The Fifth-Century Political Battles That Forever Changed the Church In this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, PhilipJenkins describes how political maneuvers by a handful of powerful charactersshaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these battles, today’s church could beteaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy as weknow it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profoundimplications of what amounts to an accident of history: that one faction ofRoman emperors and militia-wielding bishops defeated another.
New York Times Bestseller * New York Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Best Book of the Year Fans of acclaimed author Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood will devour Three Dark Crowns, the first book in a dark and inventive fantasy series about three sisters who must fight to the death to become queen. In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions. But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown. Don't miss Five Dark Fates, the thrilling conclusion to the series!
In this must-read prequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, the queens’ origin story is revealed. It’s a pre-crown lowdown of Fennbirn’s ruling class. Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine weren't always scheming to murder each other. They weren't always surrounded by rival foster families, each swearing to have their best interests at heart. And they weren't always afraid of being unexpectedly attacked—by one of their own sisters, no less—in a way that could cost them their last breath. They used to be together. Just three sisters. Alone in a glen. This is the story of the three queens—after they were born, before they were separated, during the time when they all lived together, loved each other, and protected each other. Even as children, their personalities were starting to emerge—Mirabella was the responsible eldest; Arsinoe, the wild spitfire; and Katharine, the obedient youngest. It’s also the story of the day they were torn apart, and the several years that follow. From birth to eleven years old, this is a rare glimpse of the queens' lives…before they were at stake. Don't miss any of the Three Dark Crowns books, including Five Dark Fates, the thrilling conclusion to the series! Want to read more about Fennbirn’s history? Check out The Oracle Queen, the tragic story of the legendary last Queen with the gift of sight!
In her day, Eva Tanguay (1879–1947) was one of the most famous women in America. Widely known as the "I Don't Care Girl"—named after a song she popularized and her independent, even brazen persona—Tanguay established herself as a vaudeville and musical comedy star in 1901 with the New York City premiere of the show My Lady—and never looked back. Tanguay was, at the height of a long career that stretched until the early 1930s, a trend-setting performer who embodied the emerging ideal of the bold and sexual female entertainer. Whether suggestively singing songs with titles like "It's All Been Done Before But Not the Way I Do It" and "Go As Far As You Like" or wearing a daring dress made of pennies, she was a precursor to subsequent generations of performers, from Mae West to Madonna and Lady Gaga, who have been both idolized and condemned for simultaneously displaying and playing with blatant displays of female sexuality. In Queen of Vaudeville, Andrew L. Erdman tells Eva Tanguay's remarkable life story with verve. Born into the family of a country doctor in rural Quebec and raised in a New England mill town, Tanguay found a home on the vaudeville stage. Erdman follows the course of her life as she amasses fame and wealth, marries (and divorces) twice, engages in affairs closely followed in the press, declares herself a Christian Scientist, becomes one of the first celebrities to get plastic surgery, loses her fortune following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and receives her last notice, an obituary in Variety. The arc of Tanguay's career follows the history of American popular culture in the first half of the twentieth century. Tanguay's appeal, so dependent on her physical presence and personal charisma, did not come across in the new media of radio and motion pictures. With nineteen rare or previously unpublished images, Queen of Vaudeville is a dynamic portrait of a dazzling and unjustly forgotten show business star.
The battle between vicious spirits and strong-willed queens that started in the award-winning The Queen of Blood and continued in the powerful The Reluctant Queen comes to a stunning conclusion in The Queen of Sorrow, the final volume of Sarah Beth Durst’s Queens of Renthia trilogy. Queen Daleina has yearned to bring peace and prosperity to her beloved forest home—a hope that seemed doomed when neighboring forces invaded Aratay. Now, with the powerful Queen Naelin ruling by her side, Daleina believes that her dream of ushering in a new era can be realized, even in a land plagued by malevolent nature spirits who thirst for the end of human life. And then Naelin’s children are kidnapped by spirits. Nothing is more important to her than her family, and Naelin would rather watch the world burn than see her children harmed. Blaming the defeated Queen Merecot of Semo for the kidnapping, Naelin is ready to start a war—and has the power to do it. But Merecot has grander plans than a bloody battle with her southern neighbors. Taking the children is merely one step in a plot to change the future of all Renthia, either by ending the threat of spirits once and for all . . . or plunging the world into chaos.
Enjoy this epic royal fae fantasy romance by USA Today bestselling author M. Lynn and award winning author Melissa A. Craven A human girl with a troubled past. A fae prince from a stolen kingdom. When he whisks her away to the fae realm, there is no going back to her old life. Under the rule of a captivating queen, the kingdom of Fargelsi has brought the three fae lands to the brink of war. And now that same queen has her eyes set on a new pawn—a human girl. Allied with the usurper king, the royals seek to overthrow all those who oppose their unmatched power. Unmatched—until Brea Robinson arrives and proves to be more than they bargained for. As the motivations of those around her become clear, Brea must decide if she can trust the handsome prince who abducted her, or if she might be safer across the wastelands and swamps, in a land in desperate need of the magic she doesn’t know she has. Prepare to lose yourself in this beautifully wicked epic fantasy with masterful world building, dark and twisty secrets, lies, and powerful magic—and devastatingly handsome fae princes. This set contains the first three books in the Queens of the Fae series. Though the series does progress beyond this trilogy, it IS a complete story in itself, perfect for fans of Holly Black, Cruel Prince, and Sara J. Mass, A Court of Thorn and Roses, and Emily R. King, The Hundredth Queen ... KEYWORDS: fantasy books, Fae Fantasy, fantasy romance, romantic fantasy, fantasy romance, full length fantasy, audiobooks, enemies to lovers, portal fantasy, human girl, prince, princess, royal, Fairy, Fae, Fantasy Realm, Historical Fantasy, Other authors you may enjoy: Raven Kennedy, Kelly St. Clare, Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti, C.N Crawford, Elise Kova, Robin D. Mahle, Elle Madison, D.K. Holmberg, Cordelia Castel, Kay L Moody, and Alisha Klapheke.
By the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a novel of passion and power at the court of a medieval killer, a riveting new Tudor tale featuring King Henry VIII’s sixth wife Kateryn Parr. Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives—King Henry VIII—commands her to marry him. Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn’s trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as Regent. But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and the first woman to publish in English, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry’s dangerous gaze turns on her. The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy—the punishment is death by fire and the king’s name is on the warrant... From the bestselling author who has illuminated all of Henry’s queens comes a deeply intimate portrayal of the last: a woman who longed for passion, power, and education at the court of a medieval killer.
Queens of Fennbirn contains two gripping stories from the New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns universe, written by Kendare Blake. The Young Queens is the story of the three queens when they were born, before they were separated - it gives a short glimpse of the time when they all lived together, loved each other and protected one another. It's also the story of the day they were torn apart and the immediate years that followed before the opening of Three Dark Crowns. The Oracle Queen - historically, baby queens born with the sight gift were drowned. This had been the practice for hundreds of years, so long that few were even born any more, as if the Goddess knew it would be a waste. It is a harsh sentence, but necessary, for it is well-known that in a queen the sight gift will run strong. Strong enough to drive her mad. This is the tale of the last sight-gift queen to be allowed to live. She was overcome by paranoia and false visions, driven past the brink by the phantom thoughts of others in her head, so she set upon the capital with bloody ruin, murdering whole houses, whole family lines, without trial. Or at least, that is how the tale is told. This is her story.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series introduces readers to the Oracle Queen in this riveting prequel novella. Fans of the series will be enthralled with Queen Elsabet’s genesis, riveted by her madness, and compelled by her tragic—and bloody—reign. Triplet queens born on the island of Fennbirn can be many things: Elementals. Poisoners. Naturalists. If an oracle queen is born, however, one with the gift of sight, she’s immediately drowned, extinguishing her chance at ever taking the throne. But that’s not how it always was. This cautionary practice started long ago, with Queen Elsabet—the legendary, and last, oracle queen—whose reign was tinged with blood and horror. Paranoid, ruthless, and utterly mad, Elsabet’s mistrust led to the senseless slaying of three entire houses of innocent people. At least, that’s the unchallenged tale carried down from generation to generation. But what really happened? Discover the true story behind the queen who, though born with the gift of sight, could not foresee her swift and sudden fall from power . . . until it was too late. Don't miss Five Dark Fates, the thrilling conclusion to the series!
From Wall Street Journal, USA Today Bestselling and RITA® Award-winning Author Kennedy Ryan, comes a captivating second chance romance like only she can deliver... The boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can't have… Dig a little and you'll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern. Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old. Pry and one of us might confess we saved our first kiss for each other. The most clumsy, wet, sloppy . . . spectacular thirty seconds of my adolescence. Get into our business and you'll see two families, closer than blood, torn apart in an instant. Twenty years later, my "awkward duckling" best friend from childhood, the boy no one noticed, is a man no one can ignore. Finer. Fiercer. Smarter. Taken. Tell me it's wrong. Tell me the boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have. When we find each other again, everything stands in our way--secrets, lies, promises. But we didn't come this far to give up now. And I know just the move to make if I want to make him mine.
