When Mariah St. Cloud becomes a full-fledged member of the walking wounded, she shuts down. She’s learned that men are born heartbreakers, so the biology professor makes work her lover instead. It’s dependable and won’t leave the toilet seat up. But the untimely death of her beautiful, estranged sister Allegra kicks Mariah’s predictable life to the curb, and brings ex-cop Anthony Caine into her everyday existence – intense, protective and far too handsome for her self-imposed celibacy. Conflict is inevitable. Anthony wants to tumble Mariah’s reserve like the walls of Jericho and keep her safe. Mariah just wants him out of her hair – even as she stands in the deadly shadow of Allegra’s secrets.
'It all goes on in this high-speed read' - Sun 'An exciting and deliciously escapist read' - Closer 'Sizzling' - Daily Express 'The perfect companion to sun, sea and sand, this book has to find its way into your beach bag this summer' - Candis
After losing her teaching position at the local university, Mariah Moon will do anything to keep her gifted twelve-year-old daughter, Lindsay, in a prestigious private school -- which means moving in with her mother and grandmother in an apartment above The Owl & Moon Café. When her mother, Allegra, is diagnosed with leukemia, Mariah rises to the challenge of running the café: mastering her mother's famous fudge and chatting up customers -- including a man who might just reawaken her heart. Meanwhile, Lindsay's controversial entry in a major national science contest creates a minor maelstrom in the cosseted Monterey Bay community. And Allegra, with one last great love affair in her, will revisit a man she loved so many years ago, and disclose the biggest secret of the Moon family: the identity of Mariah's father. Will the Moon women recognize this as the moment to do away with their family history of dubiously fathered children, and learn to forgive others and themselves in order to move forward? In her poignant new novel, bestselling author Jo-Ann Mapson explores the complexities of love and family with the keen eye and stylistic grace that have made her books perennial favorites.
A glitzy, gripping novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Her Frozen Heart. From the prestigious dormitories of Westfield to the irresistible socialite scene of present-day London: everywhere Allegra McCorquodale goes, scandal follows her. And in Allegra's shadow are her closest friends since school, the Midnight Girls. Romily de Lisle: super rich, brilliant and bored. She's as blessed as Allegra when it comes to looks, but she's a force to be reckoned with. And Imogen Heath: pretty, timid and hopelessly drawn to Allegra's reckless charm. She longs to be a part of the glitzy high-society world where her friends move with such ease. Once free of the cloistered worlds of school and university, the Midnight Girls face new and different challenges, but they are for ever bonded by a terrible secret they've sworn never to break. Bitter rivalries arise as their professional lives soon cross paths. Greed, tragedy and sinister passions threaten their allegiance and each of them stand to lose what they love most...
All Allegra Rossi needs is her beauty, expensive champagne, designer clothes, and enough souls to keep her succubus appetites satisfied. Everything seems to be in place until a photo shoot at New Haven's prestigious — and supposedly haunted — Garden Hotel sets her dreams for a perfect life crumbling. Not only has her handsome, charismatic boss captured her interest, threatening the careful restraints she's placed around her succubus nature, but the hotel's reputation turns out to be true. Worse: the specter has targeted Allegra as its next victim If Allegra wants to stay alive and keep her heart intact, she will have to unleash her demonic instincts to shed light into the darkness before the shadows consume her.
Two glamorous reads for the price of one from Lulu Taylor Heiresses They were born to the scent of success. Now they stand to lose it all... Fame, fashion and scandal, Jemima, Tara and Poppy Trevellyan are the height of success, glamour and style: Jemima's indulgent lifestyle knows no limits. Tara's one amibition in life is to be independent of her family and her husband, no matter the cost. Poppy wants to escape her wealthy family's stifling influence, without losing the comfort their money brings. But when the girls inherit the Trevellyan's vast ailing perfume empire, can they learn to work together to bring the company back from the brinkt? And in making a fresh start, can they face their family's dark past? Midnight Girls From the presitious dormitories of Westfield to the irresistible socialite scene of present-day London, everywhere Allegra McCorquodale goes, scandal follows. And in Allegra's shadow, are her closest friends since school: the Midnight Girls. Romily de Lisle: super rich, brilliant and bored. She's a force to be reckoned with; and Imogen Heath, pretty, timid she longs to be part of the glitzy high-society world where her friends move with such ease. But once out of school, greed, tragedy and sinister passions threaten their allegiance and each of them stand to lose what they love most...
Imperial Princess Jenevra Couressime is an unwelcome reminder to her family of an incident they would all rather forgetthe murder of her parents. Often ignored, fourteen-year-old Jenevra is not surprised when she is sent from court to a rigidly disciplined life in exile. Hopeful that she will never have to see any of her family again, Jenevra soon finds a cold satisfaction in the harsh discipline of a Temple Order. Jenevra becomes an assassin of chilling efficiencyperfectly equipped to serve as protector to her cousin, who happens to be the new Emperor. But after her return to court thrusts her unwillingly back into palace life and intense military challenges, Jenevra must face emotional upheaval and confrontation as she attempts to reconcile with her family. As Jenevra contends with senior officers in the imperial army, she learns the truth about why she was chosen to bear a talisman that seems intent on pulling her into the darkest shadows of her mind. Unexpected twists and turns soon surround a young princess constantly challenged to prove herselfand who will soon discover that her carefully constructed defenses are not quite as impenetrable as she once thought.
Shadow Dreams Nightmare features Jim LeMay's Shadow Jack, Richard Friesen's The Tower of Dreams, Wayne Faust and Charles Eugene Anderson's Europa Nightmare. Four Colorado writers produced this collection of three epic stories. They all had the great fortune to work closely with the late Nebula Award-winning author and Horror Grandmaster Edward Bryant. That felt much like serving under a compassionate Medieval Guild-master. They feel honored for the opportunity to learn as his apprentice writers and sorely miss their mentor and friend. All three stories are a fine mixture of storytelling that brings different types of speculative fiction together into one gigantic book. It will keep readers delighted for many hours of enjoyment.
Widely regarded as the founder of the modern conservative movement, Russell Kirk was a noted man of letters whose prodigious literary output included a syndicated newspaper column, a regular page in "National Review," and many books. This volume demonstrates another compelling side of Kirk -- the imaginative author who could communicate his powerful vision through the dramatic genre of the ghost story. "Ancestral Shadows" collects nineteen of Kirkbs best ghostly tales from periodicals and anthologies published throughout his life. In the tradition of Defoe, Stevenson, Hawthorne, Coleridge, Poe, and other master writers, these frightful stories conjure the creaks and shadows of the very places where they came to life through Kirkbs pen: haunted St. Andrews, the Isle of Eigg, Kellie Castle, Balcarres House, Durie House (bwhich has the most persistent of all country-house spectresb), and Kirkbs own ancestral spooky house in Mecosta, Michigan. Full of fantastic gothic tales masterfully told, the volume ends with bA Cautionary Note on the Ghostly Tale, b an incisive piece in which Kirk reflects on why he writes such stories: bexperiments in the moral imaginationb are what he is really after. Ghost stories are not merely entertaining but possess a particular ability to capture the essential features of human nature, of good and evil. bAll important literature has some ethical end, b Kirk says, band the tale of the preternatural -- as written by George Macdonald, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and other masters -- can be an instrument for the recovery of moral order.b Including an illuminative introduction by Vigen Guroian, "Ancestral Shadows" will enthrall and delight all lovers ofghost stories.
