There is no doubt that Allan Massie has incontrovertibly established himself as the master of Roman historical fiction and the heir apparent to Robert Graves. His narratives of intrigue in the Roman Empire are always totally compelling and the large readership they have acquired is no surprise whatsoever. In the new one, Nero's Heirs, set at the beginning of the year 66, the despotic Emperor Nero has committed suicide and already three of his successors are dead. The turmoil of civil war (and a nationalistic uprising in Judaea) has produced a new Emperor, Vespasian. A remarkable year is reviewed in letters by Scaurus, once the lover of both Vespasian's son and daughter. This chronicle of treachery and passion is rendered in prose of the most riveting kind, such as the depraved Nero's attempt at suicide: "Nero picked up two daggers and tested their points. "How ugly and vulgar my life has become", he said, but still couldn't bring himself to. "I'm such a coward. Set me an example, Phaon", he said ... then he held one of the daggers against his throat and began to sob, and his secretary Epaphroditus stepped forward ..." Scauraus is the perfect conduit for the reader into this lethal world, bringing alive for us all the murderous sexual intrigues of a fascinating era Views: 27
Shelby Bishop is accustomed to playing the part of Lily Prescott’s mom in a Broadway show, but when the nineteen-year-old actress turns up drunk on her doorstep, she finds herself taking on the role for real. After Lily leaves a note nervously asking Shelby if she can be her mama off-stage as well, Shelby decides that they are going to have a serious talk in the morning—one that will involve putting Lily over her knee and spanking her little bottom.It is decided that Lily will live with Shelby so that she can be kept out of trouble, and Shelby soon learns that keeping little Lilly out of the cookies and keeping her walls free of crayon drawings is an all day job. But every day, Shelby makes sure to show Lily that no matter how much trouble she gets into, she will always be there, sometimes to spank her or put her in the corner, but also to hug her, cuddle her, give her bubble baths, and tuck her into bed at night.Lily has never had a mother who really cared about her, and Shelby makes her feel safe and loved for the first time. Lily and Shelby do big girl things with one another too, and the intense, breathtaking pleasure is better than anything Lily has known before. But when Lily’s birth mother discovers the nature of her relationship with Shelby and hopes to use that knowledge to extort money from her daughter, Shelby knows she must help Lily break free of her mother’s control. Can Shelby help Lily be the adult she needs to be yet still keep her little girl?Publisher’s Note: Broadway Baby is an erotic romance novel that includes spankings, age play, sexual scenes, elements of medical play, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book. Views: 27
An audacious thriller from a major new talentLife isn't panning out for Maureen Coughlin. At twenty-nine, the tough-skinned Staten Island native's only excitement comes from . . . well, not much. A fresh pack of American Spirits, maybe, or a discreet dash of coke before work. If something doesn't change soon, she'll end up a "lifer" at the Narrows, the faux-swank bar where she works one long night after another. But just like the island, the Narrows has its seamy side.After work one night, Maureen walks in on a tryst between her co-worker Dennis and Frank Sebastian, a silver-haired politico. When Sebastian demands her silence, Maureen is more than happy to forget what she's seen—until Dennis turns up dead on the train tracks the next morning. The murder sends Maureen careening out of her stultifying routine and into fast-deepening trouble. Soon she's on the run through the seedy underbelly of the borough, desperate to stop Sebastian before Dennis's fate becomes... Views: 27
Sister Annabelle Drew had been shattered when one of her guests cried, "Stop the wedding"—just as she'd been about to say "I do." Surgeon Dylan Calford had no regrets —he was convinced that Annabelle's groom was completely wrong for her—until he discovered just how badly Annabelle needed her marriage of convenience. He proposed that he be her groom, instead. Annabelle didn't take gorgeous, athletic Dylan seriously, but that got them both thinking—was Dylan her Mr. Right...? Views: 27
Injured and lost, Mary Margaret "Maggie" Dennehy stumbles into a seedy New York City neighborhood. When the New York heiress awakes in her fashionable 5th Avenue residence, she remembers nothing of her experience, save a haunting dream that fills her with longing.Colorado Rancher Connor Holiday can't forget the passion filled night spent in the fancy New York bordello, or the exquisite lover who so willingly played the innocent. But when that lover turns out to be the bastard daughter of one of the city's richest men, he is forced to choose between what he wants and what he needs.To save his ranch...to save her dreams...Connor and Maggie strike a bargain where the success of their marriage hinges on breaking their vows.REVIEWS:"Jo Goodman is a master at historical romance." —Fresh FictionTHE DENNEHY SISTERS SERIES, in series order:Only My LoveMy Heart's DesireForever in My HeartAlways in My DreamsOnly in My ArmsTHE MARSHALL... Views: 27
Like the characters in the popular dime novels of the time, London's heroes display such manly virtues as courage, loyalty, and steadfastness as they conftont the merciless frozen expanses of the north. Yet London breaks free of stereotypical figures and one-dimensional plots to explore deeper psychological and social questions of self-mastery, masculinity, and racial domination. The uneasy relationship between the Native Americans and whites lies at the heart of many of the stories, while others reflect London's growing awareness of the destruction wrought by the white incursion on Indian culture. Northland Stories comprises nineteen of Jack London's greatest short works, including "An Odyssy of the North" (London's major breakthrough as a young author), "The White Silence," "The Law of Life," "The League of the Old Men," and the world classic "To Build a Fire." Views: 27
Each working day from January 29 to November 1, 1951, John Steinbeck warmed up to the work of writing East of Eden with a letter to the late Pascal Covici, his friend and editor at The Viking Press. It was his way, he said, of "getting my mental arm in shape to pitch a good game."Steinbeck's letters were written on the left-hand pages of a notebook in which the facing pages would be filled with the test of East of Eden. They touched on many subjects-story arguments, trial flights of worknamship, concern for his sons.Part autobiography, part writer's workshop, these letters offer an illuminating perspective on Steinbeck's creative process, and a fascinating glimpse of Steinbeck, the private man. Views: 27
In the small town of Torrelodones on the outskirts of Madrid, a funeral is taking place. Julio Carrión González, a man of tremendous wealth and influence in Madrid, has come home to be buried. But as the family stand by the graveside, his son Alvaro notices the arrival of a stranger -- a young and attractive woman. No one appears to know who she is, or why she is there. Alvaro's questions only deepen when the family inherits an enormous amount of money that is a surprise even to them. In his father's study Alvaro discovers an old folder with letters sent to his father in Russia between 1941 and 1943, faded photos of people he never met and a locked grey metal box. The woman is Raquel Fernández Perea, the daughter of Spaniards who fled during the Civil War. One episode in her past has marked her for ever -- the only time she saw her grandfather cry. Her fate, and that of the family, now hangs on the secrets of Julio's past. From the provincial heartlands of Spain to the battlefields of Russia, THE FROZEN HEART is a mesmerising journey through a war that tore families apart, pitted fathers against sons, brothers against brothers, wives against husbands. Against such a past, where do faith and loyalty lie? Views: 27
Three Manhattan rich boys looking for some kicks, a beautiful hill-girl trapped in a life of morbid prostitution, a backwoods town shrouded in a secret so demented that it beggars description. What do these three things all have in common? HEADS Rape, mutilation, and torture of the most abominable sort all seem meek by comparison. A novel of unspeakable evil. Views: 27
