She was wrong. New widow, Haley Colbrooke travels to Ashdown to meet her husband’s family and to visit his grave. The shocking news of their recent marriage is awkward enough. That her brother in-law is Lance’s identical twin is worse. Given her circumstances, she accepts the invitation to stay, which sets in motion a chain of events that will risk Haley losing all she has left. Rather than finding solace, she is drawn into past tragedies and deadly secrets. Perhaps coming to the family estate was a terrible mistake.

    How can she fulfill this desire for a husband except to ask for the new matchmaker’s help? When her life is threatened, she learns the depth of the baker’s feelings for her.William Sandoval is a successful baker who could provide well for a wife, but protocol prevents him from fraternizing with the only females he encounters, his customers. Learning that Marianne Gordon is willing to help the local business owners with matchmaking gives him hope for finding a wife. To his surprise, the match Marianne identifies for him has been the very customer who had stirred his heart all along.Will these two find a way to get what they both want? Can love overpower doubts and confusion?

    As bad luck would have it though, the orphaned young woman lives with her aunt and uncle who absolutely detest this natural way of living. Thankfully, Ellie still has her precious refuge to hide away in, the cottage that she lived in with her beloved parents before they passed away. Her happiness is even further challenged, when her aunt threatens her with an unwanted marriage that puts her own dreams in jeopardy. Yet, in an unexpected twist of faith, a mysterious and handsome man appears, making Ellie wonder if she can still hold on to hope and know true love. Will Ellie escape the grim future her aunt has planned for her and claim the man her heart had always waited for?Lord Jonathan Cornwall, the Third Duke of Danby, can hardly bear to be pestered by his overbearing mother who is desperate to see him married. Out of sheer desperation, he frequently rides out in the woods, in an effort to find his much needed inner peace. While riding in his most casual clothes, Jonathan stumbles one day upon a dreamy cottage and a charming young woman. As he gets to know the spirited Ellie, he holds onto the secret of his identity, worried that she would not accept his companionship if she knew the truth. As his profound feelings for her deepen into sparkling love, he knows that he has to tell her the truth. Will he manage to redeem himself for all the lies and win Ellie’s trust about them being a match made in heaven?Right when the two soulmates discover an everlasting connection between them, they have to face the heartbreaking reality that everyone else is against them. From Ellie’s aunt who has arranged another match, to Jonathan’s mother who insists that he must only marry for wealth and status, no ally seems to be in sight. Torn between their growing love and the hopelessness around them, they soon realise not only the lack of support, but also the sheer adversity on every side. Will the depth of their romance manage to overcome the endless obstacles and guide them towards their happily ever after? Or will they find themselves lost in the wilderness of the threatening shadows, away from the final destination of eternal love?"The Duke's Blooming Love" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

    Ever since her father left them with a precarious debt, her mother has been pushing her to secure a good marriage. Yet, when her close cousin invites her to the Duke of Tutlidge's marriage market ball, the first look between Mary and the Duke is enough to stimulate the spark of desire. Even though the sinful rumours of the rakish Duke overwhelm her, when she finds herself accidentally isolated with this dangerous, seductive man, a scandal is about to begin... Will Mary accept a forced marriage with a man she cannot trust, in order to save her reputation?Henry Poldern, the wild Duke of Tutlidge, is a vigorous man, who once had his naive young heart shattered to a million pieces by a cruel woman that deceived him. Ever since, he has become a stone-hearted rake determined to repel any eligible Lady of high society. However, even though he promised himself never to get married, an unfortunate event between him and Miss Brooke will force him to do the one thing he kept avoiding all these years. Yet, surprisingly, he will soon find himself longing for her touch, as her vulnerability below her cold facade makes him want her even more... Will Mary be the one to conquer his heart and make him leave his sinful past behind?An incidental encounter of fate intertwined Mary and Henry's lives leading them to unexpected consequences. Suddenly, both are forced into an engagement neither of them wanted and the last thing they expected was to end up in a flaming affair. Being under the same roof makes it impossible for them to tame their feelings... Yet soon, resisting their passion will not be their only struggle, as the sudden arrival of a notorious lady from Henry's past will turn their lives upside down. Will this cunning woman manage to tear their growing love apart, forever? In the end, will Mary and Henry conquer the demons of the past and surrender to their tempting lust?

    Her lovely singing voice and good looks lead her to her great ambition - to go on the stage and see her name top of the bill. She becomes a music hall star both in her native town and in the south, after an appearance in the theatre at Brighton - she even performs in Paris, to tremendous acclaim. But when her first love, an ambitious shoemaker in her home town, becomes engaged to someone else Poppy is devastated. She disappears, believing that she will never return to her life of stardom. But her fame cannot be kep a secret...

    in the first two cases in Susan Hill's gripping crime seriesIn The Various Haunts of Men Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler and a new member of the station, Detective Sergeant Freya Graffham investigate the disappearance of a local woman from the peaceful cathedral town of Lafferton. As more people vanish, Simon and Freya are forced to embark on a complicated mission to unravel the mystery and enter the mind of a killer.In The Pure in Heart Simon Serrailler is nursing a broken heart while trying to deal with a new and worrying case: the kidnapping of a young boy on his way to school. As the family of the missing boy falls apart, and more children are taken, the station - and Simon - begin to lose hope...

    Combing through her stories, poems, articles, reviews, correspondence, and even her rare journalism and song lyrics, editor Barry Day has selected and arranged passages that describe her life and its preoccupations-urban living, the theater and cinema, the battle of the sexes, and death by dissipation. Best known for her scathing pieces for the New Yorker and her membership in the Algonquin Round Table ("The greatest collection of unsaleable wit in America."), Parker filled her work with a unique mix of fearlessness, melancholy, savvy, and hope. In Dorothy Parker, the irrepressible writer addresses: her early career writing for magazines; her championing of social causes such as integration; and the obsession with suicide that became another drama ("Scratch an actor...and you'll find an actress."), literature ("This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.") and much more.

    As a novelist and icon, Rushdie has embraced both 'popular' and 'high' culture; reflecting this, the Guide brings together both academic criticism and journalism to investigate the passions and preoccupations of Rushdie's many critics, steering the reader through the inflamed debates and rhetoric surrounding this much admired but controversial author.

    

    Intellectual and independent, she had the strength to defy polite society with her highly unorthodox private life which included various romances and regular encounters with the primarily male intelligentsia. This insightful and provocative biography investigates Eliot’s life, from her rural and religious upbringing through her tumultuous relationship with the philosopher George Henry Lewes to her quiet death from kidney failure. As each of her major works are also investigated, Jenny Uglow attempts to explain why her characters were never able to escape the bounds of social expectation as readily as Eliot did herself.

    She couldn’t know the terrible price she would pay.Clary’s home is the foundling hospital where she has lived since birth. When a terrible tragedy occurs, Clary is blamed and thrown to the streets with her only possession - a token, left by her birth mother.When Bill Whitely finds Clary beaten in a back alley, he offers her sanctuary, but a startling discovery spurs her forward into a dangerous undertaking.As Clary navigates a forbidden world, secrets and suspicions are rife, forcing her to flee for her life.Alone and destitute on the streets, Clary is lured into a world of debauchery, where she must fight to regain herself and find the answers she is looking for.Will Clary ever discover the truth of her past? And what of Bill? Is he lost to her forever?For fans of Dilly Court and readers who love historical romance.

    Determined to set her life back in order—and go somewhere she won't have to see her former beau—she answers an advertisement for a mail-order bride. Before she knows it, she's arrived in Crest Stone, a rugged new railroad town nestled between the mountains in Colorado. And when she meets her intended, he's better than she ever could have dreamed—handsome and kind, even if he does seem preoccupied.Roman Carlisle is a cowboy turned livery owner. More than anything, he wants what his brothers have—a family. When Clara answers his advertisement, he's overjoyed to find she's exactly who he wanted. But her arrival coincides with horses going missing from his stable. If he can't find out who's behind the thefts, he'll lose everything he's worked so hard for.Clara is determined to help Roman when she finds out he's losing both horses and customers. But when the horse thieves grow more threatening, Roman is faced with a choice—send back the woman he's come to love, or put her life in danger.The Crest Stone Mail-Order Brides is a spin-off from Cat's Gilbert Girls series. This is a sweet and clean romance set in the Old West. Like all of Cat's books, it will warm your heart and fill you with hope!

    Struggling to make ends meet, she decides to alleviate some of the burden of her father’s shoulders and reply to a mail order bride from out of state. While corresponding with this man, she decides to take the leap of fate and change her life.Joel Slayton is the celebrated sheriff of Keysville, Utah. A widower living with his sister, Joel can almost boast to have completely rid his town of crime, since he has focused all his life and energy on that. At the encouragement of his sister, he will start corresponding with a woman named Elisa and patiently awaits her to arrive and become his future wife.When an accident changes the course of his life, Elisa will meet a man she did not expect to find. Can they work through the hardships and the unprecedented horrors this newfound fate has brought them? And how can they reconstruct the past if the promise of their future together is in danger?Find out in this gripping tale of Western Romance, where love will have to dig deep to unearth the power of faith.

    However, when her beloved father dies, she dedicates herself to working by her mother's side, to make ends meet. Her luck will finally change when a young lady becomes astonished by her talent and hires her as her personal dressmaker, spiralling her into a world she only dreamed of joining. It won't be long until Ella's world turns upside down once again, when she meets the lady's charming brother and becomes unable to stop daydreaming about his sparking gaze. Will Ella manage to survive and find love in a world that is totally unknown to her? Could she truly have the fairytale ending that any other girl of her class would die for?After the unexpected loss of his father, Ross Edmundson, The Duke of Winthrope, has become distant, burying himself in grief. Carrying the extra wound of a past love, he has refused to open up his heart again and much to his distaste, he must suffer through the upcoming season as chaperone to his young sister. Everything is about to change though when he sees the beautiful seamstress of his sister and day by day realises he is desperately falling in love with her. However, he knows that this love would be against society's rules and that he would have to clash even with his own mother, who would undoubtedly be against this romance. Will the lonely Duke find the strength to defy everything for the sake of love? Could Ella be the one to finally sew his broken heart back together?Ross and Ella cannot deny their blossoming feelings and they are desperate to make amends that will bring them closer to their happily ever after. However, a malicious figure who has set eyes on the Duke, tries to sabotage Ella and take her out of the picture once and for all. Will the honourable Duke manage to protect her from a world that keeps breaking her gentle heart? Will the two soulmates eventually beat the odds stacked against them or will they fail to break down the walls that keep them apart?"Mending the Duke's Heart" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

    Sarah yearns for so much more, secretly lusting for an enthralling adventure... When she attends a masquerade ball, she is allured by the raven-haired seductive stranger, who whispers shockingly tempting things into her ear, without revealing his identity. She knows all this is far from how a lady should behave, but she finds this game of seduction simply irresistible. After all, what hope can a respectable young lady have in finding any kind of tantalizing excitement? While trying to unveil this captivating masquerader's identity, will she indulge in an adventure of inappropriate promises and lustful desire?Arthur Colton, the Viscount Nordarken, is a bored gentleman, ready to risk it all for the sake of pleasure. While visiting his father in the district, he is on the hunt for a rousing distraction. Sadly, not even one of the eligible young ladies sparks his interest after the whirlwind of excitement that London was. Little did he know that everything was about to change with the announcement of a masquerade ball and the appearance of an enticing dark-eyed beauty into his dangerous path. Being used to always getting what he wants, he comes up with a wicked plan, to make her succumb to his sinful passion. How far is he willing to go in order to conquer her fiery heart?Against all odds, their lives and their feelings get tangled and challenge everything they have ever known. That is when a game of false identities and flaming desire begins... A game that must end soon, or it could otherwise lead to their destruction. For Sarah it is being in the midst of a scandal and losing her gracious place in society. For Arthur it is being targeted and risking turning into a social pariah. Will an arising old scandal threaten their affair to its very core? Will their untamed passion for one another be enough to thrive, in spite of all the hardships or will they drift apart after all?