Kerrigan Hale's personal life is about as exciting as a bucket of tar. With hard work and hustle as her steadfast companions, who needs romance or adventure? Her empire in Calamity, Montana, isn't going to build itself. For years, her mentor-and investor-helped make her dreams come true. Until his unexpected death put her fate in his grandson's hands. A brazen billionaire, he seems intent on ruining Kerrigan's life. But if Pierce Sullivan thinks she'll go down without a fight, he's sorely mistaken. Pushed to the extreme, she drives to his ritzy mountain lodge to force the arrogant You Can Call Me Mr. Sullivan to hear her out. No sooner does she arrive than a snowstorm traps her with Pierce. Stranded together for days, she's in for the battle of her life. Pierce is nearly irresistible by candlelight. Without his suits and fancy cars, he's almost human. Except only a fool would let down her guard. And Kerrigan can't risk her future. Not when she doesn't know if he's out to pilfer her dreams . . . or to steal her heart.
Welcome to the City. In this place of peace and plenty, with no disease, no suffering, and no want, people find meaning in service to their gods. They know the gods were created by humans, of course. But the gods protect and provide for the people, so why wouldn't the people serve the gods? In a Utopian society, what better way to express service than through pleasure and faith? For Kheema and her seven fellow Potentials, that means entering the temple of the Sun God to undergo months of training and practice to determine which of them will be chosen as Sacrifice. On the day of the summer Solstice, the one chosen as Sacrifice must recite the entire litany from atop the temple, while enduring nonstop forced orgasms from dawn 'til dusk. For Terlyn, service means becoming part of the Garden, bound naked and asleep while worshippers help themselves to her body. Terlyn wakes in ecstasy over and over, only to fall asleep again. The experience changes her, and her relationship with her friend and lover Donvin, who visits her while she is part of the Garden. Ashi's service to the god known as the Wild entails competing with other worshippers in a forest that appears overnight to demonstrate her resilience and will, so that she might become part of a ritual involving an altar, a long row of cages, and the complete abandonment of the self. The three stories brush against each other, revealing the heart of the City, as the people of the City serve, or ask for enlightenment from, multiple gods at once.
WALL STREET JOURNAL AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • From the star of the Netflix reality series My Unorthodox Life, a riveting, inspiring memoir of one woman’s escape from an extremist religious sect and an extraordinary rise from housewife to shoe designer, to CEO and co-owner of the modeling agency Elite World Group “An irresistible read . . . Written with great intensity and rare candor, Brazen is a story of longing for more and manifesting that vision.”—Tommy Hilfiger Ever since she was a child, every aspect of Julia Haart’s life—what she wore, what she ate, what she thought—was controlled by the dictates of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. At nineteen, after a lifetime spent caring for her seven younger siblings, she was married off to a man she barely knew. For the next twenty-three years, her marriage would rule her life. Eventually, when Haart’s younger daughter, Miriam, started to innocently question why she wasn’t allowed to sing in public, run in shorts, or ride a bike without being covered from neck to knee, Haart reached a breaking point. She knew that if she didn’t find a way to leave, her daughters would be forced into the same unending servitude that had imprisoned her. So Haart created a double life. In the ultra-Orthodox world, clothing has one purpose—to cover the body, head to toe—and giving any thought to one’s appearance beyond that is considered sinful, an affront to God. But when no one was looking, Haart would pore over fashion magazines and sketch designs for the clothes she dreamed about wearing in the world beyond her Orthodox suburb. She started preparing for her escape by educating herself and creating a “freedom” fund. At the age of forty-two, she finally mustered the courage to flee the fundamentalist life that was strangling her soul. Within a week of her escape, Haart founded a shoe brand, and within nine months, she was at Paris Fashion Week. Just a few years later, she was named creative director of La Perla. Soon she would become co-owner and CEO of Elite World Group, and one of the most powerful people in the fashion industry. Along the way, her four children—Batsheva, Shlomo, Miriam, and Aron—have not only accepted but embraced her transformation. Propulsive and unforgettable, Haart’s story is the journey from a world of no to a world of yes, and an inspiration for women everywhere to find their freedom, their purpose, and their voice.
“Fabulously entertaining….Laurens adds a dash of exotic spice to her always reliable mix of sexy romance and risky intrigue.” —Booklist The third book in New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens’s sensational Black Cobra Quartet, The Brazen Bride ingeniously blends intrigue and danger with sizzling, passionate love. With ties to Laurens’s wildly popular Cynster novels, The Brazen Bride—and the other breathtaking installments in her magnificent four-book adventure—will enthrall her devoted fans and every reader who craves historical romance rich in excitement and peril.
New York Times Bestselling Author Sarah MacLean returns with the next book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series about three brothers bound by a secret that they cannot escape—and the women who bring them to their knees. The Lady’s Plan When Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year her own, she has plans to inherit her father’s business, to make her own fortune, and to live her own life. But first, she intends to experience a taste of the pleasure she’ll forgo as a confirmed spinster. Everything is going perfectly…until she discovers the most beautiful man she’s ever seen tied up in her carriage and threatening to ruin the Year of Hattie before it’s even begun. The Bastard’s Proposal When he wakes in a carriage at Hattie’s feet, Whit, a king of Covent Garden known to all the world as Beast, can’t help but wonder about the strange woman who frees him—especially when he discovers she’s headed for a night of pleasure . . . on his turf. He is more than happy to offer Hattie all she desires…for a price. An Unexpected Passion Soon, Hattie and Whit find themselves rivals in business and pleasure. She won’t give up her plans; he won’t give up his power . . . and neither of them sees that if they’re not careful, they’ll have no choice but to give up everything . . . including their hearts.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a novel that explores the dangerous side of desire, when a mystery writer in search of a little peace and quiet instead finds herself ensnared in the world of a real-life serial killer whose craving for murder stops at nothing . . . and no one. NOW THE NETFLIX FILM BRAZEN, STARRING ALYSSA MILANO After a demanding book tour, superstar mystery novelist Grace McCabe decides to visit her sister, Kathleen, who’s embroiled in a custody battle after a bitter divorce. Arriving in D.C., Grace is shocked to find Kathleen living in a run-down neighborhood and, hoping to afford a hotshot lawyer, supplementing her meager teacher’s salary by moonlighting as a phone sex operator. According to Kathleen, Fantasy, Inc., guarantees its employees ironclad anonymity. But Grace has her doubts—which are confirmed one horrifying cherry-blossom-scented night when one of Fantasy, Inc.’s operators is murdered. As Grace is drawn to help solve the crime, her life turns into a scene from one of her own books. Yet as one of her biggest fans, investigator Ed Jackson, warns her: This isn’t fiction. Real people die—and Grace could be next. For she’s hoping to trap a killer more twisted than anything she could imagine. And not even Ed may be able to protect her from a rendezvous with lust and death.
With her characteristic wit and dazzling drawings, celebrated graphic novelist Bagieu profiles the lives of these feisty female role models, some world famous, some little known. From Nellie Bly to Mae Jemison, the stories in this comic biography are sure to inspire the next generation of rebel ladies. Full color..
Mary Howard has always lived in the shadow of her powerful family. But when she's married off to Henry Fitzroy, King Henry VIII's illegitimate son, she is propelled right into the Tudor court's inner circle. Mary and "Fitz" join a tight clique of rebels who test the boundaries of court's strict rules with their games, dares, and flirtations. The more Mary gets to know Henry, the harder she falls for him, but she is forbidden from seeing him alone. The rules of court were made to be pushed... but pushing them too far could mean certain death. Is true love worth dying for?
As Calamity's newest resident, Everly Christian thought life in small-town Montana would be dull and tame-and she needs a little mundane after the last few chaotic years. But one night, boredom drives her to the local bar, where she finds herself sitting beside a handsome and mysterious artist. The man is anything but dull and tame, especially in the bedroom, and when she steps out of his shower and overhears his conversation, life gets interesting again. Reese Huxley needs a wife. And why shouldn't Everly be the bride? She's got her reasons for agreeing to the hasty nuptials-reasons she's keeping to herself. As long as she can stop herself from falling in love with her husband, she'll make it out of this sham marriage in one piece. But Everly has a weakness for wayward men, and the more Hux pushes her away, the more she realizes this bluff is anything but a lie.
