In the years to come, their destinies are bound together by their extraordinary talents as opera singers and by their enduring but obsessive love for each other - a love that will ultimately affect the lives of all those closest to them. For, as Rosanna slowly discovers, their union is haunted by powerful secrets from the past . . . Rosanna's journey takes her from humble beginnings in the back streets of Naples to the glittering stages of the world's most prestigious opera houses. Set against a dazzling backdrop of evocative locations, The Italian Girl unfolds into a poignant and unforgettable tale of love, betrayal and self-discovery. From the international bestselling author of Hothouse Flower and The Midnight Rose comes The Italian Girl - first published as Aria under the name Lucinda Edmonds.

    Almost immediately he sets about beguiling the three women and five teenage girls stranded in this outpost of Southern gentility, eliciting their love and fear, pity and infatuation, and pitting them against one another in a bid for his freedom. But as the women are revealed for what they really are, a sense of ominous foreboding closes in on the soldier, and the question becomes: Just who is the beguiled?

    Orphaned young, Audrey has grown up caring for her eccentric millionaire grandfather and her demanding younger sister, Annabelle, who assume she will always be there for them. Sheltered yet restless, responsible beyond her years yet hungering for experience, Audrey is hopelessly bound until she herself makes the daring decision to leave. As the 1930s unfold, alone, camera in hand, she will shock friends and outrage family as she plunges headlong into the wider world.Crossing the Atlantic aboard the luxurious Queen Mary, Audrey meets James and Violet Hawthorne, who will draw her into a sophisticated circle of artists and expatriates. And it is they who will introduce her to Charles Parker-Scott, in who Audrey will come to recognize a twin soul, a man propelled by relentless curiosity and driven by conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. Together they will spend an exquisite summer at Cap d'Antibes, then board the Orient Express on an adventure that will carry them to a remote outpost in China. But at the farthest reaches of this journey Aubrey must choose again. Japan has attacked China. Charles knows he must return to Europe at once. But Audrey becomes involved with a besieged orphanage and decides to remain in China without Charles, caring for the abandoned children until help arrives. In time Audrey will return to America with a daughter of her own. While she must come home to San Francisco to confront a world irrevocably changed by time, she finds she cannot stay. From prewar Germany to London during the Blitz, from a wrenching reunion with Charles to a war zone in North Africa, again and again she must choose between the dictates of her conscience and the yearnings of her heart. For Audrey Driscoll and the men and women whose lives touch hers, wanderlust is the inescapable element. Born at a time when women were expected to stay close to home and fulfill traditional roles, Audrey is compelled to follow the thread of events that will destroy the complacency of the past and shape the future. From Europe to China, from San Francisco to North Africa, she is irresistibly drawn into a man's world of conflict, discovery, and danger. In a vivid novel of breathtaking scope, Danielle Steel has once again surpassed herself in creating an unforgettable tale of men and women caught in the tides of personal drama and historic event. Wanderlust is Danielle Steel's finest journey.

    When passion for the truth lands her in New Orleans in need of a job, an assignment at a TV station pits her against her old college nemesis, King Duvallon.The sultry streets of the French Quarter, the glamorous Garden District, derelict riverfront cotton warehouses, and gritty back alleys come alive as the reporter's story inexplicably slips between the nineteenth century and today. A long-forgotten drama of blackmail, swindles, and a love affair that is still changing lives leaves Corlis and King wondering if their burgeoning, unholy attraction will render them pawns in a matrix of mystery and deceit."A must read...Ware transports you to New Orleans...and captures all its charm." --Rendezvous Reviews"Vibrant and exciting... such an intriguing plot full of rich characters that I couldn't wait to see what happened." --Literary Times"Well-researched and entertaining... excellent." --Library JournalScandal transcends time in the Big EasyFeisty reporter Corlis McCullough isn't afraid to push boundaries in the name of journalistic integrity. When passion for the truth lands her in New Orleans in need of a job, an assignment at a TV station pits her against her old college nemesis, King Duvallon.The sultry streets of the French Quarter, the glamorous Garden District, derelict riverfront cotton warehouses, and gritty back alleys come alive as the reporter's story inexplicably slips between the nineteenth century and today. A long-forgotten drama of blackmail, swindles, and a love affair that is still changing lives leaves Corlis and King wondering if their burgeoning, unholy attraction will render them pawns in a matrix of mystery and deceit."A must read...Ware transports you to New Orleans...and captures all its charm." --Rendezvous Reviews"Vibrant and exciting... such an intriguing plot full of rich characters that I couldn't wait to see what happened." --Literary Times"Well-researched and entertaining... excellent." --Library Journal

    When the young orphan is accosted by a group of soldiers, Yankee surgeon Cole Latimer rescues the "lad"--never guessing that love for the rebel beauty will set duty against desire, ultimately testing his loyalties, his trust and his honor.

    As a favor to his physician brother David, he finds himself spending one week as a live-in baby-sitter in the ramshackle home of Amy Thompkins, who has captured David's heart. Courting the whimsical, artistic Amy has been difficult with her adorable but demanding baby, Max, in tow, and Jason's help is just what David needs.But stepping into Amy's patched-together world has the most remarkable effect -- on Jason.... Amy's joy for life, her love for her son, and her sparkling humor are irresistible -- and tiny Max adores Jason beyond reason. Soon, the enigmatic CEO is thawing. And his newfound smile reminds Amy of a Mount Rushmore monument finally cracking up -- in the best possible way.Their mutual attraction is glowing bright, but what to do about David? In this heart-warming and unforgettable bestseller, Jude Deveraux celebrates the unexpected paths on the heart's journey toward love, and the eternal bond between mother and child.

    Since then, romance has changed-and so have I—so I decided to give the book a makeover—and a new title, When Strangers Marry. I have two reasons for changing the title. First, it is in keeping with the new spirit of the book; second, no one—including my own mother—found the original one memorable!In When Strangers Marry, I had a great time rediscovering the story of Maximilien Vallerand and his stolen bride, Lysette. The promise of this handsome, though mysterious, man's love proves irresistable to her, but she doesn't know the secrets he hides.I hope you will enjoy revisiting the Vallerand family, or perhaps meeting them for the first time. And, as always thank you for your support and encouragement, as we escape together into the magical world of romance novels.Wishing you love and happiness,Lisa

    Of course, it felt wonderful...warm hands on her flesh, rough stubbled skin on her cheek. It all seemed some wonderful dream. But that hardly mattered to the ton. To them, she was ruined, for Lord Eppingham Julian Rowley had been discovered in her bed, and she'd claimed him as her own. Why had she done it? Why had she brought ruination to her name and dishonor to her family—dishonor that could only be erased by marriage? She had not wanted to trap the handsome rake in wedlock. Though she might fall forever into his golden-brown eyes, marriage to any man was not something she sought. Nor had she acted from any true fear of the ton's disdain. It had been something in Julian's touch, his kiss. Something had called out for her to guard him, to place herself in the way of his ruin. If to save this man meant to be fallen, so be it. And in saving him, she just might save herself.Librarian's note: See 2009 reprint edition here.

    Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak. They never dream they could also share an intense passion for the same man, the elegant, charming, and irresistibly seductive Bertrand Chamard. His love will change their friendship forever and set in motion a series of events from which there can be no turning back. Set among the bayous of Old Louisiana and the grand avenues of New Orleans, ALWAYS & FOREVER is the stirring saga of a Creole family and of two women, bound by blood and friendship, who are tested by prejudice, betrayal, and the tragedies of slavery. Book I of THE PLANTATION SERIES. Includes Book Group discussion questions.

    But an unexpected invitation from her sister unwittingly draws her back to that sleepy New York town, her own daughter in tow.A trip meant to salvage her relationship with her daughter changes course as Kathleen reexamines her own childhood. But even more enlightening are the stories of Eleanor, her once-vibrant mother, and Fiona, the grandmother she barely knew.The more Kathleen learns, the more answers she seeks concerning her family's mysterious past. Yet with the past exposed, Kathleen is torn between her need to forgive and the urge to forget.

    Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she nevertheless walked down the aisle into a life serene yet unremarkable. But what she kept hidden fueled wildly imaginative and very illicit dreams. . .Alistair Caulfield ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante--all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth Jessica once knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years' worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk--and the certainty that surrender will consume them both. . .

    Recognizing this as a chance to start over, Charley and her eleven-year-old daughter, Micah, say good-bye to Los Angeles.They arrive just in time for growing season but no amount of planning can prepare Charley for a Louisiana that’s mired in the past: as her judgmental but big-hearted grandmother tells her, cane farming is always going to be a white man’s business. As the sweltering summer unfolds, Charley must balance the overwhelming challenges of her farm with the demands of a homesick daughter, a bitter and troubled brother, and the startling desires of her own heart.Penguin has a rich tradition of publishing strong Southern debut fiction—from Sue Monk Kidd to Kathryn Stockett to Beth Hoffman. In Queen Sugar, we now have a debut from the African American point of view. Stirring in its storytelling of one woman against the odds and intimate in its exploration of the complexities of contemporary southern life, Queen Sugar is an unforgettable tale of endurance and hope.

    But there is no romance in being pursued by a man who wants her dead for educating the children of former slaves. Unlike the heroines she reads about she doesn't have a trusty companion to rescue her...until she literally runs into A.J. Adams, a former Confederate cavalry officer. Now, she just has to convince A.J. he really is the honorable man and hero depicted in the dime novel she is reading.Branded a "traitor" for more than ten years, scarred by harsh treatment in an inhumane prisoner of war camp, A.J. Adams wants revenge. Allison Webster's arrival into his life provides the bait to destroy the men who murdered his wife and daughters and kidnapped his little brother. The men pursuing Allison are the very same men he has sworn to kill. Falling in love and admitting he might actually be a hero means surrendering his need for vengeance. Surrender is not part of A.J.'s battle strategy.

    Then Shannon Keefe arrives with her wild tale of murder and ghosts, and it is Maudie who unravels the past for her.Shocked and saddened by the mysterious death of her father, Shannon Keeffe traveled all the way from New York to Ardravarna, the once grand ancestral estate that lay cradled in the green hills of Connemara, Ireland. Had her father really committed … She was the incomparable Lily Molyneux, whose jet hair and sapphire eyes drove men to madness and revenge. Rich, reckless titles, her secrets would scar generations to come.... They could never have enough money or power to capture her elusive heart: three men who amassed fame and fortune in pursuit of the one woman they couldn't deny. And a fourth who dies for her sins....

    Such Wild Enchantment / Kimberly Cates:His handsome face hidden behind an ebony mask, the dashing highwayman halts a coach in mid-journey--only to be held at pistol-point by a violet-eyed minx who leads her virile Knight of the Road into a passionate duel of hearts.The Lady and the Tiger / Christina Dodd:Known throughout England for his bold cunning and magnificent feats of daring, the sensual rogue called the Seamaster is undone by a saucy seamstress who steals into his room on a mission of revenge...until the Seamaster's first kiss awakens scandalous desire..Too Wicked for Heaven / Deborah MartinCaught in a compromising situation with the most notorious rake in London, a virtuous lady is unaware that he has his own secret reasons for pursuing her. Now, in exchange for, reclaiming her honor, she must spend one night with her irresistible would-be seducer.Dangerous Touch / Anne StuartAs range war spreads across the rough-and-tumble West, a black-clad stranger with an angel's face and a tarnished soul rides into Wyoming, where he clashes with a feisty young widow determined to fight for her land...and win the heart of this enigmatic outlaw who isn't what he seems.