On her deathbed, Dee Denham, at one time the toast of colonial Cyprus, tells her son Thomas that her illness is a punishment. Compelled by grief and a confused childhood memory of betrayal, Thomas finds himself searching for the meaning of her last words. He searches through faded photographs and love letters, seeks out survivors and examines his own imperfect recollections. A vanished world comes to life: the restless, seductive island of Cyprus at the end of Empire, a place of oleander and carob trees, cocktails at the Harbour Club and adultery in shuttered bedrooms, peopled by ghostly admirers and conspirators, lovers and spies. Dee's story, an intimate history of violence and tenderness for which Thomas finds himself quite unprepared, gathers momentum, against, in the background, the ominous roar of approaching disaster.A vivid evocation of the past and a deft examination of the dangerous power of memory, SWIMMING TO ITHACA sets fragile human relationships against the unstoppable force of history and sheds new light on both. Views: 35
Under the summer sky, anything is possible....Author of the acclaimed novels Cloud Nine and Follow the Stars Home, Luanne Rice returns with another moving portrait of a family in crisis—as three sisters come face-to-face with the past and find in each other the courage to go on.Coolly sophisticated and steadfastly single, Caroline Renwick has always been the sister everyone could count on. As she and Clea and Skye gathered at Firefly Hill, their childhood home, Caroline thought that they had all put the past behind them. But as summer gets under way, a mysterious man arrives—a man who has the power to bring it all back....Joe Connor was only six when his father died at Firefly Hill. Though he and Caroline had never met, the five-year-old girl reached out to him. They became pen pals and friends, until a teenaged Joe finally learned the truth about what had happened to his father that night. Now, after years of silence, Joe is suddenly here ... and Caroline still feels a connection. But she can't help but wonder if this handsome man holds the key to her family's healing—or its destruction. And in his presence, how long will she be able to guard her heart?From the Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyRice (Follow the Stars Home; Dream Country) brings her signature sensitivity to this beautifully textured summertime read. Famed artist Hugh Renwick is an adulterous alcoholic who is touched by genius. Long after his death, his wife and three daughters struggle with his oversized legacy and the damage left in his wake. Skye, the youngest, drinks to numb the pain of an abusive marriage and to squelch the memories of a past mistake on a hunting trip with her father, she accidentally shot a man. Meanwhile, the eldest sister, Caroline, hides her vulnerability behind a shell of brittle competence. The family's delicate balance shifts forever when treasure salvager Joe Connor arranges a dive in the waters near their home. Linked to the Renwicks by a tragedy that occurred when he was just a child, Joe helps Skye get sober, melts the ice in Caroline's heart and heals his own scars in the process. As always, Rice excels at evoking the strong but contradictory emotions that both bind and divide families. In her capable hands, what could have been a superficial glitz-and-glamour story of affluence, death and fame rings with truth and warmth. With its crisp New England ambiance and delicate prose, her latest is a lovely celebration of sisterhood, summer and survival. From BooklistThe daughters of hard-drinking, womanizing, Hemingwayesque artist Hugh Renwick are traumatized by two bloody deaths. When she was five years old, Caroline was standing next to the husband of Hugh's mistress when he shot himself. Intent on protecting his girls, Hugh taught them to hunt and fish, bringing about the second devastating death when Skye shot and killed a young man thinking he was a deer. Years later Skye, a talented sculptor, is an alcoholic and an abused wife. Caroline, who has never married, runs an inn that caters to an artsy crowd. Her life is turned upside down when Dr. Joe Conner, a treasure hunting oceanographer and the son of the man who committed suicide, turns up. As a girl she had felt a deep connection to him, and now they must struggle to make peace with the past. Rice, usually published in hardcover, does a masterful job of telling this powerful story of love and reconciliation. Diana Tixier HeraldCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 35
From Brittany's fog-shrouded forests to the elegant dark heart of Paris's royal court, one woman must challenge a country's destiny--and her own dangerous fate.France, 1585. She is the youngest and most powerful of the "Sisters of Faire Isle," women known far and wide for their extraordinary mystical abilities. Skilled in healing and able to forecast the future of those around her, Miri Cheney has returned to her ancestral home to take refuge from a land devastated by civil war--and to grieve for her family, driven to exile. But she cannot hide from the formidable new power threatening to seize control of France from the dread "Dark Queen," Catherine de Medici--a diabolical woman known only as the Silver Rose. Miri has no choice but to turn to the one man she distrusts as much as she desires: Simon Aristide, the charismatic witch-finder who is now himself the hunted, and who has reluctantly made an unholy pact with Catherine. Miri must defy throne and family to save all that she loves most--and command a future greater than she could ever imagine.Vibrant with stunning historical detail, alive with characters as richly passionate as they are compelling, The Silver Rose is a sweeping, exquisitely wrought tale from a mesmerizing storyteller. Views: 35
Stalked by Bands of Assassins, They Risk the Ravages of the Desert to Save a Nation From the Hand of Tyranny In Morocco, Jake Burnes and Pierre Servais have rescued Pierre's twin brother from his kidnappers, but their reunion is overshadowed by mortal danger. Patrique Servais, a leader in the French Resistance, weak from months of imprisonment and torture, had stumbled upon Nazi collaboration and treason at the highest levels of French government, and rewards for his assassination have mercenaries stalking their trail.As the rolling tide of danger closes in, the vast reaches of the Sahara threaten to swallow them up. Will the clifftops to the mediterranean offer a sanctuary from the storm? Views: 35
This little volume (the result of meditation and experience) is not intended as an exhaustive treatise on the much-written upon subject of the power of thought. It is suggestive rather than explanatory, its object being to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that - "They themselves are makers of themselves" by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness. James Allen Views: 35
When a destructive fire, and the discovery of human bones seem linked to a fifty year old mystery, Rae Dalcour and Simon St. Cyr must confront history to save their love, and put right a decades old injustice. Views: 35
It's always in fashion. Off the shoulder . . . hip-hugging . . . tossed on the floor . . . RED VELVET. What to wear when you'd rather wear nothing at all . . . The Knockout Okay, Ruth Pirelli lost a crazy bet. She has to give up her beloved sweats and sneaks, and wear a black leather micromini and red velvet high heels to walk her dog. Next thing she knows, a goombah mistakes her for some mob guy's girlfriend--and he wants to know if she's ready for a sun-filled, fun-filled weekend in Brooklyn with la famiglia. Um, no. To the rescue: Nicky Del Bianco, superstud neighborhood cop who needs her to work undercover. But would Ruth like to check into a four-star Manhattan hotel for five-star sex first? Um, yes. . . Unzipped Pam Kendricks is so not wild when it comes to clothes or anything else. Her wardrobe is beige. Her sofa is beige. Her life is beige. That skintight red velvet dress in the designer box... Views: 35
When sixty-eight-year-old Sarah Miller moves into the Cunningham Village retirement community, she is mourning the loss of her husband, her young grandson, and the place that has been home for forty-two years. But Sarah is a survivor. As she reaches out into the retirement community that is to become home, she finds friends, activities, new hobbies, and a possible love interest. In the fifth installment of this fun, friendly series of cozy mysteries, Sarah and her love interest, Charles, face the joys and challenges of combining households, while the gang pulls together to defend one of their own accused of murder. Views: 35
From New York Times bestselling author Opal Carew comes the fourth
installment in a red hot erotic mini-series that will rock your world.
Rafe Ranier was my boss and secret crush.
A rock musician by night and head of a billion dollar empire by day,
Rafe could have any woman he wanted. But I was just the shy secretary
he never noticed.
For years I obsessed over him, until I finally realized I had to walk
away. I needed to break from the secure life I’d always known to
discover who I really was. I never expected Rafe to follow me.
Now I’m on the road with his band, Savage Kiss, and all my secret fantasies are coming true.
But I fear I’ve made a huge mistake, because if I get any more attached
to a man I can never truly have, my heart will be broken beyond all
repair.
Views: 35
Beckett was smaller than most boys his age growing up. This caused him to have little to no self-esteem while faced with the physical abuse he endured at the hands of his mother. His best friend Harlow, who’s not only beautiful, but tough as nails has been there for him since first grade. Unforeseen circumstances separated them with promises of always keeping in touch. Reminders of a friendship left behind, possessions taken away only lead to a friendship that was once the center of Beckett’s world. Ten years later, Beckett has the confidence and self-esteem to search for Harlow. The only problem is, she’s off the grid. Every day he thinks of her; every decision he’s made has been for her. Views: 35
"The wisest and most captivating novel tan has written." -The Boston Globe Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of Southwestern China, Amy Tan's The Hundred Secret Senses is a tale of American assumptions shaken by Chinese ghosts and broadened with hope. In 1962, five-year-old Olivia meets the half-sister she never knew existed, eighteen-year-old Kwan from China, who sees ghosts with her "yin eyes." Decades later, Olivia describes her complicated relationship with her sister and her failing marriage, as Kwan reveals her story, sweeping the reader into the splendor and violence of mid-nineteenth century China. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, Tan conjures up a story of the inheritance of love, its secrets and senses, its illusions and truths. Views: 35
June 1944 in occupied France, and the embattled coast of Normandy anxiously awaits the Allied invasion. Lisette de Valmy – just eighteen years old and an ardent member of the Resistance, she is torn between loyalty to the Cause and her love for one man. Dieter Meyer – a German officer, handsome and courageous, he must fight for his country and for his future with Lisette. Greg Dering – generous and warm-hearted, he liberates the de Valmy home but falls captive to the sad beauty of the girl who welcomes him to France. And Luke Brandon – obsessed by Lisette from the start, he can never forget her and his all-consuming passion threatens to destroy them all . . . From the devastation of war-torn France to the glamour and riches of San Francisco, Never Leave Me is a moving story of heartbreak and love and of the destructive legacy of war. '. . . takes off passionately,... Views: 35
