The Queen's Dwarf
The Queen's Dwarf

Author: Ella March Chase

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2014-01-21

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 1250038529

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A richly imagined, gorgeously written historical novel set in the Stuart court featuring a unique hero: Jeffrey Hudson, a dwarf tasked with spying on the beautiful but vulnerable queen It's 1629, and King Charles I and his French queen Henrietta Maria have reigned in England for less than three years. Young dwarf Jeffrey Hudson is swept away from a village shambles and plunged into the Stuart court when his father sells him to the most hated man in England—the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham trains Jeffrey to be his spy in the household of Charles' seventeen-year-old bride, hoping to gain intelligence that will help him undermine the vivacious queen's influence with the king. Desperately homesick in a country that hates her for her nationality and Catholic faith, Henrietta Maria surrounds herself with her "Royal Menagerie of Freaks and Curiosities of Nature"—a "collection" consisting of a giant, two other dwarves, a rope dancer, an acrobat/animal trainer and now Jeffrey, who is dubbed "Lord Minimus." Dropped into this family of misfits, Jeffrey must negotiate a labyrinth of court intrigue and his own increasingly divided loyalties. For not even the plotting of the Duke nor the dangers of a tumultuous kingdom can order the heart of a man. Though he is only eighteen inches tall, Jeffrey Hudson's love will reach far beyond his grasp—to the queen he has been sent to destroy. Full of vibrant period detail, The Queen's Dwarf by Ella March Chase is a thrilling and evocative portrait of an intriguing era.

How To Be Gay
How To Be Gay

Author: David M. Halperin

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2012-08-21

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 0674070860

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No one raises an eyebrow if you suggest that a guy who arranges his furniture just so, rolls his eyes in exaggerated disbelief, likes techno music or show tunes, and knows all of Bette Davis's best lines by heart might, just possibly, be gay. But if you assert that male homosexuality is a cultural practice, expressive of a unique subjectivity and a distinctive relation to mainstream society, people will immediately protest. Such an idea, they will say, is just a stereotype-ridiculously simplistic, politically irresponsible, and morally suspect. The world acknowledges gay male culture as a fact but denies it as a truth. David Halperin, a pioneer of LGBTQ studies, dares to suggest that gayness is a specific way of being that gay men must learn from one another in order to become who they are. Inspired by the notorious undergraduate course of the same title that Halperin taught at the University of Michigan, provoking cries of outrage from both the right-wing media and the gay press, How To Be Gay traces gay men's cultural difference to the social meaning of style. Far from being deterred by stereotypes, Halperin concludes that the genius of gay culture resides in some of its most despised features: its aestheticism, snobbery, melodrama, adoration of glamour, caricatures of women, and obsession with mothers. The insights, impertinence, and unfazed critical intelligence displayed by gay culture, Halperin argues, have much to offer the heterosexual mainstream.

The Queens of Innis Lear
The Queens of Innis Lear

Author: Tessa Gratton

Publisher: Tor Books

Published: 2018-03-27

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 0765392488

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Dynasties battle for the crown in Tessa Gratton's debut adult epic fantasy, The Queens of Innis Lear. Three Queens. One crown. All out war. Gaela. Ruthless Commander. I am the rightful heir of Innis Lear. No more will I wait in the shadows and watch my mother’s murderer bleed my island dry. The King’s hold on the crown must end—willingly or at the edge of my sword. Regan. Master Manipulator. To secure my place on the throne, I must produce an heir. Countless times I have fed the island’s forests my blood. Yet, my ambition is cursed. No matter what or whom I must destroy, I will wield the magic of Innis Lear. Elia. Star-blessed Priest. My sisters hide in the shadows like serpents, waiting to strike our ailing king. I must protect my father, even if it means marrying a stranger. We all have to make sacrifices. Love and freedom will be mine. "Amazing. Just Amazing."--Robin McKinley At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Bad Seed
The Bad Seed

Author: William March

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2005-06-28

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0060795484

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Now reissued – William March's 1954 classic thriller that's as chilling, intelligent and timely as ever before. This paperback reissue includes a new P.S. section with author interviews, insights, features, suggested reading and more. What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This is the question at the center of William march's classic thriller. After its initial publication in 1954, the book went on to become a million–copy bestseller, a wildly successful Broadway show, and a Warner Brothers film. The spine–tingling tale of little Rhoda Penmark had a tremendous impact on the thriller genre and generated a whole perdurable crop of creepy kids. Today, The Bad Seed remains a masterpiece of suspense that's as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.

Born a Queen
Born a Queen

Author: Nikita Slater

Publisher: Nikita Slater Writing Services Ltd.

Published: 2020-05-19

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13:

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A dark mafia romance suspense novel by International Bestselling Author, Nikita Slater. Born to the mafia and gifted to a mobster. Two years ago, Raina found out that she was the daughter of a very powerful family. She was introduced to a dark new world, a mother she’d never met and an admirer who stalked her every move. She was forced into a life so foreign to her own carefree country childhood that she simply couldn’t comprehend living that way. So she ran. Away from her new and dangerous reality. Away from him. From the moment Mateo touched her he knew she was his. He was consumed with the desire to protect her, even from herself. He wasn’t a particularly good man, but he would be the best man for her. There was no other choice; he couldn’t live without her. Mateo would to do whatever it took to stop her from running again. He would take her captive. Treat her like a queen. His woman, his wife, his everything. His obsession with the Raina was a consuming emotion not to be tested. Any who tried would face Miami’s brutal new boss and the powerful mafia family at his back. Born a Queen is the third book in The Queens series. Each book features a different couple and can be read as standalone in any order. Please note that this is a sizzling dark mafia romance with sexual and violent themes that some readers might find disturbing. Keywords: possessive alpha male, dark romance, jealous possessive, gothic romance, seductive romance, alpha hero, feisty heroine, antihero romance, antihero dark romance, adopted heroine, obsessive hero, abduction to love, brutal hero, passionate lovers, virgin heroine, sexually romantic books, romantic suspense, capture fantasy, standalone, thriller, crime, mafia romance, enforcer, kidnap, happily ever after, love books, love stories, contemporary mafia romance, forger, enemies to lovers, mobster, guaranteed HEA, no cliffhangers, dark mafia romance, billionaire romance, Miami, possessive alpha romance, bad boy, age gap, no cheating, kidnapping, protective, steamy, dominance submission, caged, marriage, captive romance, mob boss