It is the Year of Our Lord 1193, and the true King of England, Richard I, called Lionheart, is captured on his journey home from the Third Holy Crusade. All England has borne the heavy yolk of taxation to pay the cost of this endless war, and now must bear the added burden of ransoming their beloved monarch from a cruel captivity. In his absence, the King's appointed Regents have been challenged, their power usurped by his envious brother, Prince John. Meanwhile, the evil and avaricious Sheriff of Nottingham, John's lackey, conspires to enrich his own coffers by leveling unjust taxes on the already impoverished citizenry of Nottinghamshire. When his greed is frustrated at every turn by his old nemesis, Robin Hood, the sheriff plots to capture and hang the bold outlaw and his entire band, which is encamped in Sherwood Forest. Into the band's midst comes a desperate young woman called Alice Johnstone. Alice has just escaped after dark years of confinement in the sinister Abbey of St. Mary's - an institution controlled by Robin's sworn enemies, the corrupt and depraved Bishop of Hereford and his henchwoman, the wicked and unholy Abbess. In an attempt to cheat her stepdaughter of her rightful inheritance, Alice's stepmother has enlisted the Bishop's aid in imprisoning Alice in a madhouse. Although she asks for and accepts the sanctuary of Sherwood Forest and its brave defenders, the lovely young fugitive does so with a curious reluctance. Willful and spirited and with secret plans of her own in the making, Alice refuses to adhere to the camp's strict rules - rules made to ensure its survival. It falls to Robin Hood's second-in-command, the handsome, (and exasperated) Will Fletcher, to tame the lady's tantrums and conceits, and within days of her arrival, Alice is rudely upended and soundly spanked twice. In her short but highly enlightening stay, the lady will become uncomfortably familiar with a number of the implements used to enforce the camp's security - the wooden paddle, leather strap, and even the humble, durable birch switch. At the heart of her disobedience is Alice's determination to rejoin the mysterious man with whom she has fallen in love, French nobleman Geoffrey of Gascony. Her infatuation and stubbornness combine to draw her deeper into danger and to put Robin's men in peril as well. By the time the villainous plot against her is revealed and thwarted, and the Sheriff's dastardly attack on the camp beaten back, Alice and her new friends have faced death more than once, and a wiser, oft-chastened Alice has found a truer love. Views: 28
Kayla Marlowe is slowly vanishing…Last year, Kayla’s world imploded. Her beloved father died, leaving her alone with a narcissistic mother who is quick to criticize her daughter’s appearance. During her winter break from college, Kayla’s dangerous obsession with losing weight begins.Kayla feels like her world changes for the better overnight. Being skinny seems to be the key to the happiness she has desperately been seeking. Her mother and friends shower her with compliments, telling her how fantastic she looks. Kayla is starving, but no one knows it.Cameron Bennett explodes into Kayla’s life. He’s sexy and kind—he has every quality she has been looking for in a guy. As Cameron grows closer to Kayla and learns of how far she’s willing to go to stay thin, he becomes desperate to save her.Kayla’s struggles with anorexia and bulimia reach a breaking point and she is forced to confront her body image issues in order to survive. She wonders if Cameron could be the one to help heal her from the pain of her past.New Adult Contemporary-Ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.About the AuthorHeather Topham Wood’s obsession with novels began in childhood while growing up in a shore town in New Jersey. Writing since her teens, she recently returned to penning novels after a successful career as a freelance writer. In 2012, she published the first two novels in her Second Sight series: First Visions and New Revelations. Heather graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor's degree in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows. Views: 28
Big boss, Abel Rubai, has made himself very wealthy by honest dealing in the international money markets, but he is a man much feared in the country. Upset him and your life could be in danger. He expects to get away with every outrage he sets in motion. When tragedy strikes his family, he is shocked. This is not the way things are meant to be for the Rubais. Someone will have to pay a big price to satisfy his thirst for vengeance. He focuses his attention on the McCalls of Londiani. It is they, he claims, who have robbed him of his son. This focus does not distract him from an unfinished piece of savagery. In his usual ruthless way he has been engineering the brutal murder of a fine, much-loved doctor. Without even realising it, he has gone too far, perhaps this time sowing the seeds of his own ruin. Using Londiani as a base, a few friends and neighbours, members of a newly formed political party, realise that they must take on the Rubai machine. THey are anxious, aware that... Views: 28
Clint Harp, maverick carpenter on HGTV's smash hit Fixer Upper and the star of Wood Work on the DIY Network, presents his inspirational memoir that celebrates meaningful work, turning your craft into a career, and recognizing the importance of the journey itself.While Clint Harp is now known as Chip and Joanna Gaines's go-to table maker on Fixer Upper and a nationally acclaimed artisan, his life has not always been the DIY dream we see on the show. Ten years ago, he played the role of what he thought was a good husband, father, and provider, dutifully working at a sales job that came with a healthy paycheck. Yet he kept coming back to his unfilled dream of building furniture. With the support of his wife, the encouragement of a mentor, and a life full of lessons, he finally took the leap, quit his job and set out on a quest to become a carpenter. Without formal training, financing, workspace, or customers, the Harps were quickly on the edge of... Views: 28
Golden Bot Award (Wired.com) Best Whodunit:
Forensic geologists Cassie Oldfield and Walter Shaws embark on a perilous hunt--tracking a terrorist who has stolen radioactive material that is hotter than the desert in August. He threatens to release it in America's most fragile national park, Death Valley.
But first he must stop the geologists who are closing in.
As the hunt turns dangerous, Cassie and Walter will need grit along with their field skills to survive this case. For they are up against more than pure human malice. The unstable atom--in the hands of an unstable man--is governed by Murphy's Law. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
And it does.
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Rosamund's baseball team has a very unusual second base--Oliver's gloopy purple plastic octopus. But one morning . . . it's gone! "Somebody stole second base," Rosamond tells teammate Nate the Great. With the help of his dog, Sludge, the young detective trails the missing octopus, picking up clues along the way. It's not easy to track down a stolen base, and Nate's hunt leads him to some strange places before he finds himself up at bat once more. Views: 28
In G. T. Almasi’s thrilling alternate reality, the United States, the USSR, and the Republic of China share a fragile balance of power with Greater Germany, which emerged from World War II in control of Europe and half of the Middle East. To avoid nuclear Armageddon, the four superpowers pursue their ambitions with elite spies known as Levels, who are modified with mechanical and chemical enhancements.Nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, code-named Scarlet, is a kick-ass superheroine with killer Mods and an attitude to match. She’s considered one of America’s top Levels, even though her last mission nearly precipitated World War III. So now Scarlet and her new partner, Darwin, have been sent to Greater Germany to help sow the seeds of anarchy and prevent Germany’s defection to Russia and China.But where Scarlet goes, chaos follows—and when her mission takes an unexpected turn, she and Darwin must go ever deeper into enemy territory. As Scarlet grapples with a troubling attraction to her new partner, explosive information comes to light about the German cloning program and one of its prisoners—a legendary American Level who just happens to be Scarlet’s father.“First-rate . . . a hell-bent-for-leather mash-up of spy novel and SF.”—Eric Van Lustbader, on *Blades of Winter*About the AuthorG. T. Almasi graduated from RISD and moved to Boston to pursue a career as a graphic designer. While he built his design portfolio, he joined a band as the bass player, and wrote and designed the band’s newsletter. Once his career as an art director took off, he continued to supplement his design talents by writing copy for his clients. As a novelist, his literary influences include Robert Ludlum, Neal Stephenson, and Hunter S. Thompson. He also draws inspiration from John Woo’s movies and Todd Howard’s videogames. Almasi lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with his wife, Natalie, and their lovably stubborn dog, Ella. Views: 28
Claudia, single mom of two, pines for her past independent life. Her ex, after all, has moved on to a new wardrobe, new hobbies and—worst of all—new adult friends. But in Claudia's house she's still finding bananas in the sock drawer, cigarettes taped to wrestling figures, and colourful doodles on her MasterCard bills. Then Claudia receives the unexpected news that her mother has died. Shared through the hilarious, honest, and often poignant perspective of a single mother, Roost is the story of a woman learning about motherhood while grieving the loss of her own mother. And as she begins to mend, she's also learning that she might be able to accept her home—even as it is. Views: 28
A mysterious and dangerous conspiracy deepens, threatening the superpowered Rangers and pushing Flex to join forces with one of her team's mortal enemies: a Bane called Chimera. Growing up with blue skin never made Rene "Flex" Duvall feel like at outcast. She learned early on to put people at ease with her wit and exuberant personality. So she's certainly not going to let her façade crack when she and her teammates suddenly face a new breed of genetically manipulated and brainwashed Metas: the well-trained teenage criminals known as the Recombinants. When a desperate battle leaves one of their friends wounded, Renee and Ethan follow a clue to Manhattan Island, where the Banes have been imprisoned. There they find a Bane named Chimera, who refuses to cooperate despite possessing information that could help them stop the Recombinants. Chimera's emotional scars are as devastating as Renee's physical scars, and soon the two find common ground in shared pain. Against her better judgment, Renee forms an alliance with this Bane. They both can gain much from working together, so the only question is who has more to lose by cooperating . . . Views: 28
