NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERTwin boys grow up in the same family, in the same town. Dramatically different, they become bitter enemies, even as children. One good, one bad. One leaves his peaceful hometown, but when all else fails, the prodigal son returns, twenty years later. The reunion of brothers, sweet and healing at first, exposes shattering revelations of good and evil. #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel tells a brilliant, suspenseful story of suspicion, betrayal, and a life-and-death struggle for survival. Which twin is good and which is evil, as the tables turn again and again? PRODIGAL SON In a matter of days, Peter McDowell loses everything he has worked so hard for--his wealth, his property, his livelihood as a star investment banker. And then it gets worse. The stock market crash not only plunges Peter into joblessness, it causes a rift in his marriage that he cannot repair. Stripped of everything,... Views: 18
A bold and captivating novel about love, passion, and ambition that imagines the muse of William Shakespeare and the tumultuous year they spend together. The year is 1590, and Queen Elizabeth’s Spanish Armada victory has done nothing to quell her brutal persecution of the English Catholics. Katharine de L’Isle is living at Lufanwal Hall, the manor of her uncle, Sir Edward. Taught by her cherished uncle to read when a child, Katharine is now a thirty-one-year-old widow. She has resigned herself to a life of reading and keeping company with her cousins and their children. But all that changes when the family’s priest, who had been performing Catholic services in secret, is found murdered. Faced with threats of imprisonment and death, Sir Edward is forced to flee the country, leaving Katharine adrift in a household rife with turmoil. At this time of unrest, a new schoolmaster arrives from Stratford, a man named William Shakespeare. Coarse, quick-witted, and brazenly flirtatious, Shakespeare swiftly disrupts what fragile peace there is left at Lufanwal. Katharine is at first appalled by the boldness of this new tutor, but when she learns he is a poet, and one of talent, things between them begin to shift, and soon Katharine finds herself drawn into Shakespeare’s verse, and his life, in ways that will change her forever. Inventive and absorbing, The Tutor is a masterful work of historical fiction, casting Shakespeare in a light we’ve never seen. Views: 18
In a moving and richly evocative novel about the remarkable capacity of the human spirit, Alice Adams brings readers into the beautiful community of San Sebastian, California, where a group of dear old friends have shared their lives for many wonderful, difficult years. It has taken writer Dudley Venable and her husband Sam thirty years to perfect their once-tumultuous marriage, but now they've almost got it right...lovely Celeste Timberlake, recently widowed, has found herself in the midst of a destructive new relationship...Edward Crane is desperately trying to hold on to his much-younger lover, Freddy Fuentes...and the group's eccentric, Polly Blake, shares everything but her own dark secrets. Together they make up a circle of deeply devoted friends who have weathered life together -- and discovered the resilience of the heart, the power of friendship, and the wonder of second chances. Views: 18
Hampshire 1850. Beth Langton has been running her large family estate for nine months now, after the death of her father. Under the watchful eyes of her godfather and guardian, Lord Edward Sharland, and an excellent estate manager, Henry Greenway, she is loving the work.After a week away with Henry buying cattle, terrible news is waiting for her on her return. The father of her best friend, Lady Helen Denton, has shot himself after running up gambling debts, leaving Helen destitute. Beth persuades Helen to come and live with her, although Helen is too proud to take charity and insists she work as a paid companion.The girls soon settle happily together, but further tragedy awaits. Beth is informed by a stranger that her beloved guardian, away on business, has died. The stranger claims to be Edward’s heir, making him her legal guardian – and he has the paperwork to prove it. But can they trust him? And should they? Views: 18
He Will Always Bear the ScarsUndercover cop Clay Navarro left the Sultans biker gang a changed man. Its ringleaders may be awaiting trial, but he wears the memory of every brutal act he was forced to commit tattooed across his skin. He doesn't have space in his messed-up life for anything gentle—not now, maybe not ever.Dr. Georgette Hadley is drawn to the damaged stranger's pain, intimidated but intrigued by the warmth that lies beneath Clay's frightening exterior. But when the Sultans return looking for revenge, she finds herself drawn into the dirty underbelly of a life forged in violence...that not even her touch may be able to heal.Blank Canvas Series:Under Her Skin (Book 1)By Her Touch (Book 2)In His Hands (Book 3)Praise for Under Her Skin:"Passionate and heart-wrenching." —HelenKay Dimon, author of The Fixer"A dark and emotional tale that will make your spine tingle as well as... Views: 18
Ellen Foster grew up falling all over town because of mild Cerebral Palsy, but she never let anything stop her and junior year of high school has been perfect. Though she struggles to hide her CP symptoms, she's finally 'fall-free' and finished with crutches! She now wants to win a photography contest that will get her into a summer long, high school arts program in Toronto, Ontario.
When Ellen's photo project is grouped with a crazy new Irish girl and the 'hottest guy ever born in Canada' --all because the teacher thinks Ellen has limitations, Ellen's furious. CP doesn't mean she needs help. Cam Campbell is cute, but how will an empty-headed jock be an asset to her goals? Worse, the Irish girl has zero life skills, a body glitter addiction and she's already proved to be dangerous!
It doesn't take long for the Irish girl to become a new friend, and Ellen quickly realizes that Cam is anything but dumb. He's a talented photographer and her key to winning the contest! As they work on the project together, Ellen discovers Cam's had a crush on her for a long time. Cam wants nothing to do with football but can't quit because his father is not the kind of person anyone--especially Cam--has ever denied.
As Cam and Ellen fall in love they trade promises that might be difficult to keep when you're only sixteen. After an unforgettable first kiss they begin dating and the relationship explodes with gossip at school. No one believes the star quarterback would ever date limping, scrawny Ellen Foster! When Cam's father forces the issue to break them apart, Cam finally finds his voice. But when he's caught in a horrible public fight that results in an accident that takes away all that Ellen's ever worked for--and possibly ruins her whole life-- Ellen and Cam are forced apart.
Leaving everyone--including Cam and Ellen--reeling with shock and wondering if they were ever truly meant to be...
Sweet Teen Romance, suitable for ages middle school and high school, 12-up. Views: 18
This revised and expanded edition of Tolkien's own Hobbit-inspired poetry includes previously unpublished poems and notes, and is beautifully illustrated by Narnia artist Pauline Baynes. 'Here is something that no devotee of the Hobbit epic can afford to miss, while awaiting a further instalment of the history of these fascinating people – a selection [of verses] offered as an 'interim report' to those interested in Hobbit-lore, and to any others who may find amusement in this mixed bag of old confections.' One of the most intriguing characters in The Lord of the Rings, the amusing and enigmatic Tom Bombadil, also appears in verses said to have been written by Hobbits and preserved in the 'Red Book' with stories of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their friends. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil collects these and other poems, mainly concerned with legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age. This special edition has been expanded to include earlier versions of some of... Views: 18
Seeking shelter in a Parisian cafe from a sudden rainstorm, John Patterner meets the exotic Sabiha and his carefully mapped life changes forever. Resonant of the bestselling Conditions of Faith, Alex Miller's keenly awaited new novel tells the deeply moving story of their lives together, and of how each came undone by desire.Strangers did not, as a rule, find their way to Chez Dom, a small, rundown Tunisian cafe on Paris' distant fringes. Run by the widow Houria and her young niece, Sabiha, the cafe offers a home away from home for the North African immigrant workers working at the great abattoirs of Vaugiraud, who, like them, had grown used to the smell of blood in the air. But when one day a lost Australian tourist, John Patterner, seeks shelter in the cafe from a sudden Parisian rainstorm, the quiet simplicities of their lives are changed forever. John is like no-one Sabiha has met before - his calm grey eyes promise her a future she was not yet even aware she wanted. Theirs becomes a contented but unlikely marriage - a marriage of two cultures lived in a third - and yet because they are essentially foreigners to each other, their love story sets in train an irrevocable course of tragic events.Years later, living a small, quiet life in suburban Melbourne, what happened at Vaugiraud seems like a distant, troubling dream to Sabiha and John, who confides the story behind their seemingly ordinary lives to Ken, an ageing, melancholy writer. It is a story about home and family, human frailties and passions, raising questions of morals and purpose - questions have no simple answer.Lovesong is a simple enough story in many ways - the story of a marriage, of people coming undone by desire, of ordinary lives and death, love and struggle - but when told with Miller's distinctive voice, which is all intelligence, clarity and compassion, it has a real gravitas, it resonates and is deeply moving. Into the wonderfully evoked contemporary settings of Paris and Melbourne, memories of Tunisian family life, culture and its music are tenderly woven. Views: 18
Steele, a KGI team leader, is an enigma not even his team mates understand. His emotions are tightly locked down and nothing can break that icy exterior. Nothing except Maren Scofield, a doctor on a mission, a woman who has gotten under Steele’s skin and threatens to crack that unflappable cool he’s legendary for. Steele is determined not to allow Maren past his carefully guarded defenses, but when she’s in danger, there’s no way he’ll allow anyone else to protect her. She’s hiding something. He’s sure of it. But he isn’t prepared for the shocking discovery her secrets reveal. Or how they will forever alter the course of his destiny. He has a decision to make. Hold tight and shut her out. Or take a chance on something more powerful than he’s ever faced. Love. Views: 18
