This magical adventure in an enchanted castle surrounded by thorns tells a tale of the power of memory and story, forgiveness and strength, and the true gifts of craft and imagination. By the acclaimed author of The Princess Curse and Handbook for Dragon Slayers, this original fantasy is perfect for fans of Gail Carson Levine, Karen Cushman, and Shannon Hale.When blacksmith apprentice Sand wakes up in a ruined castle, he has no idea how he got there, but the thorny brambles that surround the walls prevent him from leaving. As he begins to fix up the castle in order to survive, everything he touches somehow works better than it should. Then, as he continues to explore, Sand discovers the castle's secrets, including its long-lost heir, Perrotte. Together, they must fully repair the broken castle if they ever want to leave. Views: 8
Emma Callaway, a hot fire investigator clashes with Max Harrison, a cool homicide detective in SO THIS IS LOVE, the second book in the Callaway Series, by #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy For Max Harrison, love seduces and then destroys. His brother went to prison for love. His father left his family for love. And Max is determined not to follow in their footsteps, until he meets Emma… Emma runs into burning buildings without an ounce of fear and embraces life as if every day is a new adventure. But while she's fearless on the job, Emma is a coward when it comes to love. Betrayed by an ex-boyfriend, Emma has no intention of putting her heart on the line again, until she meets Max… As the fires around the city rage, the heat between them ignites in a blaze of passion that's far more dangerous. Will it destroy them or will they finally get everything they ever wanted…About the AuthorBarbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, who has sold over 2.8 million ebooks since January 2011. Her 34 novels range from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Twelve titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists. Her books have won numerous awards. She is a five-time finalist for the RITA for best contemporary romance from Romance Writers of America. She has also received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Known for her emotional and compelling stories of love, family, mystery and romance, Barbara enjoys writing about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary adventures. Barbara has lived all over the state of California and currently resides in Northern California where she draws much of her inspiration from the beautiful bay area. Barbara loves to hear from readers so please feel free to write her. For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts and contests, and to connect with Barbara, visit her website at www.barbarafreethy.com You can also visit Barbara on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barbarafreethybooks and Twitter at www.twitter.com/barbarafreethy. Views: 8
Widow Noel Martin never breaks promises, and she promised her kids they'd have Christmas at her childhood home in Connecticut. But driving across country takes money. Noel is broke when a snowstorm blows them into a tiny Minnesota cafe owned by a man who can change her mind. She accepts his offer of a job. Despite her attraction to him, she makes it clear she is only temporary help.Dan Longstreet isn't adopting any more strays, but he needs a waitress. Dan works so hard to make his cafe a success, he doesn't have time for love. Though Noel's slender blonde beauty stuns him and her two adorable children tug at his heart, he denies how they threaten to change his life.When tragedy strikes, their new-found love is the first victim. Noel can't stay and Dan can't leave. Will their journey be the gift that reunites them?ReviewJOURNEY OF THE MAGIWith a deft touch of her brush, word artist Barbara Edwards paints an endearing story that showcases the true meanings of Christmas--love, sacrifice and the wide-eyed hopes of children. This is a sweet romance of two lonely people who have an instant attraction to each other while their hearts are heavy with fears and long-denied dreams. Ms. Edwards gives us several twists and turns in the plot, but it is her attention to detail, her ingenious stroke of the brush that breathes life and love into this delightful story.--Vonnie Davis, award winning romance authorFrom the AuthorI had fun writing this holiday romance, a departure from my edgy paranormal romances. I revealed my soft heart and love of stray animals, small children and tall, dark and strong men.I took a number of personal experiences to write the plot. I breast-fed my children like Noel does her baby and drove a clunker of a car for years. Minnesota during November came from my son's wedding to a girl from that area. The snow was deep and the temperature deeper. The parking lot in the motel had a warning not to leave your vehicle if the bears were in the parking lot. The people were among the friendliest I've ever met.My house burned and we lost everything. A period in my life I'd rather forget. There is nothing like Christmas in Connecticut. We all gather to decorate wreaths to sell on the Christmas tree farm. My husband and I dress up like Santa and his wife to entertain the kids and hand out candy canes. On Christmas Eve we gather to exchange gift and share a family dinner. I cry each year for those who can't be there and with happiness. My children and their families are growing and changing with every season. Views: 8
A Torn Series Novella. The story takes you back a few months before Scornfully Yours in Carter's POV. Carter Mason was the playboy (manwh♥re?) soccer stud in their campus. Coming from wealth and good genes, he was used to getting everything he wanted. At a young age, he witnessed how love can become your worst enemy. It was a man's downfall, an irrevocable poison that will forever haunt you, until you're out of fight and gasping for your last breath. For years, he thought he was safe, until Emma.Lust at first glance. That's what Carter instantly thought when his eyes landed on Emma Anderson for the very first time. She was a gorgeous woman who wore her sexiness and naïveté with confidence. Both wanted to enjoy each other without the complications of love and all the drama it came with. But the one thing they both avoided unexpectedly sprouted, causing a rift between them.Will they make it or break it?From the Author The Torn Series OrderScornfully Yours (Emma #1) Out NowScornfully Hers (Carter # 1.5) Frayed* (Trista): Out Now*Blasphemous* (Emma #2): Out Now*Scorned* (Lindsey): July 2013*Fixated On You* (Emma #3): August 2013*Crushed* (Amber): September 2013*Untitled Novel (Carter or Bass) TBA Views: 8
A rebellious boy's journey through the wilds of urban America and the shrapnel of a self-destructing family--this is the riveting story of a generation told through one dazzlingly poetic new voice. MK Asante was born in Zimbabwe to American parents: a mother who led the new nation's dance company and a father who would soon become a revered pioneer in black studies. But things fell apart, and a decade later MK was in America, a teenager lost in a fog of drugs, sex, and violence on the streets of North Philadelphia. Now he was alone--his mother in a mental hospital, his father gone, his older brother locked up in a prison on the other side of the country--and forced to find his own way to survive physically, mentally, and spiritually, by any means necessary. Buck is a powerful memoir of how a precocious kid educated himself through the most unconventional teachers--outlaws and eccentrics, rappers and mystic strangers, ghetto philosophers... Views: 8
A beautiful girl is found dead with her face slashed and an old man suffers a similar fate. These similar crimes bring together Roger West, Scotland Yard's finest detective, and Lieutenant Goodison of New York's Homicide Branch, in a race to find the killer and deal with the twists and turns along the way. Views: 8
When a giant nor'easter dumps a blanket of snow on the village of Dunwich, Massachussetts, Robert Arthur and his friends find themselves marooned inside Lovecraft Middle School. The kids have no choice but to spend the night--while snacking on cafeteria food, sleeping on classroom floors, and facing off against a mysterious substitute teacher who may have a sinister secret. The latest adventure in the Lovecraft Middle School series features more adventures, more outrageous monsters, and another terrifying lenticular cover! Views: 8
The eighth title in this magical series, fizzing with fun and excitement. Jess is off on a quest to find Dame Walpurga's stolen shoes. But to get them back, she must tackle a rude giant, trick a grumpy gnome and uncover a secret hidden deep underground... A sparkling new adventure about Jessica, the lively young witch-in-training. Views: 8
Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specializing in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars will find her working with alien patients from whalehounds the size of a hay barn to a baby Kiran Sunkiller, a colossal floating creature that will grow up to carry a whole sky-city on its back.But after a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school and other near-disasters, the Cloister is in real danger of being shut down by a group of alien-hating officials. If that happens, Zenn knows only too well the grim fate awaiting the creatures she loves.Now, she must unravel the baffling events plaguing her school, before someone is hurt or killed, before everything she cares about is ripped away from her and her family forever. To solve this mystery – and live to tell about it – Zenn will have to put her new exovet skills to work in ways she never imagined, and in the process learn just how powerful compassion and empathy can be.Review"Zenn's moxie and determination make this a debut to remember. Highly recommended!"-Phoebe North, author of Starglass"... delightful, bizarre and occasionally terrifying." -Mike Mullin, author of Ashfall“All future veterinarians will want to read Zenn Scarlett and her adventures with veterinary medicine on alien animals.” -Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation"Mars, monsters, and mysteries: Zenn Scarlett is a thoughtful and thrilling science fiction adventure that's perfect for readers who think they've seen it all! It's refreshing to encounter an original young adult story that defies expectations, and the breathtaking conclusion will leave you desperate for more."-E.C. Myers, author of Fair Coin and Quantum Coin "Utterly imaginative, Zenn Scarlett is sci-fi at its best. Fantastic worldbuilding. Deep characters. And a story that will have you desperate for answers until the very end. I couldn’t put it down!"-Melissa West, author of Gravity and Hover"Overall, a very well written, intelligent book with a unique concept that I have never heard of or read before." -Something-Beautiful "SF with...very imaginative and just plain different world-building."-Stacked Books"Zenn Scarlett is a heart-pounding, heartwarming novel about facing your fears and learning how to have faith in your own abilities — no matter how young or different you may be."-Laura Farmer, The GazetteAbout the AuthorChristian Schoon grew up in Minnesota, and worked his way through college in a succession of rock bands before earning his degree from the U of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Journalism. Following a stint as an in-house copywriter/scriptwriter at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, he supplied freelance copy for the entertainment industry and scriptwriting for live-action and animated TV. Currently, he writes from his 150-year-old farmstead in Iowa which he shares with a fluctuating number of horses (generally less than a dozen, but not always), 30 or so cats, a dog, three ferrets and a surprisingly tolerant wife. The Zenn Scarlett books are his first novels, however he admits to being an unrepentant fan of science fiction and fantasy ever since discovering the tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs in the fifth grade. He can be found at his blog: christianschoon.com Views: 8
When a Serbian-backed assassin gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in late June 1914, the world seemed unmoved. Even Ferdinand’s own uncle, Franz Josef I, was notably ambivalent about the death of the Hapsburg heir, saying simply, “It is God’s will.” Certainly, there was nothing to suggest that the episode would lead to conflict—much less a world war of such massive and horrific proportions that it would fundamentally reshape the course of human events.As acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin reveals in July 1914, World War I might have been avoided entirely had it not been for a small group of statesmen who, in the month after the assassination, plotted to use Ferdinand’s murder as the trigger for a long-awaited showdown in Europe. The primary culprits, moreover, have long escaped blame. While most accounts of the war’s outbreak place the bulk of responsibility on German and Austro-Hungarian militarism, McMeekin draws on surprising new evidence from archives across Europe to show that the worst offenders were actually to be found in Russia and France, whose belligerence and duplicity ensured that war was inevitable. Whether they plotted for war or rode the whirlwind nearly blind, each of the men involved—from Austrian Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold and German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov and French president Raymond Poincaré—sought to capitalize on the fallout from Ferdinand’s murder, unwittingly leading Europe toward the greatest cataclysm it had ever seen.A revolutionary account of the genesis of World War I, July 1914 tells the gripping story of Europe’s countdown to war from the bloody opening act on June 28th to Britain’s final plunge on August 4th, showing how a single month—and a handful of men—changed the course of the twentieth century.ReviewNational Review“[A] gripping and well-researched new book. In prose of admirable clarity, [McMeekin] relates the enormously complex events of that fateful summer.... In his day-by-day and even hour-by-hour account, [McMeekin] brings a sprawling cast of characters to life.”Dallas Morning News“The conventional wisdom of the last 100 years holds that Germany’s desire for empire and cultural hegemony turned Princip’s deed into an excuse for war. Barbara Tuchman’s famed history, The Guns of August, makes the most of this case. Sean McMeekin...argues that ambitions in Russia and France were at least as responsible and traces the foibles of Europe’s major powers in a month that launched a disaster for them all.... McMeekin praises Tuchman’s 1962 epic for inspiring him to write July 1914. What he’s delivered is a strong challenge to The Guns of August.”Publishers Weekly, Starred Review“[A] superbly researched political history of the weeks between the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the beginning of World War I.... McMeekin’s work is a fine diplomatic history of the period, a must-read for serious students of WWI, and a fascinating story for anyone interested in modern history.”Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review“[A] thoroughly rewarding account that spares no nation regarding the causes of World War I.... McMeekin delivers a gripping, almost day-by-day chronicle of the increasingly frantic maneuvers of European civilian leaders who mostly didn’t want war and military leaders who had less objection.”Booklist“Alluding to historical controversies, McMeekin ably delivers what readers demand from a WWI-origins history: a taut rendition of the July 1914 crisis.”Norman Stone, author of *World War Two: A Short History“Sean McMeekin is establishing himself as a—or even the*—leading young historian of modern Europe. Here he turns his gifts to the outbreak of war in July 1914 and has written another masterpiece.”Michael Neiberg, author of *The Blood of Free Men*“Sean McMeekin has given us a riveting and fast-paced account of some of the most important diplomatic and military decisions of the 20th century. He depicts with chilling clarity the confusion, the incompetence, and the recklessness with which Europe’s leaders went to war in that fateful summer. Any understanding of the world we inhabit today must begin with an examination of the events of July 1914. McMeekin provides his readers with a balanced and detailed analysis of the events that gave birth to the modern age.”James Sheehan, author of *Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?: The Transformation of Modern Europe*“This is a meticulously researched and vividly written reconstruction of the decisions that lead to war in July 1914. McMeekin captures the human drama of this fateful month and offers a provocative assessment of the different players’ moral responsibility.”Charles Hill, Diplomat in Residence at Yale University, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and author of *Trial of a Thousand Years: World Order and Islamism*“Winners write the histories, so wars are misunderstood. Sean McMeekin takes a wider stance to get a fresh angle of vision on The Great War, and casts all war-making in a new light.”About the AuthorSean McMeekin is an assistant professor of history at Koç University. He is the author of four highly acclaimed books, including The Russian Origins of the First World War, which won the World War One Historical Association’s Tomlinson Prize, and The Berlin to Baghdad Express, which won the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies’ Barbara Jelavich Book Prize. McMeekin lives in Istanbul, Turkey. Views: 8
Sweet
Hitchhiker 4
Summoned from beyond the grave, the Rain Riders strike terror into
the men chasing Shye. But will she get her farm back before the angered spirits
kill the man holding the deed?
Drug runners have taken over Shye’s land in an underhanded scheme.
Even worse, a man she’d called a friend has issued an ultimatum. With only
seven days to make a life changing decision, she struggles to find a way out
and Trip worries that she’s in too deep. His attempts to protect her fail when
the Ghost Dancer calls to her again. Will Shye want to come back after riding
with spirits of the greatest warriors in history?
While
preparing the soil for their new crops, a group of cynical men defile an
ancient Native American burial ground. What they unearth amuses them as they
make plans to sell the artifact for big money. Their greed invokes a
supernatural force unlike any other. Can they undo their mistake before the
Rain Riders take their souls?
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It’s 1953. Coronation Year.
While Bristol is still recovering from the aftermath of the war, three very different women are counting the cost. Polly longs for an easier, more glamorous life, but with her irrepressible young daughter and her charming – if scheming – husband, will things improve?
Charlotte is trying to forget her illicit wartime romance and accept the shortcomings of her marriage. And Edna is desperate to protect her young family, even if it means keeping secrets… Views: 8
