Harriet Wheatley is the mastermind behind the Ladies of Virtue's quest to rehabilitate the gentlemen of the ton. So when it comes to selecting her own target, she knows who to choose: Oliver Weeks, Marquess of Davenport—the most extravagant wastrel in all of London.Known for his opulent lifestyle, Oliver isn't surprised by Harriet's confrontation. It's obvious Harriet longs for any way to take him down a notch. She says she'll help him find a bride, but he knows it's only because it gives her the excuse to chastise his indulgent ways. Oliver has good reason for his flagrant overspending, but Harriet will hear nothing of it. So he has no choice but to teach the lady a lesson, even if it means risking his heart to the hard-headed and fiery woman.Each book in the Lords of Vice series is STANDALONE:* The Scoundrel and the Lady* The Marquess and the Maiden Views: 419
Hawthorne Dorning either finds a way to turn his family's vast botanical resources into a successful commercial venture, or the estate the Dornings have called home for centuries could be broken up. He loves the land and he's never shied away from hard work, but he knows nothing about creating perfumes or fragrances. Margaret Summerfield has put aside her passion for scent-making to tend to the serious business of raising her little nieces. She's no longer the girl who wandered the countryside by the hour, lost in the pleasures of nature, nor does she want to be. Hawthorne needs her help, but what does he have that could possibly tempt to Margaret to entangle herself with his dreams? Views: 419
New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham brings her unique brand of suspense to Harlequin Intrigue with two thrilling stories of love and danger in one book!TANGLED THREATA body hanging from the infamous History Tree had unraveled their teenage love. Now, twelve years later, Maura Antrim is again tangled up with Brock McGovern, and they're back where that devastating murder occurred. With two women missing, and Brock now an FBI agent, Maura is determined to help. Together they'll have to confront a threat that never died, and see if their passion has withstood the test of time. SUSPICIOUSBig-city lawyer Lorena Fortier's suspicions about her father's death have brought her to a small town nestled in the Everglades. But when a killer claims more victims, Lorena knows she's in over her head. Hardened cop Jesse Crane only complicates matters. As they face danger more menacing... Views: 419
For readers who love a heartwarming romance and a rich historical setting comes a tale of a young woman with a heavy burden, the International Cotton Exposition, and the pursuit of true love.Eighteen-year-old Laurel Millard, youngest of seven children, is expected to stay home and "take care of Mama" by her older siblings, but Laurel has dreams of starting her own family. Operating a silk loom at the Atlanta Exposition will give her the chance to capture the heart of a man wealthy enough to take care of Laurel and any children she might bear, as well as her mother.Brendan Rochester's parents have given him an ultimatum: settle down with a wife or lose his family inheritance. At the Exposition, Brendan meets Laurel. Marrying her would satisfy his parents's command, she would look lovely on his arm for social events, and in her besotted state, he believes she would overlook him continuing pursuing rowdy adventures with his unmarried buddies. Brendan decides to woo... Views: 419
Return to the American Revolution in this blistering conclusion to the trilogy that began with the bestselling National Book Award Finalist Chains and continued with Forge, which The New York Times called "a return not only to the colonial era but to historical accuracy."As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge—but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel's little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state—where bounty hunters are thick as flies. Heroism and heartbreak pave their path, but Isabel and Curzon won't stop until they reach Ruth, and then freedom, in this grand finale to the acclaimed Seeds of America trilogy from Laurie Halse Anderson. Views: 418
A brand-new adventure set in the hugely popular A Natural History of Dragons universe – a delightful Victorian-esque fantasy. As the renowned granddaughter of Isabella Camherst (Lady Trent, of the riveting and daring Draconic adventure memoirs) Audrey Camherst has always known she, too, would want to make her scholarly mark upon a chosen field of study. When Lord Gleinleigh recruits Audrey to decipher a series of ancient tablets holding the secrets of the ancient Draconean civilization, she has no idea that her research will plunge her into an intricate conspiracy, one meant to incite rebellion and invoke war. Alongside dearest childhood friend and fellow archeologist Kudshayn, she must find proof of the conspiracy before it's too late. Views: 418
A Flawed Scotsman (Clan Ross Book Four) Views: 418
How does a virgin lady let her steady date know she has determined to marry him? That's all I'll tell you. Click the blue below to see why. Here it suffices to say that the story is short and free. Why read a summary when with little more effort you can read the whole thing? If you can't spare a moment more, you shouldn't be wasting time reading fiction anyway. Go back to work!"One can not judge a book by its cover." So we are told. But a cover is usually the only thing a reader has to base a judgment on. Smashwords tries to aid readers by providing summaries, one short, one long, for each book it distributes. For non-fiction this works well. But this, it seems to me, defeats the whole purpose of fiction. After all, one reads a story to find out what will happen. It’s the uncommon twists and turns that make a story interesting. But if a summary has told all this beforehand, what fun is to be had in the reading? Therefore, no summary of the present short story is given. It's short and it’s free! So read the whole thing and see if you like it.I ask you to do this because I think it is the best book judging method. To find fiction you like you must first read around enough to learn something of the style and stories of different authors. Then you can judge books, not by their cover, but by the your opinion of the writer. I'd like to help you do this. The present short story is one of several which I will make available free at Smashwords. Read a few (or all of them) and decide if you like them. It won't cost you a dime. If you like them, you can then purchase some of my not free (but still inexpensive) longer stories.All these stories are of one particular kind. To reflect this similarity all have the same cover picture, the Kitty & Rose shown above. So after you’ve read a few, you can, in fact, judge them by their cover.The common theme of the Kitty & Rose stories is human sexuality. This is not unusual. Most fiction concerns sex in one way or another; ranging from romances so sedate and demure an extraterrestrial could never know sex is at the root of everything described, to erotica so unrestricted even an extraterrestrial might blush. Kitty & Rose stories are in the middle of this range. All deal with human sexuality, but none do so explicitly. Rather, they are seemly.The dictionary gives three meanings for seemly: Attractive or agreeably fashioned; Decorous or conventionally proper; and Appropriate or suited to its purpose.With respect to appropriateness, seemly sex stories range from the humorous to the inspirational, but all concern human sexuality. So they are clearly appropriate.These stories are also seemly in the decorous and conventionally proper sense. For, while they treat sex candidly, they do not do so graphically. There is nothing pornographic nor erotic in any seemly sex story. Of course, different persons’ opinions about this may differ. A few consider frank pornography decorous. At the opposite extreme are those like the abbot of the monastery where the great biologist Gregor Mendel did his epochal research. This abbot thought Mendel’s studies were decidedly indecorous because they involved the sex of pea plants!Finally, there is the principal sense of seemly, attractive and agreeably fashioned. Like every author I exert my every effort and ability trying to make these stories seemly in this regard. But like every author, I must await your determination of the degree of my success. Since both of us will be pleased if you find them attractively seemly, I very much hope you do.Happy reading!BobbyB P.S. This story is being uploaded on 2-14-2017, Valentine's Day! Fourteen more short stories will be uploaded, one each weekday. Then four longer stories will be offered for sale. Views: 417
Helpmate Knight is home from the hospital, so everything should be back to normal, right? Things are never that easy, though, and the men of Chess must fight to get their lives back. Knight has returned home from the hospital, but is far from recovered. Things seem to be going well, but depression slowly winds its way around Knight, and he spends all his time in bed sleeping, slipping farther and farther away from his lovers and life. Rook just wants everything to go back to normal now that their lover is home and Bishop is out of his depth when it comes to Knight's depression. Can Jason figure out what's wrong and take the steps needed to help Knight find himself again? The struggle has just begun in Knight's recovery—are the men of Chess up to the task? Find out in this fourth instalment of the Chess series. End Game Things are changing again for the foursome. Can they weather these changes as they do... Views: 417
George MacDonald Fraser was famed for his legendary Flashman series, featuring the incorrigible knave Harry Flashman. In the colorful standalone novel Captain in Calico, which has never been published, Fraser introduces another real-life anti-hero: Captain John Rackham, called “Calico Jack,” an illustrious eighteenth-century pirate who marauded the Caribbean seas.
On a tranquil evening in the Bahamas, Calico Jack, long wanted on counts of piracy, makes a surprise appearance at the Governor’s residence and asks for a pardon. A deal is brokered after Jack reveals the motive for turning himself in: love. When he last set sail from the Bahamas two years ago, Jack left behind a beautiful fiancée, and he hopes to win her back. But while Jack was off pirating, his beloved has become betrothed to a new man—the governor himself. It doesn’t take long for this truth to come to light, and after embarking on a new romance with famous Irish pirate Anne Bonney, Jack is quickly transformed back into a thieving captain in calico.
With his trademark picaresque style, Fraser draws readers into the wild west of the British empire, where black sails prowl the waters and redemption can be found in the most unexpected places. Views: 417
When a financial disaster wipes out their family savings, the Renshaw family looks to start over. Maori and Settler: The New Zealand Wars, by G.A. Henty tells the story of young Wilfrid Renshaw and his family, as they emigrate to New Zealand in the 1860\'s in hope of a better life. Embarking on an arduous journey from London aboard the Flying Scud, they make new friends, including the affable and knowledgeable Mr. Atherton, with whom they share adventures as they sail to the other side of the globe. The Renshaws find life in New Zealand to be tough, but rewarding - until trouble begins to brew. Will Wilfrid and his family lose all for which they have worked when the strange Pai Marire religion inspire many, otherwise peaceful natives, towards violence against the settlers? In this book you will learn about the life of the early settlers of New Zealand, as well as, the events surrounding the New Zealand Wars.This book includes more than one hundred geographical, historical, and explanatory footnotes to aid the modern reader. Views: 417
Published to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, this beautiful anthology collects favourite extracts, poems and images from some of the UK’s leading cultural, political and literary figures.
Poems, short stories, personal letters, newspaper articles, scripts, photographs and paintings are just some of the elements of this astonishing collection, with cover and artwork by renowned illustrator, Ian Beck.
Among the many contributors are Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, Sir Andrew Motion, Miranda Hart, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz, Eoin Colfer, Antony Beevor, Emma Thompson, David Almond, Dr Rowan Williams, Richard Curtis, Joanna Lumley, Raymond Briggs, Shami Chakrabarti and Sir Tony Robinson.
Royalties from the publication will be spilt between the Royal British Legion and projects for soldiers' children and families at SSAFA. Views: 417
In talking about this novel, Haggard later said he was inspired to write the book while living in Norwood. He and his wife were attending a Church service when they saw sitting near them "a singularly beautiful and pure-faced young lady --- Afterwards we agreed that this semi-divine creature — on whom to the best of my knowledge I have never set eyes again from that day to this — ought to become the heroine of a novel. So then and there we took paper, and each of us began to write the said novel. I think that after she had completed two or three folio sheets my wife ceased from her fictional labours. But, growing interested, I continued mine, which resulted in the story called 'Dawn,'" Haggard never found out who the girl was but was sufficient inspired to write the first draft at Norwood in 1882, while studying for the Bar. The novel was originally called Angela, which was the first name of the heroine of the story; Angela was also the name of Haggard's eldest daughter. Views: 417
