These are no ordinary princesses--they're Rescue Princesses! Princess Emily sometimes wishes that being a princess meant more than wearing fancy dresses and performing endless curtsies. She longs for a life-changing adventure-and she may just get one! Someone is plotting to hurt the deer who live in beautiful Mistberg Forest. Together with some new friends, Emily will have to use her smarts, her savvy, and even some newfound ninja skills to save them. Views: 28
With her luscious chocolate truffles, Red Rock's favorite confectioner, Felicity Thomas, has won many customers' hearts, but she's never been tempted to give away her own. Until the notorious Michael Fortune saunters into her life. "I've met the man I'm going to marry," she insists that very day. And with Valentine's Day just around the corner, who could blame the innocent beauty for waxing romantic about the sexy Southern tycoon?Stay away from her, everyone warns Michael—but there's nothing the COO hates more than being told what to do! Captivated by the small-town sweetheart, he pulls out all the stops to romance her. Fancy dinners. A limo. A helicopter tour. A private jet to the Caribbean…where Michael gets the surprise of his life…and a whirlwind wedding might just deliver virginal Felicity into his waiting arms!About the AuthorSusan Crosby is a bestselling USA TODAY author of more than 35 romances and women's fiction novels for Harlequin. She was won the BOOKreviews Reviewers Choice Award twice as Best Silhouette Desire and many other major awards. She lives in Northern California but not too close to earthquake country.You can check out her website at www.susancrosby.com. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Michael Fortune walked into the 1950sera diner. Estelle's, thinking it was like everything else in Red Rock. Texas—quaint. Michael didn't do quaint, which was probably the reason his cousin had chosen this place for lunch. To put Michael off his A game. The place was a living, breathing piece of nostalgia with its long Formica counter, red leatherette booths and chrome-legged tables and chairs.He took a seat in an empty booth, and a few minutes later a fiftyish woman set a glass of water on the tabletop, next to his cell phone."Sorry to keep you waiting, honey. My name's Es-telle," she said, sticking the eraser of her pencil against the back of his hand, stopping his fingers from drumming on the table. "I can see you're the impatient type.""So my family tells me.""You're new in town," Estelle said. "Must be meeting someone."The town gossip, Michael decided. "My cousin Wyatt and his fiancée. I'm early, though.""Ahh. You're a Fortune, then. They sure do grow 'em handsome in Atlanta." She cocked a hip and settled her gaze on him. "Good men, your cousins. It was pretty big news around here when they packed up and settled down in Red Rock."Which was the very reason he'd come to Texas. Michael's uncle James had begged him to intervene. "Talk some sense into that son of mine," his uncle had said, frustrated at Wyatt's—and his three other sons'—defection from the family business.Estelle poised her pencil over her order pad. "You headed to New York City after you leave?""No. Why?""Suit. Tie. Shoes polished to a sheen. Not something anyone around here wears, not even to funerals. Ah, here's your company."Wyatt and his fiancée, Sarah-Jane Early, greeted Estelle, then slid into the booth, never letting go of each other's hands, barely breaking eye contact. What was it about Red Rock that caused so many Fortunes to become love-struck fools? Wyatt made the seventh to succumb in the past two years.Michael didn't get it. Romantic love was a myth, and marriage nothing more than a practical merger made in the interest of procreation—no matter how it seemed to start. He'd determined long ago that what people called love was really just lust, and that always faded. Respect was the key word. That sustained a relationship. Like his parents' marriage."It's nice to see you again," Sarah-Jane said, her long, auburn ponytail swaying when she turned to look at him. Her brown eyes sparkled with friendliness, then went tender when she gazed back at Wyatt.No one had ever looked at Michael like that. Usually he was the recipient of cool or calculating looks, or just as often, hostile. He didn't hold the important position he did because he went with the flow but because he exulted in riding the more unpredictable rapids. As for personal relationships, casual and short-term didn't result in loving or tender looks, either."You've already turned Texan," Michael said, noting Wyatt's jeans and cowboy boots."You should try it. Maybe loosen up that corporate stiffness from wearing suits and ties all the time."Michael took the kidding easily. "I don't wear a suit on the golf course. Or jeans. Not allowed, you know. I understand congratulations are in order," he said, changing the subject. "When's the wedding?""In June," Sarah-Jane answered."I wouldn't mind eloping," Wyatt said with a put-upon expression. "But she wants her wedding. Women."Eyes sparkling, she wriggled her nose at him, signaling a private joke between them.Estelle moseyed over, plucked menus from behind the napkin dispenser and passed them out."What would you recommend?" Michael asked her.She laughed at that. "Well, la-di-dah. I'm some kinda New York server, now. Isn't that how they do that there?""I'm sure you're right, but you own the place. Don't you have particular favorites yourself?""Sure I do. Tell me, do you like hearty food that'll stick with you 'til dinner or do you go for fruits and grains and mid-afternoon stomach pangs?""Fill me up. You choose with what. Surprise me.""Maybe there's hope for you yet, Suit."Sarah-Jane laughed at the nickname, then ordered a Cobb salad."So I think I've got this figured out," Estelle said to Michael after Wyatt ordered a hamburger. "You're here to try and talk the Fortune boys into going home. You must be one brave man."Michael realized he'd made a tactical error in letting Wyatt schedule the meeting place. He should've taken care of the arrangements himself, maybe in San Antonio, away from the gossip-filled Red Rock.Wyatt sat back casually. "Estelle's right, isn't she?" he asked after she'd left. "My father put you up to this little confab. Shane told me you already talked with him."Back in Atlanta, Michael had drawn a blank with Wyatt's oldest brother, Shane, who was the COO of JMF Financials. He'd left the company but not the city. Although he was the only one of the sons who hadn't moved to Red Rock, Shane was on the same quest as his brothers, to find the woman their father had involved in their business without their knowledge."I figure you'll try Asher and Sawyer next," Wyatt said. "Good luck with that. You won't be changing anyone's minds. You know, Mike, I appreciate your concern, but this really isn't your business…or your call." Wyatt toasted Michael with his glass of water. "I'm never going back. My place is with Sarah-Jane, and Sarah-Jane's place is here in Red Rock.""How can you not go back? You're a vice president. Your brothers hold top positions, too, and yet you all walked away. I don't understand why you can't ride this out.""Ride it out? Seriously? My father is giving away half his shares of the company. Giving them away. To some unknown woman for an unknown reason. And you're siding with him over this?" Wyatt shook his head. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You sharks fish in the same waters. How can you—"Sarah-Jane laid her hand on his, stopping him. Calming him.Coming from a man Michael had known his entire life, the words stung. "It's your family business," Michael said quietly, respecting Sarah-Jane's discomfort and not wanting things to heat up any further."But we're not slaves to it," Wyatt said, just as quietly."What will you do?"He looked at Sarah-Jane for a moment. "I'm not a hundred percent sure. I'm working on some things. I just know that Red Rock is home now. My brothers and I have bought property here, a ranch. I don't know what my role is yet. In the end, it may have nothing to do with the ranch." He eyed Sarah-Jane again. "Once I got over my own shock of leaving the company, I realized it was for the best—for me, anyway. I might have been stuck there forever. I'm feeling a freedom I never have before. It feels good."Estelle set their lunch plates in front of them. "Cobb salad for Miss Sarah-Jane, hamburger for Wyatt and Es-telle's famous Reuben for the Suit. Enjoy.""I love you like a brother, Mike," Wyatt said, picking up a French fry. "The six of you kids and the five of us spent our whole lives like one family, even with our fathers at odds. But you need to stay out of this, unless you want our relationship destroyed as well."Michael didn't know what he could do to ease the tension, then just when he considered apologizing, Sarah-Jane beckoned someone with a frantic gesture, looking relieved at the interruption. "Felicity! Over here!"Michael glanced toward the entrance. A woman with shoulder-length blond hair and soft blue eyes walked toward their booth. Her smile lit up the room. Not beautiful, Michael decided, but fresh-faced and, well, adorable. He was sure he'd never used that word to describe a woman before. Or even a kitten. Although she looked kittenish in her fluffy pink sweater and jeans that weren't red, exactly, but a color he couldn't put a name to."Sit down," Sarah-Jane said, in a tone more like an order, desperation in her eyes. "Join us."The slender woman gave Sarah-Jane an amused and curious look, but sat without argument. She took up little space as she slid into the booth next to Michael, but their arms brushed, and he went still. His body felt supercharged, paralyzed. He'd known plenty of women, but he'd never had such a visceral reaction to one, and certainly not one this innocent-looking. What the hell was going on?She finally made eye contact. Her smile faltered a moment, then, angling toward him, she put out her hand. "Hi. I—I'm Felicity Thomas. Sarah-Jane and I are roommates.""Michael Fortune." This time he wasn't surprised at the lightning he encountered in her touch, but he still couldn't understand his reaction.Her brows raised. "Fortune? You're.""My first cousin," Wyatt said."So, you're Wendy's brother? It's hard to keep all you Fortunes straight. I adore Wendy. She was my first big client.""For what?""My truffles.""Truffles?" was all he could think to say. "Wendy had just become the pastry chef at Red. Have you eaten there?" Felicity asked. Michael nodded."She wanted to offer a dessert created with my products.""Truffles?" he repeated, the only word he'd really picked up clearly.She cocked her head at him, and he wondered if he could be any more idiotic. What was wrong with him?"Yes," she said patiently, her smile never fading. "It turns out that they're a big hit at the local hotels and sp... Views: 28
Sometimes the typical Happily Ever After isn't what you're looking for. Sometimes you want it quick. You want it erotic. You want it dirty. Sometimes you. Want. It. Now. Sometimes, you want something to make you sWet. Body of Art Sullivan Byrne had been talked into many things in his lifetime, most of them by his younger sister Rhona. So when she asks him to be the one to share her father-daughter dance with her at her wedding, he’s surprised and touched at the request. At least until he figures out he has to take dancing lessons for two weeks straight. His irritation quickly turns to intrigue when he’s introduced to Rhona’s close friend and his new instructor, the alluring Channing Harris. Now Sullivan wants to know more about what she can do with her hips in other activities aside from her amazing dancing skills. The question is; can he get her to stop being skittish long enough to admit she feels the same attraction he does? Views: 28
Central Oregon—the last frontier. Transportation is still by stagecoach and freight wagon. There is a movement afoot for a people's railroad, paid for by the state, to bring the benefits of rails to the area, to make it easier to ship livestock and produce, and to encourage settlement. For years the competing railroad barons, James J. Hill and Edward H. Harriman, have done nothing toward building a line in central Oregon, but now, under the impetus of the people's railroad bill, they both set out to do just that.Lee Dawes, a front man buying rights-of-way for the Hill interests, is charged with besting Mike Quinn, who is acquiring rights-of-way for the Harriman line. Dawes and Quinn have competed in this kind of work for years, as they have competed for women. An essential property on the way to Bend is owned by Hanna Racine, and both Dawes and Quinn want the right-of-way across her land. The two vie to come up with a strategy to seduce her into committing to the... Views: 28
A powerful, heartfelt and moving account of his son's murder and his fight for justice by Ralph Bulger James Bulger was just a few weeks shy of his third birthday when, on 12 February 1993, he wandered away from his mum Denise in a shopping mall in Bootle. Grainy images from a security camera showed him trustingly holding the hand of ten-year-old Jon Venables as they walked away. Venables and his friend Robert Thompson murdered James, in a crime that shocked the world. In this haunting book, James' father Ralph describes how his world fell apart in the days that followed. In his darkest hours he drank to numb the pain, and the stress tore his marriage apart. He tells how he learned to cope with his grief, but the sorrow of James' death has never left him. He discusses the long legal battle to see justice for his son, as he tried to prevent his killers being released early, and his continuing fight to see them behind bars where they can't hurt anyone else. Above all, he pays tribute to his son, an adorable, cheeky boy whose bright smile brought joy to his family's lives. Views: 28
Bryony is constantly eclipsed by her all-singing, all dancing mum and talented sisters: otherwise known as The Singing Bells (who have to be the stars of the show the whole time). All Bryony wants is to find her own niche - maybe it's being a top-notch skater. However, before she's begun to enjoy them, she has to send back her new, state-of-the-art skates to pay for her sisters' costumes for TV Family Star Turns. They think Bryony's sacrifice is worth it: the family might win £50,000. Poor Bryony - and it's not much fun at school, either. In their end of term play, she's cast as the Ugly Ducking (when really she wants to be the swan). Can the family's fortunes - and Bryony's - turn in time to give her the chance to strut her stuff?'...a quartet of books with robust child appeal ... the brief is clearly to appeal to those recently emerging from reading schemes but requiring continuing support. But the stories have a fresh originality that will make them great... Views: 28
The compendium of creations (SingleEarth, the Bruja guilds, the Midnight empire) intertwine in an exciting, unsettling plot featuring happenings both accidental and deliberate that will forever change the alternate landscape inhabited by vampires, Tristes, shapeshifters et al. It all begins with a wrong turn and a crashed party, and from there it's an epic clash of elements and the promise of more chaos still to come. At the center of the storm is Jay, a young vampire hunter that no one would ever have predicted might be earth's best bet to thwart the rise of a vampire-controlled slave empire called Midnight. Teens will find themselves drawn to Jay, who struggles to prove his worth even while he has his own fears that those who have written him off may be right to do so. About the AuthorAMELIA ATWATER-RHODES's most recent novel is Poison Tree. She wrote her first novel, In the Forests of the Night, when she was 13. Other books in the Den of Shadows series are Demon in My View, Shattered Mirror, Midnight Predator, Persistence of Memory, Token of Darkness, and All Just Glass. The five-volume series The Kiesha'ra includes: Hawksong, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Selection; Snakecharm; Falcondance; Wolfcry, an IRA-CBC Young Adults' Choice; and Wyvernhail. Views: 28
