Samora thought her path was set: a betrothal to a wealthy merchant's son, her life mapped out under the watchful gaze of society. She never imagined her plans might be overturned by the will of the gods. Selected by the god's avatar and swept away by unimaginable passion, her innocent body is claimed by the god's chosen, her fertile womb filled with his divine essence. After the storm of desire subsides, she finds herself torn between the duty she has always known and the connection she feels for the simple young man behind the god's celestial light. As her belly grows she will need to choose - to return to the life she knows, or accept the future the gods have offered her, the one that calls to her heart's truest longing.
Olivia Blake has been taken. Out of the bed where she slept. Out of the nice, safe apartment filled with all her ordinary things. Out of the quiet, Northwestern town where no monsters could possibly exist. Out of her whole human world.But the worst thing about monsters is, they don't always want to kill you. Sometimes, they want to keep you.OLIVIA is the uncut, uncensored edition of R. Lee Smith's first full-length novel--the tale of one young woman's descent into a dark, savage new world she must not only embrace, but ultimately fight to save.
After being abandoned by her almost-betrothed, Caroline Nash vows to never again get involved with a man. Especially not the middle-aged earl her father has chosen for her. The man is a pompous ass and one of Prinny’s set who only wants her for her dowry. To complicate matters, a kiss from the Midnight Marauder unleashes an unbelievable passion that Caroline can’t seem to forget. Stephan, the Marquis of Kendrick, poses as the robbing marauder to avenge his low-born mother. But he starts questioning his plans when one of his “missions” crosses paths with Caroline and leads to the kiss of a lifetime. Stephan senses that this proper miss is more fiery than he expected and he wants more. To be properly introduced to the woman of his dreams, he attends the Prince Regent’s house party. He finds her, begging a friend to pretend to court her – to fend off the man her father has chosen. Stephan couldn’t wish for a better opportunity – he’ll happily court her, but he doesn’t want to pretend. Their connection is sizzling, but can this charade become something real once Stephan’s secrets are revealed? Each book in the Rake Trilogy series is STANDALONE: * A Rake's Redemption * A Rake's Revenge * A Rake's Rebellion
National Book Award Finalist: “This man’s ideas may be the most influential, not to say controversial, of the second half of the twentieth century.”—Columbus Dispatch At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes's still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only three thousand years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion—and indeed our future. “Don’t be put off by the academic title of Julian Jaynes’s The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Its prose is always lucid and often lyrical…he unfolds his case with the utmost intellectual rigor.”—The New York Times “When Julian Jaynes . . . speculates that until late in the twentieth millennium BC men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of the gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis.”—John Updike, The New Yorker “He is as startling as Freud was in The Interpretation of Dreams, and Jaynes is equally as adept at forcing a new view of known human behavior.”—American Journal of Psychiatry
Arthur Tudor has made his existence as a vampire bearable for over three hundred years by immersing himself in blood and debauchery. Aboard an airship gala, he meets Avalon, an aspiring vampire slayer who sparks fire into Arthur's shriveled heart. Together they try to solve the mystery of several horrendous murders on the dark streets of London. Cultures clash and pressures rise in this very steamy tale. "...a delightful combination of historical fiction, romance and steampunk..." ~True-blood.net "From its opening scene until the final page, this intriguing novel engages the reader’s interest…witty dialogue, historical authenticity, and mystery result in a highly entertaining novel" ~Bitten by Books “Fans of Gail Carriger will LOVE Avalon Revisited...Pick it up- it’s a great read!” ~ Old Towne Books & Tea
In our time nobody is content to stop with faith but wants to go further. It would perhaps be rash to ask where these people are going, but it is surely a sign of breeding and culture for me to assume that everybody has faith, for otherwise it would be queer for them to be . . . going further. In those old days it was different, then faith was a task for a whole lifetime, because it was assumed that dexterity in faith is not acquired in a few days or weeks. When the tried oldster drew near to his last hour, having fought the good fight and kept the faith, his heart was still young enough not to have forgotten that fear and trembling which chastened the youth, which the man indeed held in check, but which no man quite outgrows. . . except as he might succeed at the earliest opportunity in going further. Where these revered figures arrived, that is the point where everybody in our day begins to go further.
"Every historical fiction novel should strive to be this compelling, well-researched and just flat-out good." — Associated Press For fans of The Nightingale and The Handmaid's Tale, Cradles of the Reich uncovers a topic rarely explored in fiction: the Lebensborn project, a Nazi breeding program to create a so-called master race. Through thorough research and with deep empathy, this chilling historical novel goes inside one of the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that existed in several countries during World War II, where thousands of "racially fit" babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part of the new Germany. At the Heim Hochland maternity home in Bavaria, three women's lives coverage as they find themselves there under very different circumstances. Gundi is a pregnant university student from Berlin. An Aryan beauty, she's secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde, only eighteen, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to carry a Nazi official's child. And Irma, a 44-year-old nurse, is desperate to build a new life for herself after personal devastation. Despite their opposing beliefs, all three have everything to lose as they begin to realize they are trapped within Hitler's terrifying scheme to build a Nazi-Aryan nation. A cautionary tale for modern times told in stunning detail, Cradles of the Reich uncovers a little-known Nazi atrocity but also carries an uplifting reminder of the power of women to set aside differences and work together in solidarity in the face of oppression. "Skillfully researched and told with great care and insight, here is a World War II story whose lessons should not—must not—be forgotten." — Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things
A beautifully packaged edition of one of García Márquez's most beloved novels, with never-before-seen color illustrations by the Chilean artist Luisa Rivera and an interior design created by the author's son, Gonzalo García Barcha. In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs—yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he will do so again.
In Pagan Theology, Michael York situates Paganism—one of the fastest-growing spiritual orientations in the West—as a world religion. He provides an introduction to, and expansion of, the concept of Paganism and provides an overview of Paganism's theological perspective and practice. He demonstrates it to be a viable and distinguishable spiritual perspective found around the world today in such forms as Chinese folk religion, Shinto, tribal religions, and neo-Paganism in the West. While adherents to many of these traditions do not use the word “pagan” to describe their beliefs or practices, York contends that there is an identifiable position possessing characteristics and understandings in common for which the label “pagan” is appropriate. After outlining these characteristics, he examines many of the world's major religions to explore religious behaviors in other religions which are not themselves pagan, but which have pagan elements. In the course of examining such behavior, York provides rich and lively descriptions of religions in action, including Buddhism and Hinduism. Pagan Theology claims Paganism’s place as a world religion, situating it as a religion, a behavior, and a theology.
"Lewis struck me as the most thoroughly converted man I ever met," observes Walter Hooper in the preface to this collection of essays by C.S. Lewis. "His whole vision of life was such that the natural and the supernatural seemed inseparably combined. "It is precisely this pervasive Christianity which is demonstrated in the forty-eight essays comprising God in the Dock. Here Lewis addresses himself both to theological questions and to those which Hooper terms "semi-theological," or ethical. But whether he is discussing "Evil and God," "Miracles," "The Decline of Religion," or "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment," his insight and observations are thoroughly and profoundly Christian. Drawn from a variety of sources, the essays were designed to meet a variety of needs, and among other accomplishments they serve to illustrate the many different angles from which we are able to view the Christian religion. They range from relatively popular pieces written for newspapers to more learned defenses of the faith which first appeared in The Socratic Digest. Characterized by Lewis's honesty and realism, his insight and conviction, and above all his thoroughgoing commitments to Christianity, these essays make God in the Dock very much a book for our time.--Amazon.com.
