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Damaged

A gripping and dramatic short read from the master storyteller Barbara Taylor Bradford. Beautiful, artistic and creative, Allison Jones is a force to be reckoned with. Growing up amongst a family of men, she is the treasured gem at the heart of a large and boisterous clan of cops. After the tragic death of her mother, Allison had thrown herself into her work, but then she meets Mike. Neither one of them is prepared for the power and intensity of their love for each other. So, when tragedy strikes, Allison’s life is derailed once again. Her over-protective family have looked out for her all her life, but they cannot protect her from herself…
Views: 1 208

Bright Flows the River

He had built an empire out of a worthless scrap of farmland, rising from the wrong side of the tracks to move gracefully within the inner circles of the very rich: the American dream came true for him; now it was turning into a nightmare..: one night he tried to kill himself in his car; suddenly he was forced to come to terms with what he'd been and what he'd become: drama of a man's struggle for power.
Views: 1 208

Unconditional Love

Lark Williams leads a fast-paced life, always on the edge of danger. Running from his past and fighting to keep his present life a secret, he keeps his heart out of reach from love. The walls he built around himself come crumbling down when he meets Azurdee Emerson.Azurdee lives a peaceful life in the small town of Wimberley, Texas. Her tame world quickly becomes heated as she begins to fall in love with Lark. He’s everything she has vowed to stay away from—dark and mysterious, and not to mention, sexy as hell and full of secrets.Just as Lark and Azurdee give in to their feelings of love, Lark’s present life threatens the safety of the one person he would sacrifice his own happiness for. When Lark finds history repeating itself, he makes a decision that will forever change both of their lives, leaving one heartbroken and lost and the other fighting to survive.
Views: 1 207

North Face: A Novel

Two wary souls explore the possibility of new love On vacation in the North Devon countryside, Neil Langton looks back on the wreckage of his past. The wounds from his former marriage are still raw; his wife cheated on him and his young daughter died. The teacher and rock climber believes hope to be behind him until he comes across Ellen, a young woman staying at the same guesthouse as he, and whom he saves from a mountainside accident. Struggling to deal with her feelings for a pilot step-cousin who died in service, Ellen has her own romantic scars. If their connection is to endure, Neil and Ellen must carefully confront their painful pasts. Filled with a memorable cast of secondary characters in austerity Britain, North Face is a love story rich in atmosphere and tension, from a master of the novelist’s craft.
Views: 1 206

Hotshot

#1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood returns with a novel of family drama, suspense, and—of course—romance. Peyton Lockhart and her sisters have inherited Bishop’s Cove, a small, luxurious oceanfront resort, but it comes with a condition: The girls must run the resort for one year and show a profit—only then will they own it. A graduate of a prestigious French culinary school, Peyton has just lost her job as a food critic. Out of work and in a bad place personally, a year doing something completely different sounds wonderful. There are countless challenges and too many people who want to stop the sisters from succeeding. Among them are Peyton’s contentious cousins, who are outraged that they didn’t inherit the resort, as well as a powerful group of land developers who have been eyeing the coveted beachfront property. It’s soon apparent to Peyton that their efforts are being sabotaged, but she refuses to let the threats scare her—until she’s nearly killed. She calls on her childhood friend and protector, Finn MacBain, now with the FBI, and asks for his help. He saved her life once; he can do it again.
Views: 1 206

Surprised by Love

During San Francisco's Gilded Age, a young woman turns the head of the man who spurned her and falls in love where she least expects it.
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Under the Jolly Roger

After leaving the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston—under dire circumstances, of course—Jacky Faber boards a whaling ship bound for London, where she hopes to find her beloved Jaimy. But things don’t go as planned, and soon Jacky is off on a wild misadventure at sea.
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The Traitor's Wife

I'll not ask you to be mine ... I will never seek to blunt the fury in you, never, and will honour your will as my own. What say you? Can you be a soldier's wife? New England, 1673. Martha Allen, a young woman reviled by her family because of her refusal to marry, is packed off to be a servant in her cousin's home. She takes charge of the neglected household and annoys everyone around her - including a mysterious Welshman who works for the family, a man whose forceful nature matches her own. As they both gradually let their guard down, a fragile, uneasy friendship grows between the pair. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, a band of assassins, driven by the will of Charles II, charter a ship to the New World. They have a single aim: to capture Thomas Morgan, the killer of Charles I, and bring him back to London where he will face an excruciating death. The Royalists want to see his head on a spike outside the Tower of London. As Martha begins to fall for the tall Welshman, he reveals a little of his past. It soon becomes clear that his life is in grave danger. As the threat of the assassins grows closer, can Martha find it in herself to be a traitor's wife? Praise for The Heretic's Daughter 'Absolutely compelling' Daily Mail 'A very fine novel ... a remarkably accomplished telling of a truly shocking tale' Daily Express
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Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution

The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . . . but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin. Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king’s sister is so impressed that she requests Marie’s presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles. As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princesse Élisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table. Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution. . . . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows? Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom. From the Hardcover edition.
Views: 1 203

The Viscount Who Loved Me

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better... --Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814 But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry--he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield--the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams... Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes to not make the best husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate's determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...
Views: 1 203

Vacant Possession

Lock your doors, barricade your windows: Muriel Axon is back in town. It's been ten years since she was locked away for killing her mad old mother. Now she wants to lay Mother's ghost to rest and find her missing child. But above all, she wants revenge. Her former social worker and her old neighbours have made new lives, but Muriel, with her talent for disguise, will infiltrate their homes and exploit their talents for self-destruction, until at last all her enemies are brought together for a gruesome finale. Hilary Mantel's razor-sharp wit animates every page. This malevolent black comedy has as many twists and turns as a well-plotted thriller.
Views: 1 203

The Wanted Short Stories

The story that was never told… Three short stories based off the best selling novels, Wanted, Saved, and Faithful by Kelly Elliott. Step into the future to get a glimpse of some of your favorite characters from the Wanted Series. Take a journey with Gunner and Ellie, Jeff and Ari, and Josh and Heather as they learn to love continues to make them feel wanted, saved, and forever faithful.
Views: 1 202

Murder in Grosvenor Square

Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries, Book 9. This is a full-length novel of 86,000 words (32 chapters). Captain Gabriel Lacey begins Spring 1818 preparing for a duel. But while he focuses on the affair of honor, darkness, greed, and death stalk the streets of London and bring tragedy to a family Lacey has grown close to. With the aid of Lucius Grenville, London’s most famous dandy, and Brewster, a ruffian employed by an underworld criminal, Lacey explores the world of molly houses and the double lives some men of society lead. His investigation takes him from the elegant mansions of Grosvenor Square to the squalid lanes of Seven Dials, to taverns that practice a highly illegal trade, spelling ruin and possible hanging for those caught within. Lacey once again comes into the realm of James Denis, a crime lord, when what appears to be a simple crime of hatred becomes far more complex.
Views: 1 202

The Book of Strange New Things

A monumental, genre-defying novel over ten years in the making, Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter's teachings—his Bible is their "book of strange new things." But Peter is rattled when Bea's letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea's faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us. Marked by the same bravura storytelling and precise language that made The Crimson Petal and the White such an international success, The Book of Strange New Things is extraordinary, mesmerizing, and replete with emotional complexity and genuine pathos.
Views: 1 202