Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Contemporary

Every morning Laila Bansal wakes up before dawn—hours before her job at the family winery—and trains in hand-to-hand combat with her adopted aunts who, when not tending to their thriving vineyard, are immortal demons sworn to protect Laila’s mythological bloodline. Despite the whole "descendant of Draupadi" thing, Laila leads a peaceful, protected life. That is until Karan, the mysterious and gorgeous new archer in town, tries to cut off her head.

Eighteen-year-old Filipino American Ruby Santos has been unmoored since her mother’s death. She’s always dreamed of going to art school, but instead, she and her father have had to move into the basement of their home and rent out the main floor while they work to pay back her mother’s hospital bills. Then Ruby finds out her father has been living a secret life as a delivery person for a magical underworld—he “jumps” train lines to help deliver packages for a powerful family. Recently, he’s fallen behind on deliveries (and deeper into a fog of alcohol).

“I wish to become one of those round vacuum cleaner robots.” That’s what Machi prays for at the altar of Japanese goddess Benzaiten. Ever since her two best friends decided they want nothing to do with her, Machi hasn’t been able to speak. After months of online school and a carousel of therapists, she can no longer see the point of being human. She doesn’t expect Benzaiten to hear her prayer, much less offer a different prayer on Machi’s behalf—that Machi discover the beauty of humanity, ultimately restoring her to her previous self.

Monika can’t bring herself to celebrate her last summer before college. Instead, she’s still grieving the loss of the one classmate who didn’t make it to graduation, a boy named Shun with whom she had a complicated relationship. Then, during her final Japanese Club meeting, Monika hears about the Yomigaeri Tunnel, a local urban legend. Those who venture into this mythological passageway undergo harrowing trials to confront their hidden secrets and worst fears. According to the lore, anyone who makes it through the journey is rewarded with the ability to resurrect one soul from the dead.

With the threat of a second cataclysm bearing down on them, Matt and his allies double their efforts to climb the tower, juggling personal responsibilities, new players, unexpected assistance from unlikely sources, all while weighing the insidious possibility of threats from within.

Hidden off the coast of Washington, veiled in mist, there is an island that does not appear on any map. And on that island is Ellery West. The acclaimed school for magic has always been home for Faith. After an international move and a childhood spent adjusting to a new culture and a new language, Faith feels like Ellery is the only place she can be herself. That is, until Faith and another student walk into the forest, and only Faith walks out.

Arlynn Rosemary Banson is an atypical sixteen-year-old—the cool, popular outsider, effortlessly straddling the line between divas and dorks. Her forever young mother, Jennifer, is dedicated to making her life awkward by trying to be her friend. Her father, Alan, is a history professor who barely acknowledges his family’s existence. Her boyfriend, Benz, the quarterback and homecoming king, has just broken up with her, while her best friend, Joslin, bears reluctant witness to Rosemary’s romantic drama. But nothing prepares any of them for a Welsh foreign exchange student named Emrys Balin.