What makes a good girl go bad? How are cute young girls induced to pose for off-color photographs? Why does a pretty miss allow herself to be used for illicit pictures? To give you the answers, this outspoken novel probes the shocking excess of attractive Cherry Gordon - who started as a good kid, but was taught to be bad . . . The temptations of night-club life, and coercion to make her perform at 'stag' affairs - these things might not have ruined her. But then Cherry was pushed, poked, and prodded into the role of star performer in provocative photos. Thereafter her sins became progressively greater, and progressively worse. There might have been hope for Cherry, for one man, although active in the foul racket, truly loved her. By this time, however, she was blunted to ordinary morals, commonplace desires. One day he found Cherry in the arms of a redheaded woman...** Views: 122
In USA TODAY Bestselling author Kate Danley's deliciously twisted story, A Spirited Manor, grieving widow Clara O'Hare accepts an invitation to a séance in the remote country home of Lord Horace Oroberg. Joining her around the table are Oroberg's cad of a son, Clifford; his mousy fiancée, Violet; her overbearing mother, Hilda Nero; Norman Scettico, a renowned scientist; the lovely Marguerite Matson; and the dashing young medium, Wesley Lowenherz. Before long, the group's fascination with the spirit world calls up something sinister, and Clara and Wesley are pulled together to solve a murder most foul. Laced with gothic tension, romance, and mystery, A Spirited Manor will delight readers with its unexpected turns and thrilling conclusion.** Views: 121
Alif the Unseen is an incredibly timely adventure tale worthy of Neil Gaiman. In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker protects watched groups from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble—until he falls for the wrong woman and unleashes a forbidden text thought to be written by the jinn (genies).As the book opens, Alif’s computer has been breached by the Hand, the state’s electronic security force, and the woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince. When it turns out the fiancé is the Hand, and the state security forces come after Alif, he must go underground, all while trying to fight back against a piece of code which the Hand is using to create the most sophisticated state surveillance ever developed. When Alif discovers the secret book of the jinn, which may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death.With shades of Neal Stephenson, Philip Pullman, and The Thousand and One Nights, Alif the Unseen is a tour de force that will enchant readers—a sophisticated blend of ideas, philosophy, technology and spirituality smuggled inside an irresistible page-turner. Views: 121
Enter another realm in the amazing world of the Humanx Commonwealth--the interstellar empire governed jointly by humans and aliens!The newly discovered planet of Senisran was a veritable paradise--a sprawling world of vast oceans dotted with thousands of lush islands and copious deposits of rare-earths and minerals. First-contact specialist Pulickel Tomochelor's mission to Senisran was straightforward: Secure mining rights for the Humanx Commonwealth before the vicious AAnn Empire beat them to the chase. With Senisran's Parramat clan resisting entreaty, negotiations could be difficult, but Pulickel was more comfortable with aliens than with his own species, and looked forward to a triumphant return to Earth.He hadn't counted on the incredible secret of Parramat, though: the strange, powerful green stones that the tribe used to manipulate the forces of nature. Within those stones lay an awesome technology the origin of which was lost in time--a technology that... Views: 121
Learning to live is more than just choosing not to die, as sixteen-year-old Ryan discovers in the year following his suicide attempt. Despite his mother’s anxious hovering and the rumors at school, he’s trying to forget the darkness from which he has escaped. But it doesn’t help that he’s still hiding guilty secrets, or that he longs for a girl who may not return his feelings. Then he befriends Nicki, who is using psychics to seek contact with her dead father. This unlikely friendship thaws Ryan to the point where he can face the worst in himself. He and Nicki confide in one another the things they never thought they’d tell anyone—but their confessions are trickier than they seem, and the fallout tests the bound of friendship and forgiveness. Views: 120
Imogene Sol has had to work twice as hard for everything she has earned as a cadet at The Ring Academy on Serta. An orphan of notorious parents who killed hundreds of thousands of people in a bombing against the Federation, most people hate her by name alone, others have gone out of their way to make her life difficult. Though she's managed to acquire a handful of trusted friends over her years at the academy, most of her peers loathe her. But she's made her mark in the top ten of her cadet class and she's ready to compete for what's next. As the Year Seven Final Trials begin—a series of tests to determine placement within the Federation—Imogene knows all her hopes are riding on her performance. But when she's framed for an offense that could not only get her expelled from the academy but also incarcerated, Imogene must discover who's behind the threat against her. When her greatest competition, Timaeus Kade, offers to help her solve the mystery to... Views: 120
