Jess Nahikian has narrated 21 audiobooks on Listento.it by 22 authors, with an average listener rating of 3.9★ across 35 ratings. The most-rated is Snowflakes.
Snowflakes
Summary
When a barrier between truth and illusion grows stronger, a family’s trust crumbles in this arresting short story by the number one New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10. Leah has spent her formative years isolated on a remote island with her family. But their quiet existence, far from the devastated mainland, is cracking. Father, sensing a coming threat, demands that a wall be built. As the stone blockade rises, Father’s paranoia escalates. So does Leah’s dread that the violence the family left behind has found its way to their sanctuary. Ruth Ware’s Snowflakes is part of Hush, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.
©2020 Ruth Ware. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The Hanging Tree
Summary
In 1640, Alys Bailey was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to hang. Today, Alys is said to haunt Lockwood Hall, the Tudor manor house where she died. When Nicole Rayburn travels to Lockwood Hall and begins to research Alys’s story for a new book, she discovers startling irregularities in Alys’s case. Nicole’s suspicions mount as every answer leads to more questions. What really happened to Alys? And what became of her son, who disappeared the day she was hanged? Could it be that Alys’s death was the result of a well-planned conspiracy, or is there another, less obvious answer? And who is trying to sabotage Nicole's efforts by stealing her work? As Nicole delves deeper into Alys’s life, with the help of a handsome crime writer and a history-obsessed vicar, she comes to realize that “fake news” has been around for centuries, and that everyone has secrets. Once she finally learns Alys’s, Nicole’s life will never be the same. Perfect for fans of Susanna Kearsley, Barbara Erskine, and Wendy Webb.
©2020 Merlin Press LLC (P)2021 Irina Shapiro
Brave Girl, Quiet Girl
Summary
An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal best seller. From New York Times best-selling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes a gripping and emotional novel about friendship, motherhood, and the journey toward finding a place to call home. Brooke is a divorced single mom, financially strapped, living with her mother, and holding tight to the one thing that matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all Brooke can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night. Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teen who is all too used to darkness. Thrown away by her parents, and with a future as stable as the wooden crate she calls home, Molly survives day to day by her wits. As unpredictable as her life is, she’s stunned to find Etta, abandoned and alone. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect a child as lost as she is. Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge, and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed. With it, Brooke and Molly will come to discover that what’s lost - and what’s found - can change in a heartbeat.
©2020 Catherine Ryan Hyde, Trustee, or Successor Trustee, of the Catherine Ryan Hyde Revocable trust created under that certain declaration dated September 27, 1999. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Emily of New Moon (AmazonClassics Edition)
Summary
After Emily Starr loses her dear father, the ten-year-old orphan is packed off to live with her starched relatives on Prince Edward Island. If only she could relate to them. Frankly, whip-smart, ambitious Emily can’t imagine ever feeling at home at New Moon Farm. Especially when her writerly dreams are routinely dashed by her autocratic aunt. Then Emily finds an outlet for her creative spirit with a group of friends every bit as passionate and gifted as she. With their help, New Moon could start to feel like home after all. Lucy Maud Montgomery’s semiautobiographical coming-of-age tale is a bittersweet ode to family, friendship, and forging your own path in life. Revised edition: Previously published as Emily of New Moon, this edition of Emily of New Moon (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.
Public Domain (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The House on the Hill
Summary
Still grieving the death of her husband, Lauren leaves the hubbub of Boston for the peaceful shores of Cape Cod, where she hopes to come to terms with her loss and devote herself to her writing. Historic Holland House, isolated on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, seems like the perfect refuge, until Lauren discovers that she’s not alone, and her ghostly roommate might be none other than Sophie Holland, the mysterious first mistress of the house. With the help of a handsome doctor with an interest in local history, Lauren is soon drawn out of her self-imposed exile as she sets out to learn what happened to Sophie and stumbles onto a story worth writing about.
©2020 Merlin Press LLC (P)2020 Irina Shapiro
The Princess Game
Summary
There are no happy endings for the Princesses of Chaminade High in this short, twisty tale of teenage murder games by the New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series. The victims are the most popular girls in school, each murdered and arranged in a grim fairy-tale tableau. To find the killer, rookie detective Callum Pederson has gone undercover where the Princes hold court. He’s found enough secrets among the bros to bring them in for questioning - but he could very well get lost in the games the Princes play. The Princess Game is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.
©2020 Soman Chainani (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
What We Forgot to Bury
Summary
Truth and deceit blur as one woman’s desperation twists into another’s desire for revenge in this mind-bending psychological novel. Charlotte Coburn has a tragically dark past. But she’s safe now. She lives in a gated community, protected from danger. When teenager Elle knocks at her door looking for shelter during a particularly severe storm, the woman can’t help but think how lucky Elle’s been to have found someone as friendly as her. Except Elle chose her door on purpose... She knows all about Charlotte’s secrets because they ruined her family and her life. And it is time that everyone else knew. But Charlotte’s past has left a dark void in her life, so she is concocting her own vicious plan, convinced that Elle can help fill that void. As events unfold, the truth unravels and pulls both women into a dangerous game that will leave you wondering, Who’s the villain?
©2020 Wilted Lilly LLC. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Until the Day I Die
Summary
From the bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls comes a riveting novel about a mother and daughter separated by grief, secrets, and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy their lives. If there’s a healthy way to grieve, Erin Gaines hasn’t found it. After her husband’s sudden death, the runaway success of the tech company they built with their best friends has become overwhelming. Her nerves are frayed, she’s disengaged, and her frustrated daughter, Shorie, is pulling away from her. Maybe Erin’s friends and family are right. Maybe a few weeks at a spa resort in the Caribbean islands is just what she needs to hit the reset button… Shorie is not only worried about her mother’s mental state but also for the future of her parents’ company. Especially when she begins to suspect that not all of Erin’s colleagues can be trusted. It seems someone is spinning an intricate web of deception - the foundation for a conspiracy that is putting everything, and everyone she loves, at risk. And she may be the only one who can stop it. Now, thousands of miles away in a remote, and oftentimes menacing, tropical jungle, Erin is beginning to have similar fears. Things at the resort aren’t exactly how the brochure described, and unless she’s losing her mind, Erin’s pretty sure she wasn’t sent there to recover - she was sent to disappear.
©2019 Emily Carpenter (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
War Car
Summary
They wanted her car. She gave them a war. Valerie is on a mission to reach the king. But when a gang of lawless Avalonian natives hijacks her prized war car, getting it back means a detour into dangerous territory. The frontier is overrun with cutthroat gangs, deadly bounty hunters, and mountain lords with their own brand of justice. When her mission thrusts her between warring factions, she’s forced to take sides in a battle she’s unprepared to fight. Secrets from her own past lie hidden in the forest, and with her mentor Damon missing, the only thing she can count on is her sword. Can she decide friend from foe before time runs out for them both? Get behind the wheel and strap in for another pulse-pounding thrill ride in the Kingdom of Engines. Continue the adventure today!
©2020 Nathan Van Coops (P)2020 Skylighter Press
What It Seems
Summary
A pause-resisting novel of suspense about the perfect family, and the perfect lies, by the best-selling author of When I'm Gone and The Waiting Room. Adopted by her controlling foster mother at the age of eight, 20-year-old Tara has seen little of the outside world. Lonely, punished for the slightest offense, her only distraction comes from watching the Feely family's online videos. They're an affectionate vlogging quintet and an internet sensation. Most important, they are Tara's mental refuge. Then the opportunity arises for them to be something more. When Tara accepts an internship with the close-knit clan, they're her escape. Daring to run away, and defying Mother's rules, Tara is welcomed into the loving fold. But the more Tara gets to know them, the more she realizes that not everything is as it seems. As secrets slowly surface, the image of the perfect family begins to crack. For Tara, it's another trap. To claim a life of her own, she'll need a new escape plan. Because as the show's popularity explodes, reaching even more fascinated viewers, Tara can't shake the feeling that Mother is among their ranks. She's watching. She's waiting. She'll never let her go.
©2020 Emily Bleeker (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Tinfoil Butterfly
Summary
The Shining meets About a Boy in this electrifying debut about a troubled young woman and a lonely boy facing their demons in the frozen Black Hills.
Emma is hitchhiking across the United States, trying to outrun a violent, tragic past, when she meets Lowell, the hot-but-dumb driver she hopes will take her as far as the Badlands. But Lowell is not as harmless as he seems, and a vicious scuffle leaves Emma bloody and stranded in an abandoned town in the Black Hills with an out-of-gas van, a loaded gun, and a snowstorm on the way.
The town is eerily quiet and Emma takes shelter in a diner, where she stumbles across Earl, a strange little boy in a tinfoil mask who steals her gun before begging her to help him get rid of “George”. As she is pulled deeper into Earl’s bizarre, menacing world, the horrors of Emma’s past creep closer, and she realizes she can’t run forever.
Tinfoil Butterfly is a seductively scary, chilling exploration of evil - how it sneaks in under your skin, flaring up when you least expect it, how it throttles you and won't let go. The beauty of Rachel Eve Moulton's ferocious, harrowing, and surprisingly moving debut is that it teaches us that love can do that too.
©2019 Rachel Eve Moulton (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the definition of malignant from Merriam-Webster.com, © 2019 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.
The Beautiful Strangers
Summary
A legendary hotel on the Pacific becomes a haven where dreams, love, and a beguiling mystery come alive.
1958. Kate Morgan, tethered to her family’s failing San Francisco restaurant, is looking for an escape. She gets her chance by honoring a cryptic plea from her grandfather: find the beautiful stranger. The search takes her to Hotel del Coronado, the beachfront landmark on the Southern California coast where filming is underway on the movie Some Like It Hot.
For a movie lover like Kate, it’s a fantasy come true. So is the offer of a position at the glamorous hotel. And a new romance is making her heart beat just as fast. But as sure as she is that Coronado is her future, Kate discovers it’s also where the ghosts of the past have come to stay. Sixty years ago a guest died tragically, and she still haunts the hotel’s halls.
As the lives of two women - generations apart - intertwine, Kate’s courageous journey could change more than she ever imagined. And with Coronado wending its way through her soul, she must follow her dreams...wherever they may lead.
©2019 Camille Di Maio (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
We Are All His Creatures
Summary
In a series of interwoven fictionalized stories, Deborah Noyes gives voice to the marginalized women in P. T. Barnum’s family - and the talented entertainers he built his entertainment empire on. Much has been written about P. T. Barnum - legendary showman, entrepreneur, marketing genius, and one of the most famous nineteenth-century personalities. For those who lived in Barnum’s shadow, however, life was complex. P. T. Barnum’s two families - his family at home, including his two wives and his daughters, and his family at work, including Little People, a giantess, an opera singer, and many sideshow entertainers - suffered greatly from his cruelty and exploitation. Yet, at the same time, some of his performers, such as General Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton), became wealthy celebrities who were admired and feted by presidents and royalty. In this collection of interlinked stories, Deborah Noyes digs deep into what is known about the people in Barnum’s orbit and imagines their personal lives, putting front and center the complicated joy and pain of what it meant to be one of Barnum’s “creatures.”
©2020 by Deborah Noyes, original book published by Candlewick Press. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Sword Fight
Summary
Swords clash. Engines roar. The fight is on. Valerie was born with one foot on the accelerator. Raised in a family of renowned swordsmen, her need for speed sets her apart. But when a tragic murder casts her out of the noble society she’s relied on to protect her, she has to master the way of the sword to fight her way back. The king is searching for the next knight to sit at the Round Table, but Valerie only wants justice. To get it, she’ll enter his tournament and face road warriors from all over the kingdom. Her only hope for survival is a brooding swordsman mentor, a blade with no name, and one legendary car. If you like epic tales of bravery, romance, and revenge, you'll love this high-octane, swashbuckling adventure. Join the fight today!
©2019 Nathan Van Coops (P)2019 Nathan Van Coops
The Day I Disappeared
Summary
A terrifying crime reunites a mother and daughter in a novel of psychological suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Trespassing. Three months after four-year-old Holly Gebhardt was kidnapped, she was inexplicably returned to the same park from which she’d vanished...with no memory of the ordeal. Though a local handyman was convicted, suspicion also fell on his friend - Holly’s mother, Cecily. The troubling doubts about her involvement shattered the family, forever driving a wedge between mother and daughter. Twenty years later, another girl goes missing under eerily similar circumstances. It’s just the latest in a series of kidnappings that Detective Jason Guidry thinks Holly can help solve. Though Holly has tried to move on with her life, a young girl’s life hangs in the balance. All she has to do is try to remember.... With her memory still mostly blank, Holly is missing vital pieces of the puzzle, and she believes her mother can put them in place. In desperation and fear, Holly and her mother come together again. But in a chilling rush toward the past, Cecily still has secrets she’s yet to share with her daughter. Should she dare to breathe a word, she could lose Holly all over again.
©2020 Brandi Reeds (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Faraway
Summary
Classic fables take on new meaning as five of today’s most original bestselling authors serve up some deliciously modern twists. New reflections on evil queens, charmless princes, and star-crossed lovers branch out in provocative and enchanting directions. Follow the path and see where it leads... THE PRINCE AND THE TROLL by Rainbow Rowell A charming everyman and a mysterious something-under-the-bridge cross paths in a short fairy tale by the number one New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow series. HAZEL AND GRAY by Nic Stone Two anxious young lovers lost in the woods. A beckoning mansion in a dark clearing. A short modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel by the number one New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin. THE PRINCESS GAME by Soman Chainani There are no happy endings for the Princesses of Chaminade High in this short, twisty tale of teenage murder games by the New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series. THE CLEANERS by Ken Liu Touch the past or wash it away? Two sisters have a choice in this unforgettable short story of everyday magic and the power of memory by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Ken Liu. THE WICKEDS by Gayle Forman The reviled villainesses of Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel team up to set the record straight in a subversively funny short story by the number one New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay. Full list of narrators includes Kate Rudd and Frankie Corzo.
©2020 The Prince and the Troll © 2020 by Rainbow Rowell. Hazel and Gray © 2020 by Logolepsy Media Inc. The Princess Game © 2020 by Soman Chainani. The Cleaners © 2020 by Ken Liu. The Wickeds © 2020 by Gayle Forman Inc. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
See All the Stars
Summary
We Were Liars meets Goodbye Days in this thrilling debut novel that sweeps listeners away as they try to solve the mystery of what happened then to make Ellory so broken now. It’s hard to find the truth beneath the lies you tell yourself. Then: They were four - Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret. (Venus. Earth. Moon. Sun.) Electric, headstrong young women; Ellory’s whole solar system. Now: Ellory is alone, her once inseparable group of friends torn apart by secrets, deception, and a shocking incident that changed their lives forever. Then: Lazy summer days. A party. A beautiful boy. Ellory met Matthias and fell into the beginning of a spectacular, bright love. Now: Ellory returns to Pine Brook to navigate senior year after a two-month suspension and summer away - no boyfriend, no friends. No going back. Tormented by some and sought out by others, troubled by a mysterious note-writer who won’t let Ellory forget, and consumed by guilt over her not entirely innocent role in everything and everyone she’s lost, Ellory finds that even in the present, the past is everywhere. The path forward isn’t a straight line. And moving on will mean sorting the truth from the lies - the lies Ellory has been telling herself.
©2018 Kristin S. Frick (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly
Summary
Working as a Wench - i.e. waitress - at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a Knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college. Company policy allows only guys to be Knights. So when Kit takes her brother’s place, clobbers the Green Knight, and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But this Girl Knight won’t go down without a fight. As other Wenches and cast members join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they’ll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval - if they don’t get fired first.
©2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Dusk Gate
Summary
What should you do when you're dragged to the hells? As a holy maiden of the Phoenix Queen, Jasmine was a prize of immense value to the demons. To their shock, she and her nearly defeated rescuers are rescued by the beautiful but scathing Xandra, an enslaved elven sorceress who’d been damned for over a millennium. Once they escape, Xandra and the others soon go their separate ways, thinking that their brief meeting would be their last, for they had little in common. Little did Jasmine know that the fickle hand of fate would reunite her with Xandra when darkness shrouds her homeland and all the other holy maidens are captured. Nor did she know that acerbic, destructive sorceress will provide her only source of hope for the future.
©2020 Benjamin Medrano (P)2020 Benjamin Medrano
The Remedy Files: Illusion
Summary
A life without feelings, a life without decisions; that’s the only life Evangeline knows. Because of the manufacturing of Remedy, her community of Impetus has discovered a way to survive and prevent the self-destructing mistakes of The Before by inhibiting feelings, creating a society that relies wholly on logic and entrusts Impetus to make all the decisions for its people. A chance encounter results in a friendship between Evangeline and a boy outside of Impetus named Gavin who challenges Evangeline to reassess her conviction in the world she has always known and introduces her to a choice she never thought she had. When she defies Impetus on her 18th birthday, Evangeline journeys through awakened truths, divided worlds, power struggles, and love triangles. For the first time in her life, the vitality of physical and emotional feelings forces her to understand and see Gavin in ways like never before. Broken, tested, and challenged, Evangeline must make decisions on her own for once, determining who she trusts, who she loves, and who she’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of what’s right and to fight what she believes is wrong.
©2019 Lauren Eckhardt (P)2020 Lauren Eckhardt