Torn between two worlds, which will she embrace? Elodie Harper is heir to the magical kingdom of Aluna. Trapped by an evil wizard in an illusion; Elodie grows up caught between two worlds, one of magic, and one of technology. As the facade of her mundane life of lies and fake smiles cracks, her kingdom crumbles in the absence of its ruler. Join Elodie as she navigates both lives not knowing which to embrace, and which to push into the back of her mind and forget as a bad dream.
It could be considered a comedy of errors if it wasn’t so serious! Love at first sight – then a parting without even being introduced. A sister, Grace, with a baby left destitute – but the baby is the heir to a marquessate! It seems inevitable that Merry, currently using the title of the Marquess of Brookhall, and looking for his missing cousin and real holder of the title, would also be Beth’s lost love and greatest enemy! Can he convince Beth he’s not the blackguard she now believes? Can her heart be so wrong about a man?
Philosophy/Ethics The ‘sacrifice of the intellect’ is today mostly either a convenience or a contrivance. The marketeer assuages the consumer by her own feigned idiocy, the parish pirate invites the listless into his own fraudulent faith. It is exceedingly rare, in my estimation, to discover an authentically latter-day saint. But the ignominious fate of faith in our own time is mimicked by the corresponding downfall of reason, which in its turn is mostly used to calculate social control, warfare, or at best, economic trends. Could it be, for the first time in the history of human consciousness, that both reason and faith, in the face of their respective sacrifices, need one another more than ever, the separated siblings and estranged lovers that they are? That we live inside the question of our own existence should not be seen as a too-cunning conundrum, generating only misery and angst, pathos and melancholy. Rather it is the very thrownness of being which we are; resolute in our being-ahead, caring in our anxiety, concernful in our running along. Who better to respond to such a question that, though it bears the historicity of existence alone, marks us in our essence with a history of ontology that is shared and which constitutes our specific nature? (From the book) “Though it is not directly a part of my job as a critical philosopher, offending as many people as possible as succinctly as possible is a commonplace effect of my work.” So Loewen opens ‘The Return of the Martyr,’ a wickedly funny and equally perceptive critique of the moral panics surrounding the issue of gender identity and other fashionable faux pas. And this is merely one of the over twenty singularly insightful essays collected here for the first time. Nothing is beyond a reasoned and rational reproach, and each piece serves as a role model for the rest of us to take up the torch of a truly transformative ethics.” (From the publisher)
Captain Benjamin Nyman Vizcarra, son of the wealthiest man in Mexico, has everything a young man could want. But in the days leading up to the Mexican Revolution of 1910, he finds himself questioning whether he can support the old regime--and more and more distracted by his brother's bewitching fiancee, Isabel. Accused and convicted of his father's murder after a fateful late-night encounter, Benjamin relives the events that led to his imprisonment. As he plots escape, a new question begins to form: will he run, or will he stay to confront his mistakes and win back the woman he loves? -- back cover.
The Seven Writing Mysteries that Really Matter Most people think that good grammar leads to good writing. But the truth is that while good writing may be technically correct, it's also strong, concise, and specific. This guide identifies the seven writing weaknesses that editors everywhere must fix again and again; in fact, almost all of an editor's corrections on any piece of writing will come from the material covered in this book's lessons. In an engaging solve-the-mystery format, you'll solve these cases: • The Tantalizing Tale of Passive Voice • The Peculiar Puzzle of the Vague -ing Word • The Confusing Caper Concerning the Super-Long Sentence You don't have to wade through hundreds of pages of dry grammar references to improve your writing. Rather than memorize the picky details that very few people care about, learn what really leads to good writing in this easy-to-use and friendly book.
Tangled relationships, misunderstandings and truculent toddlers! When Charlotte Fforbes inadvertently falls in love with her boss, her usually cool self-control is tested to its limit. Thus far, Charlotte has carefully avoided love’s emotional tar pit, but suddenly she is in it up to her neck. Her first strategy is to ignore it – for one thing, boss Patrick is a husband and father. Then Charlotte is given a clue that Patrick’s marriage may not be as stable as believed, and that is enough to fan a spark of hope into an infatuation-fuelled inferno. Transformed from efficient PA into a woman whose reason has been muffled with duct-tape and locked in a cellar, she’ll now do anything to find a way into Patrick’s heart. Anything includes arranging to be nanny-for-a-month to the small children of Patrick and his wife and two other families at a Lake Como villa. Charlotte’s complete lack of child-minding experience daunts her the least. If she’s to win Patrick, she must also prevent his cousin’s wife being seduced by her charming, feckless ex, while fending off dogs, Gypsy gatecrashers and a large, vengeful ghost from Patrick’s past. But Charlotte’s biggest test will come when she is forced to question whether her affections have been entirely misplaced – and, if so, was this her last ever chance to feel love like this again?
The first four books in Tales of the Misplaced, a series of epic fantasy novels by Adam K. Watts, now available in one volume! Heir To Magic: Sixteen-year-old Mira finds herself stranded in a strange world ruled by the Sidhe, with an impending revolution of the downtrodden races of the land. After becoming friends with a sprite assassin, Mira realizes that not all races in this magical world are friendly. Witnessing the cruelty of the Sidhe's rule, Mira gets entangled in a fight that will decide the fate of the realm. The Merchant Prince: Mira's story continues as she works undercover as a merchant against the slavers of Pokorah-Vo. To travel north to Shifara and present her case to the Rider Council, she must turn this task over to Rispan. The problem is, her case will likely be contested, and she will have to defend it in trial by combat... including magic. The Maelstrom's Heart: Mira must come to grips with her new reality. Reeling from loss and blocked from using magic, she must fight every day just to survive. Meanwhile, the time spell is spinning out of control, and some believe Mira is the only one who can do anything about it. But is she already too broken to care? The Sword of Light: Nora has been stranded on another world by the same splintered portal spell that took Mira to Daoine. A strange being helps Nora to escape, but not everyone who helps you is your friend. While Mira continues to look for her sister, Nora tries to find her way in Danu and come to grips with her newfound magical abilities, as she struggles to deal with her own legacy.
Books 5-7 in Tales of the Misplaced, a series of epic fantasy novels by Adam K. Watts, now available in one volume! Dreams of the Sleeping Gods: Mira has to delay her search for Nora to make sure that Jack and Emma are safe. Meanwhile, Kartahn Zeg’s army continues its bloody march of conquest. Nora learns more about the secrets of her dreams, as she is plunged into the heart of a revolution against her will. But can she find where the Noélani - the gods of the Kajoran people - are sleeping, and wake them? Rise of the Vanquished: Nora finds herself embroiled in political intrigue and in-fighting in Iyoké. As Kartahn Zeg's army expands across Danu, Mira works to help the Andé Dannu and Wyl-Dunn defend their people while she's dealing with her own problems. If she can't prevent Zeg from raising an army of dead gods, nothing can stop him from conquering the three worlds. Heritage Unbound: After twelve years, Mira and Nora are free from stasis. During their absence, the shockwave of magic being real has had a profound impact on the world. One group has taken the lead in policing magic and the influx of races from other worlds, but everything is not as it seems. Lilli discovers a secret that could help Mira and Nora unravel the mystery of what really happened to their biological parents. But can they discover the secrets behind their true heritage?
It's more than a little careless to lose a battleship, even in interstellar space. Enter Slippery Jim diGriz, better known as the Stainless Steel Rat, the fastest talking con-man in the galaxy. Jim will need to go undercover to find the missing battleship and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. A fast paced comical science fiction romp!
