Showing results by narrator "Alana Kerr Collins" in All Categories

Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust. Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of the god-gifted mortal Aillira, and Lira of clan Stone, a descendant of Aillira with the power to read people’s souls, knows the story better than most. When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland, Lira helps the wounded man. But as they form a bond forbidden by both their clans, Lira finds herself facing the same tragic fate as her ancestor.

Darcy Hogan’s perfect life is all over social media. She’s beautiful, she’s successful, and she and her childhood sweetheart are about to become parents for the first time. But behind all the followers and the superficial likes lurks a darker truth. In reality, Darcy feels isolated and afraid. Her difficult pregnancy has her confined to the house, she’s being harassed online, and out-of-control debt threatens to ruin everything she’s worked so hard for. 

James Joyce’s landmark novel traces the course of three characters on one summer day in Dublin. First, there’s middle-aged wanderer and appeasing cuckold Leopold Bloom. He crosses paths with Stephen Dedalus, a young aspiring writer flirting with indulgence. Among a gallery of generous, ebullient, and brawling Dubliners, Bloom and Dedalus find in each other, for a few hours, a spiritual father and son. Then there’s Molly, Leopold’s wife. Conflicted about love, marriage, motherhood, and sexual longing, she’ll spend her afternoon with a lover. 

This heart-wrenching novel in verse describes the life of a poor girl surviving the Irish Land War and the everyday challenges she experiences.

The ancient land of Eirinn is mired in war. Ciara, princess of Mide, has never known a time when Eirinn's kingdoms were not battling for power or Northmen were not plundering their shores. The people of Mide have always been safe because of Ciara's unearthly ability to control her enemies' minds and actions. But lately a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Eirinn but the entire world.

Susan has everything she ever wanted. A loving husband, an angelic daughter and the cottage of her dreams in County Cork. Her picture-perfect life seems too good to be true. And it is. At a housewarming party with their new neighbours, her daughter Amelia goes missing. As friends become suspects, Susan’s life spirals out of control. And when Amelia’s yellow cardigan is dredged from the lake, every parent’s worst nightmare suddenly seems horribly real. In the aftermath of Amelia’s disappearance Susan and her husband Paul are not themselves. Someone is hiding something.

Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people's souls, to see someone's true essence with only a touch of her hand. When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland, Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith.

Although Elisabeth Elliot is possibly best known for her story of grief and the surname of her first husband, she has been a remarkable woman in many ways. From persevering after the untimely and tragic death of her husband, to becoming a notable writer and public speaker, Elisabeth Elliot is a true testament to the strength to be found in God. 

If you've ever picked up a hymn book, the chances are that you've sung a song written by a blind girl - and not just any blind girl. As a young child, Fanny Crosby knew nothing of the sighted world around her but that didn't stop her interacting with nature, experiencing the thrill of God's creation. She held her grandmother's hand, but she thought that was because Grandmother needed her help not the other way around.

1943: Europe is at war - but neutral Ireland is isolated from the storm. In a sleepy coastal village south of Dublin, eighteen-year-old Aileen Sweeney meets soldier Niall O’Rourke at a dance, and the spark between them soon ignites a powerful love. But when Niall makes a life-changing and contentious decision, Aileen’s hopes and dreams fall apart. In an instant Niall is transformed from dashing suitor to social outcast, and the fallout leaves each of them navigating the consequences alone. Putting her innocence behind her, Aileen must make her own tough choices.

King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift - or curse - almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished "The Touch" forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: Her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide. Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers.

When jaded and overworked Los Angeles literary agent Daniel Ashe hires Annie Doherty, an Irish dog walker, he's simply looking for someone to care for his dogs so he can focus on landing a dream client and save his career. He certainly doesn't expect to come home each night to find Annie has left him a new and fantastical story about the secret lives of his dogs - or that she's cast him, a man who doesn't believe in love, as a romantic hero.

Marceline Murphy is a gentle beauty with a well-founded aversion to rogues. But when two of Boston’s most notorious pursue her, she encounters a tug-of-war of the heart she isn’t expecting. Sam O’Rourke is the childhood hero she’s pined for, the brother of her best friend and a member of the large, boisterous family to which she longs to be a part. So when his best friend Patrick O’Connor joins in pursuit of her affections, the choice seems all too clear. Sam is from a family of faith and Patrick is not, two rogues whose wild ways clash head-on with Marcy’s - both in her faith and in her heart. 

Mary Doyle arrives in Dublin in 1913, doomed, she fears, to a life of domestic service. Instead, however, she finds herself deeply affected by the social and political turmoil of a fledgling nation struggling for independence. Suddenly, all that was once inevitable is no longer a certainty as she is embroiled in the very heart of the Easter Rising.

There's one must-have toy this Christmas, and Neala Clarke has told her niece Charli she'll get it for her. Never mind that she's got less than a week and it looks like everywhere is sold out. She's promised Charli a Fire Princess doll - and Neala is a woman of her word. Darcy Hart is a people-pleaser. So when his adorable six-year-old nephew, Dustin, asks for a particular doll at the last minute, he says yes. Luckily for Darcy, there's one left in stock at the local toy store.

A house swap offers two couples the perfect chance to soothe their troubled marriages. Kate and Mannix O'Brien live in a lovely Limerick house they can barely afford, Hazel and Oscar Harvey live on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Hazel has mysterious bruises and Oscar is hiding something. But the house swap will be anything but a perfect break. And the body in the car boot is just the beginning....

This anthology of popular American history presents the stories of nine incredible Irish immigrants as written by nine contemporary Irish-Americans. More than one in 10 Americans claims Irish ancestry and, with its celebrity contributors, Nine Irish Lives will have strong appeal for those listeners. It is also, though, a timely portrait of shared humanity. These are stories about immigrants - and in the tales of revolutionaries and visionaries, caretakers and unsung heroes, Nine Irish Lives reminds us of the values and the people that have shaped America.

A voyage across the ocean becomes the odyssey of a lifetime for a young Irish woman…. Inspired by true events, The Girl Who Came Home poignantly blends fact and fiction to explore the Titanic tragedy's impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants.

In exploring everyday life and its intersections with death, this enduring collection of stories offers a naturalistic depiction of the working class in early twentieth-century Dublin. Joyce masterfully portrays frustrations and aborted desires to escape the mundane; transformative epiphanies both great and small; and the restraints, loneliness, violence, and contemplations of lives lived. 

Rebellion has always been in the O'Reilly family's blood. So when faced with the tragic death of her brother during Northern Ireland's infamous Troubles, a teenage Nora joined the IRA to fight for her country's freedom. Now, more than a decade later, Nora is haunted by both her past and vivid dreams of a man she has never met. When she is given a relic belonging to Brigid of Kildare, patron saint of Ireland, the mystical artifact transports her back eighty years - to the height of Ireland's brutal civil war.