fall leaves on nails Audiobooks

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this book covers the author’s journey as she grows up in an evangelical Christian home, leaves religion behind as a young adult, and goes on to raise children in a family outside of religious belief. Maria Polonchek weaves a personal story with up-to-date studies and philosophic exploration of what it means to raise secular children in an otherwise religious world. Offering careful and respectful advice for other parents who are raising their children outside of a particular religious belief system, she explores the many other ways of instilling identity, belonging, and meaning into our lives and the lives of children. Honest and irreverent, the author admits to her religious “baggage” and searches for better understanding of such topics as religious education, morality, awe, death, purpose, and meaning, and tradition from secular perspectives. She interviews experts, looks at various studies, and turns to a variety of sources for answers, while maintaining a casual and personal tone. While she ultimately argues for parents to let their children shape their own beliefs, she encourages families to tend to existential and social needs that sometimes go unnoticed or unconsidered in life outside religion.

When Maddie McGuire finds herself tumbling over a cliff while hiking The Cotswold Way, she uncovers much more than ancient woods. Terrified by her shocking discovery, she returns to the safety of her international internship at the Roman Baths only to find competition in the form of the tittering, aristocratic Gwendolyn De Valence, who has captured the attention of everyone Maddie hopes to impress. Turning to her boyfriend Constable Edward Bailey, only reveals dark secrets about his past, leading her down a dangerous path which, this time, she may be unable to escape.

Take her! She is ours! The little wolf in front of me seemed as frozen as me, but that ancient old need only turned stronger now that she stood in front of me. I reached out and grabbed her by her neck. She gasped, shocked, and then I pushed her backwards, closing the door behind us and locking it. Yes, she was trapped now with the big, bad lycan king. *** Anastasia lost everything when she was a young child. Her entire family was killed by mysterious lycans. It leaves her scarred for life and burned after a violent fire takes her home from her. Anastasia swore revenge after she is found by her aunt and taken in. She will find the lycans who took her family from her and end them all. At a party where the lycan King Roman will introduce his new queen, Anastasia runs into the lycan king after he finds her in a bathroom. Suddenly he becomes the center of her world. But can she trust him when she has sworn she hates all lycans? Roman never wants to fall in love or even meet his mate. He chooses a queen. A friend he has known for many years, but at the very party where he is going to present her to all wolves and lycans, he runs into Anastasia. She is like no other woman he has met, and while he knows he must have her, Ana wants nothing to do with any lycan. Can Roman convince her to trust him? Or will Ana keep her heart closed forever? The scars on her body tell her never to let anyone in, but the lycan king's hands on her make her feel so warm. *Book 1*

In his eyes, she was utterly clueless and shameless. In her eyes, he was cunning, sinister, and equally shameless. They could not stand each other, but they had been secretly arranged to be married by their families.After marriage, he cautioned her, "My house, my rules.And don’t fall in love with me."She replied, "I’d rather die than do that, pal."Days flew by and he realized: his new wife wasn't kidding – she wasn't into him! She was busy sipping cocktails, hitting bars, and throwing punches for justice. With a line of admirers around the block, his crush on her only grew bigger. One day, he just couldn’t hold himself back, "Hey, Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Madelyn Jent died on her wedding anniversary. She had been married to Zach Jardin for eight years, compromising for the better part of her life. However, she ended up being kicked out of the house.After the painful divorce, Madelyn was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Despite her deteriorating health, she clung to life in the hospital, hoping that Zach would visit her one last time.As Valentine's Day arrived, heavy snow fell outside. Yet, Zach failed to make an appearance, leaving Madelyn with a deep sense of regret. "Zach Jardin... If I could start over, I would never fall in love with you again!"Miraculously, Madelyn found herself reborn to the time when she was eighteen. Fueled by the desire to avoid repeating the same mistakes, she made a solemn vow to distance herself from everything related to Zach.But fate seemed determined to test her resolve. Just as she sought to escape the shadows of her past, the same man, Zach, emerged with an intimidating aura, gradually approaching her step by step. His voice, reminiscent of a devil's melody, echoed through the hallway as he declared, "Madelyn, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life..."

For survival, Joanna made a ten-year wager with Shawn, the casino big shot who never lost. But right after sleeping with him, she ran away. Six years later, Shawn came back into her life as her superior at work. "The twins are mine, aren't they? How dare you violate our agreement, woman?!" Shawn questioned between his clenched teeth. "You didn't follow through either. We agreed not to meet in ten years! And who says they're your kids?" Joanna decided to play dumb until the very end.

When Maddie finds her fiance in bed with another woman, she's heartbroken. When she finds out her friend and half the pack knew about his affair, she leaves them all behind. However, as the future Luna of the strongest pack in the kingdom, Silver Moon, she can't stay single for long. Her father demands a successor, and so the Alpha Games commence. To enter, one must be from a strong family, and be of age. Unfortunately, that includes her ex and the son of their greatest rival. When Maddie sees the limited options for her future mate, she takes her fate into her own hands and enters the games, but who will be the last wolf standing? The Alpha Games is a werewolf romance story, with a kickass lead and an enemies-to-lovers twist.

Can these two overcome a family feud and find love? When Nelson Rowdy puts on a taco costume for the towns annual Fall Ball masquerade party, he isn’t expecting to fall in love with an avocado. When conversation turns steamy, they don’t just want to guac about it – they want to add a little heat to their night. Hands travel, masks come off – and they are face-to-face with a 100 year long feud. Nicole McCormick is off limits. But damn – she is all grown up, back from college, and impossible to resist. *enemies to lovers *small town feels * banter and chemistry *super steamy

When a young she wolf named, Layla, finds out on her eighteenth birthday that her own brother Lucas, the Alpha of Moon Star pack, is her mate, her whole world gets flipped upside down. Not only does she find out that she is adopted but that her mate has chosen another over her. She finds herself running to her real parents' pack, only to fall for the Alpha there, who is smitten by her and will do anything to make her his. But Lucas, her true mate, has secrets that he has kept to himself for a while now, that could change everything, even the way she feels about him. With Layla's heart broken into two, which Alpha will she choose after she has not only been rejected but also betrayed.

Fifteen years ago, Jase was Nikki's student He and his Wolf have always wanted her. Now Nikki is rejuvenated and looks 20 years younger. She's finally available...but she's also in danger. Can Jase save his Fated Mate from the evil that stalks her? Read Big, Bad Wolf to find out... As a senior in high school, Jase Saunders was a bad boy--the kind of kid who's headed straight to prison by way of suspension. There was only one teacher who understood him--only one who cared enough to help him turn his life around. That teacher was Nikki Robinson and not only was she caring and kind, she was beautiful. She was also the only woman Jase ever wanted to claim as his mate--too bad she was married and fifteen years his senior.Fast forward fifteen years and Nikki has lost her husband and moved into middle age. She sees nothing but sorrow ahead of her...and then her life is changed completely. When the mysterious Mr. X breaks into her house and injects her with a compound that activates her latent Shifter Gene, she finds herself suddenly thrust into Regeneration. Managing to escape her attacker, she rushes onto the street...and straight into Jase's muscular arms.Now Nikki must deal with the fact that she looks and feels twenty years younger and she's being protected by her old student. She tries to tell herself that Jase is just being nice but she doesn't realize that the Wolf Shifter has never forgotten her kindness to him...or the fire he felt for her. Can she stay away from the nefarious Mr. X, who wants her blood for an evil ritual? And will she let herself fall for the troubled boy who is now a man?You'll have to read Big, Bad Wolf to find out...