Showing results by narrator "Lyssa Browne" in All Categories

Cassie Madison has it all: A high-powered advertising career; a stylish Manhattan apartment; and a sophisticated, rich, and gorgeous fiancé. It's a far cry from her childhood in Walton, Georgia, home of the annual Kudzu Festival and hot, sticky summers. And then there are all the bad memories, the heartache. When Cassie's estranged sister calls to say that her father is dying, Cassie knows it's time to set aside her feelings and go home and face the sister she hasn't seen in 15 years.

After a harrowing Tracker assignment in Scotland, Jess Ballard is finally home and ready to celebrate her twin sister Hannah’s long-awaited wedding—and with Milo at the helm, it promises to be the event of the Durupinen season. But even as they turn their attention to dress fittings, tastings, and last-minute preparations, a cloud looms over them. Tensions in the upper ranks of the Durupinen are coming to a boiling point, and it becomes clear that the wedding itself could well be the crucible in which it all comes to a head.

A poignant story of two estranged sisters from the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels. At twenty Cassie Madison left her hometown of Walton, Georgia, for New York City, where she has reinvented herself—from losing herself in her career to squashing her accent. But one...

After breaking the code of secrecy and facing the judgement of the High Council, Jess and Hannah have no choice but to become Trackers, working to take down those who would exploit the spirit world for profit or power. Their first assignment takes them into the deep South, where Jeremiah Campbell, a self-proclaimed spiritual guru, lures wealthy and desperate devotees with promises of a deeper connection with the dead. As the girls go undercover, it soon becomes clear that they, and the spirit world they are sworn to protect, are once again in unimaginable danger.

From best-selling author E. E. Holmes comes a collection of short stories that will take you on an unforgettable journey into the lives of your favorite characters from the Gateway Trilogy and the Gateway Trackers series. Go back in time and explore Fairhaven Hall with Karen and Elizabeth when they were just Apprentices. Hear in her own words how Savvy discovered the truth about her gift when she was only four years old, and how a fateful visit from a future High Priestess revealed her calling as a Durupinen.

The Romans have a famous saying: "The stars incline us; they do not bind us." The words hold so much weight and importance they're stained on my skin—just like she is. The ink may not be visible, but the binds are indisputable, pulling me back to her like a rough tide. Impossible to leave. However, time has proven, free will or not, it will take more than bending the rules to be with her. It will require breaking them.

Some cryptic words wake college student Jess Ballard from a terrifying dream into an even more terrifying reality. Jess’ life has never been what anyone would call easy; doing damage control in the wake of your nomadic, alcoholic mother doesn't exactly make for a storybook childhood. But now, her world has fallen apart just when it should be coming together: her mother gone—dead under mysterious circumstances; her life uprooted to stay with estranged relatives she’s never met; and there’s something odd about some of the people she’s been meeting at school: They’re dead.

For hundreds of years, the Durupinen have carried the power of the Gateway in their bloodlines. Now, a dire warning from the past might mean that power must come to an end. Jess Ballard has often considered her gift a curse - but now it may truly become one, unless she can convince the leaders of the Durupinen world to restore the power of the Gateways where it rightly belongs. The Durupinen have always considered themselves a force for what is good in the world, but has the intoxication of power left them unable to distinguish between what is right and wrong?

Former international flight attendant Annie Taylor is embracing her country roots and racing toward a future with her sustainable farmer fiancé, but wedding plans are complicated by her new job, a mysterious ex-boyfriend, and a narcissistic father. Meanwhile, Annie's old-fashioned grandma, Beulah, is facing a shake-up in the last place she ever thought she would - home. A crisis on May Hollow Road follows a friend's betrayal, challenging Beulah's forgiving nature.

She's my first love. She's also my father's mistress's daughter. I'm Duke Wilder, and this is my story. I left Wildflower Canyon and Wilder Ranch ten years ago, away from my father and Elena—the girl I loved before I found out she was the daughter of my father's mistress. Now my father is gone, and he's left the ranch to me. I come back ready to sell it off piece by piece, to destroy his so-called legacy, and finally get revenge on the land that failed my mother. But coming back to the Colorado ranch country feels like stepping into a part of myself I've tried to forget.

Spurred by the injustices that nearly destroyed their family, Jess and Hannah Ballard are preparing to win back a seat on the powerful Durupinen Council. The odds are stacked against them, but that's never stopped them before. But as Hannah faces the harsh realities of political intrigue, Jess must face a frightening new reality of her own.

Folly Beach, South Carolina, has survived despite hurricanes and war. But it's the personal battles of Folly Beach's residents that have left the most scars, and they are why a young widow has been beckoned there to heal her own. To most people, Folly Beach is simply the last barrier island before reaching the great Atlantic. To some, it's a sanctuary for lost souls, which is why Emmy Hamilton's mother encourages her to buy a local bookstore, Folly's Finds, hoping it will distract Emmy from the loss of her husband.

Ten years ago, in the pine-shaded town of Savage Ridge, Nick, Emmy, and Pete murder their high school classmate, Sammy Saint John. His body is never found, and no arrests are made. The three friends make a pact to leave Savage Ridge and never return. Now, each is drawn home, seemingly by chance or fate. But it's neither: Private Investigator Sloane Yo has brought them back to finally answer for their crime.

After uncovering and destroying a Necromancer plot to take over Skye Priosún, Jess and Finn are united at last and longing to move on with their life together. But the Durupinen world has other plans. An enigmatic rune keeps revealing itself to Jess - in artwork, in dreams, and even scrawled upon the ancient stones of the Geatgrima at Fairhaven. No one can identify it, but its warning is clear: Something dangerous is coming, a revelation that could end the Gateway system forever.

For Jess Ballard, the signs could not be clearer; if the Durupinen want to maintain their control over the Gateways to the spirit world, they will have to battle for them at the ancient Skye Priosún, where even now a rebellion is brewing, ready to burst the barriers of the ancient stronghold. It is a near-impossible proposition. The only chance the Durupinen have is to infiltrate the priosún from within-with nothing left to lose, Jess volunteers herself for the job.

Julie White's once-sweet son has morphed into a teenage terror. She hoped it was normal growing pains but a glimpse into his private messages shatters that illusion. Now she wonders if her moody teen is actually a ticking time bomb. Varvara Perlman's researcher job is hard, but caring for her emotionally-complex daughter is harder. After dismissing the latest call from the school counselor as another ploy for attention, she can only hope it's not too late when she finally understands. This latest crisis may not only be real, but deadly.

Secrets lurk in these hallowed halls… Jess and Hannah Ballard’s time in Edinburgh has revealed a formidable new enemy in the form of Alasdair MacLeod, the vicious spirit of a former Caomhnóir whose deranged and dangerous experiments on other ghosts have led to chaos in the spirit world. While Hannah works to reverse the terrible and mysterious Collection Alasdair left behind in the city’s underground closes, Jess and Finn track Alasdair to Kingshurst University, where they suspect Alasdair first encountered the Necromancers.

Without warning, Russia starts an operation to seize control of a vital arctic waterway off the Alaska coast. For hot-wired naval aviator Karen 'Bunny' O'Hare, it's about to be a bad day at the office. Not everyone takes impending nuclear Armageddon as calmly as O'Hare. From an airfield in Russia, Major-General Bondarev is leading a war he doesn't understand against machines instead of men. Under the US embassy in Moscow, Ambassador Devlin McCarthy discovers she can follow her conscience or the orders of her Secretary of State, but not both.

It's been more than a year since Jess and Hannah Ballard fought to return the power of the Gateways where it rightfully belongs, and the Durupinen world is slowly adjusting to its altered relationship with the spirit world.

Once every five years, the Northern Clans of the Durupinen gather at Fairhaven Hall. There, at the ancient castle, surrounded by the very spirits they are bound to protect and serve, the clans settle disputes and shape the laws that govern the Gateways to the spirit world. For the first time, Jess and Hannah Ballard have to represent their clan. It is an awesome responsibility - a great honor...and they are sure it's going to be the most boring week of their lives.