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Fugitive Hearts

Seeking the truth is a lawman's duty. Justice—and love—is far more complicated. Everyone in Parsons, Kansas, considers hotel owner Claire Daines a respectable, decent woman. Until she shocks the entire town when she rushes into a saloon in her nightclothes to confess to an inebriated lawman. "Sheriff, I shot my husband." Is it an accident, as she claims? Or is it murder? As Sheriff Frank Garrity unravels the widow's surprising subterfuge, the truth will challenge his notions about justice.The tough, hard-drinking lawman cannot shield himself from another devastating loss. He must choose between his desire for Claire and his duty to uphold the law. This poignant Western romance takes readers back to Kansas in the 1870s where an abused woman's fight for her life and a child's future clashes with a lawmen's determination to instill order on the uncivilized frontier. Read all four books in the 10th...
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Shadow Witch

Are you ready for your next magical adventure?Okay, so I'm in trouble. Big trouble. I'm broke. Worse, my boyfriend of five years just dumped me.What do I do? I move in with my three eccentric aunts in their family home, Davenport House. Sounds exciting, only this massive farmhouse likes to eat men. Yup. If I were a regular human, I would have run out screaming like a banshee. As a witch—I do absolutely nothing. Hey, maybe they deserved it?I'm back in Hollow Cove, the flamboyant paranormal community, where nymphs, werewolves, trolls, shifters, witches, and other paranormals live comfortable lives—and away from prying human eyes. As I settle into my new life, I decide to accept my aunts' proposal and join the family business—the business of protecting our town and killing anything that would want to harm it. But I've been away from the paranormal world for quite some time, and my magical abilities are a little bit rusty—heck, they're...
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Red Leaves

Dartmouth students Kristina, Conni, Albert, and Jim seemingly inseparable friends. But they are bonded by dark, seductive secrets. Intense passions and simmering tensions have been building for years until a brutal act on a bitter cold night reveals shocking truths about each. This compelling narrative--with a surprise twist at the end--grips the reader from first page to last.
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The Treasure of Namakagon

A twisting, turning, thrilling "lumberjack" adventure that takes place during the northern Wisconsin timber boom of the 1880s.Young lumberjack, Tor Loken, and old Chief Namakagon, work to foil a ruthless timber tycoon and protect the secret silver mine—a mine that truly existed and has yet to be rediscovered. 2nd place in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards out of 10,000 worldwide entries.NOTE: This is the originally published version. Some minor details have been changed in later revisions. The story, though, remains the same. SEE REVIEWS FAR BELOW.It is 1883 and you are about to plunge into the peak of nineteenth century lumberjack life in northern Wisconsin. Meet sixteen-year-old Tor Loken, whose father owns a remote lumber camp, the Namakagon Timber Company. Join the fight when a sinister lumber baron takes control of the river, threatening the future of the camp. Learn the way of the woodsman from your mentor, Chief Namakagon. This old hermit just may show you the way to his secret silver mine.Be at the cook shanty table before dawn for breakfast with the men. Then it’s out into the cuttings where, knee deep in snow, you will help your camp harvest a hundred thousand giant pine logs this season. Hook up the Clydesdales to the water tanker and ice down the trails for the big timber sleighs. Take the train to the city for camp supplies but keep an eye out for cunning charlatans intent on an easy swindle. Spin a yarn or sing along with the other jacks in the bunkhouse. Go to town for a Saturday night of lumberjack merriment but dress warmly; it’s a six hour sleigh ride back to camp at twenty below zero. Come spring, you’ll help drive your camp’s timber down a thundering river, jumping from log to log as they rush downstream. Then it’s time to celebrate. But keep your pocketbook buttoned up when in town; there are bandits and thugs who want to separate you from your generous dollar-a-day wages! Put on your red wool mackinaw and your calked boots. Grab your peavey or a pike pole. You’re in for a good look at life in the pinery in the 1880s . . . and a twisting, turning, fact-based adventure story that will often leave you breathless.The legendary lost silver cache of Chief Namakagon will, most likely, be re-discovered one day. It's out there, waiting to be found. This book offers some clues about where to begin your search.The Treasure of Namakagon is based on history. References to the Namekagon River log drives, life in the logging camps, and fraudulent timber sales are based on true events, as is the gun play that resulted from a ploy to charge for timber floated past the dam. Many historical references help make this tale as close to real life as can be found in a fictional adventure. Although many still search for Chief Namakagon’s secret silver mine, it has yet to be rediscovered. Publisher’s Weekly Magazine“… A fascinating tale.” “… Rip-roaring action …” “… So well-written.” “Difficult to put down; a great read.” Amazon Books“The writing style of this piece is its greatest strength.” “The flow of the words is like an old fashioned song.”“Wonderfully written …. Compelling …. Captures the reader’s attention and keeps us reading.” A good piece of writing with suspense and action …” Jerry Apps, award-winning Wisconsin author"Vivifies the tumultuous nature of 19th-century life in the legendary north woods." Michael Perry, NYT bestselling Wisconsin author"Open with caution. You won't want to put this one down." LaMoine MacLaughlin, President, WI Writers Assn. Writer’s Digest“It’s the dialog and characters that drive The Treasure of Namakagon. It appears as if author James A. Brakken is determined to make a go of this series, and … he’s made at least one fan of this reader.” Judge, Writer’s Digest Book Awards
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The Earl Not Taken

Left standing on the side while their contemporaries marry into society, four young ladies forge a bond to guard each other from a similar fate . . . Finishing school failed to make a proper lady of Penelope Arrington. But as a Wallflower of West Lane, Poppy has a far more vital role—she and her three best friends have made a pact to protect each other from the clutches of dangerous, disreputable men. So when one of them is about to be married off to a duke sight unseen, Poppy makes it her mission to divine the prospective husband's true character. If only she didn't require the aid of London's most unsuitable rake. Rhys Draper, Earl of Marsden, has known the headstrong Poppy since she was a young girl naïve to the ways of men. To her eternal chagrin—and to his vague amusement—they have been at odds over the memory of embarrassing first encounter all these years. Now, with his services in need, Rhys sees a chance...
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The Road to Paradise Island

Annalice Mallory, the sheltered daughter of a family of map makers, discovers the cryptic diary of her long-dead ancestor that includes a map of a mysterious far-of island. Philip, Annalice's brother, sets sail for the island, lured by the promise of incomparable riches to be found. But when he doesn't return, Annalice sets out to find him -- and the secrets of the diary -- in a desperate journey that leads her through the worlds' most exciting outposts . . . and finally to the tropical islands of the South Seas, where she encounters heart-stopping peril, but also the promise of love.
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The Ghost Tree

Before you follow the path into your family’s history, beware of the secrets you may find… The new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author. Ruth has returned to Edinburgh after many years of exile, left rootless by the end of her marriage, career and now the death of her father, from whom she had long been estranged. She is faced with the daunting task of clearing his house, believing he had removed all traces of her mother. Yet hidden away in a barely used top-floor room, she finds he had secretly kept a cupboard full of her possessions. Sifting through the ancient papers, Ruth discovers the diary and letters written by her ancestor from the eighteenth century, Thomas Erskine. As the youngest son of a noble family now living in genteel poverty, Thomas always knew he would have to make his own way in the world. Unable to follow his brothers to university, instead he joins first the navy and then the army, rising through the ranks, travelling the world. When he is finally able to study law, his extraordinary experiences and abilities propel him to the very top and he becomes Lord Chancellor. Yet he has made a powerful enemy on his voyages, who will hound him and his family to the death – and beyond. Ruth becomes ever more aware of Thomas as she is gripped by his story, and slowly senses that not only is his presence with her, but so is his enemy’s. Ruth will have to draw upon new friends and old in what becomes a battle for her very survival – and discover an inner power beyond anything she has imagined.
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Court of Swans

From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a reimagining of the Wild Swans—the first book in a new series of fairy-tale retellings set in medieval England!Delia lives a quiet life as the daughter of an earl in late 14th-century England, but that peace is shattered when her seven brothers are betrayed by their father and falsely arrested. Meanwhile, with the Peasants' Revolt threatening the peace of the kingdom, the king is executing anyone who had anything to do with the uprising. Delia is terrified her brothers will be next, the youngest of whom is only ten years old.Delia infiltrates the palace as a lady-in-waiting for the new queen so she can be near her brothers in the Tower of London and help them escape. When she runs into Sir Henry, the guard captain who arrested her brothers, she hates him—until she discovers he has been secretly carrying food to her brothers in their prison cell. Trapped into obeying...
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The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea

The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper. Its subject is the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution. The hero of the book is John Paul Jones, who appears as always brooding upon a dark past and a darker fate. Yet he is not so morbid but that he can occasionally rouse himself to terrific activities in his raids along the English coast. Another character is Long Tom Coffin, of Nantucket, comparable to Harvey Birch and Natty Bumppo from Cooper\'s other novels.
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The Black Ships

When the fledgling Mars colony is attacked by a hostile alien force, the nations of Earth must come together to devise an effective response.A fleet, built at incredible expense, will attempt to hit the enemy before they complete their cloned invasion force. The difference between freedom and slavery may rest on a chance discovery. It will all come down to a roll of the dice.The Black Ships - First in the seriesOur planet was just one small island in the midst of a vast, empty sea. For millennia, its inhabitants thought they were alone - until they took their first tentative steps out of the cradle. As the nations of Earth struggle to establish a fragile colony on the surface of Mars, they suddenly lose all contact with their settlers.In the days that follow, it becomes abundantly clear that humans are not the only ones intent on exploiting the resources of the solar archipelago. In a desperate bid for freedom, Humanity must undergo social and economic changes on a scale previously unheard of. In the midst of growing turmoil, the struggle to build an effective defense leads the species to a turning point. The smallest of chances may determine the difference between freedom or eternal subjugation.
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