For a taste of sheer, sensual bliss, the adventurous women in these sizzling stories are willing to do anything, risk everything, and break all the rules. . ."Checkmate" Courtesan Cora Durand longs to find a man to satisfy her own hidden desires. Rupert Roland has dreamed of having beautiful, defiant Elsa at his carnal mercy, and when each gets their wish, the outcome is pure ecstasy. . . "Lust's Vow" Hannah Rosworth's late husband claimed that she was too sexually inexperienced for his tastes. But Kenneth Walker, an infamous rake, can see the fire beneath her sedate exterior. And at the season's most decadent orgy he'll show her how to give--and receive--the ultimate pleasure. . . "Night of the Taking" At the Festival of Catus in a small English village, local virgins take part in a mysterious, erotic ritual. Jessica can hardly believe she's been chosen, but the irresistible green-eyed male who... Views: 41
Alone in the world, teen-aged Hattie is driven to prove up on her uncle's homesteading claim.For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida, Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper.Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 41
Nat Idle, a San Francisco writer with a medical degree, narrowly survives an explosion in an Internet café after a stranger hands him a note warning him to exit immediately.The handwriting on the note belongs to his deceased girlfriend, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist whom he has obsessively been mourning. So begins HOOKED, a pop thriller for the Internet Age, written with the force of an adrenaline rush and the pace of an intimate email dispatch you can't stop reading. Each chapter of this novel will keep readers hooked as Nat Idle searches for the love of his life in the midst of manipulation and conspiracy.From Publishers WeeklyThis oddly flat thriller from first-time novelist Richtel opens with a warning in a dead girlfriend's handwriting, followed by an explosion in a San Francisco cafe. Nat Idle, who barely escapes, is perplexed by the note: his girlfriend Annie--from a very wealthy family involved in various opaque concerns--was swept off her sailboat four years ago and never seen again. Nat tracks down survivors of the blast, including waitress Erin Coultran, whose actions make Nat suspicious; when the home of aspiring novelist Simon Anderson, another survivor, catches on fire, Nat's suspicions intensify. Nat's investigations take him to Strawberry Labs, Annie's family company possibly named after Annie's childhood Labrador retriever. Despite intentionally short chapters à la The Da Vinci Code, Richtel (who writes the comic strip Rudy Park under nom de plume Theron Heir) has trouble bringing Nat to life or tension to the plot--in part because of Nat's first-person flashbacks to his relationship with Annie. Richtel's trying to do a brainy update of classic noir, but falls slightly short.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistNat Idle is a romantic. After finishing medical school, he abandons further training to become a freelance journalist; and he falls in love with Annie Kindle as soon as he hears her laugh. She is taken with his romanticism, even though her father, the alpha shark in Silicon Valley's venture capital sea, is grooming her to become his "smiling assassin." But Annie is lost in a sailing mishap, and four years later, Nat is still infatuated, still mourning. So, when a pretty woman leaves him a note in an Internet cafe, he follows her out the door--and escapes a lethal bomb blast. The note was written in Annie's distinctive hand. The scientist in Nat won't believe that Annie is still alive, but he begins to investigate the blast and finds himself immersed in Silicon Valley intrigue. Fully two-thirds of Hooked is a shrewd cinematic thriller, filled with knowing insights about San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the wired-wireless world. But Richtel, a reporter for the New York Times, stumbles a bit as the story unfolds into an uberplot to turn us all into Internet addicts. Still, many readers will happily suspend disbelief and simply enjoy the yarn. Thomas GaughanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 41
In this thoughtful and engaging collection, 11 acclaimed authors explore the highs and lows of growing up and shining on in the face of obstacles. A parent's departure, a sister's illness, a cheerleader's breakup, a family's secrets . . . these stories sensitively capture the challenges—and triumphs—of finding the way to a bright tomorrow.Featuring powerful stories by Lois Lowry, Meg Rosoff, Meg Cabot, Melvin Burgess, Sue Limb, and more. . . .
Meg Rosoff • Resigned Meg Cabot • Allie Finklestein's Rules for Boyfriends Melvin Burgess • Coming Home Anne Fine • Getting the Message Sue Limb • You're a LegendJacqueline Wilson • The Bad Sister Celia Rees • Calling the Cats Malorie Blackman • Humming Through My FingersLois Lowry • A Summer to Die
Rosie Rushton • Skin Deep Cathy Hopkins • John Lennon Said
Views: 41
In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems. Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yōkai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide... Views: 41
For the first time in twenty-five years, Encyclopedia Brown is back with ten new cases! Leroy Brown, aka Encyclopedia Brown, is Idaville's ten-year-old star detective. With an uncanny knack for trivia, he solves mysteries for the neighborhood kids. But his dad also happens to be the chief of the police department, and every night Encyclopedia helps him get to the bottom of his most baffling crimes. Join Encyclopedia Brown as he solves ten of his newest and most confounding mysteries, including a case of a missing butterfly brooch, some stolen Confederate stamps, a forgetful jewel thief, and more. With the clues given in each case, readers will have a chance to solve the mystery themselves! Interactive and chock-full of interesting bits of information—it's classic Encyclopedia Brown! Views: 41
Erotica/Romance. 101454 words long. First published in 2010, 2010 Views: 41
The war between dataDyne and the Carrington Institute is heating up. Carrington offices around the globe are being systematically targeted and destroyed by unknown forces, and the casualties are mounting, and more importantly profits are dwindling. Joanna Dark, fresh from her first mission--Codenamed INITIAL VECTOR--and now operating as a full-fledged secret agent for the Carrington Institute, is assigned to hunt down and destroy those responsible for the attacks. But her search for the faceless enemy leads her not just into another bloody battle with hypercorp dataDyne--but headlong into a global conspiracy that's been shaping the world for decades. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. Views: 41
Nouri and his cousin Talib can only vaguely remember a time before tanks rumbled over the streets of their Baghdad neighborhood—when books, not bombs, ruled Mutanabbi Street. War has been the backdrop of their young lives. And now Iraq isn't just at war with Americans. It's at war with itself. Sunnis fight Shiites, and the strife is at the boys' doorsteps. Nouri is Shiite and Talib is half Sunni. To the boys, it seems like only a miracle can mend the rift that is tearing a country and a family apart.In early 2008, Iraq experienced a miracle. Snow fell in Baghdad for the first time in living memory. As snow covered the dusty streets, the guns in the city grew silent and there was an unofficial ceasefire. During these magical minutes, Sunni and Shiite differences were forgotten. There was no green zone, no red zone. There was only the white zone.Against this real-life backdrop, Nouri and Talib begin to imagine a world after the war. Views: 41
Johnny Maverick and Tom Morgan are in a race for the league's goal-scoring trophy, but one or two other things are getting in the way. Like a joke on the coach. And, worse, the smelly socks of death... Views: 41
