The Violent Century
Summary
A bold experiment has mutated a small fraction of humanity. Nations race to harness the gifted, putting them to increasingly dark ends. At the dawn of global war, flashy American superheroes square off against sinister Germans and dissolute Russians. Increasingly depraved scientists conduct despicable research in the name of victory. British agents Fogg and Oblivion, recalled to the Retirement Bureau, have kept a treacherous secret for over 40 years. But all heroes must choose when to join the fray, and to whom their allegiance is owed - even for just one perfect summer's day.
©2013 Lavie Tidhar (P)2021 Tantor
Thomas
Summary
Thomas was no one, an orphan with no past and no memories of his early life. The only clue lies in the strange birthmark on his chest, a mark that may or may not reveal his origin, but will certainly guide him to his destiny. Growing to manhood he will become a man of consequence and influence, yet the greatest gift he has to offer his people lies not in his power, but in his wisdom. As he strives to reach his potential he will face obstacles great and small and he will discover that some foes are too strong to defeat with power alone. The greatest of evils can only be stopped when those true of heart are willing to sacrifice blood, tears, and sometimes - their lives.
©2017 Michael G. Manning (P)2019 Podium Publishing
This Is Getting Old
Summary
In this intimate and funny collection of essays on the sometimes confusing, sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious condition of being a woman over 60, Susan Moon keeps her sense of humor and she keeps her listener fully engaged. Among the pieces she has included here are an essay on the gratitude she feels for her weakening bones; observations on finding herself both an orphan and a matriarch following the death of her mother; musings on her tendency to regret the past; thoughts on how not to be afraid of loneliness; appreciation for the inner tomboy; and celebratory advice on how to regard "senior moments" as opportunities to be in the here and now.
©2010 Susan Moon (P)2014 Audible Inc.
A House for Spies
Summary
An unforgettable history of French intelligence agents and courageous British pilots who risked everything in the fight against Hitler! From 1941 to 1944, Bignor Manor, a farmhouse in Sussex, provided board and lodging for men and women of the French Resistance before they were flown by moonlight into occupied France. Barbara Bertram, whose husband was a conducting officer for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), became hostess for these daring agents and their pilots during their brief stopovers in their house. But who were these men and women that passed through the Bertrams' house? And what activities did they conduct while in France that meant that so many of them never returned? Edward Wake-Walker charts the experiences of numerous agents, such as Gilbert Renault, Christian Pineau, and Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, and the networks of operatives that they created that provided top-secret intelligence on German defenses and naval bases and U-boats, as well as Hitler's devastating new weapons, the V-1 and V-2 flying bombs.
©2011 Edward Wake-Walker (P)2020 Tantor
Lusam
Summary
The final book in the Lusam series! Aamon continues to grow in strength while Lusam and his party attempt to forge new alliances with the dragons of Podrana. New Netherworld horrors are created and unleashed by Aamon while he makes his final preparations for escape. Humanityâs only hope of finally sealing The Rift and preventing the worldâs destruction now lies in Lusamâs ability to find a dragon willing to bond with him, so that he, too, can become a fully-fledged Guardian. But they soon discover that the dragonâs homeland of Eindryl has changed a great deal since Arlo and Ryuu were last there. New, unforeseen hurdles stand in their way. But as one path seems lost to them, another might yet lead them to victory. Only time will tell. But time is no longer on their side.
©2019 Dean Cadman (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Mordecai
Summary
Years have passed since the last of the Dark Gods was defeated, and Lothion has entered an age of peace and prosperity. Mordecaiâs oldest children have already begun to make a place for themselves, and his youngest are on the cusp of adulthood. By every outward measure, his life has been a success; he has earned his reward. However, Tyrion, the first wizard and brutal liberator of mankind, has returned with an agenda of his own, and dark things continue to stir at the edges of civilization, threatening to undo Mordecaiâs accomplishments. He must meet the expectations of his queen, his family, and his people, all while finding a way to protect them from the ancient enemy of the SheâHar, but his greatest challenge may be dealing with the lingering darkness that is growing within his own heart.
©2018 Michael G. Manning (P)2018 Podium Publishing
The Great Game
Summary
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road - both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay 2000 miles apart; by the end, this distance had shrunk to 20 miles at some points. Now, in the vacuum left by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there is once again talk of Russian soldiers "dipping their toes in the Indian Ocean." The Washington Post has said that "every story Peter Hopkirk touches is totally engrossing." In this gripping narrative he recounts a breathtaking tale of espionage and treachery through the actual experiences of its colorful characters. Based on meticulous scholarship and on-the-spot research, this is the history at the core of today's geopolitics.
©2006 The Estate of Peter Hopkirk (P)2017 Tantor
Her Secret Son
Summary
How far would you go to protect the ones you love...when they may not be yours to protect? When Joshâs longtime partner, Grace, dies in a tragic accident, he is left with a mess of grief - and full custody of her seven-year-old son, Logan. While not his biological father, Josh has been a dad to Logan in every way that counts, and with Grace gone, Logan needs him more than ever. Wanting to do right by Logan, Josh begins the process of becoming his legal guardian - something that seems suddenly urgent, though Grace always brushed it off as an unnecessary formality. But now, as Josh struggles to find the paperwork associated with Loganâs birth, he begins to wonder whether there were more troubling reasons for Graceâs reluctance to make their family official. As he digs deeper into the past of the woman he loved, Josh soon finds that there are many dark secrets to uncover, and that the truth about where Logan came from is much more sinister than he could have imagined.... Tightly paced and brimming with tension, Her Secret Son is a heartbreakingly honest portrait of a family on the edge of disaster and a father desperate to hold on to the boy who changed his life.
©2019 Hannah Mary McKinnon (P)2019 Harlequin Audio
The Harp of Kings
Summary
A young woman is both a bard - and a warrior - in this thrilling historical fantasy from the author of the Sevenwaters novels. Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and is a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan's burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies. Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the kingdom will be thrown into disarray. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision - and the consequences may break her heart.
©2019 Juliet Marillier (P)2019 Recorded Books
Betrayer's Bane
Summary
Tyrion was a good person who had been born to a simple family and raised with love, but the world has shaped him for a different fate. Twisted by violence and torture, he is obsessed with a relentless desire for vengeance, and he has sown the seeds of wrath in his children. The She'Har have offered him the opportunity to be a great leader and usher in a new era of prosperity and peace, but, despite his gentle beginnings, Tyrion is no hero. Heroes are born to build, and while many laud the efforts of such leaders, others will work to bring them down, for all good things must come to an end. Every forest must inevitably face the flame. Destiny has chosen Tyrion for a different path and has given him the spark that will burn the world to ashes. Embracing the evil within, he will reap a harvest of hatred, and no one will find safety in the purge of fire that he brings; even the betrayer has his bane. Will anything be left to rise from the ash?
©2016 Michael G. Manning (P)2017 Podium Publishing
Gentleman Jim
Summary
"A vigorous, sparkling, and entertaining love story with plenty of Austen-ite wit." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) "One of the most highly anticipated books of the fall historical romance lineup." (Austenprose) She couldn't forget.... Wealthy squire's daughter Margaret Honeywell was always meant to marry her neighbor, Frederick Burton-Smythe, but it's bastard-born Nicholas Seaton who has her heart. Raised alongside her on her father's estate, Nick is the rumored son of notorious highwayman Gentleman Jim. When Fred frames him for theft, Nick escapes into the night, vowing to find his legendary sire. But Nick never returns. A decade later, he's long been presumed dead. He wouldn't forgive.... After years spent on the continent, John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has finally come home to England. Tall, blond, and dangerous, he's on a mission to restore his family's honor. If he can mete out a bit of revenge along the way, so much the better. But he hasn't reckoned for Maggie Honeywell. She's bold and beautiful - and entirely convinced he's someone else. As danger closes in, St. Clare is torn between love and vengeance. Will he sacrifice one to gain other? Or, with a little daring, will he find a way to have them both?
©2020 Mimi Matthews (P)2020 Bee Audio
You Will Remember Me
Summary
Forget the truth. Remember the lies. He wakes up on a deserted beach in Maryland with a gash on his head and wearing only swim trunks. He canât remember who he is. Everything - his identity, his life, his loved ones - has been replaced by a dizzying fog of uncertainty. But returning to his Maine hometown in search of the truth uncovers more questions than answers. Lily Reid thinks she knows her boyfriend, Jack. Until he goes missing one night, and her frantic search reveals that heâs been lying to her since they met, desperate to escape a dark past heâd purposely left behind. Maya Scott has been trying to find her estranged stepbrother, Asher, since he disappeared without a trace. Having him back, missing memory and all, feels like a miracle. But with a mutual history full of devastating secrets, how far will Maya go to ensure she alone takes them to the grave? Shared fates intertwine in a twisty, explosive novel of suspense, where unearthing the past might just mean being buried beneath it.Â
©2021 Hannah Mary McKinnon (P)2021 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
The Severed Realm
Summary
Only a fool threatens those a Thornbear protects. Mordecaiâs shattered family is in chaos, but the world wonât wait for them to recover. Trapped by a fiendish plot he didnât foresee, Mordecai finds himself powerless to redeem himself or defend his family. Alone and surrounded by enemies, Lady Rose has only her wits to protect those she loves. Though every hand turns against her, Rose Thornbear refuses to give up, and she will sacrifice whatever is necessary to save Pennyâs family, whether the price is her rank, dignity, or even her life.
©2018 Michael G. Manning (P)2018 Podium Publishing
A Holiday by Gaslight
Summary
"A graceful love story...and an authentic presentation of the 1860s that reads with the simplicity and visual gusto of a period movie." (Readers' Favorite) A courtship of convenience. Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He's grim and silent. A man of little emotion - or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she's ready to put an end to things. A last chance for love. But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn't as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there's Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What's a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time, there'll be no false formality. This time, they'll get to know each other for who they really are.
©2018 Mimi Matthews (P)2018 Mimi Matthews
The Hard Problem
Summary
Hilary believes fervently that consciousness is more than the sum of our biology. When she receives a position at a prestigious think tank, she develops a novel experiment to prove that humans are intrinsically altruistic, but the results are something she never anticipated. Includes a post-show discussion with Mark Tramo, a neuroscientist, neurologist, and musician who is a professor in the UCLA Schools of Medicine, Music, and Letters & Science. Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in November 2019. Director: Rosalind Ayres Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg Eddie Cahill as Jerry Rosie Fellner as Julia Adhir Kalyan as Amal Julian Morris as Spike Hannah Murray as Hilary Desirée Mee Jung as Bo Moira Quirk as Cathy, Ursula Alex Wyndham as Leo Associate Artistic Director: Anna Lyse Erikson. Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, Mixer: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin. Foley Artist: Brian DeShazor. Production Manager: Erica R. Christensen. Editor: Mitchell Lindskoog.
©2020 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2020 L.A. Theatre Works
Three Slices
Summary
Featuring A Prelude to War, an Iron Druid novella A Prelude to War by Kevin Hearne: After an old friend is murdered in retaliation for his mercenary strikes against the oldest vampires in the world, Atticus O'Sullivan must solicit the aid of another old friend in Ethiopia if he's going to have a chance of finishing a war he never wanted. Meanwhile Granuaile MacTiernan starts a private war of her own against Loki, the lord of lies, and if it brings Ragnarok early - so be it. Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys by Delilah S. Dawson: The number-one rule of the circus? Don't kill your volunteers, even accidentally. That's how young magician Criminy Stain ends up on the run in a forest, where he meets a beautiful woman holding a bucket of blood. But is Merissa the answer to his prayers - or the orchestrator of his ruin? Interlude: Swallow by Chuck Wendig: Miriam Black is back. Miriam is tired of her curse and finally believes she knows how to be rid of her ability to see when and how other people die. She follows a lead to the mountains of Colorado, where she believes she sees signs of a serial killer she thought she already killed. (Set between The Cormorant and Thunderbird.)
©2015 Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson, Chuck Wendig (P)2015 Podium Publishing
The Winter Companion
Summary
"Fans of the Parish Orphans of Devon series will adore this final installment, reuniting the orphans and their loves." (Library Journal, starred review) A USA Today best seller She needed to be seen... As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a monthlong holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned. He wanted to be heard... Neville Cross has always been more comfortable with animals than people. An accident in his youth has left him with a brain injury that affects his speech. Forming the words to speak to his childhood friends is difficult enough. Finding the right things to say to a lovely young lady's companion seems downright impossible. But Miss Hartwright is no ordinary companion. In fact, there may not be anything ordinary about her at all. During a bleak Devon winter, two sensitive souls forge an unexpected friendship. But when Clara needs him most, will Neville find the courage to face his fears? Or is saying goodbye to her the most heroic thing he can do?
©2020 Mimi Matthews (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Lusam
Summary
After accidentally discovering the possible existence of a second Guardian book, Lusam and his party are remorselessly hunted high into the Elveen mountains by the Empire agents, who are intent on killing or capturing them. What they discover there may very well change the balance of power in their favor against the Thule Empire. But their discovery will count for nothing if they cannot reach Lamuria in time to try and stop the massive invasion force sent by Lord Zelroth, who is intent on destroying their capital and stealing the High Temple's secrets for himself. Lusam inadvertently discovers a long guarded secret of Lord Zelroth's, one that will profoundly change his own life forever and force him to take action that he may very well not be prepared for.
©2016 Dean Cadman (P)2017 Podium Publishing
The Book of Eels
Summary
Part H Is for Hawk, part The Soul of an Octopus, The Book of Eels is both a meditation on the worldâs most elusive fish - the eel - and a reflection on the human condition. Remarkably little is known about the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. So little, in fact, that scientists and philosophers have, for centuries, been obsessed with what has become known as the âeel questionâ: Where do eels come from? What are they? Are they fish or some other kind of creature altogether? Even today, in an age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still donât understand what drives them, after living for decades in freshwater, to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. They remain a mystery. Drawing on a breadth of research about eels in literature, history, and modern marine biology, as well as his own experience fishing for eels with his father, Patrik Svensson crafts a mesmerizing portrait of an unusual, utterly misunderstood, and completely captivating animal. In The Book of Eels, we meet renowned historical thinkers, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud to Rachel Carson, for whom the eel was a singular obsession. And we meet the scientists who spearheaded the search for the eelâs point of origin, including Danish marine biologist Johannes Schmidt, who led research efforts in the early 20th century, catching thousands upon thousands of eels, in the hopes of proving their birthing grounds in the Sargasso Sea. Blending memoir and nature writing at its best, Svenssonâs journey to understand the eel becomes an exploration of the human condition that delves into overarching issues about our roots and destiny, both as humans and as animals, and, ultimately, how to handle the biggest question of all: death. The result is a gripping and slippery narrative that will surprise and enchant.Â
©2020 Patrik Svensson (P)2020 HarperAudio
Fair as a Star
Summary
From USA Today best-selling author Mimi Matthews comes a Victorian tale of love and longing in a quaint English village. A secret burden... After a mysterious sojourn in Paris, Beryl Burnham has returned home to the village of Shepton Worthy, ready to resume the life she left behind. Betrothed to the wealthy Sir Henry Rivenhall, she has no reason to be unhappy or so people keep reminding her. But Beryl's life isn't as perfect as everyone believes. A longstanding love... As village curate, Mark Rivenhall is known for his compassionate understanding. When his older brother's intended needs a shoulder to lean on, Mark's more than willing to provide one. There's no danger of losing his heart. He already lost that to Beryl a long time ago. During an idyllic Victorian summer, friends and family gather in anticipation of Beryl and Sir Henry's wedding. But in her darkest moment, it's Mark who comes to Beryl's aid. Can he help her without revealing his feelings or betraying his brother?
©2020 Mimi Matthews (P)2020 Mimi Matthews
Duke of Knight
Summary
Welcome to a new series by nationally best-selling author Elizabeth Johns. Enjoy the extraordinary tale of four Knight brothers, and one little sister in the Gentlemen of Knights. Can a sharp-tongued governess become indispensable to a duke? Rowley Knight, Duke of Knighton, is too busy being a duke to bother with such nonsense as love. With three heirs, he is in no hurry whatsoever to succumb to the lures of the leg-shackles. He is content managing his siblings and estates, and avoiding society whenever possible. If he can only find someone to manage his young sister, life can go back to its proper order. Emma Lancaster's father gambled away her family's fortune leaving her hopes for a respectable marriage shattered. Destitute and near desperate, she accepts a position as a governess to a young lady at the recommendation of her godmother. Little does she know that her charge is the brother of the man she despises. Can she humble herself to become his employee? Or will her temper get the best of her - and him?
©2020 Elizabeth Johns (P)2020 Tantor
A Convenient Fiction
Summary
The mysterious Alex Archer returns to England in Book 3 of Mimi Matthews' USA Today best-selling Parish Orphans of Devon series.  She Needed a Husband.... It's been three years since Laura Hayes' father died, leaving her and her invalid brother to subsist on the income from the family's failing perfume business. But time is swiftly running out. What she needs is a husband, and fast. A noble gentleman who can rescue them all from penury. When a mysterious stranger arrives in the village, he seems a perfect candidate. But Alex Archer is no hero. In fact, he just might be the opposite.  He Wanted a Fortune.... Alex has no tolerance for sentiment. He's returned to England for one reason only: to find a wealthy wife. A country-bred heiress in Surrey seems the perfect target. But somewhere between the village railway station and the manor house his mercenary plan begins to unravel. And it's all the fault of Laura Hayes - a lady as unsuitable as she is enchanting.  From the beaches of Margate to the lavender fields of Provence, a grudging friendship slowly blossoms into something more. But when scandal threatens, can a man who has spent his entire life playing the villain finally become a hero? Or will the lure of easy riches once again outweigh the demands of his heart?
©2019 Mimi Matthews (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
Black Knight
Summary
A rake and an independent female find themselves tangled in the web of a marriage of convenience.... Lord Heath Knight is the quintessential wastrel second son. He has spent his youth raking and making merry to be as opposite of his brother as possible. When he finds himself almost dead, his dictatorial older brother has had enough and issues an edict for him to marry or be cut off. Heath decides to marry the most unsuitable lady he can in order to vex his brother the duke. Cecilia Dudley is an heiress with a catch - her father is a cit. Her dowry is so vulgar that she has decided she would rather avoid marriage in favor of an independent life where she can live as she likes. When she suddenly finds herself married, she quickly realizes a marriage of convenience is not so convenient. Heath quickly realizes he cannot ignore his new wife. Cecilia cannot accept his wild past and the baggage that follows him. Will Cecilia be able to resist the charms of a seasoned rogue?
©2020 Elizabeth Johns (P)2021 Tantor
Lusam
Summary
Lusam grew up in the relative safety of the Elveen mountains with his grandmother. She taught him the basics of magic and discovered, quite by accident, that he possessed a unique skill never seen before: the ability to hide his magical aura from the mage-sight of others. Dark secrets surround Lusam's origins, and the dark agents of the Empire will stop at nothing to kill Lusam. But before Lusam can be taught all he needed to know about his past, his grandmother unexpectedly dies of a fever, and Lusam finds himself homeless on the unforgiving streets of Helveel. Unbeknown to Lusam, the only thing keeping him alive is a promise he made to his grandmother to always hide his aura, no matter what. Lusam meets and befriends a young thief fleeing her old city of Stelgad before making a magical discovery that will change both their lives forever, and possibly the fate of the entire world.
©2015 Dean Cadman (P)2017 Podium Publishing
The Work of Art
Summary
"Matthews weaves suspense and mystery within an absorbing love story. Readers will be hard put to set this one down before the end." (Library Journal, starred review) An Uncommon Beauty.... Hidden away in rural Devonshire, Phyllida Satterthwaite has always been considered more odd than beautiful. But in London, her oddity has made her a sensation. Far worse, itâs caught the eye of the sinister Duke of Moreland - a notorious art collector obsessed with acquiring one-of-a-kind treasures. To escape the dukeâs clutches, sheâs going to need a little help. An Unlikely Hero.... Captain Arthur Heywoodâs days of heroism are long past. Grievously injured in the Peninsular War, he can no longer walk unaided, let alone shoot a pistol. What use can he possibly be to a damsel in distress? He has nothing left to offer except his good name. Can a marriage of convenience save Philly from the vengeful duke? Or will life with Arthur put her - and her heart - in more danger than ever?
©2019 Mimi Matthews (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
Knight and Day
Summary
A Vicar...A Soiled Dove...An Unlikely Romance! Lord Edmund Knight has dedicated his life to rescuing unfortunates and prostitutes which he refers to as his doves. One of his rescues comes with more baggage than he bargained for, and he is forced to hide her at his brother's estate in far away Devonshire. Lady Isabella Hartmere was ruthlessly placed up for auction by her father to settle gaming debts, but is miraculously rescued by a vicar in the nick of time. As her father becomes desperate to find her, the situation becomes more dangerous by the minute. Both are drawn into the web of an old blood feud, but will keeping Isabella safe lead to an unlikely romance?
©2020 Elizabeth Johns (P)2021 Tantor
Lusam
Summary
Ever since discovering that his mother is still alive, and being held captive by Lord Zelroth, Lusam has been tormented by terrifying nightmares. He soon finds that it's not only his nightmares which threaten to thwart his plans of a rescue, but also the King himself. New alliances are made and old ones are tested to their limits as Lusam's single-mindedness to rescue his mother causes him to take risks that he would never normally consider. A recent discovery allows Lord Zelroth to set in motion a new plan, which, if successful, will once again tear open the Great Rift and release the hordes of Netherworld creatures into the world, as well as the imprisoned God, Aamon. The very survival of Afaraon, and, possibly, the entire world, may soon hinge on the decisions that Lusam makes.
©2016 Dean Cadman (P)2017 Podium Publishing
Death in Delft
Summary
Three missing girls. Only one body. Where are the others? 1671, Delft Three young girls have been abducted from their homes. The body of one has been found in a shallow grave. The other two are still missing. The murder has shocked everyone in the peaceful city of Delft, and the mayor is desperate to catch the perpetrator before panic can spread any further. With the bitterly cold January weather intensifying, it is doubtful that the other two girls are still alive. But whoever took them is still at large. The mayor requests the help of Master Mercurius, a gifted cleric from a nearby university, and local artist Vermeer, who uses his skills to sketch the crime scenes. Can they find the missing girls before it's too late? Will Mercurius be able to track down the killer? Or will more victims succumb to Death in Delft?
©2020 Graham Brack (P)2021 Tantor
A Dance with Fate
Summary
A young woman who is both a bard - and a warrior - seeks to repay her debts and settle scores in this thrilling historical fantasy series. The young warrior and bard Liobhan has lost her brother to the Otherworld. Even more determined to gain a place as an elite fighter, she returns to Swan Island to continue her training. But Liobhan is devastated when her comrade Dau is injured and loses his sight in their final display bout. Blamed by Dau's family for the accident, she agrees to go to Dau's home as a bond servant for the span of one year. There, she soon learns that Oakhill is a place of dark secrets. The vicious Crow Folk still threaten both worlds. And Dau, battling the demon of despair, is not an easy man to help. When Liobhan and Dau start to expose the rot at the center of Oakhill, they place themselves in deadly danger. For their enemy wields great power and will stop at nothing to get his way. It will take all the skills of a Swan Island warrior and a touch of the uncanny to give them a hope of survival....
©2020 Juliet Marillier (P)2020 Recorded Books
The Perfect King
Summary
From the best-selling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England comes the story of King Edward III, who - like Elizabeth and Victoria after him - embodied the values of his age, forged a nation out of war and remade England. Edwardâs life is one of the most extraordinary in all English history. He ordered his uncle to be beheaded, he usurped his fatherâs throne and he started a war which lasted for more than a hundred years. He took the crown when it was at its lowest point and raised it to new heights, presenting himself as a new King Arthur, victorious across Europe. He was the architect of many English icons - from parliamentary rule to the adoption of English as the official language and even the building of a great clock tower at Westminster. Yet behind the strong warrior king was a compassionate, conscientious and often merciful man - resolute yet devoted to his wife, friends and family, and the father of both the English nation and the English people.
©2014 Ian Mortimer (P)2016 Tantor
The Mountains Rise
Summary
**A note of warning from the author; I waited until the book was finished before writing this foreword. Now I find it difficult to encapsulate the book in a short summary, but I felt the need to forewarn you, The Reader. Many of you have probably read my previous series, Mageborn, which is set two millennia after the events in this book, so you may have some misconceptions about what youâll find here. Unlike Mageborn, this story encounters more adult issues. The main character does not always do the ârightâ thing, and in fact, cannot be called a hero. Events conspire to darken his future and twist his morality, but his choices are his own. Most importantly, the story delves into some topics of a sensitive nature, particularly sexual abuse and violence, though there is nothing graphic in the telling. I didnât set out to write a book about those things, but they came up as part of the course of this tale, and I couldnât avoid them. Before allowing some of the situations in this book, before writing them, I sought advice from a number of friends; people who have confided in me over the years. Several of them have been through experiences that correlate to a surprising degree with some of the darker elements within this tale. Fortunately, they had much better outcomes, and in fact, I doubt any of them would condone the choices that the main character in this story makes. My main purpose in writing this foreword is to make sure that my audience understands that I donât take the subject matter lightly. - Michael G. Manning
©2014 Michael G. Manning (P)2015 Podium Publishing
Midwinter Magic
Summary
Lord and Lady Sarre cordially invite you to spend Christmas at Sarre Park. Celebrate among old friends and, perhaps, a gate-crasher or two. There will be wassailers and kissing-boughs; music, dancing, and romance; laughter, and some tears. And above all, expect the unexpected because at Christmas, anything can happen. So, accept your invitation today for what promises to be the most talked-of house party of 1778 and a last huzzah for the Rockliffe series.
©2020 Stella Riley (P)2020 Stella Riley
Miranda and Caliban
Summary
A lovely girl grows up in isolation where her father, a powerful magus, has spirited them to in order to keep them safe. We all know the tale of Prospero's quest for revenge, but what of Miranda? Or Caliban, the so-called savage Prospero chained to his will? In this incredible retelling of the fantastical tale, Jacqueline Carey shows listeners the other side of the coin - the dutiful and tenderhearted Miranda, who loves her father but is terribly lonely. And Caliban, the strange and feral boy Prospero has bewitched to serve him. The two find solace and companionship in each other as Prospero weaves his magic and dreams of revenge. Always under Prospero's jealous eye, Miranda and Caliban battle the dark, unknowable forces that bind them to the island even as the pangs of adolescence create a new awareness of each other and their doomed relationship. Contains mature themes.
©2017 Jacqueline Carey (P)2017 Tantor
Untrue till Death
Summary
This time murder has hit close to home.... 1674, Leiden, the Netherlands After successfully solving the case of the missing girls in Delft, Master Mercurius has made a name for himself as a private investigator. With unrest occurring both nationally and internationally, William of Orange is obsessed by plots against his leadership. He calls on Mercurius to help to spy on state officials. But before Mercurius has a chance to investigate, his colleague at the University of Leiden is killed. And when one of William's men is also murdered, Mercurius suspects there could be a serial killer on the loose.... Are the two deaths connected? Is there a plot against the Dutch ruler? And can Mercurius successfully solve another murder case?
©2020 Graham Brack (P)2021 Tantor
Jehoshaphat
Summary
Jehoshaphat: Worldliness looks at the life of this Old Testament king of Judah and encourages us to examine ourselves in the light of his mistakes. When a Christian enters into connection with the world, he lays himself open to be "persuaded" by the world - to enter upon an unchristian course of action. "Keep thyself pure" is a valuable admonition for us all. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate." Let us ask ourselves, can our association with the world go hand in hand with our fellowship with God? This is really the question. The man who conforms to the world will be the enemy of Christ and the enemy of Christ's people. It cannot be otherwise. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." How fully was this proven in the case of King Jehoshaphat! He became the friend and companion of Ahab, one of the most evil kings in history. The beginning of evil is like the letting out of water. Small beginnings lead to fearful results. Dear Christian listener. Let us, with the Lord's help, endeavor to shake off the world's influence and purge ourselves from its ways. We have no idea how insidiously it creeps in upon us. "Take heed what ye do." "Come out, and be separate." We cannot, by any possibility, mix ourselves up with the world and allow ourselves to be governed and led by its maxims and principles without suffering in our own souls and marring our testimony.
©2015 eChristian (P)2015 eChristian
A Modest Independence
Summary
"Fans of the series will enjoy exploring secondary characters' lives and the truly heroic compromises Tom makes to be with the woman he loves." (Library Journal) He needed peace.... Solicitor Tom Finchley has spent his life using his devious intellect to solve the problems of others. As for his own problems, they're nothing that a bit of calculated vengeance can't remedy. But that's all over now. He's finally ready to put the past behind him and settle down to a quiet, uncomplicated life. If only he could find an equally uncomplicated woman. She wanted adventure.... Former lady's companion Jenny Holloway has just been given a modest independence. Now, all she wants is a bit of adventure. A chance to see the world and experience life far outside the restrictive limits of Victorian England. If she can discover the fate of the missing Earl of Castleton while she's at it, so much the better. From the gaslit streets of London to the lush tea gardens of colonial India, Jenny and Tom embark on an epic quest - and an equally epic romance. But even at the farthest edges of the British Empire, the past has a way of catching up with you....
©2019 Mimi Matthews (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
The Silent Tempest
Summary
The story of the first Illeniel wizard continues. Tyrion's life among the She'Har had become quiet, but the sins of his youth have returned to haunt him. The Mordan wardens have discovered one of his children, and the other groves are racing to find and claim the rest of his illegitimate offspring. Unable to stand by and watch as his children are used as pawns against one another, Tyrion makes a hard choice, one that will set him against everyone and everything he cares for. Others' love made his children strong, but his hate will make them powerful.
©2015 Michael G. Manning (P)2016 Podium Publishing
The Black Madonna
Summary
As England slides into Civil War, master-goldsmith and money-lender, Luciano Falcieri del Santi embarks on his own hidden agenda. A chance meeting one dark night results in an unlikely friendship with Member of Parliament, Richard Maxwell. Richardâs daughter, Kate - a spirited girl who vows to hold their home against both Cavalier and Roundhead - soon finds herself fighting an involuntary attraction to the clever, magnetic, and diabolically beautiful Italian. Hampered by the warring English and the quest itself growing daily more dangerous, Luciano begins to realize that his own life and that of everyone close to him rests on the knife-edge of success...for only success will permit him to reclaim the Black Madonna and offer his heart to the girl he loves. From the machinations within Parliament to the last days of the Kingâs cause, The Black Madonna is an epic saga of passion and intrigue at a time when England was lost in a dark and bloody conflict.
©2013 Stella Riley (P)2019 Stella Riley
Transcendence and Rebellion
Summary
The world is on the cusp of destruction as Mordecaiâs power grows beyond the limits of his own control, yet most of the powers that rule the world are oblivious. The only hope of salvaging their civilization lies with his children, but they have been scattered and branded outlaws. Meanwhile Tyrion continues to march toward his own goals, heedless of whether they will help or harm their efforts to stop the apocalypse, as even the Queen begins to doubt the archmageâs sanity. Mordecai is trapped by his own strength, a power too great to wield. Can his children stop the end of everything, even if it means sacrificing their father?
©2019 Michael G. Manning (P)2019 Podium Publishing
Cocoa Beach
Summary
The New York Times best-selling author of A Certain Age transports listeners to sunny Florida in this lush and enthralling historical novel - an enchanting blend of love, suspense, betrayal, and redemption set among the rumrunners and scoundrels of Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach. Burdened by a dark family secret, Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. While an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charismatic British army surgeon whose persistent charm opens her heart to the possibility of love. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets - secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind. Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the tropical boomtown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to settle her husband's estate. Despite the evidence, Virginia does not believe Simon perished in the fire that destroyed the seaside home he built for her and their young daughter. Separated from her husband since the early days of their marriage, the headstrong Virginia plans to uncover the truth, for the sake of the daughter Simon never met. Simon's brother and sister welcome her with open arms and introduce her to a dazzling new world of citrus groves, white beaches, bootleggers, and Prohibition agents. But Virginia senses a predatory presence lurking beneath the irresistible, hedonistic surface of this coastal oasis. The more she learns about Simon and his mysterious business interests, the more she fears that the dangers that surrounded Simon now threaten her and their daughter's life as well.
©2017 Beatriz Williams (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
The S.S. Officer's Armchair
Summary
Based on documents discovered concealed within a simple chair for 70 years, this gripping investigation into the life of a single S.S. officer during World War Two encapsulates the tragic experience of a generation of Europeans One night at a dinner party in Florence, historian Daniel Lee was told about a remarkable discovery. An upholsterer in Amsterdam had found a bundle of swastika-covered documents inside the cushion of an armchair he was repairing. They belonged to Dr. Robert Griesinger, a lawyer from Stuttgart, who joined the S.S. and worked at the Reich's Ministry of Economics and Labor in Nazi-occupied Prague during the war. An expert in the history of the Holocaust, Lee was fascinated to know more about this man - and how his most precious documents ended up hidden inside a chair, hundreds of miles from Prague and Stuttgart. In The S.S. Officer's Armchair, Lee weaves detection with biography to tell an astonishing narrative of ambition and intimacy in the Third Reich. He uncovers Griesinger's American back-story - his father was born in New Orleans and the family had ties to the plantations and music halls of nineteenth century Louisiana. As Lee follows the footsteps of a rank and file Nazi official 70 years later, and chronicles what became of him and his family at the war's end, Griesinger's role in Nazi crimes comes into focus. When Lee stumbles on an unforeseen connection between Griesinger and the murder of his own relatives in the Holocaust, he must grapple with potent questions about blame, manipulation, and responsibility. The S.S. Officer's Armchair is an enthralling detective story and a reconsideration of daily life in the Third Reich. It provides a window into the lives of Hitler's millions of nameless followers and into the mechanisms through which ordinary people enacted history's most extraordinary atrocity. Â
©2020 Daniel Lee (P)2020 Hachette Audio
The Player
Summary
Tragedy drove him into unwilling exile. Death demands his reluctant return. In the decade between, he has answered to many names and amassed a variety of secrets. Now the actor known to Paris as L'Inconnu must resume his real identity and become Francis Adrian Sinclair Devereux, Earl of Sarre...a man he no longer knows how to be and whose name, thanks to the malice of a friend turned enemy, remains tarnished by an old scandal. Revenge, so long avoided, slithers temptingly from the shadows. Granddaughter of a wealthy wool-merchant, Caroline Maitland is not finding her society debut either easy of enjoyable...but, to Marcus Sheringham, she is the perfect solution to his crushing mountain of debt. Knowing she will be married for her money, Caroline never believed she would find love; but neither did she bargain for a certain charming French highwayman...and a surprising turn of events. The stage is set, the cast assembled, and the Duke of Rockliffe waits for the curtain to rise. In the wings, Lord Sarre prepares to make his entrance. He doesn't expect to be greeted with applause.
©2015 Stella Riley (P)2016 Stella Riley
The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington
Summary
A Finalist for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History âA clever and imaginative tale.â (Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author) A thought-provoking novel that imagines what would have happened if the British had succeeded in kidnapping General George Washington. British special agent Jeremiah Black, an officer of the Kingâs Guard, lands on a lonely beach in the wee hours of the morning in late November 1780. The revolution is in full swing but has become deadlocked. Black is here to change all that. His mission, aided by Loyalists, is to kidnap George Washington and spirit him back to London aboard the HMS Peregrine, a British sloop of war that is waiting closely offshore. Once he lands, though, the âaid by Loyalistsâ proves problematic because some would prefer just to kill the general outright. Black manages - just - to get Washington aboard the Peregrine, which sails away. Upon their arrival in London, Washington is imprisoned in the Tower to await trial on charges of high treason. Englandâs most famous barristers seek to represent him but he insists on using an American. He chooses Abraham Hobhouse, an American-born barrister with an English wife - a man who doesnât really need the work and thinks the âcareer-buildingâ case will be easily resolved through a settlement of the revolution and Washingtonâs release. But as greater political and military forces swirl around them and peace seems ever more distant, Hobhouse finds that he is the only thing keeping Washington from the hangmanâs noose. Drawing inspiration from an actual kidnapping plot hatched in 1776 by a member of Washingtonâs own Commander-in-Chiefâs Guards, Charles Rosenberg has written a compelling novel that envisions what would take place if the leader of Americaâs fledgling rebellion were taken from the nation at the height of the war, imperiling any chance of victory.
©2018 Charles Rosenberg (P)2018 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited
Godborn
Summary
A savage demon clan. A godborn warrior. An oath to save his clan. It is 3000 BC. A hundred clans have been destroyed and thousands of people are dead. The Wolf God commands an inexperienced young warrior to hunt down the bloodthirsty demon horde. With a handful of his faithful spear-brothers and a heartbroken young seeress at his side, his quest will take him on a perilous journey through devastated lands. He may be the son of a god and a mortal woman, but he will need more than just his great strength to overcome the dark forces that stand in his way. To save his people he must throw aside his self-doubt and his fear and become what he was meant to be. For he is godborn. And his undying glory will change the world. Godborn is a thrilling historical fantasy series spanning the Third Millennium BC, a time when mighty gods and brutal demons still walked the earth. One immortal demigod must battle evil from the megaliths of Stonehenge and the labyrinths of the Minoans to the city states of Mesopotamia and the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and beyond. It is the Heracles myth as you have never heard it before.
©2021 Dan Davis (P)2021 Podium Audio
Past Mistakes
Summary
From the fall of Rome to the rise of the Wild West, David Mountain brings colour and perspective to historical mythmaking. The stories we tell about our past matter. But those stories have been shaped by prejudice, hoaxes and misinterpretations that have whitewashed entire chapters of history, erased women and invented civilisations. Today history is often used to justify xenophobia, nationalism and inequality as we cling to grand origin stories and heroic tales of extraordinary men. Exploring myths, mysteries and misconceptions about the past - from the legacies of figures like Pythagoras and Christopher Columbus, to the realities of life in the gun-toting Wild West, to the archaeological digs that have upset our understanding of the birth of civilisation - David Mountain reveals how ongoing revolutions in history and archaeology are shedding light on the truth. Full of adventures, and based on detailed research and interviews, Past Mistakes will make you reconsider your understanding of history - and of the world today.Â
©2020 by David Mountain. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Dishonour and Obey
Summary
A royal marriage is in the making. But not everyone is happy with the match.... 1676, Leiden, the Netherlands Two years have passed since Master Mercurius last found himself embroiled in a murder case, and he has welcomed the peaceful interval. But now a letter has arrived for him from Stadhouder William of Orange. And a letter from William can only mean one thing - Mercurius is wanted for another mission. William has decided he wants to marry. And he has his sights set on Princess Mary, the niece of King Charles II of England. William has decided that Mercurius, as an ordained minister, is the perfect person to travel to England and secure the hand of the princess on his behalf. But when Mercurius arrives at the English court it becomes clear that there are powerful people opposed to the match. And as the Stadhouder's representative, Mercurius himself could be in their firing line.... Can Mercurius complete his mission with his life - and his honour - intact?
©2020 Graham Brack (P)2021 Tantor
The Wicked Cousin
Summary
Sebastian Audley has spent years setting every city in Europe by the ears and keeping the scandal-sheets in profit. Word that he is finally returning to London becomes the hottest topic of the Season and casts numerous young ladies - many of whom have never seen him - into a fever of anticipation. Cassandra Delahaye is not one of them. In her opinion, love affairs and duels, coupled with a reputation for never refusing even the most death-defying wager, suggest that Mr. Audley is short of a brain cell or two. And while their first, very unorthodox meeting shows that perhaps he isn't entirely stupid, it creates other reservations entirely. Sebastian finds dodging admiring females and living down his reputation for reckless dare-devilry a full-time occupation. He had known that putting the past behind him in a society with an insatiable appetite for scandal and gossip would not be easy. But what he had not expected was to become the target of a former lover's dangerous obsession...or to find himself falling victim to a pair of storm-cloud eyes.
©2017 Stella Riley (P)2017 Stella Riley
Infidel Stain
Summary
London, 1841. Returned from their adventures in India, Jeremiah Blake and William Avery have both had their difficulties adapting to life in Victorian England. Moreover, time and distance have weakened the close bond between them, forged in the jungles of India. Then a shocking series of murders in the world of London's gutter press forces them back together. The police seem mysteriously unwilling to investigate, then connections emerge between the murdered men and the growing and unpredictable movement demanding the right to vote for all. In the backstreets of Drury Lane, among criminals, whores, pornographers, and missionaries, Blake and Avery must race against time to find the culprit before he kills again. But what if the murderer is being protected by some of the highest powers in the land?
©2016 Original Material © 2016 by M.J. Carter. Recorded by arrangement with G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Garland of Straw
Summary
The marriage of a well-bred Royalist lady and an illegitimate Roundhead Colonel is less a match made in heaven than a union doomed to hell. Unfortunately, Sir Robert Brandon's last will and testament leaves Venetia Clifford and Gabriel Brandon with little choice in the matter - deeply though they both resent it. Their tempestuous relationship is reflected in the stormy events buffeting the nation as England slides inexorably into a second Civil War. Gabriel continues to serve in the New Model Army whilst, behind his back, Venetia engages in clandestine activities on behalf of the King; and the lives of both of them are further complicated when Gabriel's half-brother - to whom Venetia was formerly betrothed - returns from exile. While the Army and Parliament argue over the fate of the King, Gabriel realises that he has a dangerous enemy and Venetia finally begins to see the man rather than the Roundhead Colonel. As events gather pace, bringing the King to trial, the tangled web of danger and deceit surrounding both Gabriel and Venetia slowly tightens its grip. Set against the compelling times which led to the execution of Charles l, Garland of Straw is the story of a seemingly impossibly love an also provides further chapters in the lives of characters previously encountered in The Black Madonna and A Splendid Defiance.
©2013 Stella Riley (P)2020 Stella Riley
Autumn Duchess
Summary
A different kind of happily-ever-after for the incurably romantic.... As Antoniaâs world collapses around her, in swaggers a handsome stranger to completely upend her life. Little does she realize, this rugged merchant of mayhem is precisely what she needs. NOR 5? Top Pick All Time Keeper Shelf 2012 Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist B.R.A.G. Medallion® Honoree
©2011, 2014 (2nd edition) Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant
Nell Gwyn
Summary
Written by a direct descendant of the union between Nell Gwyn and King Charles II, Nell Gwyn tells the story of one of England's great folk heroines. Born during a tumultuous period in England's past, Nell Gwyn was spotted selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Nell's wit and charm brought her to the attention of numerous suitors, including one of the theater's leading actors, Charles Hart. Under his patronage Nell took to the stage where she became one of London's first professional female actresses, and the finest comedienne in London. She then caught the eye of the pleasure-seeking "merry monarch" King Charles II, and their seventeen-year love affair played out against the backdrop of the Great Fire of London, the Great Plague, court scandals, and the constant threat of political revolution. Magnificently re-creating the heady, licentious, yet politically charged atmosphere of Restoration England, Nell Gwyn tells the true-life Cinderella story of a common orange girl who became England's first "people's princess."
©2005 Charles Beauclerk. Recorded by arrangement with Grove/Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Cadenza
Summary
Rockliffe Series recommended in The Times. The performance finished in a flourish of technical brilliance and the young man rose from the harpsichord to a storm of applause. Julian Langham was poised on the brink of a dazzling career when the lawyers lured him into making a catastrophic mistake. Now, instead of the concert platform, he has a title he doesnât want, an estate verging on bankruptcy...and bewildering responsibilities for which he is totally unfitted. And yet the wreckage of Julianâs life is not a completely ill wind. For Tom, Rob, and Ellie it brings something that is almost a miracle...if they dare believe in it. Meanwhile, first-cousins Arabella Brandon and Elizabeth Marsden embark on a daring escapade which will provide each of them with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The adventure will last only a few weeks, after which everything will be the way it was before. Or so they think. What neither of them expects is for it to change a number of lives...most notably, their own. And there is an additional complication of which they are wholly unaware. The famed omniscience of the Duke of Rockliffe.
©2018 Stella Riley (P)2019 Stella Riley
A Trick of Fate
Summary
Someone is misusing Max Brandonâs name - resulting in bills for services he never ordered and goods he did not buy. For reasons he can't begin to guess, he has become the victim of some unknown person's campaign of persecution. When the games move closer to home, almost forcing him to fight a duel...more particularly, when they draw in Frances Pendleton, a lady he never expected to see again...Max vows to catch the man behind them, no matter what the cost. The result is a haphazard chase involving ruined abbeys, a hunt for hermits, a grotesque portrait...and a love story which, but for this odd trick of fate, might never have been given a second chance.
©2019 Stella Riley (P)2020 Stella Riley
The Parfit Knight
Summary
When the Marquis of Amberley's coach is waylaid by highwaymen and his coachman shot, he is forced to take shelter at the first house he finds and is subsequently trapped there for a week by a severe snowstorm. Oakleigh Manor is the home of Rosalind Vernon who lives alone but for her devoted servants and an ill-natured parrot, cut off from the outside world by the tragic result of a childhood accident. But Rosalind is brave and bright and totally devoid of self-pity - and it is these qualities which, as the days pass and the snow continues to fall, touch Amberley's heart. On his return to London, the Marquis persuades Rosalind's brother, Philip, to bring her to town for a taste of society, despite her handicap. But the course of Amberley's courtship is far from smooth. Philip Vernon actively dislikes him; Rosalind appears to be falling under the spell of the suavely elegant Duke of Rockliffe; and worse still, Amberley is haunted by a dark and terrible secret that, if revealed, may cause him to lose Rosalind forever.
©2016 Stella Riley (P)2016 Stella Riley
Aesthetics
Summary
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of art, beauty, and taste. It doesn't just consider traditional artistic experiences such as artworks in a museum or an opera performance, but also everyday experiences such as autumn leaves in the park or even just the light of the setting sun falling on the kitchen table. It is also about your experience when you choose the shirt you're going to wear today or when you wonder whether you should put more pepper in the soup. Aesthetics is everywhere. It is one of the most important aspects of our life. In this Very Short Introduction audiobook, Bence Nanay introduces the field of aesthetics, considering both Western and non-Western aesthetic traditions and exploring why it is sometimes misunderstood or considered to be too elitist - by artists, musicians, and even philosophers. As Nanay shows, so-called "high art" has no more claims on aesthetics than sitcoms, tattoos, or punk rock. In fact, the scope of aesthetics extends far wider than that of art, high or low, including much of what we care about in life. It is not the job of aesthetics to tell you which artworks are good and which ones are bad. It is not the job of aesthetics to tell you what experiences are worth having. If an experience is worth having for you, it thereby becomes the subject of aesthetics. This realization is important because thinking about aesthetics in this inclusive way opens up new ways of understanding old questions about the social aspect of our aesthetic engagements and the importance of aesthetic values for our own self.
©2019 Bence Nanay (P)2020 Tantor
Proud Mary: A Georgian Historical Romance
Summary
The Roxtons are back! Romance. Drama. Intrigue. Family secrets. There's never a dull moment for the 18th century's first family. Widowed and destitute, Lady Mary Cavendish is left with only her pride. Daughter of an earl and great-granddaughter to a Stuart King, family expectation and obligation demands she remarry. But not just any man will do; her husband must rank among the nobility. Falling in love with her handsome and enigmatic neighbor is out of the question. As always, Mary will do her duty and ignore her heart. Country squire Christopher Bryce has secretly loved his neighbor Mary for many years. Yet he is resigned to the cruel reality they are not social equals, and thus can never share a future together. Never mind that his scandalous past and a heartbreaking secret make him thoroughly unworthy of such a proud beauty. Then into their lives steps a ghost from Mary's past, whose outrageous behavior has Mary questioning her worldview and Christopher acting upon his feelings, and for all to see. The mismatched couple begin to wonder if in fact love can prevail - that a happily ever after might just be possible if only they dare to follow their hearts. Fans of the series will also delight in being reacquainted with the fascinating, always surprising, and never ordinary members of the Roxton family. Part of the highly acclaimed Roxton Family saga. Non-explicit, mild sensuality
©2017 Lucinda Brant (P)2017 Lucinda Brant
The Strangler Vine
Summary
India, 1837: William Avery is a young soldier with few prospects except rotting away in campaigns in India; Jeremiah Blake is a secret political agent gone native, a genius at languages and disguises, disenchanted with the whole ethos of British rule, but who cannot resist the challenge of an unresolved mystery. What starts as a wild goose chase for this unlikely pair - trying to track down a missing writer who lifts the lid on Calcutta society - becomes very much more sinister as Blake and Avery get sucked into the mysterious Thugee cult and its even more ominous suppression. There are shades of Heart of Darkness, sly references to Conan Doyle, that bring brilliantly to life the India of the 1830s with its urban squalor, glamorous princely courts and bazaars, and the ambiguous presence of the British overlords - the officers of the East India Company - who have their own predatory ambitions beyond London's oversight.
©2015 Recorded by arrangement with G.P. Putnam's Sons, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, a Penguin Random House Company (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
The Red Notebook
Summary
Heroic bookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street. There's nothing in the bag to indicate who it belongs to, although there's all sorts of other things in it. Laurent feels a strong impulse to find the owner and tries to puzzle together who she might be from the contents of the bag. Especially a red notebook with her jottings, which really makes him want to meet her. Without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions?
©2015 Gallic Books (P)2016 Tantor
Salt Hendon Collection
Summary
This special boxed set edition is for all the fans who requested actor Alex Wyndham's narration of two of Lucinda Brant's best-loved books, Salt Bride and its sequel Salt Redux. Also included is a 20,000-word bonus novella, Salt Angel, featuring well-loved characters from the Salt books. The Salt Hendon Collection is a great introduction to Lucinda Brant's richly romantic 18th century world, and Alex Wyndham's superlative voice talent. Character-driven romantic suspense, similar to Regency noir. Non explicit (mild sensuality).
©2016 Lucinda Brant (P)2016 Lucinda Brant
Christian Poetry, Book 2
Summary
< A selection of famous and not so famous poems and lyrics on spiritual themes . This Collection of 63 poems by various authors including, John Newton, Elizabeth Dark, Frances Ridley Havergal, Charles Wesley, John Bodman, H. D'A Champney, Jeanne Marie de la Motte-Guyon and many others. has been brought together in order that these spiritual truths and impressions, presented in poetical form, will comfort and edify God's people as they wrestle daily with the world, the flesh, and the devil. To know that others have felt what we have felt, 'Through all the changing scenes of life, In trouble and in joy', to hear the feelings in our hearts echoed back to us, to be reminded of our Lord's love, will comfort the soul and bring encouragement. Some of the poems and lyrics included will be familiar as they have been set to music and become famous hymns - as John Newton puts it 'these are not 'odes', but are truths put plainly and simply for ordinary people to understand'. Some others are perhaps more deep and thought-provoking. Perhaps listening to them being read, instead of being sung will allow you to appreciate the sentiments in a different way. This audio edition is produced with the prayerful desire that the Blessed Spirit of God may be pleased to use it for Christ's Glory and for the comfort, encouragement and edification of God's people. These poems are read by Alex Wyndham, Paul Ansdell, Anita Wright and Stuart Packer. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2015 Words by the Wayside (P)2015 Words by the Wayside
Deadly Engagement
Summary
It's 1763. Career diplomat Alec Halsey returns to London and the shocking news his estranged elder brother, the Earl of Delvin, has not only killed his friend in a duel but become engaged to the woman he had hoped to marry. When Alec reluctantly attends a weekend house party to celebrate his brother's engagement, he gets more than he bargained for when a lady's maid is murdered, the bride-to-be is attacked, and a guest is shot dead. Alec uncovers a connection between these sinister acts and his brother's duel. He must also confront a cruel twist of fate that explains why his brother loathes him and will go to any lengths to discredit him in Polite Society.
©2011 Lucinda Brant (P)2014 Lucinda Brant
A Splendid Defiance
Summary
For two years, England has been in the grip of Civil War. In Banbury, Oxfordshire, the Cavaliers hold the castle, the Roundheads want it back and the town is full of zealous Puritans. Consequently, the gulf between Captain Justin Ambrose and Abigail Radford, the sister of a fanatically religious shopkeeper, ought to be unbridgeable. The key to both the fate of the castle and that of Justin and Abigail lies in defiance...but will it be enough? A Splendid Defiance is a dramatic and enchanting story of forbidden love, set against the turmoil and anguish of the first English Civil War.
©2012 Stella Riley (P)2016 Stella Riley
Forever Remain: Roxton Letters Volume Two
Summary
This second volume of previously unpublished letters from the private correspondence of the Roxton family spans a 20-year period, from the 1760s to the late 1780s, and includes extracts from the diaries of Antonia, Duchess of Kinross, and her younger son Lord Henri-Antoine Hesham. Also included are letters by the fifth Duke of Roxton, written in the final stages of his illness, and addressed to his youngest son, Lord Henri-Antoine. The volume concludes with a letter by the latterâs wife, Lady Henri-Antoine Hesham, to her mother-in-law, the Duchess of Kinross, while abroad on her bridal trip. These letters complement the later chronology of the award-winning Roxton Family Saga: Dair Devil, Proud Mary, and Satyrâs Son. With a foreword by a late-Victorian descendant, Alice-Victoria, 10th Duchess of Roxton.
©2018 Lucinda Brant (P)2018 Lucinda Brant
Ragdoll
Summary
William Fawkes, a controversial detective known as The Wolf, has just been reinstated to his post after he was suspended for assaulting a vindicated suspect. Still under psychological evaluation, Fawkes returns to the force eager for a big case. When his former partner and friend, detective Emily Baxter, calls him to a crime scene, he's sure this is it: the body is made of the dismembered parts of six victims, sewn together like a puppet - a corpse that becomes known as "The Ragdoll". Fawkes is tasked with identifying the six victims, but that gets dicey when his reporter ex-wife anonymously receives photographs from the crime scene, along with a list of six names, and the dates on which the Ragdoll Killer plans to murder them. The final name on the list is Fawkes. Baxter and her trainee partner, Alex Edmunds, hone in on figuring out what links the victims together before the killer strikes again. But for Fawkes, seeing his name on the list sparks a dark memory, and he fears that the catalyst for these killings has more to do with him - and his past - than anyone realizes. With a breakneck pace, a twisty plot, and a wicked sense of humor, Ragdoll announces the arrival of the hottest new brand in crime fiction.
©2017 Daniel Cole (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
The Maiden's Hand
Summary
Roguishly handsome Oliver de Lacey has always lived lustily: wine, weapons, and women are his bywords. Even salvation from the noose by a shadowy society provides no epiphany to mend his debauched ways. Mistress Lark's sole passion is her secret work with a group of Protestant dissidents thwarting the queen's executions. She needs no other excitement - until Oliver de Lacey drops through the hangman's door and into her life. As their fates become inextricably bound together in a struggle against royal persecution, both Oliver and Lark discover a love worth saving...even dying for.
©2009 Susan Wiggs (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Lusam
Summary
After failing to completely close The Rift, Lusam and Neala travel south in search of the illusive Pearl Isle, where they hope to discover the fourth Guardian book, and return in time to try again. Time, however, is not on their side, as the dark God, Aamon, sets in motion a plan to restore his own power, and once again tear open The Rift to unleash the horrors of the Netherworld upon their world. Aysha's new inability to see his destiny, along with her prophetic warnings about a hidden realm and Neala's certain death if she enters it, all weigh heavily on Lusam's mind. Old friendships are rekindled, and new ones forged along the way, some more strange than they could ever have imagined. And a new discovery is made, one so profound that it will change Lusam's life forever, as well as rewrite the very history of Afaraon.
©2017 Dean Cadman (P)2018 Podium Publishing
Deadly Peril
Summary
Winter 1763. Alec, Lord Halsey, is sent on a diplomatic mission to Midanich, imperial outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, to bargain for the freedom of imprisoned friends. Midanich is a place of great danger and dark secrets - a country at civil war, ruled by a family with madness in its veins. For Alec it is a place of unspeakable memories from which he barely escaped and vowed never to return. But return he must if he is to save the lives of Emily St. Neots and Sir Cosmo Mahon. In a race against time, Alec and the English delegation journey across the icy wasteland for the castle fortress where Emily and Cosmo are imprisoned. The severe weather is as much an enemy as the soldiers of the opposing armies encamped along the way. Awaiting him at his destination is the Margrave and his sister, demanding nothing less than Alec's head on a pike.
©2015 Lucinda Brant (P)2016 Lucinda Brant
The Marigold Chain
Summary
England, 1666; the year all the prophecies said the world would end. For Chloe Hervaux, marriage to wild, unpredictable Alex Deveril offers escape from a home she hates. For Alex, waking up with an epic hangover, the discovery that he has acquired a bride is an unwelcome shock. But while the marriage remains in name only, other forces are gathering. England is at war with the Dutch, and Prince Rupert suspects that sabotage is at work in the fleet. Instructed to find and stop the traitor, Alex enters a dark, secret labyrinth of intrigue - where no life is safe and nothing is what it seems. Chloe, meanwhile, navigates the shark-infested waters of Charles 11's licentious Court and plots a course of her own aimed at financial independence. But as the diverse facets of Mr. Deveril's personality are gradually revealed, her mock-marriage becomes fraught with difficulties - the greatest of which is Mr. Deveril himself. Absorbed in his search for a traitor, Alex spares little thought for personal matters and less for his bride. But as the flames of the Great Fire sweep over London, he and Chloe face their ultimate test. Their world is at risk...their choices may save it. The Marigold Chain is a richly-woven tale of intrigue, danger, and love set against a backdrop of Restoration England during the year expected to be Doomsday.
©1983, 2012, 2015 Stella Riley (P)2018 Stella Riley
Satyr's Son: A Georgian Historical Romance
Summary
London, 1786. Lord Henri-Antoine has returned from the Grand Tour to a life of privilege and excess. A vast inheritance allows him every indulgence, free from responsibility. Yet, Henri-Antoine maintains a well-ordered existence, going to great lengths to conceal an affliction few understand and many fear. Miss Lisa Crisp is a penniless orphan who relies on the charity of relatives to keep her from the poorhouse. Intelligent and unflappable, Lisa will not allow poverty to define her. She leads a useful life working among the sick poor. Under startling circumstances, Henri-Antoine and Lisa meet. There is instant attraction. When they find themselves attending the same wedding in the country, Henri-Antoine offers Lisa a scandalous proposition, one she should refuse but yearns to accept. Following her heart could ruin them both. A standalone romantic adventure set against the backdrop of Treat, ancestral home of the dukes of Roxton. Satyr's Son will delight fans of the series with cameos by many beloved characters, while new listeners will discover the myriad pleasures and glittering aristocratic world of the Roxton family through the fresh eyes of newcomer Lisa Crisp. Satyr's Son is a Cinderella story with a heartwarming happily ever after.
©2017 Lucinda Brant (P)2017 Lucinda Brant
Midnight Marriage: A Georgian Historical Romance
Summary
Two noble teenagers are married against their will. Drugged, Deb has no recollection of events. Disgraced, Julian is banished to the continent. Years later, Deb falls in love with a wounded duelist, only to discover it is her husband, returned incognito! Can Deb forgive his calculated deception? Will their marriage survive beyond seduction? Set in the opulent world of the aristocracy and inspired by real events, Lucinda Brant delivers another lavish 18th century experience in her trademark style - heart-wrenching drama with a happily ever after. 2013 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Medalist.
©2014 Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant
Deadly Affair
Summary
Career diplomat Alec Halsey has been elevated to a marquessate he doesn't want. His lover has decided she won't marry him after all. What's more, the suspicion that he murdered his brother still lingers in London drawing rooms. So returning to London after seven months' seclusion may have been a mistake. Alec's foreboding deepens when a nobody vicar drops dead at a party-political dinner, he witnesses the very public humiliation of an up-and-coming portrait painter, and his rabble-rousing uncle Plantagenet is bashed and left for dead in a laneway. When the vicar's true identity is revealed, Alec suspects the man was poisoned. But who would want a seemingly harmless man of God murdered, and why? Lucinda Brant's Alec Halsey mysteries explore the darker side of her deliciously romantic 18th century world. Along with trademark wit and high drama there are deeper subplots and even quirkier characters that will have you shuddering and laughing in equal measure! 2012 Australian Romance Readers Awards finalist
©2013 Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant
Dair Devil: A Georgian Historical Romance
Summary
Winner - Best Historical Novel, 2015 RONE Awards Opposites attract. Appearances can deceive. A dashing and rugged façade hides the vulnerable man within. He will gamble with his life, but never his heart. Always the observer, never the observed, her fragility hides conviction. She will risk everything for love. One fateful night they collide. The attraction is immediate, the consequences profound.... London and Hampshire, 1777: The story of Alisdair "Dair" Fitzstuart, nobleman, ex-soldier, and rogue, and Aurora "Rory" Talbot, spinster, pineapple fancier, and granddaughter of England's Spymaster General, and how they fall in love.
©2014 Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant
Hazard
Summary
Hazard: A game of Chance and Luck, made riskier when Fate is rolling the dice. For Aristide Delacroix, the first throw summons shades from his past. A man he had met, just once, over a card-table... and the lovely girl indirectly responsible for plunging his life into catastrophe.  For Lord Nicholas Wynstanton, tired of waiting for Madeleine Delacroix to make up her mind, it slyly suggests he begin a whole new game with loaded dice; while for Madeleine, it devises a terrifying lesson in missed opportunities and the uncertainty of second chances. And for Genevieve Westin, hoping widowhood will be happier than marriage, it brings a rude awakening - leaving a single, wild gamble as her only option.  A cardsharp turned businessman, a dukeâs charming brother, a stubborn, razor-edged beauty, and a desperate widow.  Four players in a game of Hazard... all playing for very high stakes.Â
©2018 Stella Riley (P)2018 Stella Riley
Hangman
Summary
A detective with no one to trust A killer with nothing to lose Detective Emily Baxter is still reeling from the Ragdoll case, and from the disappearance of her friend William âWolfâ Fawkes. Despite her reluctance to jump into another gruesome case, sheâs summoned to a meeting of a new FBI/CIA/UK law enforcement task force in New York. There, she is presented with photographs of the latest copycat murder: a body contorted into a familiar pose, strung up from the Brooklyn Bridge, the word BAIT carved deep into its chest. As the media pressure intensifies, Baxter is ordered to assist with the investigation and attend the scene of another murder, again with a victim inscribed with a word - PUPPET. The murders continue to grow in spectacle and depravity on both sides of the Atlantic, and the team helplessly plays catch-up. Baxter must shake off the grief and fear that have paralyzed her for the last year so she can stop another terrible killer before itâs too late.
©2018 Daniel Cole (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers
Christian Poetry, Book 3
Summary
Christian Poetry, Book 3 is selection of famous and not so famous poems and lyrics on spiritual themes. This Collection of 63 poems by various authors including Christina Rossetti, Thomas Ken, John Nelson Darby, Richard Baxter, Isaac Watts, Gerhardt Ter Steegan, Anne Ross Cousin and many others has been brought together in order that these spiritual truths and impressions, presented in poetical form, will comfort and edify God's people as they wrestle daily with the world, the flesh, and the devil. To know that others have felt what we have felt, 'Through all the changing scenes of life, In trouble and in joy' to hear the feelings in our hearts echoed back to us, to be reminded of our Lord's love, will comfort the soul and bring encouragement. Some of the poems and lyrics included will be familiar as they have been set to music and become famous hymns - as John Newton puts it 'these are not 'odes', but are truths put plainly and simply for ordinary people to understand'. Some others are perhaps more deep and thought- provoking. Perhaps listening to them being read, instead of being sung will allow you to appreciate the sentiments in a different way. This Volume contains 63 poems by various authors including Christina Rossetti, Thomas Ken, John Nelson Darby, Richard Baxter, Isaac Watts, Gerhardt Ter Steegan, Anne Ross Cousin and many others. This audio edition is produced with the prayerful desire that the Blessed Spirit of God may be pleased to use it for Christ's Glory and for the comfort, encouragement and edification of God's people.
©2015 Words by the Wayside (P)2015 Words by the Wayside
Noble Satyr: A Georgian Historical Romance
Summary
Noble Satyr: A Georgian Historical Romance 1740s France and England - the age of hedonism and enlightenment. Renard, Duke of Roxton, is wealthy beyond measure. Arrogant and self assured, his heart remains his own. Optimistic and headstrong, Antonia Moran is determined to flee the Court of Versailles with the Duke's unwitting assistance. Roxton is an unlikely savior - arrogant, promiscuous, and sinister. Antonia's unquestioning belief in him may just be his salvation, and her undoing. A classic "Beauty and the Beast" tale, this award-winning historical romance is a homage to Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades.
©2011, 2013 Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant
Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One
Summary
These are letters from the private correspondence of the Roxton family, spanning 1743-1777, with extracts from the diaries of Antonia, fifth duchess of Roxton and seventh duchess of Kinross. They include Roxton's last letter to Antonia. This volume complements the first three books of the award-winning Roxton Family Saga: Noble Satyr, Midnight Marriage, and Autumn Duchess, with a foreword by a late-Victorian descendant, Alice-Victoria, 10th duchess of Roxton.
©2015 Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant
At the King's Command: A Novel
Summary
Frustrated by his own failures at matrimony, King Henry VIII punishes an insolent nobleman by commanding him to marry the vagabond woman caught stealing his horse. Stephen de Lacey is a cold and bitter widower, long accustomed to the sovereign's capricious and malicious whims. He regards his new bride as utterly inconvenient...though undeniably fetching. But Juliana Romanov is no ordinary thief - she is a Russian princess forced into hiding by the traitorous cabal who slaughtered her family. One day she hopes to return to Muscovy to seek vengeance. What begins as a mockery of a marriage ultimately blossoms into deepest love.
©1994 Susan Wiggs (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Christian Poetry, Book 1
Summary
Christian Poetry, Book 1 is selection of famous and not so famous poems and lyrics on spiritual themes. This Collection of 62 Poems by various authors including William Cowper, Thomas Kelly, Willie Mullan, Robert Murray McCheyne, Charlotte Elliott, George Herbert, Charitie Lees De Chenez and many others, has been brought together in order that these spiritual truths and impressions, presented in poetical form, will comfort and edify God's people as they wrestle daily with the world, the flesh, and the devil. To know that others have felt what we have felt, 'Through all the changing scenes of life , In trouble and in joy' to hear the feelings in our hearts echoed back to us, to be reminded of our Lord's love, will comfort the soul and bring encouragement. Some of the poems and lyrics included will be familiar as they have been set to music and become famous hymns - as John Newton puts it 'these are not 'odes', but are truths put plainly and simply for ordinary people to understand'. Some others are perhaps more deep and thought- provoking. Perhaps listening to them being read, instead of being sung will allow you to appreciate the sentiments in a different way. This audio edition is produced with the prayerful desire that the Blessed Spirit of God may be pleased to use it for Christ's Glory and for the comfort, encouragement and edification of God's people.
©2015 Words by the Wayside (P)2015 Words by the Wayside
Hope - Complete and Unabridged
Summary
"...The just Creator condescends to write, In beams of inextinguishable light, His names of wisdom, goodness, power, and love, On all that blooms below, or shines above; To catch the wandering notice of mankind, And teach the world, if not perversely blind...." William Cowper (1731-1800) was born in Hertfordshire, England. His hymns and poems are well known all over the world.
©2015 Words by the Wayside (P)2015 Words by the Wayside
At the Queen's Summons
Summary
Feisty orphan Pippa de Lacey lives by wit and skill as a London street performer. But when her sharp tongue gets her into serious trouble, she throws herself upon the mercy of Irish chieftain Aidan O'Donoghue. Pippa provides a welcome diversion for Aidan as he awaits an audience with the queen, who holds his people's fate in her hands. Amused at first, he becomes obsessed with the audacious waif who claims his patronage. Rash and impetuous, their unlikely alliance reverberates with desire and the tantalizing promise of a life each has always wanted - but never dreamed of attaining.Â
©2009 Susan Wiggs (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers