Showing results by narrator "Shiromi Arserio" in All Categories

In The Ape's Wife and Other Stories - Kiernan's 12th collection of short fiction since 2001 - she displays the impressive range that characterizes her work. With her usual disregard for genre boundaries, she masterfully navigates the territories that have traditionally been labeled dark fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, steampunk, and neo-noir.

Princess Gemma has been trapped for years within a magical turret, a fate she deems fitting for a sickly princess with little purpose. The enchanted walls offer security, which she'd do anything to maintain, for though she knows she should want to escape, her prison seems far safer than the outside world. But the magic of the tower has begun to fade. The tower's shifting magic isn't the only thing changing, for the longer Gemma spends with her faithful guard, Quinn, the more she realizes that her feelings for him are inappropriate for one of her royal status.

Princess Reve of Malvagaria has no idea who she truly is. Hidden away in a cottage in the mountains, she believes she’s a peasant girl named Primrose, a reality frequently challenged by confusing snippets of forgotten royal memories. For there’s a darkness inside her head, one that is slowly claiming her identity, memory by memory. Everything changes when Reve encounters a rugged hunter, a man who offers her a hopeful future despite her blank, forgotten past.

Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at the local dive bar until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.

From acclaimed author Phoebe North comes a riveting, unexpected, and beautiful contemporary novel about a girl whose brother mysteriously disappears, the family and friends he leaves behind, and the stories - real and imagined - that they tell themselves to fill the empty space.

Twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob was the most famous of the Victorian fasting girls, who claimed to miraculously survive without food, serving as flash points between struggling religious, scientific, and political factions. In this novel based on Sarah’s life and premature death from what may be the first documented case of anorexia, an American journalist, recovering from her husband’s death in the Civil War, leaves her home and children behind to travel to Wales, where she investigates Sarah’s bizarre case by becoming the young girl’s friend and confidante.

The one thing Mrs. Bennett most dearly wants is to see her five daughters settled. When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley moves in to nearby Netherfield Hall and takes an interest in her eldest daughter, Jane, her dream is almost within her grasp. Yet, problems arise when Bingley's friend, the prideful Mr. Darcy, meddles in their relationship, earning him the disdain of Jane's sister, Elizabeth. However, Mr. Darcy can't help finding a match in the intelligent, free-spirited Lizzy Bennett, despite her country manners.

Once upon a time a dragon dared to fall in love with the Queen of Hearts. Zelena Hermosa wants only one thing, to be free. But for a morphling like her freedom will never be possible. Bought by a witch as a baby, she's been raised in a household that knows no kindness or love. She's a broken, dirty child the day she meets her prickly little dragon boy.

Sanah would do anything to protect her little sister, even if it means taking refuge with ruthless pirates. But the psychically talented pirates terrorizing Commonwealth space are not quite the monsters she has been led to believe. When Sanah's empathic gift shows her the truth behind the stories, she is no longer certain who the villains are in her world.

The scene is the Caribbean, 1718: Englishwoman Mary Read is forced to disguise herself as sailor Martin Read; then things get more complicated when she falls in love with another sailor, Peter Meredith, a brilliant man but rather clueless about the sea... who also has no idea that his best friend is a woman. To make matters worse, they're both captured by pirates. To make matters worse yet, one of the pirates is Anne Bonny, Southern belle turned scourge of the Caribbean.

Abigail has always known she is special. She is part of a special group, the Artists, who have been changing the face of reality for over 700 years. Over time, as the Artists' gifts became incredibly valuable, the Artists' paintings of these worlds became the choice of living for the human race, causing Earth to turn into a desolate wasteland.

Hey-ho, hey-ho! Father-daughter duo Jeremy and Hermione Tankard are thrilled to deliver the second book in this heartfelt, “humerus” series! This is a full-cast audio adaptation of the graphic novel from authors Jeremy and Hermione Tankard, performed by Gary Furlong, Maxwell Glick, Joel Froomkin, Morag Sims, Shiromi Arserio, Justine Eyre, and Alister Austin, and featuring a full sound design!

Elena may be the only Spoken Mage in history, but she struggles with limitations. Unable to stockpile written workings as her mageborn year mates do, she runs the constant risk of burning out. But when the Armed Forces draw the third years to the front lines of their war, Elena's strength and flexibility may be necessary to keep them all alive. As Elena wrestles with how much she will sacrifice for the war, Lucas must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice for her. Faced with a greater threat than even they realize, Elena and Lucas must work together.

Finally accepted as a mage, Elena struggles with her commonborn roots. And when disaster strikes the kingdom, she can't shrug off the death toll as the mageborn have always done. Yet the limitations of her spoken magic hold her back--both in saving lives among the people and in competitions in the Academy's arena. In desperation she turns to an unlikely source of assistance--Prince Lucas. But just as she begins to master her powers, she finds herself the pawn of stronger forces.

Prince Darius of Kallorway is the strongest mage in his family--and the only reason his weak father is still clinging to his throne. Starting at the Academy at the same time as Verene, the crown prince is cold and distant and shows no desire to connect with her. Instead he seems suspicious of both her presence and her claimed lack of power. Surrounded by unfamiliar politics and long-held enemies, Verene discovers that some at the Academy want her gone by whatever means necessary. As the threats grow ever more sinister, she starts to question all of her assumptions.

If there’s one thing Rosemarie, an aspiring enchantress with budding magical powers, has learned throughout her studies, it's that magic must only be used for good. But when an egocentric prince breaks her sister’s heart, Rosemarie’s only focus is revenge, and what better way to enact it than with a well-chosen curse? A simple incantation is all it takes to transform the arrogant prince's appearance to match the state of his heart. But something goes wrong, causing the spell to affect not only the prince but its caster as well.

Many years have passed since Breeze Tinkerman vanished in her spring-powered plane over the northern Wastes while searching for the fabled lost city in the ice, but her daughter River is more than happy to carry on her legacy. The Vangar overlords have turned Astatia into a slave state, forcing citizens to work in their mines and factories, stealing Astatia's resources for their own greedy ends while living safely high above in the sky-city known as Juntavar.

A zombie horror told from the zombie's perspective, The End is one woman's account of the end of her life, her family, and everything. Like many single parents in their thirties, Zoe is overworked, overburdened, and low on company, and when the zombie apocalypse begins, she is forced to face the monster that has taken her over, the horrors he shows her, and her own murky past.

A Is for Alien is award-winning author Caitlín R. Kiernan’s first collection devoted entirely to her science-fiction work. It includes the critically acclaimed novelette Riding the White Bull, along with seven other tales of a less-than-utopian future. Ranging from the wastelands and mountains of Mars to the streets of a late 21st-century Manhattan, from the moons of Europa and Saturn to an iceless Antarctica, these tales bring Kiernan’s trademark brand of the eco-gothic to bear on what it means to be human and the paths and decisions that may face mankind....

Three years have passed, and Ally's memories of her kidnapping and torture still haunt her. Determined to keep her demons at bay, David refuses to leave her side. Until....the lies woven to protect come unraveled. Ally has no choice but to return to the land that once imprisoned her.