Two cousins, the handsome and debonair, Wade Montgomery and the bold and brooding Cullen Smythe, were born to be brothers. Raised as Southern gentlemen, their character could never be questioned--loyalty, honor, duty to one's country, God and family. It was the tie that binds until...their bond is threatened, not only by the cry for secession but by a woman--Josephine Buchanan Wright.Josephine Buchanan Wright is a dutiful, southern belle. Her future seems fated to the two Montgomerys cousins...until all she has placed her faith in falls apart. As her life spirals out of control, she tries desperately to cling to the honor and duty that has been instilled in her. But how can she do so when all she has known is no more?

    When he finally returns, he is a changed man who no longer loves her and has become cruel and unforgiving because of his war experiences. Anna decides that, for her own safety, she needs to get away from Darryl. She flees, and she ends up in the wild cow town of Abilene, Kansas, run by Sheriff Nate Foster. Fate draws Nate and Anna closer, but Anna, who desperately longs for the safety and love she finds in Nate’s arms, has not told him she has a husband who is now a dangerous outlaw. Nate and Anna’s love grows beyond their ability to corral the passion and desire stirred in their souls, but Anna’s secret finally comes back to haunt her and nearly destroys the love she has found in Nate’s arms. Nate’s own anger and loss because of the war interfere with his ability to fully love and trust again, and when he finds out about Anna’s lie, he isn’t sure he can fully commit to her. EMBERS OF THE HEART embraces the heartaches and challenges of a Nation torn by war, and those caught up both sides of that war. A “must read,” this book is a “sister story” to Bittner’s book, MONTANA WOMAN, as Anna (from EMBERS OF THE HEART) and Joline (from Bittner’s MONTANA WOMAN) are sisters who ended up separated by the Civil War. PRAISE: “Power, passion, tragedy, and triumph are Rosanne Bittner’s hallmarks. Again and again, she brings readers to tears.” ~Romantic Times “Extraordinary…Bittner’s characters spring to life.” ~Publishers Weekly ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Named one of the “Pioneer Authors of Romance” by Romantic Times, Rosanne Bittner is the author of sixty-eight historical romance novels, most set in the American West of the 1800s. .

    In its entirety...you have the CSA "Confederate States of America" Constitution.This is a must read.....imagine a young country that just learned all the things wrong with their country and its government....then makes their own.The CSA was ahead of its time in many respects...(never mind the whole slavery thing)....If you are a History buff or just doing research...get this...read it....it is outstanding.

    Her father has gone to bring home a son missing because of the war. Loyal servants give her support and comfort and are at her side when she learns of her father’s death. She promises to fulfill her father’s dream but someone doesn’t want her to, the one person she should be able to trust. He sets out to defeat her until another man, a Northern stranger, comes to her aid.

    

    But as Elizabeth Varon reveals in this vividly narrated history, this rosy image conceals a seething debate over precisely what the surrender meant and what kind of nation would emerge from war. The combatants in that debate included the iconic Lee and Grant, but they also included a cast of characters previously overlooked, who brought their own understanding of the war's causes, consequences, and meaning. In Appomattox, Varon deftly captures the events swirling around that well remembered-but not well understood-moment when the Civil War ended. She expertly depicts the final battles in Virginia, when Grant's troops surrounded Lee's half-starved army, the meeting of the generals at the McLean House, and the shocked reaction as news of the surrender spread like an electric charge throughout the nation. But as Varon shows, the ink had hardly dried before both sides launched a bitter debate over the meaning of the war. For Grant, and for most in the North, the Union victory was one of right over wrong, a vindication of free society; for many African Americans, the surrender marked the dawn of freedom itself. Lee, in contrast, believed that the Union victory was one of might over right: the vast impersonal Northern war machine had worn down a valorous and unbowed South. Lee was committed to peace, but committed, too, to the restoration of the South's political power within the Union and the perpetuation of white supremacy. Lee's vision of the war resonated broadly among Confederates and conservative northerners, and inspired Southern resistance to reconstruction. Did America's best days lie in the past or in the future? For Lee, it was the past, the era of the founding generation. For Grant, it was the future, represented by Northern moral and material progress. They held, in the end, two opposite views of the direction of the country-and of the meaning of the war that had changed that country forever.

    

    

    Fishing, swimming, golf, tennis. Seems like the ideal location for a former secret agent posing as a retired police officer and part-time private investigator. Until people start disappearing. Suggested reading order for the Nicholas Colt series: COLT LADY 52 POCKET-47 CROSSCUT SNUFF TAG 9 KEY DEATH BLOOD TATTOO SYCAMORE BLUFF THE JACK REACHER FILES: FUGITIVE THE JACK REACHER FILES: VELOCITY (Novella) THE BLOOD NOTEBOOKS Note: Although published at a later date, the events in COLT and LADY 52 precede those in Jude Hardin's debut thriller POCKET-47. All of the books listed work as stand-alone thrillers, depending on reader preference. Nicholas Colt also appears in several short stories, including the one titled RATTLED and the one titled RACKED. Praise for Jude Hardin’s Thrillers: POCKET-47 sucked me in and held me enthralled. Author Jude Hardin keeps the pace frantic, the thrills non-stop, but best of all is his hero, the wonderfully ironic Nicholas Colt. This is a character I'm eager to follow through many adventures to come. —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of ICE COLD. The best PI debut I've read in years, fit to share shelf space with the best of Ross Macdonald, Sue Grafton, and Robert B. Parker. POCKET-47 is so hot you may burn your hands reading. Highly recommended. —J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels mysteries Hardin gets everything right in his powerhouse thriller debut, which introduces rock star–turned–PI Nicholas Colt. —Publishers Weekly on POCKET-47 KEY DEATH is an exhilarating thriller that punches way above its weight. It hits you hard and fast with crackling suspense, hair-raising twists and stunning revelations. Word of advice: don't start on this one unless you're prepared to stay up all night. —John Ling, author of THE BLASPHEMER Colt is a physical, no-holds-barred PI, reminiscent of Robert B. Parker's Spenser and Lee Child's Jack Reacher, and his debut is action-packed. With a hefty toll of dead bodies, some described in cringe-inducing detail, this is crime fiction at its rawest. Hard-boiled connoisseurs should make Colt's acquaintance now. —Booklist on POCKET-47 With CROSSCUT, Jude Hardin takes the PI novel and psychological suspense to a new, unrestrained level. Fast, fierce, and relentless. —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling creator of Rambo

    The ship contains an experimental quantum device, lost while en route to a research colony on Europa. On Earth, powerful corporate forces are moving to resume unrestricted, inter-AI communications, their objective being to gain complete dominion over the colonized solar system. But the outer worlds are mobilizing to prevent them from achieving their objective, a fight back which is being led by Solomon, a sentient quantum intelligence (QI), also on Europa. However, once word of the crew’s discovery gets out, they soon realize that ownership of this technology could fundamentally change the balance of power within the solar system, and they now find themselves at the very nexus of a system-wide conflict. Their fight for survival plays out across the solar system, from the mining outposts of the asteroid belt to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and from the great Martian city of Jezero to the irradiated wastelands on Earth. This is an epic tale of humanity’s struggle for survival and meaning in a time when artificial intelligence has finally out-paced our own ability to control it. About The Belt: The story is set a century or so into the future where humanity has colonized most of the inner solar system. The asteroid belt (The Belt) is now a hive of mining activity and ships ply the trade routes to Earth and Mars. The technology depicted, for the most part, is what I consider to be technically plausible, although I do stretch it a little with quantum entanglement. That said, you won’t need a calculator or a slide-rule to enjoy the story.

    

    

    Unfortunately, the first event of the Season will turn into a big disappointment, after Emma encounters her secret childhood crush, the Duke of Pembershire. Growing up with him as her brother's best friend, she had to endure his enigmatic behavior towards her, and that ball was no different. When her dreamy Duke impolitely refuses to dance with her, Emma knows she must protect her heart and move on. However, when she is pursued by another nobleman, will she be able to forget her one true love? Or will she keep dreaming of a future that might never come?John Kennerley, the charming Duke of Pembershire, is a true gentleman, but not very famous for his social skills, especially when it comes to his best friend's sister Emma. No one could ever guess that his cold, distant manners are hiding his deep and eternal love for her though. Reality is that he has been in love with Emma ever since they were children, but his fear of rejection has kept him from revealing the truth. However, when another attractive but dangerous lord appears in Emma's life, John knows that this might be his only chance to act, before he loses her forever. Will he find the courage to tell Emma how he feels and save her from a dishonoured man who lurks to steal her from him?As Emma and John dance around each other, they will be forced to face their torn feelings and explore the great love that has been deepening with years, hidden away in their lonely hearts. However, it is difficult to say if their tender romance will flourish, as a mysterious Lord who pursues young debutantes without caring for their reputation, will aim to make Emma one of his victims. With Emma lost in a vicious man's lies, will John manage to gain her trust and protect their common future? Will the two soulmates finally take a chance to be together, or they are doomed to love each other from a distance?

    They’re struggling to scrape out a living on the cruel, unforgiving streets of 19th century Boston, and Lina can’t find a job. The only way she can support her family is to find a rich husband somewhere – and the East is chronically low on men. Her only choice is to head out West on a train in order to marry a man she’s never met.Hotah, a Lakota warrior, still grieves the death of his beloved wife. His mother Wichapi tells him that he needs to take another bride – especially for his baby daughter’s sake. But Hotah can’t comprehend the thought. How could anyone replace his treasured Mina?When a train robbery unexpectedly brings Lina and Hotah together, they’re confronted by feelings they didn’t expect. And despite the fact that their love seems doomed to failure, every passing day sees it growing stronger…