good fantasy books for adults 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.

Evie Bell is the white sheep in a family of black ones. Bookish and quiet where her sisters are showy and brash, she doesn’t understand her darker needs that resulted in the catastrophic end to her last relationship. Frederic d’Estang, a stage performer with Byronic dark good looks, is famous for playing villains that women adore – the Phantom, Claude Frollo, Mr Hyde. Facing a distressing premature end to his career due to developing Reinke’s edema, a chronic voice disorder, he recalls how someone took a chance on him when he was just starting out which launched him into stardom, and desires to do the same before his power and influence wane. His agent wants him to write his memoirs, and when he meets Evie Bell, an autobiographical writer with a penchant for gothic anti-heroes, he sees his chance: she has talent, but lacks the confidence and experience to make something of herself. She also has interesting, unexplored tastes, which Frederic discovers when her sister gives him a link to her anonymous fan-fiction archive – much to Evie’s mortification.

Despite the widespread popularity of Buddhist practices (like meditation), there is little understanding of the complex philosophy behind Buddhism. The historical Buddha, Gautama, was a real person—a radical—who challenged the religious leaders of his day. Buddha For Beginners introduces the reader to the historical Buddha, to the ideas that made him change his life, and to the fascinating philosophical debates that engaged him and formed the core of Buddhism. Buddha For Beginners compares Buddha's philosophy with those of his contemporaries, the later Buddhist schools, and Western Philosophy. The book includes a survey, distinguishing the philosophical differences among later schools of Buddhism, such as Theravada, Madhyamaika, Tantric, Zen, and others. Buddha For Beginners is not a book you read, it is a book you experience. It makes you stop and close your eyes. Through some magical combination of words, drawings, and intuitive wisdom, Buddha For Beginners conveys not only the facts of Buddhism, but the peace, the silence...the feel of it. It is historically accurate, spiritually challenging, and the white spaces mean as much as the words.

On her wedding night, Rebecca Brown gets sent abroad by her new husband, Daniel Winston. On her return three years later, she's presented with a divorce agreement from her husband and a disownment agreement from her mother. Everyone is waiting to laugh at her, thinking she won't be able to survive living a poor life and will end up begging the Browns or shamelessly hound Daniel to take her back. However, it ends up with Daniel presenting himself pitifully before his ex-wife. He says, "Becca, when can we get remarried?"

Silvia Pond thought that she could make Neil Remus fall in love with her three years into their marriage. Yet, all she got were photos of him having sex with her twin sister!Silvia eventually gave up on him and decided to free herself from their marriage. However, when Silvia passed Neil the divorce agreement, he tore it up right in front and threatened her. “You want a divorce? Over my dead body!”Silvia only felt indifferent when she saw his enraged expression. “You can only choose one. It’s either me or Ada.”In the end, Neil chose Ada. But when he lost Silvia for good, he finally realized that he had fallen in love with her a long time ago.

MERGING BOOK 1 & 2 "Rainbow! You should be the one begging to stay! We both know that no one else would love you as I do! Who else is going to accept a scarred and wolf-less woman like you if not me?" Jean roared and shattered my heart. "You're so ugly that babies will take one look at you and scream! To top it up, you're wolf-less! You are an abomination!" Jasmine— Jean's supposed sister hurled hurtful words at me. _________________________________________ Wolf-less and Scarred; Unwanted and Ugly, will Rainbow ever find true love? Rainbow was once the eye of beauty itself until two days before her eighteenth birthday. A fire starts and in order to save her boyfriend— Jean, she jumps into the fire despite her wolf's warnings. In saving Jean, she suffers unimaginable burns and the pain is so unbearable that her wolf falls into a hopeless sleep. Therefore, causing her to be wolf-less. Due to her scars, she starts suffering abuses from her pack. The only thing that keeps her going is because she believes her boyfriend loves her despite her scars. Until she catches him cheating on her with his adoptive sister and instead of feeling remorseful, they hurl hurtful words at her because of her condition.This shatters her heart into pieces and when all hope seems lost, the goddess sends her another man in the form of the beautiful Alpha of the pack. Will she finally find true love and her place in the world?Or will she be mocked and played like Jean had done? Unbeknownst to her, her unpredictable journey just began. Follow Rainbow into this fantasy world and find out the twisted things that the goddess has in store for both her and her Alpha mate. NB: Not your typical werewolf story.

Three years after getting married and striking it rich, the lady who scorned her husband's incompetence and divorced him realized afterward that he was the golden ticket she never deserved!

Betrayed by her childhood sweetheart and best friend, Lila Anderson found herself stripped of everything, her life hanging by a thread. On the verge of death, she encountered her rescuer—Ryder Kingsley.With a single sentence, the man prompted her to change her name and identity. The woman thought to be dead was now the CEO's fiancée.She declared, "We'll each take what we need. We owe nothing to the other!""Oh, really? Then let's find a way for you to owe me for good," said the man.As Lila sought her revenge, he drowned her with affection and care. Soon enough, she held the spotlight in high society as the CEO's soon-to-be wife. However, on their wedding day, his childhood sweetheart reappeared…

She’s the one who got away, but now that this cowboy’s home for Christmas, does he have a second chance with his first love? After years in special forces, soldier Rohan Telford has exchanged his helmet and flak jacket for his Stetson and heads home to Marietta, Montana to try to regain his place working his family’s thriving cattle ranch. He has one final task to carry out for his fallen team leader. Unfortunately, it involves facing the woman he loved but left. Rohan’s never forgotten Ginny, but she’s never forgiven him. Following the death of her father, single mother and teacher Virginia ‘Ginny’ Lane has never felt less like celebrating the holidays. Still grieving, she’s determined to fulfill her father’s legacy and corral local volunteers to help her open the Harry’s House Annex, a teen center. She’s short on Christmas spirit and that’s before her ex–high school sweetheart Rohan Telford saunters up like twelve years and a messy break up never happened. Virginia only remembers the bad, but Rohan’s determined to remind her of how good they still are.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith."The principal shook hand12332123 with him. "Morning, Principal Dawson." He smiled. "So, Lauren here is a new student of this prestigious school, and she is a student in this grade.""Good morning, Mr. Smith."The principal shook hand with him. "Morning, Principal Dawson." He smiled. "So, Lauren here is a new student of this prestigious school, and she is a student in this grade.""Good morning, Mr. Smith." The principal shook hand with him. "Morning, Principal Dawson." He smiled. "So, Lauren here is a new student of this prestigious school, and she is a student in this grade."