dee metal family Audiobooks

“Papa explains the war like this: ‘When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.’ The great beasts, as they circle one another, shaking the trees and trumpeting loudly, are the Amerikanos and the Japanese as they fight. And our Philippine Islands? We are the small chickens.” Once in a great while comes a storyteller who can illuminate worlds large and small, magical and true to life. When the Elephants Dance introduces us to the incandescent voice of Tess Uriza Holthe, who sets her remarkable first novel in the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and the Americans engage in a fierce battle for possession of the Philippine Islands. The Karangalan family and their neighbors huddle for survival in the cellar of a house a few miles from Manila. Outside the safety of their little refuge the war rages on—fiery bombs torch the beautiful Filipino countryside, Japanese soldiers round up and interrogate innocent people, and from the hills guerillas wage a desperate campaign against the enemy. Inside the cellar, these men, women, and children put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the war, only emerging to look for food, water, and medicine. Through the eyes of three narrators, thirteen-year-old Alejandro Karangalan, his spirited older sister Isabelle, and Domingo, a passionate guerilla commander, we see how ordinary people must learn to live in the midst of extraordinary uncertainty, how they must find hope for survival where none seems to exist. They find this hope in the dramatic history of the Philippine Islands and the passion and bravery of its people. Crowded together in the cellar, the Karangalans and their friends and neighbors tell magical stories to one another based on Filipino myth and legend to fuel their courage, pass the time, and teach important lessons.

ONE OF QUEER FORTY'S BEST PRIDE READS FOR SUMMER 2023! Three gay men in pre-Stonewall New York City find their fates thrown together in the police raid of a Village bar. Roger Moorhouse is a Wall Street banker and Westchester family man with a preciously guarded secret. As the shouting begins and flashlights blaze in his face, the life he’s carefully curated over the years―a fancy new office overlooking lower Broadway, a house in Beechmont Woods, his wife and children―is about to come crashing down around him. Columbia literature professor Julian Prince lives a comparatively uncloseted life when he finds his first committed relationship tested to its limits. How could he explain to Gus, a fearless young artist, that he couldn’t stay with him that weekend because the woman who was still technically Julian’s fiancée would be visiting? But when Gus is struck unconscious by a police baton, Julian comes out of hiding to protect him, even if exposure means losing everything. For Danny Duffy, an Irish kid from the Bronx with a sassy mouth and a diverse group of friends, the raid is a galvanizing, Spartacus moment. Danny doesn’t have too much left to lose; his family has just disowned him. But once his name appears in the newspaper, he’ll be fired from his job at Sloan’s Supermarket, where he’s risen to assistant manager of produce, and begin a journey that veers between political enlightenment and violent revenge. The three men find themselves in a police wagon together, their hidden lives threatened to be revealed to the world. Blackmail, a private investigator, Gus’s disappearance, and Danny’s quest for retribution propel Disorderly Men to its piercing conclusion, as each man meets the boundaries of his own fear, love, and shame. The stakes for each are different, but all of them confront a fundamental question: How much happiness is he allowed to have . . . and what share of it will he lay claim to?

BOOK 1 She needs money. He needs a wife. The situation is a win-win for Anastasia and Caleb. To save her family, Anastasia signed a contract to marry Caleb for a year. Starting from a contract marriage, will it end up in a real marriage? Amidst the challenges, will they break a rule from the contract to survive in this marriage? or will they end up losing each other? ********************** BOOK 2 To gain freedom from her overprotective parents' hands, the sunshine Thalia Carter refused to have her internship at her family's company. In the end, she got accepted into a company she didn't expect.  As soon as he saw her resume, the grumpy Damon Kane immediately approved her internship. Not because he was fond of her but because he literally hated her surname. He plans to make her life a living hell. Hate filled the office, but what happens if love blooms without their knowing? Despite the 11 years between them, will this office age gap romance be possible for these two? ********************* This book combines Book 1 and Book 2 in the series. Book 2 starts after Chapter 130.

A swoony, slow-burn rom-com, Melonie Johnson's Too Wrong to Be Right features a true romantic on a mission to find her happily ever after. After her latest jerk of a boyfriend dumps her (and ditches her with his pet hedgehog), florist Kat Kowalski is done chasing after Mr. Wrong. With her two best friends moving on to more serious relationships, she’s ready to stop repeating the same mistakes that are leaving her stuck in the single lane. Armed with a list of qualities for her perfect Mr. Right, Kat swears off dating until she finds him. Then in a meet-disaster involving a corpse and a salty cockatoo, she stumbles across Mick O’Sullivan at his family's funeral home. Their immediate chemistry warns Kat to keep things platonic; after all, following her heart never worked out in the past, and this time she’s determined to listen to her head. But can Kat and Mick be just friends? As she gets to know him better, the lines blur, and Kat starts to wonder if she’s gotten it wrong and Mick is exactly who she’s been looking for...

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this book covers the author’s journey as she grows up in an evangelical Christian home, leaves religion behind as a young adult, and goes on to raise children in a family outside of religious belief. Maria Polonchek weaves a personal story with up-to-date studies and philosophic exploration of what it means to raise secular children in an otherwise religious world. Offering careful and respectful advice for other parents who are raising their children outside of a particular religious belief system, she explores the many other ways of instilling identity, belonging, and meaning into our lives and the lives of children. Honest and irreverent, the author admits to her religious “baggage” and searches for better understanding of such topics as religious education, morality, awe, death, purpose, and meaning, and tradition from secular perspectives. She interviews experts, looks at various studies, and turns to a variety of sources for answers, while maintaining a casual and personal tone. While she ultimately argues for parents to let their children shape their own beliefs, she encourages families to tend to existential and social needs that sometimes go unnoticed or unconsidered in life outside religion.

Evie Bell is the white sheep in a family of black ones. Bookish and quiet where her sisters are showy and brash, she doesn’t understand her darker needs that resulted in the catastrophic end to her last relationship. Frederic d’Estang, a stage performer with Byronic dark good looks, is famous for playing villains that women adore – the Phantom, Claude Frollo, Mr Hyde. Facing a distressing premature end to his career due to developing Reinke’s edema, a chronic voice disorder, he recalls how someone took a chance on him when he was just starting out which launched him into stardom, and desires to do the same before his power and influence wane. His agent wants him to write his memoirs, and when he meets Evie Bell, an autobiographical writer with a penchant for gothic anti-heroes, he sees his chance: she has talent, but lacks the confidence and experience to make something of herself. She also has interesting, unexplored tastes, which Frederic discovers when her sister gives him a link to her anonymous fan-fiction archive – much to Evie’s mortification.

The Coyote Cowboys each made a vow to a fallen comrade and have one year to carry out their task… Local hero Remington Cross has only painful memories of Marietta, Montana. He may want ranch work, but he’ll take it anywhere but here. Still, loyalty brings Remy to Marietta determined to locate Jace’s godchild, ensure his physical and financial security, then close this chapter for good. But a smoldering encounter with a beautiful bartender threatens his timeline and heart, and when he discovers Jace’s godchild is at risk, he enlists the aid of the enigmatic beauty who’s more no-strings than he is. Shane Knight is no stranger to secrets, and she can tell the haunted ex-soldier is hiding plenty. She’s finished trying to fix wounded bad boys, and after her broken engagement, her heart’s permanently off-limits. When Shane jumps boots first into a red-hot one-night stand, she never anticipates getting tangled up with a sexy cowboy and a child who needs them. It’s a chance for love, family, and a fresh start for them both, but will secrets break the fragile thread of their new beginning?