Twelve-year-old Joshua Cooper's grandpa has always warned him about the dangers of lightning. But Joshua never put much stock in his grandpa's rumblings as anything more than the ravings of an old man with a vast imagination. Then one night, when Joshua and his best friend are home alone during a frightful storm, Joshua learns his grandpa was right. A bolt of lightning strikes his house and whisks away his best friend—possibly forever. To get him back, Joshua must travel the Lightning Road to a dark place that steals children for energy. But getting back home and saving his friend won't be easy, as Joshua must face the terrifying Child Collector and fend off ferocious and unnatural beasts intent on destroying him. In this world, Joshua possesses powers he never knew he had, and soon, Joshua's mission becomes more than a search for his friend. He means to send all the stolen children home—and doing so becomes the battle of his life. Views: 7
English culture is confused, muddled and often borrowed. The purpose of this book is to give the reader a complete grounding in the idiosyncrasies of the English and to pin down the absurdities and warmth of Englishness at its best. Featured in this book are such established English cultural behemoths as The Beatles, Big Ben and the Last Night of the Proms alongside less celebrated quirks such as meat pies and the working man's haven, the allotment. Here we celebrate the bell-ringers and morris dancers, bowler hats ('the symbol of respectable Englishness') and cardigans ('symbol of staid middle-class solidarity'). We examine the brutality of Punch and Judy and our historic love of fairies, once so much a part of the English psyche that they were described as 'the British religion'. At once fond and irreverent, laudatory and curious, How to Be English might just teach us how to be English once again. Views: 7
From strictly business to pure pleasure Stepping up as head of her family's international security firm gives Francine Blake, heiress and eldest Blake triplet, almost everything she's ever wanted. The one thing missing is the sexy, stubborn company partner who's been in her fantasies for too long. She refuses to give in to their attraction unless he can love her as his equal. But working together to safeguard a celebrity client is sweeping Francine closer to total surrender. Security specialist Meeks Montgomery can think of any number of places he'd love to see gorgeous Francine every day. Behind her desk--fine. In his bed--even better. In the field on dangerous assignments? His heart can't stand it. Until a new case puts them both in the line of fire, proving how much he'd risk to be the one who protects her forever... Views: 7
Fate was working against little Brian Mauretti. The food that was meant to nourish him was poisoning him instead, and the doctors said the damage was devastating and absolute. Fate had written off Brian. But fate didn’t count on a woman as determined as Brian’s grandmother, Angela DiMartino who everyone knew as Mama. Loving her grandson with everything she had, Mama endeavored to battle fate. Fate had no idea what it was in for.An emotional tale about the strength of family bonds, unconditional love, and the perseverance to do our best with the challenging gifts we receive, GOODNIGHT, BRIAN is an uplifting tribute to what happens when giving up is not an option. Views: 7
Filled with storybook architecture and rich with history, the town of Spinning Hills, Ohio, has seen better days. Now the Amador brothers are determined to restore the neglected community to its former glory. But it takes more than a hammer and nails to make a house a home… Perfumer Holly Bell has a nose for scents and a head for dreams. A former military brat who longs to put down roots in Spinning Hills, she’s been saving for years to buy a certain ramshackle Craftsman for herself and her young daughter. For once in her life, everything’s going according to plan—until a real estate flipper steals the house out from under her! She can’t afford to outbid him—but she can’t seem to stop thinking about him either... Dan Amador isn’t back in Spinning Hills to stay. Checking on his brothers and renovating one house in the family tradition will be plenty until it’s time to move on. Yet what seemed easy turns out to be anything but, especially when it comes to the gorgeous single mom who lives next door. Before he knows it, Dan seems to be creating the house of her dreams. He doesn’t believe in the kind of fairy tale ending Holly longs for—but he can’t deny that her stubborn optimism has found its way into his heart… Views: 7
It was supposed to be just an ordinary Spring Break in Oregon. Nothing different to the usual crazy parties with friends, if I can call them that. Anything was better than being around my abusive alcoholic father, even if I was getting tired of the monotony of the life I was living here. But when I get a text from my best friend, Addie, in Texas, I knew it was going to change my life. Hell, it was going to change both of our lives. I just wasn't sure if I was ready to face it yet. Until I realized I wasn't the only one keeping secrets. And her secrets? Put mine to shame. I just have to figure out how we're going to deal with all of it. Together? Apart? Now I'm willing to lay it all out there and bare my soul. Even if it means losing my best friend in the process. Views: 7
In a revised and updated edition, the real story of the Brontë sisters, by distinguished scholar and historian Juliet BarkerThe story of the tragic Brontë family is familiar to everyone: we all know about the half-mad, repressive father, the drunken, drug-addicted wastrel of a brother, wildly romantic Emily, unrequited Anne, and "poor Charlotte." Or do we? These stereotypes of the popular imagination are precisely that—imaginary—created by amateur biographers like Elizabeth Gaskell who were primarily novelists and were attracted by the tale of an apparently doomed family of genius.Juliet Barker's landmark book is the first definitive history of the Brontës. It demolishes the myths, yet provides startling new information that is just as compelling—but true. Based on firsthand research among all the Brontë manuscripts and among contemporary historical documents never before used by Brontë biographers, this book is both scholarly and compulsively... Views: 7
