 25 year-old husband, and father of two young children was never recovered. To this day, his fate remains a mystery.

Amazons: A Love Story recounts an idealistic young woman's coming of age against the backdrop of the magnificent rain forest and exotic city of Salvador. This elegant and sharp-eyed memoir explores the interaction of the many forces fueling deforestation - examining the ecological, economic, social, and spiritual costs of ill-conceived development - and those that shape young women's growing up.