There is something strangely noble and also delicate about the emaciated young ragamuffin boy that the handsome Hugo, Lord Lynke, finds himself employing as his new page on his undercover mission to Spain on behalf of the King of England. The page he has brought with from England had just been taken ill and so has to return home. The 'boy' is named Venturo. In fact 'he' is Ventura – the lost daughter of a noble and rich Spanish dynasty.Lord Lynke's task is to marry the richest and most beautiful woman in Spain to ensure peace between the two countries which are invariably at war with each other. She is the proud, imperious and dangerous seductress Doña Alcira and this marriage would prove no great challenge for a Nobleman of Lord Lynke's calibre and renown.Except that he faces Don Carlos, a powerful and unscrupulous suitor determined to erase any competition for Doña Alcira's hand. She has a glamorous and dangerous matador as her current lover and employs a besotted and sinister... Views: 497
England. 1800s.
The family of a young Royal Navy officer killed in action on a mission to capture a French privateer in 1798 install a memorial tablet in their church to commemorate his life and service to King and country.
Lieutenant Oliver Anson, a distant relative of the illustrious circumnavigator George Anson and the younger son of a Kent clergyman, led the raid bidding to capture the gun brig Égalité hiding in a small Normandy harbour.
But when it all goes wrong, Anson is felled by a musket ball in the head and is among the dead and wounded left ashore after his shipmates seek the refuge of their ship HMS Phryne.
Only – and despite official newspaper reports to the contrary – the less-than-god-fearing Anson turns out not to be dead at all but very much alive, and stuns even fellow seamen with his miraculous resurrection.
It is, however, far from plain sailing for the prisoners to escape from behind enemy lines and get back across the Channel.
And the resourceful and ambitious Anson is then dealt a hammer blow by the admiralty when he is later denied a new sea-going appointment.
Instead his future is to be an unattractive-looking, land-based role with the Sea Fencibles – tasked with foiling any potential French invasion attempt along the Kent coastline.
Perhaps worse, sea rover Anson finds himself falling into the clutches of a local bigwig’s voluptuous and determined daughter who is desperate to find a husband…
The Normandy Privateer charts the ups and downs of Lieutenant Anson and shines a poignant light on the loneliness and responsibilities of command.
Praise for David McDine
‘An enlightening historical thriller.’ – Thomas Waugh
David McDine OBE, is a former Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and a former Royal Navy Reserve officer and Admiralty information officer. He is also the author of Unconquered: The Story of Kent and its Lieutenancy . The Five Horseshoes , his debut novel in the Animal Man series, is sure to appeal to fans of Tom Sharpe, Alexander McCall Smith, PG Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh.
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Judith Hampton was as beautiful as she was proud, as purposeful as she was loyal. The dear Scottish friend of her childhood was about to give birth, and Judith had promised to be at her side. But there was another, private reason for the journey from her bleak English home to the Highlands to meet the father she had never known, the Laird Maclean. Nothing prepared her for the sight of the Scottish barbarian who was to escort her into his land...Iain Maitland, Laird of his clan, a man more powerfully compelling than any she had ever encountered.
In a spirited clash of wills and customs, Judith revelled in the melting bliss of Iain's searching kisses, his passionate caresses. Perplexed by her sprightly defiance, bemused by her tender nature, Iain felt his soul growing into the light and warmth of her love. Surely nothing would wrench her from the affection and trust of Iain and his clan...not even the truth about her father, a devastating secret that could shatter the boldest alliance, and the most glorious of loves. Views: 497
Now published together for the first time: Loretta Chase's beloved novellas Lord Lovedon's Duel from the Royal Bridesmaids anthology and The Jilting of Lord Rothwick from the Royal Weddings anthology…
In Lord Lovedon's Duel, Chloe Sharp is prepared to protect her family's name, even to the death. When she hears the handsome Earl of Lovedon say her sister's royal marriage is a match made in money, she challenges him to a duel—for love and honor.
When the Marquess of Rothwick learns his fiancée, Barbara Findley, has broken off their engagement in The Jilting of Lord Rothwick, he rides out of London immediately to seek her out… and to win her back. Views: 497
A young widow embraces a second chance at life when she reconnects with those who understand the sacrifices made by American soldiers and their families in award-winning author Laura Trentham's The Military Wife. Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina since her husband, Noah Wilcox's death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben turning five and living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried that moving on means leaving the memory of her husband behind.Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her husband, a former SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home physically healed but fighting PTSD. With three children under foot and unable to help her husband, Allison is at her wit's end.In an effort to reenergize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not only Allison but a network of other... Views: 496
Far from the shores of England another Elizabeth was born to rule a nation...The daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth is a princess by birth, and a warrior by blood. Never content to be a pawn in the game of men, Elizabeth is destined to sit upon a throne. But when her father's sudden death leaves her mother and sister at the mercy of the scheming Privy Council, she will have to abandon her beloved Russia in order to survive.This is not a fairy tale.And Elizabeth is not your average princess.She is a Romanov—one woman in a line of powerful female rulers who will change the face of Russia forever. Views: 496
A novelette of horror.When Richard Anthony Millay moves into his new house, he soon discovers that he is not alone, and what walks there in darkness has no love for him. To survive, he must remember what was ... what has escaped him, and lain dormant within him.When he loses his wife to a drunk driver, Richard Anthony Millay believes there will be no more brightness in his future. He may be right, for it is the darkness of an unrecalled past that pulls him away from everything he thought was real. Moving into the house that his wife had wanted so badly before she died, he soon comes to discover that it holds dark secrets, secrets that will haunt him in ways he couldn't imagine. It will awaken in him something that had lain dormant in his being. But will he remember what he needs to know in time to deal with the evil that walks within? A terrible discovery awaits him. More than that, he will learn that when the past and present collide ... all bets are off. Views: 496
Vampire detective Jack Fleming made a good bit of money cleaning up the streets of post-prohibition Chicago--enough to realize his dream of owning a nightclub. During renovations, workmen discover the remains of a woman, clad in a distinctive red dress. Vampire or not, Jack won't rest until he finds out who killed the lady in red--even if it means resurrecting secrets the mob would kill to keep buried. Views: 496
In 1780, Loyalist Rowena Marsh insists on spying for the British during the American Revolution. As a girl, she must dress as a boy, plus endure devastation and murder as she decodes messages for a mysterious Welshman. The tide has turned in the rebels' favor. General George Washington appears to be winning. The loyalists are bombarded by threats and lost battles. Rowena stays determined to aid the British cause and preserve her family as they're chased from their Pennsylvania home. Views: 496
September 11, 2001, New York City: Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive — and escape? September 11, 2019, Afghanistan: Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz — and put herself and her family in mortal danger? Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same. Views: 495
