When the hat is rediscovered, dusty and forlorn, the remaining dares spark a series of events that will echo through all the families… and their daring daughters.Dare to be WickedTwo daring daughters…Lady Elizabeth and Lady Charlotte are the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of Bedwin. Raised by an unconventional mother and an indulgent if overprotective father, they both strain against the rigid morality of the era. The fashionable image of a meek, weak young lady, prone to swooning at the least provocation, is one that makes them seethe with frustration. Their handsome childhood friend… Cassius Cadogan, Viscount Oakley, is the only child of the Earl and Countess of St. Clair. Beloved and indulged, he is popular, gloriously handsome and a talented artist. Returning from two years of study in France, his friendship with both sisters becomes strained as jealousy raises its head. A situation not helped by the two mysterious Frenchmen who have accompanied him home. And a simmering sibling rivalry… Passion, art, and secrets prove to be a combustible combination, and someone will undoubtedly get burned.

    He falls in love with Jane, the oldest Bennet girl. Everything goes well—for a while. Then the handsome bachelor’s proud best friend, Mr. Darcy, ruins everything.Elizabeth Bennet has never hated anyone as much as she hates Mr. Darcy. How could she ever forgive the man who has ruined her sister’s happiness? She knows everything she needs to know about him. He is proud, hateful, conceited, and horrid—and he wants to marry her.Elizabeth and Darcy’s memorable, witty battle of hearts and minds has made Pride and Prejudice a readers’ favorite for almost two hundred years.Readability Note: This Townsend Library Classic has been carefully edited for clarity and readability.Source: townsendpress.com

     As the last of the summer sun falls across the broken and bloodied fields of Flanders, the British soldiers grimly press their attacks against the German defences. Despite the savage fighting that has ravaged the land, the infantry and guns grind their way forward, pushing the worn and battered German defenders relentlessly back. As the summer fades into autumn, the British are poised to strike. Then, the weather breaks and the rains return. For Harry and his section the battle ahead will be an indescribable horror, a bitter and violent fight against the weather and the German defenders who lie ready to stubbornly resist the next attack. Amongst the seas of mud, Harry and his section will battle for their lives as they struggle towards the Passchendaele Ridge.

    But the Kansas territories are a difficult place, and Letty has to do what it takes to survive. Now, she’s the last saloon girl in the rough-and-tumble town of Lizard Flats, a place where happily ever after’s are nothing but a dream.

    Races operating within their own planetary systems are to be left alone until they begin to develop the ability to travel at FTL (faster than light speeds). When the ability to travel at FTL becomes apparent, one of the members of the Federation is nominated to help ease the newcomer through the Galactic citizenship process. Unfortunately, not all the galaxies systems belong to the Federation, and some of those systems are much less than friendly. The last several decades have seen the development of war like societies that systematically loot developing planets. They take the water, and other precious resources, including slaves, leaving the remaining native inhabitants a barren planet. Without resources the population simply dies a slow death. The Egolari are here because we, meaning the people of Earth, happen to possess a skill set and an aptitude that is critical to the needs of the Federation. The major problem within the Federation is that virtually all the members have, for centuries been living in peace. They have developed a society that is not well suited to counter the growing violence presented by the nonaligned races. In short, they have no way to protect themselves, let alone protect the fledgling races just arriving on the galactic scene. Enter Earth. Of all the emerging races to become future galactic members, one has a superior potential to face the violence threatened by the nonaligned races. You guessed it, Humanity. The Federation realized that to continue to function as an organized galactic society, they would have to develop a military arm that could provide the Federation and emerging systems the protection of a fleet of space vessels and marines. Humanity was the race most capable of leading the development of that military organization because we had not progressed so far that our war like tendencies had begun to erode. Although we were not yet ready for galactic membership, we were a necessity that could fill the need, thus we were getting a crash course in how to travel the galaxy, protecting ourselves and the Federation with the full expectation that we would go where no human has gone before, and kick some alien ass.

    Numbering four hundred thousand strong, soldiers of the Red Army pour across the borders of the Soviet Union’s small neighbor. Outnumbered and outclassed the world expected Finland to quickly succumb to the Communist juggernaut. Hale grew up farming, and hunting the frozen forest of his northern home. Taught from a young age by his father to hunt and trap, Hale has grown into master woodsman. Not yet twenty summers in age, he is most at home in the wilderness. Utilizing his gifts, especially his uncanny aim with a rifle, he has helped put food on the table and to earn a living by selling valuable pelts. When invasion threatened, he put his growing love for Nea on hold, and answered his nation’s desperate call to stem the Soviet tide. Now alone in Finland’s vast southern forest, he hunts prey of a different kind. Will his skills and the rifle his father gave him be enough against the countless numbers, tanks, and air craft of the Soviet Union?

    And he knew just the way. He would take his own captive -- Amberlie de Fontaine, the brown-eyed Norman beauty who was now lady of his former keep. And once he had stolen her away, he would not scruple over stealing a fiery kiss or two from this dark and enchanting hostage...He was her only desire...Amberlie knew she should despise Tedric of Woodrose. After all, he had kidnapped her, and worse, it was almost certainly Tedric who had killed her husband in one of his many attempts to regain his land. But the tall, blond Saxon warrior was not the savage she had expected. And try as she might, it was not hate but passion she felt in his presence; passion that stirred her as never before. He had taken her by force, but she would give herself freely to the sweet ecstasy of his tempestuous embrace...

    Or was it to prevent a scandal? Either way, the gown-ripping sister has certainly drawn his notice.Miss Miranda Hunt will do anything to prevent her sister from making a mistake which would bring scandal down upon their family…even make a deal with the devil. Mr. Devalle is no angel—fallen or otherwise—but he is devilishly handsome, shamelessly wicked, and as infamous a gentleman as Miranda has ever known. He promises to circumvent her sister’s schemes…for a price. What is a proper young lady to do when she has The Devil to Pay?

    In charge of her healer’s shop, she spends her days mixing herbs and trying to solve a mystery: her own parents' death. Austin Woodmore, Marquess of Kingshill, lives with one goal: stay true to his familial duty. Determined to find a cure for his ailing father, he follows the trail of a renowned old apothecary. What he finds instead, is his beautiful, spirited niece. With Austin’s mother waging war against her and the moment of Ethel’s departure drawing closer, Austin must make a choice: serve his family or follow his heart. A promise made by a stranger reveals that Ethel has been living a terrible lie. And a single slip of the tongue gives her the truth: what truly happened to her parents the night they died… No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after.

    In order to save himself and others, Liam must reach his full potential as the last hope.He must become the last shining star that guides his people.This is the story of a man's desperate attempts to save humanity from certain extinction, as well as find out who's behind it all. He dreams of creating a fairer, more just reality and through the System, finds a ray of hope. Follow his journey as he struggles to build up his power while withstanding the trials of Fate.

    The action of this period romantic mystery takes place in the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne two years after the end of the war, as Britain is caught in the grip of the worst winter in a thousand years. As blizzards rage and the country grinds to a frozen standstill, on Tyneside a young German woman, Elsa Platten, goes on trial for her life, accused of deliberately burning a man to death... Alexander Galbraith is the lawyer hired to defend her, a man undergoing a personal crisis of his own, since his vengeful wife, Virginia, has discovered evidence of a homosexual affair and is threatening to ruin him... Jack Raisbeck is the owner of the Tyneside shipyard where the murdered man, a Dutchman called Jeroen van Rijn, worked. Jack is a physically scarred and cynical survivor of the war in the North Atlantic but his developing romantic relationship with Elsa in the months before the murder has rejuvenated him. Yet, as Elsa begins her trial, Jack is also struggling to keep his shipyard business alive, beset with a rebellious workforce led by union leader Ernie Wilmot, and with the financial future of his yard hanging in the balance after a recent arson attack and an act of embezzlement by his former chief accountant, George Hetherington. As the evidence against Elsa unfolds in the course of the trial, she re-lives her past life in Germany and Holland: the rise of the Nazis and the invasion of Holland, her subsequent betrayal and deportation to the East, and her escape and struggle to survive the fall of Berlin. Jack and Alexander Galbraith both believe in Elsa’s innocence but that belief is strongly tested as the evidence against her grows. The trail to find the truth leads both men in unexpected directions. For Jack it leads to a confrontation with his brother-in-law on a frozen cliff top, and to other disturbing family revelations. For Galbraith it is something even worse - he has to make the ultimate choice between preserving his own career and reputation, or saving his client from the hangman...

    Orphaned at 16 and widowed at 23, she longs to escape poverty, start a new life, and find true love. When she corresponds with mercantile owner, Jake, she feels drawn to him. But Jake only wants a marriage of convenience and a helper in his store. Believing she will come to accept a loveless marriage, Virginia travels to California. But her dreams of a peaceful life soon fade. Nothing will melt Jake's cold heart, and when Virginia finds herself falling in love with Jake, she realizes she must leave California, and all that she's ever wanted, behind.

    The German army is rampant, and Lieutenant Scottsdale and the British Expeditionary Force are trapped. Yet amid the chaos, Scottsdale must rescue two French scientists trapped behind enemy lines. What they know will tilt the balance of war towards the Allies.The brilliant and mercurial Helene Dubois is in hiding with her frail uncle, as they flee the advancing German armies. They must be found, but pursuing them is Schiller, a ruthless SS Officer, who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.As they are caught up in the bloody rearguard at Dunkirk, Scottsdale and Dubois will find love, tragedy, and triumph as they fight to escape Schiller, in a story perfect for fans of Ken Follett, Rory Clements and Robert Harris.

    ~Long and Short Reviews JENNY'S PASSION It was November 1863, and Captain David Reynolds of the Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry was fully prepared to die. Someone had once told him that dying was quite painless. He didn’t believe it, though he secretly hoped it was true as he and his men prepared to ride into chaos and horror. The battle of Mine Run had begun. Jennifer Winston could hear the booming sounds of cannon fire miles away from her Virginia home. She knew that the war had begun two years ago but had been insulated from it all by her father. Little did she know that her life was about to irrevocably change, and she would be tested to the limits of her courage and endurance for a man—a man who was the enemy. LILA'S VOW Schoolteacher Lila Sutton finds her one true love when cavalryman Captain Jack Montgomery rides into Gettysburg. But their promises to be together mean nothing to the enemy, and when Lila receives word of Jack's death, she wants revenge. Imprisoned and desolate, Jack's only thoughts are of the love he left behind. With a future filled with turmoil and uncertainty, he can't see a way out. But he's a solider, and soldiers don't give up. In the midst of a brutal war, can a shattered love be restored?

    Seek this superbly researched and deftly written novel out"Review By Peter Desmond'City Weekend' Magazine, Shanghai 10 December 2013The severed head in the bamboo birdcage swayed above the teeming marketplace. It told Constable Mike Gallagher everything he needed to know about Shanghai.It’s 1927. The son of a rural Irish cop, Gallagher joins the Shanghai Municipal Police. to escape an Ireland crippled by its recent bitter independence fight, and to trace the aristocratic woman whose memory still haunts him. They would venture together to China, Fiona once promised. Then the IRA torched her family estate. Everybody believes she died there. Everybody but Mike Gallagher.Shanghai. Pearl of the East or Whore of the Orient? Depends on who you ask. It’s a cesspool of poverty, thronged with refugees, gripped by civil war. But for some it’s still a fever dream: jazz clubs and opium dens, celebrities and spies, easy money and easier women. Gallagher encounters the city’s biggest philanthropist, a man called Big Ears Lu – who is also its creepiest racketeer. He falls for the beautiful courtesan Miriam Tsai. But does his collusion with Lu keep her trapped in the House of Multiple Joys? Shanghai in 1927 is a city where after dark anything seems possible. A city where anyone can be crushed, and anyone corrupted. Even an innocent Irish cop.From the wreckage of guerrilla war in Ireland to the dawn of world war in Asia, the international mystery thriller Gangsters of Shanghai seethes with 20th Century turbulence and temptation. Can Mike Gallagher escape the imploding city with his life, his self-respect – and the answer to Fiona’s fate? About The Author Of Gangsters Of Shanghai, The International Mystery Thriller.Gerry O'Sullivan was born in Limerick, Ireland in 1961, where he indulged his taste for historical fiction, intelligent action thrillers and men’s adventure books. A graduate of the University of Limerick, he moved to Australia in 1986 and worked in the international education sector. Gerry was inspired to write this action mystery by his granduncle, a Detective Inspector in the Shanghai Municipal Police during the 1920’s. Spellbound by old photographs and family lore, Gerry resolved to write an action adventure thriller with the accuracy of historical fiction. Gerry travelled to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Brandeis University, Boston where the top-secret files of the Shanghai Municipal Police Special Branch are kept on microfilm (they were smuggled out of Shanghai by the CIA in 1949).Gerry then moved to Singapore to immerse himself in the atmosphere of a fast paced English-speaking Asian city, as Shanghai was in the 1920’s and 1930’s. To achieve the pulse-quickening features of an action mystery with the demandingly accurate details of historical fiction, Gerry blended his granduncle’s stories about his Shanghai police work, years of scholarly research, and his own experiences of the city.