Book picks similar to
Threatened Loyalties by J.F. Ridgley


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An Endless Love to Remember


Lorelei Brogan - 2020
    In an hopeful attempt to escape her miserable reality, she secretly gets engaged to her childhood friend. To her misfortune, when he decides to join the Civil War, Vickie will start fighting her own lonely battle. Having not heard from him for two years, she assumes the worst has happened. To her surprise, he comes back, but not the same ma... Which dreadful event made him change his avowal of love for her?Sam Madsen had been a joyful and outgoing man before joining the war. The atrocities he saw on the battlefield, though, turned him into an entirely different person. He is now suffering from a memory loss and barely remembers Vickie or his deep feelings for her. While being extremely confused, trying to recall any possible detail of his past, his father sneakily announces his ambitious plan: his intention to marry his son to Vicki's older sister, Jess. How will Sam deal with this unforeseen request?While Vickie is trying to discover the real reason behind Sam's apparent betrayal, Jess starts finding the idea of becoming his wife appealing. Will Vickie manage to prevent this unwanted arranged marriage? Or will she end up accepting her harsh fate?"An Endless Love to Remember" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

The Red and Savage Tongue


F.J. Atkinson - 2013
    Britain's underbelly was exposed.The Dark Ages had begun... Rome had abandoned Britannia, leaving its people undefended. Anglo Saxon warriors, previously employed as mercenaries, now saw themselves as conquerors. The scene was set, as more war bands crossed the North Sea to take British gold, slaves, and land. One Briton, alone in the forest, wanting only to live as a hunter and trapper, was about to have his life changed forever. Dominic would become the hope of abandoned Britons. Dominic the wolf slayer would become the nemesis of any evil that entered his forest realm.

Behind the Sequins: My Life


Shirley Ballas - 2020
    In 1996, Shirley retired from competitive dancing to become a highly-acclaimed coach and now holds the enviable position of Head Judge on BBC One's prime time show Strictly Come Dancing.In Behind the Sequins, she leads us through her dramatic and determined life, from growing up in a rough estate on the Wirral and leaving home at 14 years old, to conquering the high-octane world of ballroom and coping with betrayal, bullying, two broken marriages and a personal tragedy that left Shirley and her family devastated.Speaking from the heart, Shirley leaves her dancing shoes at the door to tell you the story of a fiery, strong-willed grafter who could make the brat pack blush.

The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora


Stephanie Marie Thornton - 2013
    But the woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was, in fact, a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told…When her father dies suddenly, Theodora and her sisters face starvation on the streets. Determined to survive, Theodora makes a living any way she can—first on her back with every man who will have her, then on the stage of the city’s infamous amphitheater in a scandalous dramatization of her own invention. When her daring performance grants her a back-door entry into the halls of power, she seizes the chance to win a wealthy protector—only to face heartbreak and betrayal. Ever resilient, Theodora rises above such trials and by a twist of fate, meets her most passionate admirer yet: the Emperor’s nephew. She will thrive as his confidant and courtesan, but many challenges lie ahead. For one day, this man will hand her a crown. And all the empire will wonder—is she bold enough, shrewd enough, and strong enough to keep it?

Citadel 32: A Tale of the Aggregate


Tom Merritt - 2015
    But someone wants to stop him from pursuing it. Meanwhile on Earth, a monk of the Citadel discovers a strange ancient artwork. Could it lead to truth of the myth of the Moon Men? Finding out the truth could kill him.

Roma


Steven Saylor - 2007
    Roma recounts the tragedy of the hero-traitor Coriolanus, the capture of the city by the Gauls, the invasion of Hannibal, the bitter political struggles of the patricians and plebeians, and the ultimate death of Rome’s republic with the triumph, and assassination, of Julius Caesar.     Witnessing this history, and sometimes playing key roles, are the descendents of two of Rome’s first families, the Potitius and Pinarius clans:  One is the confidant of Romulus. One is born a slave and tempts a Vestal virgin to break her vows. One becomes a mass murderer. And one becomes the heir of Julius Caesar. Linking the generations is a mysterious talisman as ancient as the city itself.     Epic in every sense of the word, Roma is a panoramic historical saga and Saylor’s finest achievement to date.

The Spirit of the Place


Samuel Shem - 2008
    Orville Rose's newfound peace is shattered by a telegram informing him of his mother's death. On his return to Columbia, a Hudson River town of quirky people and "plagued by breakage," he learns that his mother has willed him a large sum of money, the 1981 Chrysler, and her Victorian house in the center of town. But there's a catch: he must live in her house continuously for a year and thirteen days. As he struggles with his decision -- whether to stay and meet the terms of the will or return to his love and life in Italy -- Orville reconnects with Bill Starbuck, the town doctor who mentored a young Orville and who practices a long-ago kind of medicine that treats the working poor, people neglected and forgotten by the medical and insurance industries. Now in his seventies, and in need of help with the practice, Bill convinces Orville to stay. During the course of his year and thirteen days, Orville reacquaints himself with Columbia and Colombians. He reunites with his sister and niece and comes to terms with old rivals and bitter memories. And he doctors a community in desperate need of care. He also meets Miranda Braak, a remarkable young single mother who aspires to be the town historian. Her knowledge of and reverence for the past challenges Orville to examine his own history, and her courage, integrity, and love challenge him to grow. In this story filled with wit, pointed insight, and drama, Orville learns what it means to be a healer, and to be healed.

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic


Mike Duncan - 2017
    After its founding in 509 BCE, Rome grew from an unremarkable Italian city-state to the dominant superpower of the Mediterranean world. Through it all, the Romans never allowed a single man to seize control of the state. Every year for four hundred years the annually elected consuls voluntarily handed power to their successors. Not once did a consul give in to the temptation to grab absolute power and refuse to let it go. It was a run of political self-denial unmatched in the history of the world. The disciplined Roman republicans then proceeded to explode out of Italy and conquer a world filled with petty tyrants, barbarian chieftains, and despotic kings.But the very success of the Republic proved to be its undoing. The republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome ruled. Bankrolled by mountains of imperial wealth and without a foreign enemy to keep them united, ambitious Roman leaders began to stray from the republican austerity of their ancestors. Almost as soon as they had conquered the Mediterranean, Rome would become engulfed in violent political conflicts and civil wars that would destroy the Republic less than a century later.The Storm Before the Storm tells the story of the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic--the story of the first generation that had to cope with the dangerous new political environment made possible by Rome's unrivaled domination over the known world. The tumultuous years from 133-80 BCE set the stage for the fall of the Republic.The Republic faced issues like rising economic inequality, increasing political polarization, the privatization of the military, endemic social and ethnic prejudice, rampant corruption, ongoing military quagmires, and the ruthless ambition and unwillingness of elites to do anything to reform the system in time to save it--a situation that draws many parallels to present-day America. These issues are among the reasons why the Roman Republic would fall. And as we all know, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

A Fateful Twist of Love


Aria Norton - 2020
    Seeking the truth, Emily finds herself travelling to England, comforted in the knowledge that her inheritance will allow her to live a pleasant life. Her world turns upside down though, when she finds out about the condition that dictates she needs to find a husband before her twenty-first birthday... Fate seems to be teasing her even further, as she soon finds her heart entrapped by the presence of a dashing lord. Will Emily manage to secure her fortune without risking her one chance at true love?Lord Maximillian Camborne is a strong and independent man. Despite appearing calm and collected on the surface, a dark secret is hidden behind the reason he's keeping everyone at distance. Rumours surrounding his wife's death and a curse upon his home in Cornwall have left him with little to be joyful of, but the arrival of a mysterious young lady might be exactly the salvation he's been looking for...Emily and Maximillian feel completely lost before their pathways meet, but they end up finding more than they dreamed of in each other's mesmerising gaze. Regardless of how unexpected their encounter is, the connection is instant and their feelings persist against all odds. With Emily hiding her real identity, though, and Maximilian concealing an even darker reality, could love stand a chance? Will they manage to defy the endless obstacles and rumours to reach the final destination of love?"A Fateful Twist of Love" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Dragon's Soul: An End's Beginning


Tony Tran - 2016
    As he takes his last breathe his life flashed before his eyes , from an early age he had been like a sponge soaking in all the knowledge around him, science, history, culture, literature, and even military strategy he absorbed it all. But as his life was coming to an end he scorned all his knowledge, what was the point of knowing everything when you weren’t even able to protect yourself or the ones you loved. As the boy closed his eyes for one final time,he laughed at how blinded he had been about the world and people and thought that if there was indeed a next life he would obtain power, power to protect himself and his loved one. And so this marked the end of his life, but for some, the end is only the beginning

The Invitation


Lucy Foley - 2016
    Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again. But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film. Of all the luminaries aboard -- an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director -- only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us -- no matter how much we try to escape them.

Going Viral


Dustin Stevens - 2015
    At twenty-eight years old he was content to still live in the bedroom he grew up in, working as a manager at the fast food chain he first joined in high school. Upon the death of his father, Charles realizes there might be something more for him out there and decides to try his hand at the potential of social media for introducing himself to the masses.Starting as a web series of self-exploration, Charles soon finds himself seduced by the allure of faceless followers. What began as a first cigar or shot of whiskey soon escalates much faster, an entire new persona developing.Told after the fact, Going Viral follows first-person insight into the mind of a man that in just six short months manages to go from an anonymous face in suburban America to internet novelty to ultimately death row inmate Chaz D.

Shipshape


Trey Myr - 2019
    Unfortunately, the only way to Shape life-force is through the use of Patterns, and the knowledge of how to make Patterns was lost when the old-world fell. These days, what Patterns remain in the world are closely guarded by their owners, who charge exorbitant amounts of gold from anyone who wants to use them. It took Jack years of scavenging in the ruins of the old-world, evading deadly traps and ravenous monsters, to gather the gold needed to pay for access to a Pattern and Shape himself a pair of hunting Hounds, and take the first step into realizing his dream. Story will contain unusual/harem relationships and explicit descriptions of a sexual nature!

Lady Ashby's Major Scandal


Myretta Robens - 2018
    first class writing....not-to-be-missed author", author of FLIRTING WITH DEATH Patricia Grasso "A memorable heroine and a sexily honorable hero make for a delightful romance." author of THE DUKE'S DAUGHTERS series, Megan Frampton Lady Ashby has a pressing problem Widowed at a young age, Isabel Ashby, yearns to marry again—this time to a young, handsome, titled husband—and live a nice, quiet life with two or three cherubic children. Having limited choices among the gentlemen of her acquaintance, Isabel decides to orchestrate a compromising position for herself to entrap the Earl of Caenby into marriage. But it all goes dreadfully wrong when she ends up unwittingly catching Major Sidney Chamberlayne instead. Major Chamberlyane has a stoic solution Sidney Chamberlyane is a second son, a military man of honor who is far more comfortable on the back of a horse than in a ballroom flirting with ladies of the ton. But when Sidney is caught in a passionate kiss with the delectable Lady Ashby, he can do nothing less than marry her. With their marriage off to a stormy start, both Isabel and Sidney wade through the murky waters of mistrust. But as they begin to recognize the changes in their feelings, will the winds of scandal and gossip drag them down into dangerous depths, or will truth and love guide them home?

City of Fallen Angels


Paul Buchanan - 2020
    A scorching heatwave is suffocating L.A. PI John Keegan is offered a small fortune to find a beautiful woman from a set of photographs. He refuses; the job seems suspicious.But the next day the same woman, Eve, turns up, unbidden, on his doorstep. Eve fears for her safety. She is being watched. Before Keegan knows it, someone has been killed with Keegan s own gun, and he gets sucked into a world of suspicion and betrayal where he s never quite sure where the truth lies. Before long he s the prime suspect in a murder he didn't commit, and all the evidence seems to point in his direction.It s almost like someone planned it that way.