An epic novel nominated for the Man Booker Prize, this extraordinary debut tells the story of a young manis perilous journey through the betrayals of war and into manhood. Views: 61
Eugenia Dovedale's father had been High Steward to the Marquis of Buckbury and after her father's unexpected death, Eugenia had to leave 'Paragon' the family's beautiful and much loved cottage on the estate. She and her mother now lived uncomfortably with her GreatAunt Cloris in London as they could not afford anywhere else.Mrs Dovedale maintained strong hopes of her daughter making a good marriage and improving their position. She was thrilled when the Marquis returned from France and began to show considerable interest in Eugenia.However Eugenia was determined only to marry for love and passion and she dreamed of being swept off her feet.She resited the overtures of the Marquis and then a Russian painter called Gregor Brodosky came to paint her greataunt and Eugenia fell for his obviously charms and goodlooks.Mrs Dovedale suffered a nasty coach accident and the Marquis invited her and Eugenia to stay at Buckbury Abbey to recover.The Marquis's admiration of... Views: 61
A battle of wills . . . As the oldest son and heir to Anglesea, it is Roger's duty to stand tall and strong. But his tough exterior belies the heart of a true romantic, a devoted son who yearns for the deep love he has witnessed between his parents and his sisters and their husbands. However, with the Anglesea family jockeying for a more advantageous position, Roger must marry judiciously. A fight for the heart . . . Having spent her childhood watching her mother suffer, Kathryn of Mandeville is determined never to marry. To be as a Viking shield maiden of old is her heart's only desire. But when her sister Matty runs away to escape Roger's sensible proposal, Kathryn is forced to help Roger find a more suitable bride. Bound by duty, Roger and Kathryn soon discover they are facing a much tougher fight—the one that is within their hearts . . . Views: 61
In the middle of the night Garrett is taken from his home to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for troubled teens. Maybe some kids deserve to be sent there, but Garrett knows he doesn't. Subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, he tries to fight back, but the battle is futile. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards of behavior. And there's no way to fake it. Beaten, humiliated, and stripped of his pride, Garrett's spirit is slowly ebbing away. Then he hears whispers of an escape plot. It's incredibly risky — if he's caught, the consequences will be unthinkable — but it may be his only way out. In this tense, riveting novel, award-winning YA author Todd Strasser reveals what really goes on in highly secretive — and notoriously dangerous — boot camps, a stealth prison system where any teenager under the age of eighteen can be imprisoned at his parents' whim. Views: 61
In A Stone in Heaven, Dominic Flandry finds friendship, maybe even love, after many years of being totally alone. After A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows , Flandry’s life stood in ruins. His Emperor, unbeknownst to him at the time, was dead; his sons were incompetent. His love was dead; his son was dead; he didn’t believe in his job any longer, and he’d taken out his biggest adversary. So, what was left? This book shows the answer: plenty. The younger son of Hans Molitor now holds the throne in his incompetent grasp, and worse, does not like Flandry. So, although Flandry is now a Vice-Admiral and commands much respect, he isn’t thrown too many assignments. On the other hand, he is able to make his own schedule, so when Miriam Abrams, daughter of mentor Max Abrams (his superior in Ensign Flandry ), manages to get to him to point out a major problem on Ramnau, he leaves. Once again, he finds intrigue and lots of it, problems, and pain. But unlike A Knight of Ghost and Shadows , Flandry this time finds more while he’s solving the mystery. He and Abrams reach an understanding, and more or less pair off by the end of the book. He also helps solve her problem, take out a would-be Emperor candidate, and rehabilitate his image with Emperor Gerhardt (the younger son of Hans Molitor) in the process, so it’s definitely not a wasted trip. Views: 61
Speed makes the teenage bikers feel alive, but they soon find that murder is the fastest way to die. A five-mile stretch of arrow-straight road outside Latchford acts like a magnet to beatnik bikers using the road like a drag strip. When one of the bikers is killed in an accident, most people regard it as an inevitable consequence of the kids using drugs and racing bikes for kicks. But the evidence points to the young man's death being something more sinister than a mere accident and George Gently is drawn into a world populated by disaffected teenagers, with a jazz soundtrack and a background of murder. Views: 61
Dachshund Discovers Doctor's Body in Altadena Cemetery, Daisy Gumm Majesty Investigates, in the Historical Cozy Mystery, SPIRITS UNEARTHED, by Alice Duncan"Author Alice Duncan whisks the reader to 1924 in a way that will have you wishing for skinny dresses and cloche hats." ~Deborah L. Rogers, Verified ReviewerNothing interrupts a good lover's spat like a dog – Daisy Gumm Majesty's Dachshund, Spike, in particular. Of course, they were in a graveyard, and Spike did have a shoe in his mouth – and the shoe did have an occupant. Well, a foot, if that counts. Daisy is horrified until she discovers that the occupying foot belonged to Dr. Everhard Allen Wagner, a notorious abuser of women and young girls. Good riddance!Of course, there's still a good mystery for this spiritualist-medium to people-with-more-money-than-sense to solve; after all, there may still be a risk to the good citizens of Pasadena. Her fiancé, Sam Rotondo – detective for... Views: 61
Set in colonial Egypt at the end of Victoria's reign, this sweeping romantic epic reprises Smith regulars—scions of the Courteneys and Ballantynes. (The two fictional British families have provided character fodder for least half of Smith's 30 novels.) Bloodthirsty legions of Arab dervish troops under the command of the Mahdi, or ruling successor to the Prophet Muhammad, have surrounded (but not taken) Khartoum, trapping comely 17-year-old Rebecca Benbrook; her consul general father, David; and her younger twin sisters, Saffron and Amber. The appearance of a cargo boat owned by the dashing, entrepreneurial Ryder Courteney, as well as the subsequent appearance of Capt. Penrod Ballantyne of Her Majesty's 10th Hussars, give hope. Naïve Rebecca falls in love with Ballantyne, who deflowers her before racing off to warn the rescue force commander that the commander is outnumbered 25 to one. The dervish, led by the fearsome Emir Osman Atalan, overrun Khartoum, and Rebecca's father is brutally butchered; the saga continues with Penrod heroically leading troops against Osman. Steamy romance alternates with gore, and it's all done by-the-numbers in a good way—like a junky, absorbing miniseries. Fans will not be disappointed. Views: 61
1958. In a dorm room in Moscow, a young writer is woken by the sound of angry voices on the radio. Through the fog of a hangover he hears the news that a novel called Doctor Zhivago has earned its author the Nobel Prize. There is uproar. The author, Boris Pasternak, faces exile, the press hound him and demand that he refuse the award. A few days earlier the young writer found a copy of this book - could those simple pages really be so dangerous? Based on Ismail Kadare's own experience, Twilight of the Eastern Gods is a fictionalised recreation of his time as a student at the prestigious Gorky Institute for World Literature - a strange 'factory of the intellect' set up to produce a new generation of Socialist writers. With its drunken nights, uninspiring professors, specially selected students and enforced Socialist Realism his time at the Gorky Institute brought Kadare to the brink of abandoning writing altogether. In English for the first time, Twilight of the Eastern Gods is a... Views: 61
