Modern Fiction

Reducing the original text by almost forty pages, this abridged version of Frankenstein also updates the language of the original novel for modern listeners. Sentence by sentence, we have replaced outdated vocabulary and convoluted paragraphs in a way that is true to the original text but easier to follow. This version also provides careful edits of overly long and redundant scenes so that the main story moves along at a faster pace.

I’m Cynthia Winston, a pastry chef who’s poured her heart and soul into Flourish & Frost, my little bakery in Bluebell Falls. For me, trust is a precious commodity, one I don’t give away easily. I’ve been burned before, and the scars have left me determined to keep my focus on my pastries, not on potential heartbreak. Then there’s Ethan Foster. With his rugged good looks and undeniable charm, Ethan is the town’s most sought-after architect, running a successful firm just down the street. I’ll admit it: he’s smitten. He’s determined. And, frustratingly, he’s undeterred by...

Our hero, Arky Levin, has reached a creative dead end. An unexpected separation from his wife was meant to leave him with the space he needs to work composing film scores, but it has provided none of the peace of mind he needs to create. Guilty and restless, it is almost by chance that he stumbles upon an art exhibit that will change his life.

Succumbed to the past’s Flame, the Only Way Nithya Can Be Saved from Her Ex Is by Her Husband Mukesh is captivated by Nithya's dazzling beauty and manners when his mother introduces him to his bride-to-be. The seemingly successful arranged marriage turned out to be happy only on the husband’s part. One day, Nithya informs Mukesh about how she was blackmailed into embracing the role of his wife and how she despises Mukesh and her parents. Meanwhile, Giridhar, a former flame of Nithya's, reappears suddenly in her life. Nithya is first apprehensive of her ex, but as she falls more apart ...

Emma Shaw is a modern woman with a classic dilemma—love or career? Eight years ago, she chose ambition over romance, cutting out the man she loved and carrying the emotional load for her family. Now, her dream job is slipping through her fingers, and the only way to save it is to work with the one person she’s spent years avoiding—Fredrick Wentworth, the man she let go. When his book launch falls apart, Emma is forced back into Fredrick's orbit, embarking on a book tour that could either revive her career… or reopen old wounds. But as miles pass and sparks reignite, she starts to ...

“Good grief is she beautiful. And she’s dating Dr. Headache.” When Dr. Hudson Honeywood sees Nurse Evelyn, he can hardly believe his eyes. His disbelief deepens when he sees her in the arms of Dr. Drake, whom the staff not-so-lovingly calls Dr. Headache. But when a tornado flattens the local grocery store, Dr. Headache is nowhere to be found—and Hudson gets to be a hero. He doesn’t know how long he has before the rescue team digs them out, but he’s going to spend every second of it convincing Evelyn that she deserves better. Will Evelyn see the light and choose the right man? ...

The Reveries of the Solitary Walker was one of the last works written by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and was, in fact, not quite complete. It was published four years after his death and came quickly to be regarded as one of his most poetic works. It consists of 10 Walks (only the final ‘Walk’ was unfinished) during which he muses on a variety of topics including thoughts on issues which featured strongly in his notable life as a philosopher and commentator, including education and political philosophy.

Phryne Fisher has gone missing in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Only her pearl-handled gun and a note arrive back home. She's left instruction that say that should she not turn up in six months' time, a letter must be sent to next of kin.

Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, stylish, gorgeous - and she’s an Eloko, a charismatic person gifted with a melody that people adore. Everyone loves her - until she's cast as the villain who exposed a Siren to the whole world. Dragged by the media, and canceled by her fans, no one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, not even her fellow Eloko.

Bold and lyrical, sensual and highly charged, Cereus Blooms at Night is the beautifully written, sensational first novel by Shani Mootoo, one of Canada’s most exciting literary voices. At the core of this haunting multi-generational novel are the shifting faces of Mala - adventurer and protector, recluse, and madwoman. Told by the engaging voice of Tyler, Mala’s vivacious male caretaker at the Paradise Alms House, Cereus Blooms at Night is layered with unforgettable scenes of a world where love and treachery collide.

President William Darcy has it all: wealth, intelligence, and the most powerful job in the country. Despite what his friends say, he is not lonely in the White House. He’s not. And he has vowed not to date while he’s in office. Nor is he interested in Elizabeth Bennet. She might be pretty and funny and smart, but her family is nouveau riche and unbearable. Unfortunately, he encounters her everywhere in Washington, DC - making her harder and harder to ignore.

An exploited child worker in the silver mines of Bolivia finds an ally – but at what cost? A young woman's affair has terrifying repercussions when her lover's wife dies. A sailor's wife takes her communion with Nature a little too far…From a hungry young woman who is not what she seems, to a boy who has taken his mother's advice a little too seriously; from disfigured girls willing to pay any price to fit in, to an immigrant who cannot escape his tormentor; from a new home with a sinister secret, this collection plumbs the depths of the psyche and dredges up some very modern horrors.

On August 19, 2019, a rogue Chinese military cabal launches an opportunistic EMP attack against the United States, triggering a cataclysmic chain of events - with the potential to change world forever. With the United States crippled, belligerent powers rise to fill the void overseas, catapulting already volatile regions into chaos and war - hastening a worldwide collapse.

Colin and Click are headed back from the Hellpocalypse timeline when things go sideways, and they end up somewhere they were never supposed to be. Soon Colin is recruited by none other than The Fat Man himself and tasked with saving Christmas in a small Texas town that's plagued by allies of Krampus. Is Santa really just a jolly old fat man? How much trouble can a few gankerl be? Do lederhosen make Colin's butt look fat? Can Colin save Christmas? Get answers to these questions and more in this wacky Christmas fantasy fiction installment in the Junkyard Druid Novellas series.

Drifters in search of work, George and simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other - and a dream. A dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie - struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and jealousy - becomes a victim of his own strength.

Even in the months before his death, Peter Drucker was thinking in innovative ways about management - in a world transforming before his eyes. He requested a series of meetings with Elizabeth Haas Edersheim to explain his ideas, and this insightful, practical work is the result. The Definitive Drucker provides visions, concepts, and advice that will help you steer your company or nonprofit through the turmoil and unpredictability of business today.

When a social worker dropped a baby girl off at my cabin, saying she was mine, my life changed. I moved to the mountains to live life on my own terms, and having a child doesn't fit into that plan. I'm my own f--king man and don't need anyone busting my balls. I don't want a wife. I'm looking for a mother for my baby. The moment I meet Amelia, I know she isn't just any woman. She has ideas of how a relationship should work, and our views sure as hell don't align. But our chemistry is off the motherf--king charts.

Beat the game. Get the girls. Stop the bad guy. My name's Ethan Riley. Just your typical dude with a bartending gig and an outdated Subaru, and if that wasn't boring enough...I'm from Ohio. Or at least I was boring...until I died. No, seriously. I died. But thanks to the magic of unethical medical practices, I was kitted out with a microchip in my head and some hush money in my pocket. Now, I’m suddenly seeing everything like a dating simulator, including some of the hottest gamer girls in the industry.

To effectively combat the rise of global terrorism, the US military must now rely on more than traditional weapons and tactics. Don Riley of the US Cyber Command is given charge of a brand new effort: A new team in the CIA Operations Directorate called Emerging Threats. To establish this team he recruits three talented recent commissioned naval officers - Janet Everett, Michael Goodwin, and Andrea Ramirez - and together they uncover a new terrorist group.

What happens when a royal daddy falls for his child's live-in nanny? Widowed Prince Mikos Colin Alexander wants to raise his little girl out of the spotlight. Granted a six-month leave from his royal duties, he escapes to Los Angeles, posing as a regular guy, one in need of a live-in nanny. Colin reluctantly hires Darcy Cooper, the curvy beauty who easily wins over his baby duchess. But soon the lush, love-shy American wins him over, too. Now he's torn between duty to the crown and what feels like his newfound family.