first blood novel Audiobooks

Dee Ernst's Lucy Checks In is a delightful work of romantic comedy about a disgraced hotel manager who travels to Rennes to rebuild a hotel and her own life in the process. Lucia Giannetti needs a fresh start. Once the hotel manager of a glamorous NYC hotel and intimately involved with the hotel’s owner, Lucy had her entire future planned out. But when the owner disappears, taking millions of dollars with him, Lucy's life as she knows it falls apart. Two years later, forty-nine years old and unemployed, Lucy takes a job in Rennes, France to manage the Hotel Paradis. She pictures fur quilts and extravagant chandeliers, but what she finds is wildly different. Lucy is now in charge of turning the run-down, but charming hotel into a bustling tourist attraction. Between painting rooms, building a website, and getting to know Bing, the irritatingly attractive artist, Lucy finds an unexpected home. But can she succeed in bringing the Hotel Paradis to its former glory? Witty and heartfelt, Lucy Checks In is an inspiring and feel-good novel about reclaiming your life, finding love, and creating a home in places you never thought possible.

It takes a strong man to be this fabulous. Special Delivery, Book 3 Crescencio "Chenco" Ortiz pulled himself up by his garter straps after his father's will yanked the financial rug from under his spank-me pumps. He doesn't need anyone, yet when Steve Vance steps into his life, the prospect of having a sexy leather daddy on tap begins to take on a certain appeal. There's a hitch when he learns Steve is friends with Mitch Tedsoe-the half-brother Chenco never knew except through his father's twisted lies. Despite his reservations, soon Chenco is living his dreams, including a performing gig in Vegas. Now if only he could get Steve to see him as more than just a boy in need of saving. Steve's attraction to Chenco is overshadowed by too many demons, ones he knows his would-be lover is too young to slay. Yet as he gets to know the bright, determined young man whose drag act redefines fierce, Steve's inner sadist trembles with need. He begins to realize Chenco's relentless tough love might be the only thing that will finally set him free. Warning: This story contains glamorous drag queens, exhibitionist secondary characters, and no-holds-barred BDSM play, including watersports. Readers are advised they may well leave this novel feeling uncharacteristically fierce.

An enthralling, atmospheric new novel from the author of acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones , featuring Colorado police officer Gemma Monroe. It’s Halloween night in Cedar Valley. During the town’s annual festival, Detective Gemma Monroe takes a break from trick or treating with her family to visit an old family friend, retired Judge Caleb Montgomery, at his law office. To Gemma’s surprise, Caleb seems worried―haunted, even―and confides in her that he’s been receiving anonymous threats. Shortly after, as Gemma strolls back to her car, an explosion at Caleb’s office shatters the night. Reeling from the shock, Gemma and her team begin eliminating suspects and motives, but more keep appearing in their place, and soon another man is killed. Her investigation takes her from a chilling encounter with a convicted murderer at the Belle Vista Penitentiary, to the gilded rooms of the renovated Shotgun Playhouse, where Shakespeare’s cursed play Macbeth is set to open in a few weeks. Yet most disturbing of all is when Gemma realizes that similar murders have happened before. There is a copycat killer at play, and if Gemma can’t stop him, he’ll carry out his final, deadly act.

Free-spirited Grace Sheldon is used to living on a tight budget as a freelance photographer. But nothing short of a miracle could produce the thirty thousand dollars she owes on the house she’s inherited. Without steady employment, the bank refuses to give her a loan. Working a temp job won’t give her nearly enough, but she’ll take any little bit she can get until she figures out a solution. Her first day, though, she realizes this is no ordinary office—and her handsome new boss is no ordinary man. After Sawyer Rivera’s well-planned career in Seattle officially imploded all he’s looking for is a small beach town where he can open a dog training facility and start a simple life. Except, his new office assistant is anything but. Grace is carefree, artsy, and doesn’t know a thing about dogs. The woman has pet chickens! She’s also funny, kind, and the best part of his day. Grace is his complete opposite—and completely refreshing. But when her month of temp work is over, she could disappear from his life for good. Sawyer realizes he has just one chance to try to change their fate.

From Susannah Marren, author of A Palm Beach Wife , comes her next book set in the exclusive, glamorous world of Palm Beach. Marren follows two sisters as one offers the ultimate selfless act to the other, proving the very meaning of family in this novel of artifice and intrigue. Veronica and Simon Cutler and their dazzling adult daughters, Elodie and Aubrey, strike an enviable pose, the ultimate Palm Beach family. In a town where social aspirations, wealth and charm prevail – they are transcendent. While the sisters are polar opposites, they are fiercely loyal to one another. When Elodie receives the shocking news that she is no longer able to conceive a baby, she turns to Aubrey. Aubrey, a free spirit, isn’t interested in marriage or children, yet when her sister asks her to carry her child, she can’t say no, despite her mother’s warnings. And then one stupefying secret, meant to be buried forever, is unearthed and no one in the Cutler clan is able to turn back. As the family is shaken to their core, Aubrey and Elodie must realize their places in the world and the lives they want to lead. In the midst of the unforgiving opulence of Palm Beach, A Palm Beach Scandal is a story for our times. A captivating tale of discovery, sisterhood and love for others where you least expect it.

Preface by the Monk Coen. ”In this book, Pedro Costa makes an important analysis - an anamnesis of altered states of consciousness, and gives us guidelines, recipes, suggestions so that we can perceive our moods and develop the ability to deal with them. We will need patience a lot - in order to have physical, mental and social health.<br><br>We can identify the enemies of patience. Not only we can, but we should. Let us define them as the main causes of our daily unrest. First, the people. Second, time. Third, the situations. The fourth can be understood as the union of the first three: chaos, or ”people with no time in difficult situations”. Normally, when we lose patience completely we fall into this last stage of impatience. It's this combination of factors that disturbs our peace. In this book, we describe a method so you always remember the ”good allies” of patience. A way to improve your life. It's the ”4S” rule, a shortcut to memorizing it. Thus, the four allies of patience are: Silence, Sight, Smile and Sure. Easy, right? We'll go into detail about this method and each of the four allies as well as the enemies of a complete change to a better life. We must also observe that the more we focus on the present, the more likely we are to find the allies of patience. The authors P. COSTA and G. COSTA bring a two-fold vision from different areas. First a broad approach of patience by medical science, linked to mindfulness, and on the other hand an approach by anthropology, closely related to the totality of the human being, including all of its dimensions.

Hannibal must transport sixty war elephants from Carthage in North Africa, across the Middle Sea to Iberia. He has to train his people to accomplish this difficult task. The first part of this project is to load one elephant on a ship and sail to the east on the eighteen-day voyage. He has chosen his largest elephant, Obolus, to use in the training of his men. During the loading the animal onto a ship, Obolus killed his longtime handler. The girl, Liada, is the only other person who can control the temperamental elephant. After she succeeds in guiding Obolus up the ramp and onto the deck of the ship, Hannibal asks her to go with the elephant to Iberia. Liada is reluctant to leave her friends at Carthage, but she’s also concerned about Obolus’ safety on the long voyage. She decides to leave her friends and take care of Obolus.

The simple life gets complicated when death comes calling in the first novel in the national bestselling Amish Mystery series. Claire Weatherly has fled a high-stress lifestyle for a slower pace—in Amish country: Heavenly, Pennsylvania. She only planned a short visit but instead found herself opening an Amish specialty shop, Heavenly Treasures, and settling in.Claire loves her new home, and she’s slowly making friends among the locals, including Esther, a young Amish woman who works in the shop. So when the store’s former owner,the unlikable Walter Snow, is murdered, and the man Esther is sweet on becomes a suspect, Claire can’t help but get involved. Newly returned Detective Jakob Fisher, who left Heavenly—and his Amish upbringing—as a teenager, is on the case. But his investigation is stalled by the fact that none of his former community will speak with him. Claire’s connections make her the perfect go-between. As Claire investigates, she uncovers more than she wanted to know about her neighbors. And suddenly, everything she had hoped to find in this peaceful refuge is at risk...

Blending Families responds to the need for a book that explores step-parenting by starting with the marriage as the central relationship in a new blended family unit. Just as you are better able to help your child in an airplane emergency if you put your oxygen mask on first, you are better able to blend two families if you take care of the marriage first. Starting with a discussion of attachment styles, the authors explore how those styles translate into the new family unit when trying to forge a new marriage while parenting tween and teen children in a family unit that is new to them as well. They provide parenting guidance premised on the fact that parenting occurs within a context, and in this case, a context that is unfamiliar territory for everyone involved. Using true stories throughout, they explore the variety of challenges that may arise, such as sibling rivalry, puberty, dating, emotional and intellectual differences, and preferential treatment, and offer suggestions for overcoming obstacles to fully blending. By focusing the light on the marriage as the most important source of stability, the authors encourage readers to develop a style of parenting that works for everyone and brings a sense of unity and strength to the household.

A HEARTSTOPPING MYSTERY FROM YOUR NEW CRIME FICTION OBSESSION: BIBA PEARCE. His mentor slain. A detective out for revenge. A criminal mastermind always one step ahead. Detective Rob Miller is at home with his crying newborn son when he gets the news. Retired Chief Superintendent Sam Lawrence, Rob’s friend and mentor, has been shot dead. Lawrence had always been his rock. Rob is devastated. An hour ago Lawrence had called to ask him to meet, but Rob couldn’t go because he was on daddy duty. Now he will hunt down the killer — but his boss thinks he’s too emotionally involved. This time it’s personal, but it’s not the only murder Rob’s got on his plate. The body of a young man is found on the south bank of the Thames near the London Eye with an unusual stamp on his wrist. Are the two killings related? Then a suspect has their throat slashed in custody and another body bearing the same stamp turns up. Rob knows this is not the work of some amateur criminal, but someone with terrifying reach — and the name they keep hearing is the Wolf. His baby won’t sleep. His partner needs him. Can he be there for them and bring a killer to justice? AN UNSTOPPABLE CRIME MYSTERY THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT DOWN. This gripping page-turner is perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, James Oswald, Joy Ellis, Angela Marsons, L.J. Ross, Janice Frost and J.M. Dalgliesh. MEET THE DETECTIVE DI ROB MILLER An ambitious young detective gunning for promotion. He will do anything for his job, but can he also keep his personal life under control? THE SETTING The Murder Investigation Team is based out of leafy Putney, with its overgrown often-flooded riverbanks. One way the river leads into central London, the other out into the countryside. It’s an idyllic setting that masks a criminal underworld. PRAISE FOR THE SOUTH BANK MURDERS : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Fast paced! Riveting! Emotional! Suspenseful! Compelling! Complex! This book brings it ALL!! ” Tam ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This is a brilliant read. Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.” Billie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A good read full of twists and turns and an excellent ending.” Carole ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I was gripped from beginning to end . It was a real page turner and I am already looking forward to the next book in the series.” Barbara ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Good story line, and characters, making it one to recommend .” Iain ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I honestly stayed awake until 3 a.m. to finish this as I just couldn’t put it down , having been hooked right from the first few pages.” Many B. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A big twist near the end leads to a fast-paced and very satisfying conclusion.” Paul