In the first book of Patricia Potter's Scottish Trilogy, a rebellious Jacobite beauty weds a Scottish nobleman in a political marriage of convenience, unaware that he is leading a dangerous double life Some call him the devil. Few have ever seen him. He is the Black Knave, named for the playing card he leaves behind when he risks his life to smuggle Jacobite insurgents out of Scotland right under the noses of the British. Bethia MacDonell is determined to find him. She needs the legendary freedom fighter to rescue her imprisoned brother. Instead, she is forced into an arranged marriage with Rory Forbes, an aristocrat loyal to the crown and a coward at the Battle of Culloden—a traitor to his own people. To the world, the Marquis of Braemoor is a fop and a wastrel who lives solely for his own pleasure. But he harbors a dangerous secret that he must keep hidden at all costs. Bethia is the wild card, arousing in Rory a treacherous desire that could... Views: 51
LORD RAYNOR WAS NO MATCH FOR THE LOVELY WOMAN HE'D BEEN FORCED TO TAKE TO WIFE ...Though Lady Elizabeth Clayburn was no stranger to the flattery of men, the enigmatic Baron of Warwicke wielded a power over her more potent than anything she had ever felt, and she'd tumbled quickly into a marriage bed, unwarmed by trust or love.The grim defenses around Lord Warwicke's heart had been erected long ago. But now his defiant wife had dared to breach his stronghold, challenging him to lay aside the armor of his suspicions, and surrender to the greater strength of love. Views: 51
"A fine book, a rich, achingly painful story that is made for all of us who have ever felt a hunger for the mountains. Few books have so accurately described the way stony heights can define one's sense of joy and rightness. And it is an exquisite unfolding of the deep way humans may love one another." —Annie Proulx For fans of Elena Ferrante, Fredrik Backman, and Paulo Coelho comes the international sensation about the friendship between two young Italian boys from different backgrounds and how their incredibly strong connection evolves, changes, and challenges them throughout their lives.Pietro is a lonely boy living in Milan. With his parents becoming more distant each day, the only thing the family shares is their love for the Dolomites, the mountains that hug the northeastern border of Italy. While on vacation at the foot of the mountains, Pietro meets Bruno, an adventurous, spirited local boy. Together they spend many summers exploring the... Views: 51
After she is caught with forbidden literature, twenty-year-old Caroline Chatterton is arrested and brought before Earth’s corrupt, tyrannical High Council, but she is saved from a harsh sentence when Commander Andrew Rossingham of Taar-Breck claims her as his bride based on the terms of an agreement made years ago by her grandfather.Before she kneels at Andrew’s feet to speak her wedding vows, however, the High Council requires that Caroline submit to both an intimate, humiliating medical exam and a shameful public spanking at the hands of her future husband. But though the punishment leaves her blushing crimson, when Andrew takes her in his arms and masters her completely she cannot deny her body’s response to his stern dominance and skilled lovemaking.During the journey to Taar-Breck, Andrew begins the process of teaching Caroline obedience, and after she sneaks away in an effort to avoid a well-earned spanking she learns the hard way that naughty wives have their bottoms punished both inside and out. But with the High Council still seeking to hunt down her friends back on Earth, can Andrew tame his headstrong bride’s reckless behavior before she puts herself in danger yet again?Publisher’s Note: Claimed by the Commander is a stand-alone novel which is the first book in the Brides of Taar-Breck series. It includes spankings and sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book. Views: 51
Stefan Vogel, a young man growing up in the former East Germany, longs for love, glory and freedom - yearnings that express themselves in a lifelong fantasy of going to America. The hopeless son of an ambitious mother and a kind but unlucky diplomat, Stefan lurches between his budding, covert interests - girls and Romantic poetry - to find himself embroiled in dissident politics, which oddly seems to offer both.In time, by a series of blackly comic and increasingly dangerous manoeuvres, he contrives to make his fantasy come true, finding himself not only in the country of his dreams, but also married to the woman he idolises. America seems everything he expected and meanwhile his secrets are safely locked away behind the Berlin Wall.A new life of unbounded bliss seems to have been granted to him. And then that life begins to fall apart... Views: 51
Newport/After are two small towns on the coast of Washington. In the first entry, you met Breanna Cooper and her two mates. This is the second entry, Danea Polnari. Views: 51
** The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller **What is the difference between friendship and love? Or between neutrality and commitment? Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in 'neutral' Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem a distant echo. But Gustav's father has mysteriously died, and his adored mother Emilie is strangely cold and indifferent to him. Gustav's childhood is spent in lonely isolation, his only toy a tin train with painted passengers staring blankly from the carriage windows.As time goes on, an intense friendship with a boy of his own age, Anton Zwiebel, begins to define Gustav's life. Jewish and mercurial, a talented pianist tortured by nerves when he has to play in public, Anton fails to understand how deeply and irrevocably his life and Gustav's are entwined.Fierce, astringent, profoundly tender, Rose Tremain's beautifully orchestrated novel asks the question, what does it do to a person, or to a country, to... Views: 51
In A.D. 644, a respected scholar of the Celtic Church is murdered during a visit to the Irish Kingdom of Muman. The kingdom's ruler summons Sister Fidelma to solve the brutal murder, but her time is limited. The victim, as it turns out, was a comrade of the arrogant King of Fearna, who threatens war over the suspicious death of his friend. But during her inquiries, Sister Fidelma comes to realize that there is more at hand than what appears, and finds her own life caught in the balance.From Kirkus ReviewsA third appearance for Sister Fidelia (Shroud for the Archbishop, 1996, etc.), an advocate of the courts in seventh- century Ireland. Fidelia is the sister of Colg£, who has just become king of Muman, the largest of the five Irish kingdoms, after the death of his cousin King Cathal. Colg£ has asked his sister, skilled in detection, to solve the mystery of the killing of elderly, highly respected Venerable Dac n, from the Kingdom of Laigin, who was stabbed to death while doing research in the Abbey of Ros Ailither, in Colg£'s domain. Now Laigin's King Fianamail is demanding heavy penalties for the death, and Colg£ hopes that Fidelia's expertise will remove his culpability. She sets out for the abbey with her brother's trusted aide Cass. On the way they encounter the sad remains of a village ravaged by order of Salbach, chief of the fighting unit Corco Loigde. They gather up survivor Sister Eisten and the few remaining children, putting them in the abbey's care while Fidelia begins her investigation. Many more will die as she begins to unearth an underlying cause of the ongoing mayhem--a search for the missing son and heir of Illan, ruler of the long-coveted petty kingdom of Osraige. This is revealed and, in a twisty finale, so is the identity of Dac n's killer, as Fidelia makes her case before the Dal--the assembly of the High Court. Endless subplots, characters by the dozen, and the author's determination to educate the reader in the politics, laws, customs and topography of the country make for heavy going. Scholars may love it; for the average reader, though, more penance than pleasure. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.Review"The uncommon time period makes this a distinctive mystery."—Mystery Reader.com Views: 51
A breakthrough quest fantasy by the author of A Bad Spell in Yurt. Earth and sky are ruled by the immortal Wanderers, the lords of voima--the magical force of life and renewal. But an upheaval is coming, so the Wanderers enlist the help of three young mortals, who will be swept into a tremendous conflict.From BooklistThe latest novel from a promising new fantasist uses the classic theme of a mortal drawn, more or less against his will, into the world of the fairies or the gods or whatever. In this case, our hero finds himself in a universe basically that of the Nibelungenlied--one that seems to be acquiring considerable popularity as a fantasy setting. Along with his lady and best friend, he becomes crucial to saving the gods from Ragnarok. Overall, the book is competently written, more than slightly original in its handling of both the theme and the background, and well paced enough to keep the pages turning. Roland Green * Views: 51
