hard-working protagonist Audiobooks

"What I want you to do, Isabella, is find out what his real name is..." Those were the words spoken to me when I sat down to learn about my final grade in college. They not only shocked me, but changed the trajectory of my life. Shadows Sampson has always been bigger than life on the campus of our college. Most of the time it seems as if he's older than the rest of us. Like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. When I get close? I find out there's more to it than I ever bargained for. And when the truth comes out; against my will - I hope I can get the forgiveness I so desperately want. "You've gotta win this fight. We can't push rent back again..." Those words from my sister's mouth put an exclamation point on how bad our situation is. Especially after I lost the fight of my life. The one that was going to get us out of this apartment building, the one that was going to put us on a path we'd only dreamed about. But me? I'd lost the fight, my confidence, and the motivation for the life I'd always wanted. Until a baby I'd fathered was left at my doorstep, and a seriously hot girl from my college started paying attention to me. With that girl? I fall hard, only to find out I'm the subject of a story for her final grade. Turns out, that's my motivation. Quitting isn't an option. Not until my knuckles are bloody and not one person stands in the way of what I want.

Everyone has a secret. Mine is ruining my life … making me bitter, callous, cold. I’m Rye Rough -- the oldest of seven kids, with a family tree that built this town. I understand more than most that reputations matter. Which is why I keep my mouth shut -- and that secret? I’m not telling a soul. It’s clear it’s causing problems. Working as my dad’s right-hand man, I’m angrier than ever -- and hell, it’s messing with the family construction company. My father forces a deal: Go to the rural family cabin and don’t come back until I get my head on straight or I lose my place in the business. As if spending more time alone is going to solve anything. One day into my retreat – I find Prairie, a beautifully fragile woman who is lost, alone and in need of my tender loving care. Her life has been one of confinement and abuse. She needs me like I’ve never been needed before. My family doesn’t understand my love for her. My secret keeps me up at night. Something must give before it all breaks. One thing is sure – rough hands have been dealt for both Prairie and me … and for our love to survive we can’t fold. Coming Home to the Mountain is a new filthy-sweet, high heat series by Frankie Love featuring rugged mountain men who fall hard, fast and forever. And with the women they love at their side, they choose to put family first. In this series, Dad shows up, sisters remember to call, big brothers always look out for you, and Mom knows to keep an extra seat at the table for Sunday dinner. Not every family is perfect -- and the Rough family has its own set of problems -- but at the end of the day, they know what matters: Coming Home.

When you grow up in Home, WA, the road always leads you to… well, home. I’m Bartlett Rough, and I’ve never left the mountain where I was raised with my six brothers and sisters. Cheesy as it may sound, Home really is where the heart is. But we’re all growing up, building cabins of our own, taking claim of our land. Things are changing. I feel that more than ever, when the winter winds sweep Abby into town. This wild, fierce beauty is everything I’m not. I own the hardware store, know everyone in this town by name, and am expected to settle down with someone local. Abby tumbled into town on a train, with nothing to her name, clutching her dog Hijinx, and holding onto her memory of Home from when she came through here years ago. I’ve played it safe my whole damn life. After one night with Abby, I have someone to fight for. A reason to risk it all. But falling for her has no guarantees -- she could leave as fast as she came, taking my heart along with her. Coming Home to the Mountain is a new filthy-sweet, high heat series by Frankie Love featuring rugged mountain men who fall hard, fast and forever. And with the women they love at their side, they choose to put family first. In this series, Dad shows up. Sister’s remember to call, big brother’s always look out for you, and Mom knows to keep an extra seat at the table for Sunday dinner. Not every family is perfect -- and the Rough family has its own set of problems -- but at the end of the day, they know what matters: Coming Home.

Renowned thriller writer David Hagberg continues his New York Times bestselling Kirk McGarvey series with this riveting origin story for the CIA assassin in First Kill . It is the beginning of Kirk McGarvey's career as a CIA black ops officer. Fresh out of the Air Force OSI, he receives his first assignment: assassinate a Chilean general known as the Butcher of Valparaiso, a monster who has tortured and killed more than one thousand dissidents at a soccer stadium in Valparaiso. McGarvey manages to cross the border over the mountains from Argentina without being discovered, and even makes his way to the general's remote compound. But the odds are stacked against him. Chile's National Intelligence Agency, the ANI, has been warned of his approach and wants him to fail—and someone back home in Washington is working to make sure he does. For this newly-minted assassin, killing the butcher is only the beginning. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Blindsided by a breakup, and asking herself the usual why, how, what questions, Tatiana Jerome went online. She used social media as a way to uplift and empower herself by venting but also working through her own part in the relationship’s demise. Her posts struck a chord with thousands and then hundreds of thousands of readers — no surprise since most (approximately 85 percent) relationships end. Jerome’s action plan — “crowd-tested” by her many online followers — walks readers through a clear-eyed view of why the break-up happened, what NOT to do on the rebound, and how to start over. Starting over involves rebuilding one’s self-esteem by caring for oneself in body, mind and spirit. Jerome’s posts spread online because she shares these ideas with a winning combination of sympathetic best friend, straight-shooting counselor, and inspiring cheerleader. This is for anyone who has loved, lost, and wants to love again — only better and smarter.

Books saved my life after losing my parents as a teenager. Now as a librarian, sharing books with teens to get them through hard times is a privilege and joy. So imagine my surprise when I meet Prescott, a man who values the same things as me. He runs the teen outreach center and is giving his life to make the world a better a place. It’s like we’re a match made in heaven. After a whirlwind night where love is at the tip of both our tongues, I learn that maybe we aren’t the same after all… I wanted him to check me out on a long-term loan, but maybe it’s too good to be true. Maybe we better shelve this romance before both our hearts get broken. His Curvy Librarian is a new filthy-sweet series brought to you by Frankie Love and Kaylin Evans. It’s full of heat, heart, and literary innuendo. What’s sexier than a man who loves to read? How about a naked man who loves to read?

Murdered in 1925, Katy Watkins, an eighteen-year-old debutante, finds herself near a worn-down cabin. She doesn’t know where she is, so she heads home and discovers two strangely dressed girls in her bedroom window. When her memory does return, a demon hunts her—this demon is her killer. She walks in the woods trying to get home, stuck in a loop until she meets Lila and Rose. Sixteen-year-old, bipolar Lila has disappointed her family. It was hard for Lila to cope after her father’s suicide, which soon forced Lila, her mom, and her fifteen-year-old sister, Rose, to live with their aunt and uncle in Parkville, Missouri. They discover a ghost tied to an old murder mystery, and Rose begins to film a documentary at a nearby cabin. Rose is possessed by Katy, which makes her sick. In order to save Rose’s life, Lila and Rose help Katy uncover the truth regarding her murder: she was murdered by her sister, not her fiancé as they first suspected. After Katy forgives her sister, she crosses over. Katy’s sister cannot forgive Katy so she remains a demon wandering in her hell forever. Lila and Rosa see their deceased father when Katy crosses, and they forgive him, freeing him from his prison.

William MacGregor will lie, spy, and happily die to protect his clan from their greatest enemy. But when he kidnaps the wrong woman, he triggers the very events he’d been working so hard to prevent. And puts everyone in danger. Rose Thatcher will do anything to protect her lady and return them both safely to English soil. But the damn Highlander who snatched her off the docks has done nothing but get in her way. She’d love to ditch the bastard, but if they want to save their respective loved ones, they are going to have to stay together. Somewhere along the grueling journey to Scotland, their constant bickering turns into something more. Something worth fighting for. But how can an English lady’s maid, who longs for the safe, comfortable life she had in London, find love with a Highlander who can’t wait to wipe England’s dust off his feet? If they can’t defeat the enemy they accidentally led home, they might not live long enough to find out. Each book in the MacGregor Lairds series is STANDALONE: * How to Lose a Highlander * How to Ensnare a Highlander * How to Blackmail a Highlander * How to Forgive a Highlander

Everyone thinks I’m sour but really, I’m just lonely. I’m twenty-four years old and have never been in love. How could I? I’m Lemon Rough -- a girl with five protective brothers who don’t believe any man in this town is good enough for me. For my birthday I’ve requested one thing -- alone time. I packed my car with books and wine for a solo trip at the family cabin on Stout Lake. When I arrive I find we have a new neighbor. A shirtless, muscular, and ridiculously handsome neighbor. Hey, maybe this will be the best birthday ever. Except before Anchor and I can skip straight to blowing out the candles, my brothers crash the party. My family is everything to me, but they are seriously getting in the way. And the neighbor I’m falling for? I’m scared he’ll be swimming to shore because my family is nothing but rough water. Coming Home to the Mountain is a new filthy-sweet, high heat series by Frankie Love featuring rugged mountain men who fall hard, fast and forever. And with the women they love at their side, they choose to put family first. In this series, Dad shows up, sisters remember to call, big brothers always look out for you, and Mom knows to keep an extra seat at the table for Sunday dinner. Not every family is perfect -- and the Rough family has its own set of problems -- but at the end of the day, they know what matters: Coming Home.

It’s hard enough being barely above average, when your brothers include the deadliest swordsman of the realm, a saint, prodigies – and the greatest hero of the Middle Ages. But what if you haven’t seen your Queen of Love in years, and she's imprisoned by a one-armed religious zealot and lethal librarians? Even worse, your only allies are vicious killers, with rather bad manners and outsized appetites. Who all want to murder your heroic brother. The result – in a world of pedantic misrule, feckless magic, and courage both dauntless and daunted – is either High Adventure or an Identity Crisis. Or both.