A Kingdom's Cost


J.R. Tomlin - 2011
    Even under the heel of a brutal English conqueror, James's blood-drenched homeland may still have one hope for freedom, the rightful king of the Scots, Robert the Bruce. James swears fealty to the man he believes can lead the fight against English tyranny. The Bruce is soon a fugitive, king in name and nothing more. Scotland is occupied, the Scottish resistance crushed. The woman James loves is captured and imprisoned. Yet James believes their cause is not lost. With driving determination, he blazes a path in blood and violence, in cunning and ruthlessness as he wages a guerrilla war to restore Scotland's freedom. James knows he risks sharing Wallace's fate, but what he truly fears is that he has become as merciless as the conqueror he fights.

The Memory of Us


Camille Di Maio - 2016
    But when she learns of a blind-and-deaf brother, institutionalized since birth, the illusion of her perfect life and family shatters around her.While visiting her brother in secret, Julianne meets and befriends Kyle McCarthy, an Irish Catholic groundskeeper studying to become a priest. Caught between her family’s expectations, Kyle’s devotion to the church, and the intense new feelings that the forbidden courtship has awakened in her, Julianne must make a choice: uphold the life she’s always known or follow the difficult path toward love.But as war ripples through the world and the Blitz decimates England, a tragic accident forces Julianne to leave everything behind and forge a new life built on lies she’s told to protect the ones she loves. Now, after twenty years of hiding from her past, the truth finds her—will she be brave enough to face it?

Sunflowers


Melodie Starkey - 2010
    to change your life forever. Gus Moore discovers how true this is when his ex-girlfriend blows in on an icy January night just long enough to dump "his problem" on the couch. From languid single slob to competent single parent, Gus's metamorphosis over the next six years is remarkable. All is going swimmingly for Gus and his son, Sam, until two women complicate their lives: Sarah, with whom Gus has an unsatisfactory friends-with-benefits relationship, and Maureen, his son's bipolar mother, who has decided she wants back into her child's life.

Summer of Change


Elena Aitken - 2014
    And he wants her.Successful, handsome and too damn charming for his own good—he's perfect.The only problem? Letting him in could destroy everything she knows and loves.Samantha Burke loves her quiet close-knit community of Cedar Springs, just the way it is thank you very much.The addition of an upscale new resort as well as its arrogant owner, Trent Harrison, and the change they're both sure to bring to town, is certainly not welcome. As far as Sam's concerned, Trent can turn right around and go back to where he came from.That is, until one very hot—and completely unexpected—kiss changes everything. Now Trent is pushing his way into her town, and her life and it's getting harder and harder for Sam to deny the heat between them. Change is inevitable, but can either of them drop their guard long enough to accept it when there's so much on the line? Including the chance for love?

Still Life with Murder


P.B. Ryan - 2003
    Born into dismal poverty, young Nell Sweeney scratches by on her wits and little else until fortune blesses her with a position as nursery governess to the fabulously wealthy Hewitts. But she soon learns that ugly secrets lurk beneath the surface of their gold-plated world.The Hewitts’ eldest son, William, a former Union Army battle surgeon and the black sheep of the family, was reported to have died three years before in a notorious Confederate prison camp. But one snowy February afternoon, his parents learn that he is, in fact, still alive—and in jail for having murdered a man while intoxicated on opium. Infuriated by his son’s deception and convinced of his guilt, August Hewitt forbids his wife from coming to Will’s aid, so she begs Nell to help exonerate him. Nell finds that she must delve into the kind of dark and treacherous underworld she thought she’d left far behind if she is to unearth the truth before the hangman’s noose tightens around William Hewitt’s throat.

A New Life


David J. Antocci - 2013
    She has no idea how she got there, and notices changes in herself that she cannot explain. Haunted by unsettling dreams of her past, she sets out to escape, joined by Eric, who finds himself in the same predicament. Standing in their way is a madman, and his band of willing followers, with a mind set on murdering their unwelcome visitors. An eccentric hermit who has been living there for years offers them refuge, but they must deny his generosity. Escape is their only option. Yet, they discover this deceptive paradise is harder to leave than they had ever imagined. One mystery leads to another, until their escape throws them into even greater danger as Abby’s frightening past finally catches up with her. Her escape is only the beginning.

The Alex Vane Media Thrillers #1-3


A.C. Fuller - 2017
    Break the Story. Stay Alive.One year after the 9/11 attacks, Alex Vane--a brilliant, fitness-obsessed reporter for The New York Standard--wants nothing more than to break into the flashy world of TV news. But when he uncovers the scoop of a lifetime, his tightly controlled world is rocked: his editor buries his story, a source turns up dead, and Alex finds himself at the center of a violent media conspiracy.As he receives tips from a mysterious source, Alex enlists the help of a captivating professor, Camila Gray. Aided by an Internet genius, a billionaire's sexy widow, and a washed-up sports reporter, Alex and Camila discover a $500-million secret that could derail the largest media merger in history.It's a secret that unearths dark memories from Alex's past. It's a secret that leads back to the morning of 9/11. And it's a secret that could get them both killed. Book 2: THE INVERTED PYRAMID Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears a Crown.Journalist Alex Vane has finally found stability. He's living with a fiery massage therapist and co-managing a website that investigates the inner workings of the media. But when he breaks a story detailing low-level political corruption in Washington, a source hints at a vaster conspiracy, one that may reach all the way to the top of the fast-approaching 2004 presidential election.At a conference in Seattle, Alex runs into an old friend--and flame--Media Studies Professor Camila Gray. But just as they begin to reconnect, Alex's business partner disappears, leaving Alex only one clue: the name of a hacker who was recently murdered in New York City.Alex and Camila travel to Alex's hometown, where they race to untangle a web of connections between the dead hacker, the disappearance of Alex's partner, and the death of Alex's parents seven years earlier. But all the while, a mysterious source is pulling the strings of their investigation, of the election, and possibly of their lives. Book 3: THE MOCKINGBIRD DRIVE Data Never Dies. But People Do.Alex Vane was once a top investigative journalist. Now he peddles celebrity gossip and clickbait listicles, watching from a distance as his wife moves on with her life - without him. Alex's past catches up with him when he learns that an old source, James Stacy, has been killed in a random mass shooting.But James left Alex one last scoop: a 50-year-old hard drive that may contain a secret worth killing for...

Nellie


Cynthia Woolf - 2014
    In post civil-war New York, the men are scarce and none want the burden of a wife with children. Her dead husband's family is wealthy, and cruel. Desperate to escape their influence, and eager for a home, a husband, and a stable life for her children, Nellie decides to make a new life in San Francisco as a mail order bride. Saloon owner Blake Malone is a bachelor and likes it that way. He worked hard for everything he has, but the San Francisco City Council won’t approve his plans to build a family emporium unless he is a family man himself. The solution? A mail order bride from New York who will bring him a ready-made family, stability, and the council's approval. Blake expects his future wife to care for his home and, other than helping him impress the city council, to stay out of his business. He expects life as usual. What he gets is an unexpected desire to win Nellie's heart, a dangerous threat to his new bride, and a rich benefactor determined to steal his new family out from under him. Blake believed his battle for success a hard one. But he will discover that the battle to win Nellie's heart and keep his family safe is going to take everything he's got.

Daughter of Satan


Jean Plaidy - 1952
    In a world of superstition and intolerance, Tamar, growing into a wild and beautiful girl, seemed doomed to violent death when the witch-pricker came to Plymouth. Intelligent though untutored, she attracted the attentions of Bartle Cavill, the lusty gentleman-adventurer, home from the Spanish Main: moreover the puritan Humility Brown, was not unaware of her. These two men attracted her as she attracted them, but for different reasons representing as they did, the one passion, the other piety. Daughter of Satan is a moving and exciting novel of fanaticism and persecution, of witches and puritans, of a band of exiles who, because life was becomingly intolerable for them at home, were ready to cross and ocean to face storm and tempest, pirates and savages-even the Spanish inquisition-that they might seek refuge in a new land. From Old Plymouth to New Plymouth in search of a new life, came Tamar, the passionate pilgrim, the woman whom many believed to be the daughter of Satan.

A Gentleman for Judith


Sahara Kelly - 2019
    An astounding skill at piquet? Unheard of. Yet here’s Miss Judith Fairhurst, a natural at the game, facing renowned expert Sir Ragnor Withersby across the table—and thoroughly defeating him. Their first hand arouses his interest, their first kiss arouses a lot more, and elegant man-about-town Sir Ragnor is about to find out what it’s like to tumble headfirst off a dangerous cliff into unknown waters. There will be gambling, of course. Potential scandals, cheats and revelations will abound. There will be new friends, sculptures, a strange decanter of brandy and a very nice bottom. Perhaps Fate has set their feet on a path to pleasure, but not all their steps will be smooth. Some games must be very carefully played…

Lucky Bet


Anna Reader - 2015
    Escaping to London disguised as a young man, Elizabeth discovers a new world of gambling, duels, cruelty and love. Railing against the limitations of her gender and with her best friend, William, by her side, Elizabeth sets out to win her freedom.

The Scent of Lilacs


Ann H. Gabhart - 2005
    Jocie's father, preacher David Brooke, has done his best to be both father and mother to his daughter. Even Jocie's spinster Great-aunt Love, who's slowly going senile, cares for Jocie in her own stern way. But in their small town of Hollyhill, Kentucky, painful secrets lie just beneath the surface, and inquisitive spirits discover surprising truths. There's a reason why Aunt Love hides behind black dresses and a stoic countenance. And David takes his morning walks not just for quiet solitude, but to wrestle with the past. Full of stories of lost loves and the trials of small-town living, this heartwarming novel explores the journey of faith and family.

Finding Southern Comfort


Barbara Lohr - 2013
    She’s desperate when he sends her home. Jobs are scarce and eviction looms. Former boyfriend Billy took off for California and she’s too proud to head home to Chicago. Although Cameron may not go for her cheerleader kicks, he does admire Harper’s spunk. When she answers his ad for a nanny, she’s horrified to find herself back at his mansion. But she can’t turn down the generous salary or Bella, the toddler with troubled eyes. Youngest in the Kirkpatrick clan, Harper’s not an expert on kids. Neither is the young widower. Her head-strong personality soon puts her at odds with Cameron and his TV personality girlfriend, Kimmy Carrington. When she stands in for Kimmy at a Savannah gala, Harper and Cameron spark a fire that nearly burns down the dance floor. Never has the wrong man felt so right. Never has a boy from the south worked so hard to rev up the charm. Will the Windy City girl be able to put the heart back in his home? Can he convince her that his southern comfort has staying power?

American Wife


Curtis Sittenfeld - 2008
    But a tragic accident when she was seventeen shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck. So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie. As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes President, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek–one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility. As Charlie’s tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona? In Alice Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is a gorgeously written novel that weaves class, wealth, race, and the exigencies of fate into a brilliant tapestry–a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Curtis Sittenfeld's Sisterland. Praise for American Wife “Curtis Sittenfeld is an amazing writer, and American Wife is a brave and moving novel about the intersection of private and public life in America. Ambitious and humble at the same time, Sittenfeld refuses to trivialize or simplify people, whether real or imagined.” –Richard Russo “What a remarkable (and brave) thing: a compassionate, illuminating, and beautifully rendered portrait of a fictional Republican first lady with a life and husband very much like our actual Republican first lady’s. Curtis Sittenfeld has written a novel as impressive as it is improbable.” –Kurt Andersen

What She Left Behind


Ellen Marie Wiseman - 2013
    Devastated by her mother’s apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at a local museum, have enlisted Izzy’s help in cataloging items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades old journal, and a window into her own past.Clara Cartwright, eighteen years old in 1929, is caught between her overbearing parents and her love for an Italian immigrant. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, Clara’s father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash, he can no longer afford her care—and Clara is committed to the public asylum.Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara’s story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother’s violent act? Piecing together Clara’s fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices—with shocking and unexpected results.Illuminating and provocative, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND is a masterful novel about the yearning to belong—and the mysteries that can belie even the most ordinary life.