I watch him watching us, imagining how he would take me. I send him the message with my eyes. This is who I am. I am Veronica Franco. I am a COURTESAN. I court the cultural elite for fame and fortune, giving my body to many. And I’m good. So very good. After all, I was taught by my mother, and mother always knows best. How else to please the future King of France than with the imaginative use of Murano glass? How else to fulfill the desires of all yet keep my sense of self-worth? But when disaster strikes and my life begins to unravel, I’ll have to ask myself one question: Is it too late to give my heart to just one man? Advisory: This story contains vivid erotica. 18+ only, please. ** Views: 10
From the national bestselling authors of Stand Your Ground comes an explosive story of citizens' rights, government wrongs, and freedom's last stand--deep in the heart of Texas...AMERICA UNDER FIREG.W. Brannock is proud to be a rancher, a West Texan, and a American. The land he owns has been in his family for generations. But when the IRS claims he owes a fortune in back taxes--and some stiffs from the Bureau of Land Management tell him his family's deed is invalid--G.W. refuses to stand down. This land is his land, and there's only one way the government can take it: over his dead body...The battle lines are drawn. The feds hit G.W. with everything they've got, from legal threats to sabotage to hired thugs. All G.W.'s got is his grandson Kyle and fiesty lawyer Miranda Stephens. But when his story makes the national news, a veritable army of ordinary citizens rises up and rushes to West Texas. To join the cause. To fight against... Views: 10
The Hunger Games meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in this richly imagined first novel in a new post-apocalyptic trilogy by award-winning poet Francesca Haig. Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha—physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega—burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world’s sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other. Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side-by-side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights. Views: 10
"An ambitious tale loaded with heaping doses of adrenalin, Old Earth sweeps the reader away with history, intrigue, espionage, engaging characters, and an intelligent conclusion – all elements of the perfect thriller!" —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author, The Lincoln Myth. Gary Grossman, author of the wildly popular Executive series, returns with a high-octane thriller that digs into the history of the Earth to find the secrets people are willing to kill to keep concealed. In the summer of 1601, Galileo Galilei made a startling discovery in the mountains of Eastern Italy that, if made public, could shatter faith in religion, bring down governments and lead to worldwide turmoil. For more than 400 years the secret has been guarded by a small group of incredibly powerful people, willing to do everything in their power to keep these discoveries from being made. But now, a university dig in Montana headed by paleontologists Quinn McCauley... Views: 10
A compassionate tale of marriage, manners, and betrayal, from the Portuguese masterJosé Maria Eça de Queirós, the first great modern Portuguese novelist, wrote The Yellow Sofa with (in his own words) "no digressions, no rhetoric," creating a book where "everything is interesting and dramatic and quickly narrated." The story, a terse and seamless spoof of Victorian bourgeois morals, concerns a successful businessman who returns home to find his wife "on the yellow damask sofa, leaning in abandon on the shoulder of a man." The man is none other than his best friend and business partner. While struggling with the need to defend his honor, he fights a stronger inner desire for domestic tranquility and forgiveness. The Yellow Sofa firmly establishes Eça de Queirós in the literary pantheon that includes Dickens, Flaubert, Balzac, and Tolstoy. Views: 10
At the close of the Civil War, weary veteran Malcolm Hopeton returns to his home in western New York State to find his wife and hired man missing and his farm in disrepair. A double murder ensues, the repercussions of which ripple through a community with spiritual roots in the Second Great Awakening. Hopeton has gone from the horrors of war to those far worse, and arrayed around him are a host of other people struggling to make sense of his crime. Among them is Enoch Stone, the lawyer for the community, whose spiritual dedication is subverted by his lust for power; August Swarthout, whose wife has left earthly time and whose eye is set on eternity; and a boy who must straddle two worlds as he finds his own truth and strength. Always there is love and the memory of love—as haunting as the American Eden that Jeffrey Lent has so exquisitely rendered in this unforgettable novel. Views: 10
A major work of American history: a full-scale portrait of the marriage of the father and mother of our country--and of the struggle for Independence that he led.Here are the socially awkward young soldier and the charming and very rich young widow he wooed and won; the early years of their marriage at Mount Vernon; his inflexible determination and iron will throughout the long war; she, joining him every year in Valley Forge and the army's other winter quarters, essential to his personal well-being but also a commanding and admired figure in her own right; and, finally, the eight years of America's first presidency: he, the reluctant president, and she, the faultless first lady, both longing to return to their beloved Mount Vernon. Here, too, are the domestic Washingtons--Martha presiding over dinners for foreign dignitaries, keeping careful control of her children and her inheritance; George, even while commanding the revolutionary army, always concerned about her... Views: 10
After losing his wife to an affair, along with the electrical contracting company he built, Jason Ballard is experiencing life at its cruelest. In a desperate attempt to get back on his feet, he takes a job at Soltech, a thriving solar panel company based in Shanghai, only to discover all that glitters is not gold. Mei Chen the seductive wife of the third highest-ranking official in the Communist Party, owns and operates Soltech with an iron fist. An industrious and successful business woman, she makes not attempt to hide her excessive wealth or shy away from her controversial opinions. Although extremely powerful, she yearns for more...wealth, status and above all more power. Leave it to the United States Congress to throw open the doors to the vault. With literally billions of dollars slated for "green energy" projects, Mei Chen stands boldly at the front of the line to grab as much of the "green money" as she can. Jason, realizing too late that Mei is a ruthless adversary and will stop at nothing...risks his very life to oppose her.
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'The perfect summer story – a funny and moving read set in glorious modern-day Poldark country.' – Bestselling author Jane Costello Every summer has a story... Since Pippa Harte was forced to take over her parent's farm, she's barely had time to shave her legs let alone make time for love. Now she's more likely to be getting down and dirty mucking out the pigs – and avoiding those of the human male variety. When Ben Retallick walks out of her childhood and back into her present it seems that perhaps Pippa has more time than she thought. All Poldark smoulders and easy-going charm, Ben's definitely worth whipping her wellies off for! But Ben is a man with his own past and his own issues – and as much as she's enjoying having him around, she's got to get a grip. After all life isn't always a beach ... even if you are in Cornwall. Set on the gorgeous Cornish coast at the height of summer, this is the perfect romance to take on your hols! Debbie is the author of Cold Feet at Christmas,... Views: 10
Twin sisters, Elma and Thelma Hochstetler volunteer to bake a Christmas cake for an Amish charity auction, only to learn they must demonstrate the whole process on stage in front of an audience. Bumbling their way through, the take-charge Elma and the klutzy optimist Thelma manage to entertain their audience—and attract the admiration of two bachelors, an outspoken woodworker and a shy harness maker from a neighboring community. More than one man will make a staggering bid for their cake. Could a lopsided Christmas cake be the key to opening the door to romance for one or more of the Hochstetler twins? Views: 10
