And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground. Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber

    Each title offers a sizzling love story and a guaranteed happy ending. So get comfortable and be prepared to fall in love—nine times! Books included: True North Georgia on My Mind The Fall The Wreck Everyone Loves a Hero Love at First Flight Line of Scrimmage Sex Machine Sex God

    To Kill a MockingbirdThe Shoes of the FishermanSeven Days in MayTo Catch an Angel

    Knights of blood and of war bring forth the very worst that Medieval brutality has to offer, but in that darkness, there is a ray of hope. Women of brightness shine the most when confronting the darkness within men. Be shocked at nothing within the pages of this collection, for these novels will take you into the blackness and back again, where love reigns supreme, even over evil.Romance comes in many shades, in many ways.This set contains:DarkWolfe – A de Wolfe son puts a tragic past behind him and finds love with an enemy.DarkMoon – A special ops knight finds an unexpected romance. Will it cost him a life-long friendship?Dark Steel – A happenstance creates a new duke – who falls into a surprising romance.The Dark Lord – The darkest lord of all finds a woman to tame his vicious ways.Guardian of Darkness – A noble knight and a Scottish hostage find love amidst a web of royal lies.The Dark Lord’s First Christmas – Bonus book! The Dark Lord discovers the meaning of Christmas.The original Medieval Romance novels with no cliffhangers, no cheating, and always with a Happily Ever After.

     A Texas Ranger, relegated to deskwork due to past recklessness, petitions to regain custody of his five-year-old daughter, and his case is assigned to a family court judge who is as attractive as she is ambitious. When a masked gunman barges in during the custody hearing with his sights on the judge, the Ranger reacts instinctually and goes after him. But authorities apprehend the wrong man, and the real gunman remains unknown, at large, and a threat. Will this take-charge lawman jeopardize his chances of custody by going after the would-be assassin? And will this unlikely pair be able to deny the forbidden attraction building between them?

    She and her two younger sisters gather at his side, praying he’ll live… At a time like this, falling in love is the last thing on Valerie’s mind. And with Dr. Colby Winston, of all people! He’s David’s heart surgeon, a renowned specialist who enjoys small-town living, while Valerie is a high-powered businesswoman who prefers city life. They’re complete opposites in every way. Yet David keeps insisting she and Colby are a perfect couple. Meanwhile, Stephanie has other worries besides her father’s health. She fled Orchard Valley three years earlier, after her humiliating rejection by local journalist Charles Tomaselli. Now she’s home, and it’s not long before they begin reliving past battles—and renewing old feelings. He was the reason she left. This time, will he give her a reason to stay? David seems to think so… Norah is feeling a bit unneeded these days. Her father is recovering, and her sisters are busy planning their weddings. But then a cantankerous Texan named Rowdy Cassidy crashes his small plane in Orchard Valley. The same Rowdy Cassidy who’d been Valerie’s boss…and who’d demanded Valerie marry him. Now he’s Norah’s patient, and in all her nursing experience she’s never encountered a more difficult man. Or a more irresistible one! Except…is he still in love with her sister?When Norah’s friend Sherry Waterman leaves Orchard Valley, Oregon, for Pepper, Texas, she’s definitely not in the mood for Lone Star Lovin’. But if anyone can change her mind, it’s Cody Bailman—a hardworking, good-looking rancher. Not only that, Cody has a twelve-year-old daughter who thinks Sherry’s “just perfect for Dad!”

    He just wants to live an anonymous life and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes, he’s asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counterterrorism.Follow Levon and his daughter while they go on the run from the feds and a growing army of enemies that Levon makes along the way.

    Literally. A woman on the run from a minor Egyptian Demon? Um…what?With his father ailing, normally Jasper would pass on this one, but then he gets a look at her. How can he resist the owner of those flashing blue eyes?Carolina Moore is in danger, but who can she trust when an ancient Egyptian Demon has decided she is his property and will stop at nothing to claim her?Recently divorced, she’d just returned from a trip to Egypt where she’d spent time on an archeological dig with a student group as a guest lecturer with an unfortunate souvenir, mainly a Demon who wants her for his own.Luckily, she is friends with Jennifer Dylluan who assigns her a guard from the Wyvern Protection Unit. But what happens when her protector poses more of a threat to her than the person she was running from?

    Merwin --Magic barrel / Bernard Malamud --About marriage / Denise Levertov --from Jane Austen / Virginia Woolf --Princess and the tin box / James Thurber.

    He would never have abandoned his clan.Until his alpha’s stupid decisions result in the loss of Flint’s mate and unborn child. But were his Alpha’s actions plain ignorance, or something more sinister?Now Flint has hidden himself among the humans, seeking revenge. He gets his chance, but a pesky (and incredibly sexy) cop is poking her nose in his business.Flint’s got a big choice to make: does he commit the ultimate betrayal and reveal his clan’s existence to a human...Or does he betray his soulmate?Read Protecting the Dragon’s Baby for seduction, mystery, and thrills!Note: Adults Only!

    My sister.There’s only one problem... He wants me instead.Margot LeBlanc is gorgeous. She’s blonde. She’s tall.She’s the biggest star in the kingdom.She’s my sister, and she has it all.Including an arranged relationship with the hottest prince on the planet.Me, on the other hand?I’m the shorter, chubbier, never-been-kissed, black-haired version of Margot.Men aren’t exactly lining up to date me.So, when Prince Luca makes me melt with those dangerous, intoxicating eyes, I think he’s toying with me.When he tells me that he wants to do all kinds of filthy things to me, I think he’s lying.When he wraps his arms around me and tells me I’m his, I’m finished.My brooding, possessive prince is about to be my first, my last, and my everything....and in nine months, he's also going to be my baby's father.♥♥♥Included in this collection are the three Princes of Argyle Kingdom:Broken PrinceWicked PrinceWrong PrinceRoyally Unexpected: Volume 2 is an accidental pregnancy collection featuring three brooding, possessive princes and the women who make them melt. Grab a cold glass of water… these modern fairytale retellings are about to get hot!

    King. Do not let the lack of light stop you from discovering more adventures and stories that will keep you up at night and ignite the imagination. There is no place to hide in, THE DARKNESS!

    On his way home to Texas and their family’s cattle ranch, he stops to investigate a single-vehicle accident. The driver is missing, the SUV abandoned and a search into nearby woods brings him closer to a woman he tried to forget. Are you ready for more exciting suspense featuring Aiden of the Quinn family from USA TODAY Bestselling Author Barb Han?

    I built my career starring in rom-coms.I know enough to realize they don’t exist in real life…So why can’t I resist my hottie BFF?HER:I’ve avoided my home state for years, but now I’m back—for one reason only,On the cusp of mega-stardom, the kind of role I’ve been working for all this time,…only to be blighted at the last hurdle, for reasons that have nothing to do with me!Just as I think things couldn’t get any worse, who do I run into?Only Justin Hatcher, my former best friend, and the very reason I left Georgia in the first place.He’s the same hottie he always was, only now he has ten years of secrets to hide…HIM:I feel like I’ve seen a ghost.When Kim left, I never thought I’d see her again.In the time she’s been gone, a lot has changed in our small town,And now she’s here, and I suddenly have a lot of explaining to do…For one, I’m a single dad now, and that’s just the start of it.I know she won’t stay, that she has no interest in giving up everything she’s worked for,I’ll just have to make the most of her while she’s here…

    Ten years later, they’re all billionaires, but they’re still alone. Follow the three men through their journeys to find true love as they each find their perfect bride.Steven: When the younger sister of a woman he used to date shows up at his house with a child she claims is his, he convinces her they’d be better off living with him than simply taking child support from him. He finds himself wildly attracted to the new “nanny” and sets out to win her heart.Justin: When a relatively new employee comes to his office to talk about some trouble in the Human Resources department, Justin feels such a strong physical attraction to her, he’s ready to throw all his beliefs about dating a subordinate out the window. Sarah takes one look at Justin, and knows she wants nothing more than to be his. Will they be able to get past the fact they work closely together and make the relationship work?Cody: After being rear-ended by a beautiful woman on his way home from the Super Bowl, Cody realizes he’s found the only woman in the world who is just right for him. How could he possibly have fallen for the only woman in the world so independent that his billions are a liability?