Book picks similar to
The Idea of the Canterbury Tales by Donald R. Howard
14th-century
british-literature
dnf
literary-criticism
Celtic Tempest
Ria Cantrell - 2013
In Fourteenth Century England, landless knights are forced to obey the ruthless monarch without question. Sir Andrew Brandham, knight of the Realm and captain of the Elite Guard of Ragnorsen Keep is called to do just that. When his best friend, Sir Erik Ragnorsen is commanded to nullify his marriage to the beautiful Rhianna Du Montefort because they have yet to produce an heir, Sir Andrew accompanies him to do battle with the will of the king. Erik is being forced to marry the daughter of a Scottish Laird in order to form a tenuous Peace between the Highlanders and England. The idea of divorcing his beloved wife to marry a loathsome Scot is beyond Erik’s vow of obedience and honor. He is imprisoned for his impulsive disobedience and Drew is left to form a scheme to save his friend. When he sees the Scottish lass who has been chosen for Sir Erik, he is instantly drawn to her and while his plan unfolds to aid Erik, Drew forms a friendship with Bronwyn, daughter of the Laird and High Chief of the Clan MacCollum.
Bronwyn MacCollum was raised in the Highlands, where the past is steeped in traditions of the “Old Ways”. A long time ago, Bronwyn had a vision of her intended, but realizing he was an Englishman, she vowed to change her destiny. The English were always the enemies of her people and she would not bring danger to her beloved clan. Only, she becomes a pawn in the sadistic game of the King of England and Robert the Bruce and is being forced to marry an English knight after all. Upon seeing the man she is betrothed to, she knew her vision had been false because he looked nothing like the man who had invaded her dreams since childhood. With vehement disregard for the king’s decree, she declares her hatred for Sir Erik Ragnorsen and would rather risk war than to marry him. Only, when she meets Sir Erik’s personal guard, Bronwyn realizes that sometimes you cannot fight what is destined from the start. Sir Andrew Brandham was familiar; more than familiar. He was the man of her visions and nothing she could do could make her deny it.
Bronwyn and Drew are filled with distrust and betrayal seeps into both of their hearts. They suffer through many storms that batter their hearts and souls like rocks at the edge of the tempestuous sea. Can their love survive the lies and heartache they are each guilty of? Can Bronwyn escape the Destiny and the pull of the Old Ways and create a path without Drew or will love help them both to embrace the course Destiny has chosen?
Dream Song: The Life of John Berryman
Paul L. Mariani - 1990
Photographs.
The King's Mistress
Emma Campion - 2009
But merchant Janyn Perrers is a good and loving husband and Alice soon learns to enjoy her marriage. Until a messenger brings news of his disappearance and she discovers that her husband had many secrets, secrets he didn't want her to know - but which have now put a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Brought under the protection of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, she must dutifully embrace her fate once more - as a virtual prisoner at Court. And when the king singles her out for more than just royal patronage, she knows she has little choice but to accept his advances. But obeying the king brings with it many burdens as well as pleasures, as she forfeits her good name to keep her daughter free from hurt. Still a young woman and guided by her intellect and good business sense, she learns to use her gifts as wisely as she can. But as one of the king's favourites, she brings jealousy and hatred in her wake and some will stop at nothing to see her fall from grace.
The Worst Man on Mars
Mark Roman - 2016
Legend. Role model. He’s none of those.Blunt Yorkshireman and reality TV show winner, Flint Dugdale, has used his large frame and ‘persuasive personality’ to take charge of Britain’s first mission to Mars. Little does he know that the base, built by an advance party of inept robots, is far from ready, with no food, water or doors. And the ship’s scanners are picking up strange signals. There is life down there. But will it be pleased to see him?
Galleon
C.J. Williams - 2018
His only hope for survival is to partner with an alien Artificial Intelligence named Alyssa. She is the brain of the most improbable star ship Gus has ever seen, part ancient sailing ship, part incredible star-faring vessel. But there is a catch. Alyssa’s first priority is to finish an epic yacht race that started twenty-eight thousand years ago. THE WORLD IS CAPTURED BY THE ALIEN DRAMA Every day Gus sends a video love letter to his wife via the lifeboat’s one-way subspace signal where it is automatically posted on YouTube. Few people care until another lifeboat crashes with two young women aboard, both of them celebrities. Their fame turns Gus into a worldwide phenomenon; everyone watches the three castaways fight to carve a life from the tiny island life even though they have little hope of rescue. When disaster threatens, Gus and the girls have no choice but to resurrect the crippled galleon. Their impossible task is to sail Alyssa across an alien sea and then fly her across unimaginable galactic reaches. WHEN ALYSSA FINALLY AGREES TO HELP, SPACE PIRATES STRIKE On live television, the public watches helplessly when a ship of vicious murderers attack the three survivors. The world grieves when the now-famous exiles go silent. At least until Earth's Space Navy reports they are under attack by a ship that is beyond imagination.
A Clean Billionaire Boxset
Anne-Marie Meyer - 2019
Get swept away today with these swoon-worthy heroes! Forgiving the Billionaire Love deserves a second chance. Hannah has finally come home after having been away for seven years. Despite her fears about facing her past, she’s desperate to get away from her boyfriend’s proposal. She didn’t expect to see Logan again. Logan is trying to adjust to his father’s death, being a single dad, and his new status as a billionaire. He thought he had a handle of that until his childhood crush, Hannah, comes back into his life. And she’s everything he remembered her to be. If only they could move on from their broken hearts. If only they could see how perfect they are together. Then maybe the mountains in front of them wouldn’t feel so unsurmountable. Finding Love with the Billionaire Opposites attract in the Alaskan wilderness. Madeline is desperate to finally be taken seriously, but that doesn’t seem to be the case when her boss asks her to write a puff piece of billionaire party boy, Liam Davenport. Liam just wanted a quiet life roaming the world. When his father dies, leaving him to face the media storm surrounding Davenport Outdoors, he’s forced to trade in his hiking boots for tailored suits. They’re determined they already know all there is to know about the other person. Until their plane crashes into an Alaskan mountain side. Suddenly, they’re faced with a choice. Put down their pride to survive, or keep their prejudices and struggle alone. Falling for the Billionaire Two lost souls make a whole. Paige has moved to New York after her father lost his business and passed away. Living with her quirky aunt as she attempts to start over wasn’t what she had envisioned for her life, but she’d determined to be successful. James has a golden finger. As a billionaire, his life is perfect—except that’s not the life he wants. Trouble is, he’s not sure what he’s meant to do. When James meets Paige, he’s intrigued by her. She seems to have everything figured out. The plan was simple. Figure out what James enjoys. If only their hearts hadn’t gotten involved. If only their pasts didn’t come back to haunt them. When everything feels as if it’s crashing down around them, the one thing they feared might be the one thing they needed all along. Fixing the Billionaire Love can mend a broken past. Millie has given up on love. After all, men never seem to show up when they’re supposed to. Joseph is trying to atone for his mistakes that he made before his daughter passed away. He’s left behind his privileged life to travel from town to town, paying off stranger’s medical bills. They were perfectly happy living their single lives until Millie rear ends Joseph in the parking lot of the hospital where she works. Fate intervenes and they find themselves thrown together. But love isn’t that simple.
Vines of Ostara
John P. Logsdon - 2019
There are just a few bugs to fix first... Join this comedic romp through the land of Kazaran, where you'll find interesting characters, a vast RPG world, adult themes/language/innuendo (don't worry, it's not a harem/reverse-harem book!)...and a fair amount of bloodshed too! In a nutshell, Kazaran is intended for mature audiences who harbor very immature thoughts. Grant Palaski is a low-level bug tester at the world’s largest MMORPG, Kazaran Online. It was meant to be a starting point to a high-level writing job, but all he has to show for his master’s is a mountain of student loan debt, a grudging addiction to caffeine, and zero respect. When he is handpicked to lead a group of pro gamers into Kazaran's new innovation, everyone is shocked. Why him? Even Grant can't answer that question, but he's not going to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime. The mission is to go from a level 1 newbie to a level 50 master. Millions of jealous gamers from all over the globe will watch the adventure, though hopefully, there’s no cameras in the showers. Plus, he’ll get paid. A lot. Except he probably should have questioned more about why he was chosen. Someone inside the company doesn’t want him to succeed. When everything goes wrong, Grant and his party have to balance the challenges of the game with uncovering the mystery of who sabotaged their test run. Can a guy used to losing lead his team to victory? Or will it be game over for good?
Blooming: Poems on Love, Self-Discovery, and Femininity (To the Moon and Back Book 3)
Alexandra Vasiliu - 2019
Enjoy this little poetry treasure and let yourself bloom.* The e-book does not contain illustrations.
Angst
David J. Pedersen - 2010
Angst had longed to be a knight of Unsel, to make his mark in history, to be remembered for heroic deeds and wondrous acts. He grew up knowing he was destined for something great, but now it is too late. Not only is 40 far too old to become a knight, Angst is one of the few able to wield “the magics”.For 2,000 years magic has been outlawed, repressed, even outright destroyed throughout the world of Ehrde. By law, Angst is reduced to using his great power only to file papers. His marriage is on the rocks, his friends are bored with him, and he hates his job. The one person that makes him happy is the young Princess Victoria who seems to adore him. Unfortunately, that makes his boss, the Queen, hate him.Without warning, Unsel is besieged with dangerous monsters - birds with metallic beaks, monkey creatures that can dive through solid ground, mindless horse-eating giants. The world that shunned magic now turns to Angst for help, and he is happy to listen once his back stops hurting.On the edge of a mid-life crisis, Angst drags his reluctant friends along with him on an adventure into the heart of magic. He’s not sure where they’re going, what they’ll find, or even if they’ll survive. But he knows this is his one chance to be a hero because the only way to fight magic is with magic.
Highlander's Lost Daughter
Alisa Adams - 2019
He has but one. Love.
Tavia is the adopted child of an apothecary and former priest. Besides loving her, Tavia’s father passed on to her his medical skills and also taught her French and Latin, giving her a better education than most men of her time.Blair is the son of the Laird and a handsome man that every single woman in the village desires. He is respected by his tenants and he is a capable man, always wiling to help and protect them.When Blair has an accident close to Tavia’s house, she uses her medical skills to heal his wounds. Blair finds in her beautiful eyes a unique woman that can give meaning to his life.He can not accept that he won’t see her again after this meeting, so he asks Tavia to give him French lessons. Tavia accepts and that only makes the heat between them grow… They both know though, that Tavia is a peasant girl, and marrying her is forbidden by society’s rules. But Blair wants to defy all of them! Determined to find a solution he will start discovering clues about Tavia’s real parents and her past, making things take a turn none of them could ever imagine."Highlander’s Lost Daughter" is a story packed with romance, mystery, and salvation, set on the beautiful backdrop of the Scottish Highlands.
New Selected Poems
Stevie Smith - 1988
Replacing the slim volume which introduced Stevie Smith to American readers, New Selected Poems is chronologically arranged and contains 165 poems along with many of the author's doodles.
The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets
Helen Vendler - 1997
Helen Vendler, widely regarded as an accomplished interpreter of poetry, here serves as a guide to some of the best-known poems in the English language.In detailed commentaries on Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, Vendler interprets imaginative and stylistic features of the poems, pointing out new levels of import in particular lines, and the ways in which the four parts of each sonnet work together to enact emotion and create dynamic effect.
Run from the Dead: Book 1: A Zombie Apocalypse
Joanne Nundy - 2021
Driven by an insatiable hunger for flesh, they attack anyone who dares to go out.Anna is trapped as the zombie apocalypse rages outside her front door. Desperate and alone, she must find a way to get to her children who are with her Ex-partner. As Anna runs from the dead, she finds help from Rob and his fifteen-year-old brother, Jack, despite Rob’s better instincts. Together, they run the nightmare gauntlet that used to be their neighbourhood.Run from the Dead is the first book in a zombie apocalypse series, following ordinary people trying to stay alive no matter what the cost. Battling the dead and humans alike, the people left must become somebody new. Someone prepared to do whatever it takes to live.Anna must learn to survive this cruel new world, where the living can be just as terrifying as the dead.
Louise Erdrich: Tracks, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, The Plague of Doves
Louise Erdrich - 2011
Pirate's Treasure
Mariah Stone - 2019
An executive who falls through time. One last chance to right the wrongs of the past.Bahamas, 1718. Captain James “Prince” Barrow is tired of being a pirate and wants to settle down. As a noble, he never envisioned the life of an outlaw as his own and wants to appease his treasure-hungry crew before they mutiny him due to their lack of patience. Luckily, James has two clues that will lead him to treasure his fellow pirate captain buried on his behalf. In order to attain the third one, James must attend a fancy ball he is sure to be recognized at.He needs a companion - one who will help him blend in with high society.Bahamas, 2020. As a New York executive, vacation is not in Samantha Gilbert’s vocabulary. Not that her best friend cares. Samantha is dragged to Nassau, Bahamas to help her friend get over a nasty breakup and visits a pirate museum. The tour guide shares a tragic tale of a pirate who died before finding his long-lost treasure. He insists on Samantha trying on a jade necklace from that very treasure. Once the cool metal touches her skin, Samantha falls back through time - straight into the arms of the pirate himself.The two strike a bargain: if she helps him find the third clue, he’ll allow her to put on the jade necklace from the treasure and get her back to the twenty-first century.With the English hot on their trail and death a near certainty, both are forced to work together not only to uphold their bargain, but to survive. And with time running out, both could very well lose the thing they desire most: each other.Fans of Pirates of the Caribbean and Outlander are devouring this new historical time travel romance by Mariah Stone.Previously published in the Once Upon a Pirate Anthology