Showing results by publisher "Podium Audio" in Contemporary

Gwen Tailor is stunned when her most formidable Noble enemy—and captor—Valjean, becomes a powerful ally. Her unique crafter abilities have helped her gain monster-killing talents usually reserved for Nobles, but to save her town and people from extinction, she needs Valjean's help to become a Noble herself and infiltrate their aristocratic circles. So, along with cleaver-wielding butcher Sandy and enchanted-weapons-maker Gerald, she enrolls in the legendary Academy to learn its lethal arts . . . and uncover the secrets behind their land's ruthless class divisions.

Now that the entire town knows who Clara is unofficially related to, she's even more of a social pariah than before. To make matters worse, the spell keeping the town guarded and safe is failing. Naturally, it's her fault. But that's not all. One of the mysterious strangers Clara met before has revealed his heritage and made it very clear he doesn't want her around. And not in the get out of town way. More in the permanently neutralized sort of way.

Trapped in a dead-end town and a dead-end life, Amy Nettle dreams of escaping her abusive father and starting over, somewhere far away. The arrival of a black envelope heralds just that, in a way she never could have imagined. Whisked away to the Saunders Academy, a Gothic manse in the heart of an eternal storm-tossed ocean, Amy is one of dozens of teenagers plucked from dozens of parallel Earths and selected for an education in witchcraft. It seems too good to be true... except. Except no one will tell them why they were chosen, or what happens after graduation.

You might think a month away from fighting sentient cubical supplies in a threatening alt-reality office would mean a break for James Lyle. But . . . you'd be wrong. Even though James has taken a beat from adventuring into the dungeon hidden within the stairwell of his workplace, he's been dealing with plenty of stress-inducing issues, from raising a recently corporeal infomorph to navigating his newly minted relationship with his best friends, fighting his own depression, and wrestling with the moral implications of his burgeoning powers.

Hi, I'm Piper Edwards, and I'm pre-vampiric. Don't worry—it's not as bad as it sounds. Right now, my love life is far more complicated than my diet. Taking prescription blood three times a day? Easy. Abstaining from nibbling on Noah's yummy neck? Not easy. You know what else isn't easy? Tracking down Cassian's hundred-year-old ex-girlfriend, learning how to properly use a stake, and figuring out how to tell my parents I'm now a creature of the night.

After a road home full of new meetings, farewells, and all sorts of chaos, Erich has finally made his way back to Konigstuhl.

It's not just boba now. Together with his friends, Arthur is at the frontier of the Demon World, building a brand-new town, one stone at a time. After one particularly stubborn owl won an argument with the system, Arthur blazed a trail with the rest of his friends toward the frontiers of the demon world. All around him is a world untouched by demons. Now, he needs to tame the wilderness into the shape of a town. Luckily, he has help.

At the Misty Mountain Library, stories don't just sit on shelves—they leap right off the page. When Nyssa returns to the magical library she adored as a child, it's not quite how she remembered it. A wild magic storm has brought the books to life, leaving her to repair the library while wrangling tiny dragons, even tinier knights, a grumpy demon lord, and so much more.

Our munchkin hero Erich returns home after a long, dark night of bedlam, bloodshed, and intrigue in the capital. Cecilia's conundrum stands resolved, but the ripples of the incident persist... and whose boat should they rock but that of Agrippina, his shiftless employer? Omens of trouble loom on the horizon, but escape was never an option. How will Erich's saving throws fare when he is plunged into yet more turbulent waters?!

The darkness within me grows stronger every day, threatening to consume the person I once was. I crave the company of Kicks and the others I love—and yet fear to let them close to the monster I am becoming. So when Death calls in her bargain and tells me to go to Scotland, I'm eager to end the debt I owe her. But her vengeance is sure to bring more pain and heartache. Instead of the healing I seek, I'll surely form more enemies and dole out more death. The end of this bargain might destroy any hope of a new beginning…

Against all odds, Jenny Huang is still alive. Or as alive as she can be. She escaped the Survival Challenge, a twisted game in which mortals must kill or be killed, but the nightmare didn't end there. By forcing the Challenge to a close and returning to Earth, Jenny has unwittingly unleashed chaos: birthing the Antithesis, kicking off Judgment Day, and dooming the world to a host of bloodthirsty angels. Worst of all, her best-friend-slash-crush, Susan, is dead. And it's all Jenny's—and her insatiable appetite's—fault.

In pursuit of Chernobog's followers, Niki Baird, Ryan Fortner, and their allies venture into the Otherworld—a treacherous realm of mythical creatures and mysterious curses. Each discovery spurs more questions, but one truth comes to light: Chernobog seeks Koschei's Needle, a powerful artifact an undying sorcerer hid in Niki's world.

After Marius's wedding, the Forge Eizo family returns to a life of normalcy. The season has turned, and with a sweltering summer on the horizon, Eizo decides it's time to construct a water well near the cabin. However, their digging is soon interrupted by a familiar face: the fairy chief Gizelle appears and asks them to meet the mystical master of the Black Forest! This master requests that the family eliminate a terrifying monster—a beast corrupted by stagnant magic that is devastating the forest and its inhabitants.

This used to be about dungeons...but these days it's more about sharing a pot of tea, or teaching someone the proper way to make a sandwich, or deciding whether your mysterious egg needs more sunlight. Yes, you still venture into dungeons—two in one day, if you're feeling ambitious—and there are still monsters to fight and treasures to find. But when you come out, what matters isn't the treasures you've gathered, it's whether everyone's coming to temple day or if you can all find something fancy enough to wear to the opera.

Ever since Bryce Alexander and the infamous dark sorcerer Zambrano saved Earth by launching the demon duke Vulkatherak into the sun, things have been quiet. Zambrano is off doing whatever it is dark sorcerers do for fun, and Bryce has been taking advantage of the perks that come from supposedly evil internships, including free gym access and unlimited takeout. But when Zambrano reappears with a mission to infiltrate the vault of legendary magician Merlin, things start to go awry.

My life has become peaceful, routine. I have friends, I have a girlfriend, and all is right with the world. Or it was, anyway. One night is all it takes for things to go from perfect to perilous. One night in which my life is turned upside down, thrusting me into a war for my very survival. One night that was supposed to be fun and joyous. The night where I met my girlfriend's family.

Rosemary's chocolate shop is thriving with the help of Papa Jack, but it isn't long before the town is under attack by mysterious swampy monsters, and the local election reveals a dark side to the normally peaceful village. Meanwhile, despite her mother's reservations, Athena is determined to embark on a journey into the fae realm to uncover her heritage and play a role in forging a treaty between magical beings. Join Rosemary and Athena as they navigate vampire politics, pesky pixies, complicated magical family dynamics, and feisty familiars!

After a successful rescue mission in the empire, Eizo welcomes Helen to the family. Life at the forge is peaceful once more, though living in the Black Forest comes with its own set of dangers. The family encounters another aggressive bear, and once they dispatch it, they find and adopt an orphaned wolf pup. With yet another mouth to feed, Eizo knows he must continue to test the limits of his cheats. His next challenge? Working with a rare, stubborn metal called appoitakara. Using this metal, Eizo forges Helen a new pair of swords and then decides to design a katana for himself!

Putting the fey tragedy behind him, Erich arrives at the Rhinian capital and begins his term of service under Lady Agrippina at the Imperial College of Magic. There, he draws the attention of a troubling wardrobe connoisseur but has no choice but to press on and earn his sister's tuition. After befriending a student at the College, the two set off on one of Agrippina's simple errands—until the Goddess of Dice turns their quick chore into a full-blown dungeon crawl!

The local wolffolk mafia longs for their glory days, and their alluring don, Alessia Lionetti, wants a powerful enforcer to bring them back. That's Vince. This is his big break from his days as a hired thug. Working for the mafia has a short life expectancy, though. Especially in a world where the masquerade shattered long ago. Demons run banks, birdfolk ferry people across town, and the police possess crack teams of sorcerers to keep the peace. Bad news for Vince and his dreams of mafia wealth.