Book 2 of the Calhoun Chronicles by #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs. Virginia, 1854 Once a privileged son of the South, Hunter Calhoun now stands a widower shadowed by the scandal of his wife's death. Burying himself in his success with breeding Thoroughbred racehorses, he's left his family to crumble and forgotten how to comfort his grieving children. When a prized stallion arrives from Ireland crazed and unridable, Hunter is forced to seek help for the beast. Removed from the world of wealth and social privilege, Eliza Fylte has inherited her father's famed gift for gentling horses. And when Hunter arrives with his wild steed, her healing spirit reaches further yet, drawing her to his shattered family and to the intense, bitter man who needs her, just as she needs him. Eliza understands what Hunter refuses to see…that love is the greatest healer of all. But can her kind, humble being manage to teach such an untethered man what truly matters in life? A historical romance.
“A heartfelt heroine's journey, sprinkled with nuggets of timeless Buddhist wisdom, .” Tibet, 1285 – Hidden away in her grandmother’s monastery after her mother’s tragic death, Nordun’s life has been shrouded in secrets. Born into a family of royal horse masters, she was divined to become the first ever female horse master—but that destiny was never shared with her. Now the karmic winds are blowing, and Nordun is riding home where she’s challenged by friends and foes to do the impossible—claim her heritage to the stables. The last thing Nordun wants is to tame a feral horse… but if she refuses, her cherished childhood home could be lost. Desperately unprepared and armed with only her compassionate heart, Nordun ventures into the far and rugged unknown. Will she fulfill the ancient divination and turn the tables on her family’s fate, or return to her sisters in solitude to serve all sentient beings as has been her aspiration for most of her life? Aided by unconventional allies, Nordun soon learns that you never have to question your path, as long as you’re true to your wild and tender heart. Join Nordun on her reluctant quest through the turbulent times of thirteenth-century Tibet with its royal clans, Mongolian invaders, smugglers and Silk Road traders, to the places where demons lurk, and through the trials which afflict every family and human life—courage and cowardice, love and lust, loyalty and treachery, and cruel endings which do not always sprout into the new beginnings we desire them to be. The Horse Master’s Daughter is Book One in the historical fiction series Nordun’s Way, and can be read as a stand-alone novel. PRAISE for The Horse Master’s Daughter "A young girl is left at a Buddhist nunnery by her father, and as she grows into womanhood, feels drawn to the spiritual life -- yet she also feels compelled to see the father who seemingly abandoned her one last time. Her journey sets in motion an exciting story full of surprises and rich drama, with an unforgettable main character in the fiery Nordun. If you like skillful world building, evocative atmosphere, and strong characters, you will thrill to The Horse Master's Daughter." ~ Nancy Bilyeau, bestselling author of The Blue and The Fugitive Colours
In the lush green valleys of southern France, long before the mists of time, as humankind takes its first defiant steps to tame the earth, one special tribe among the Kindred is ruled by the Priestess Arika. But a feared change is coming, for the distant thunder of hooves brings terrifying whispers of a fierce race of conquerors whose astonishing horsemanship gives them the power of conquest…a power that threatens to enslave Kindred women, murder their men, burn their villages. It is left to the exiled Ronan, Arika’s handsome young son, to meet this challenge. But first he must reunite with his true love, Nel, whose charisma and magical talents with animals may help him master the wild horse. And as the young lovers and their band of loyal renegades race to stem the invaders’ relentless advance, the grasslands quake with the sound of battle to determine the Kindreds’ destiny. Against the lush backdrop of a vanished primeval world, this spellbinding novel tells the timeless tale of adventure and conflict, rivalry and revenge, love and passion.
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'Well, Mabel, and what are you going to do with yourself?' asked Joe, with foolish flippancy. He felt quite safe himself. Without listening for an answer, he turned aside, worked a grain of tobacco to the tip of his tongue, and spat it out. He did not care about anything, since he felt safe himself.The three brothers and the sister sat round the desolate breakfast table, attempting some sort of desultory consultation. The morning's post had given the final tap to the family fortunes, and all was over. The dreary dining-room itself, with its heavy mahogany furniture, looked as if it were waiting to be done away with.But the consultation amounted to nothing. There was a strange air of ineffectuality about the three men, as they sprawled at table, smoking and reflecting vaguely on their own condition. The girl was alone, a rather short, sullen-looking young woman of twenty-seven. She did not share the same life as her brothers. She would have been good-looking, save for the impassive fixity of her face, 'bull-dog', as her brothers called it.There was a confused tramping of horses' feet outside. The three men all sprawled round in their chairs to watch. Beyond the dark holly-bushes that separated the strip of lawn from the highroad, they could see a cavalcade of shire horses swinging out of their own yard, being taken for exercise. This was the last time. These were the last horses that would go through their hands. The young men watched with critical, callous look. They were all frightened at the collapse of their lives, and the sense of disaster in which they were involved left them no inner freedom.
Filled with the lyrical beauty of a now-vanished world, this magnificent novel unfolds during the last great ice age, amid the mist-shrouded mountains of the Pyrenees in prehistoric France. When tainted spring water fatally poisons the women of the tribe of the Horse, the clan’s young men set forth to kidnap new women from the matriarchal tribe of the Red Deer—a quest that must succeed or their people will die out. Golden-haired Mar, the leader of the young men, falls in love with the beautiful Alin, daughter of the Red Deer priestess. And though they are born to embrace different traditions, raised to worship different gods, Mar will fight to claim this strangely powerful woman as his own. Against a lush backdrop of ancient magic, mammoth hunts, and secret rites, this mesmerizing novel brings to life the ritual and adventure of a primeval world and tells a timeless tale of conflict between two societies…two beliefs…two sexes…and two people.
An unbroken horse, a broken man, an estate that needs her… Virginia, 1854 Once a privileged son of the South, Hunter Calhoun now stands a widower shadowed by the scandal of his wife's death. Burying himself in his business breeding Thoroughbred racehorses, he's left his family to crumble and his young children to mourn alone. But when a poor investment threatens to bankrupt him, Hunter is forced to seek help by other means… Eliza Flyte is a horse whisperer like no other. Removed from the world of wealth and social privilege, she grew up on an isolated island off the coast of Virginia and learned the secrets of gentling horses. When the wounded and grieving Hunter shows up unexpectedly at her doorstep, with a crazed and wild stallion in tow, she must brave Virginia society in order to heal them both. As two worlds collide, Hunter and Eliza can no longer fight their attraction for each other. But it just might take a miracle for these two mismatched lovers to find their happily-ever-after. The Calhoun Chronicles Book 1: The Charm School Book 2: The Horsemaster's Daughter Book 3: HALFWAY TO HEAVEN Book 4: ENCHANTED AFTERNOON Book 5: A SUMMER AFFAIR
A gifted but troubled physician, Blue Calhoun runs a thriving medical practice from his Nob Hill mansion in San Francisco while raising his son alone after an unthinkable tragedy. Then one day a female fugitive with a gunshot wound appears in Blue's surgery. Even though she holds a pistol aimed at his heart, the desperation in her eyes awakens Blue's compassion. Reluctantly he is drawn to her fragile beauty, her nerves of steel and the mystery surrounding her circumstances. Isabel Fish-Wooten has spent most of her life on the run, but everything changes when she forces a stranger to save her life. Yet her rescue comes with an unexpected price. As Isabel recovers from her wounds, she finds herself touched by this remarkable man and yearns to reach out to him and his rebellious son. From danger-filled back alleys to the glittering ballrooms of high society, Isabel and Blue confront the violence and corruption that threatens their newfound passion. Theirs is an unforgettable quest to discover a rare and special love, and the precious gift of a second chance at happiness.
For generations, as dawn touched the River of Gold and light hit the fertile valleys of southern France, the young men of the Kindred and the Norakamo tribes raided each other’s horse herds. But when a full-blown war threatened both tribes’ very existence, a taboo-breaking alliance was forged to survive this common enemy. To seal it, Alane, the Norakamo chief’s daughter, was promised in marriage to Nardo, the Kindred chief’s son. Though they worship the same god, their ways are very different—especially for the proud and beautiful Alane, who fights against her forced union with Nardo. But she soon discovers that she can no longer resist the yearnings of her heart for this extraordinary man. And now Alane and Nardo must struggle to rally their people to defend their lands as they, too, must confront their own intense conflicts, ambitions and desires. For if their marriage cannot last, neither will their tribes…
