Legend of the Mist


Veronica Bale - 2013
    It is one that is passed down through the generations. From mothers who whisper the tale to their bairns as they float into dreams each night. From starry-eyed lasses who pray to find for themselves the undying love of which it speaks. From elders who know the magic of the thick and inexplicable mist surrounding this, and no other, of Orkney’s islands which rise from the sea off Scotland’s northern coast. As the daughter of Clan Gallach's chief, Norah knows the legend better than anyone on the island. It tells of a lady who waits in the mists of Fara for her long lost love to return to her. It's an entertaining story, to be sure. But it is no more than fantasy. Or so the islanders say. But Norah is not so certain. All her life she's felt that the legend is more than simple folklore, that the lady of the mist is more real than anyone wishes to believe. But these are turbulent times, marked by the very real tales of Norse invaders and their brutality. When her people are conquered by a band of fearsome Vikings, one among them will blur the lines between reality and legend like never before. For Norah cannot help but feel that she knows him ... from some other time ... from some other life ...

The Toughest Show on Earth: My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera


Joseph Volpe - 2006
    This book is the story of Volpe's years leading up to those at the Met, from his first job as a stagehand at the Morosco Theater to the odd jobs he picked up moonlighting: setting up a searchlight or laying down a red carpet for a movie premiere, changing titles on the marquees at the Astor, Victor, and Paramount theaters. It is his Met years--from apprentice carpenter to general manager--that give us a story about New York and the business of culture. Volpe looks at the Met today, an institution full of vast egos and complicated politics, as well as its glittering past--the old Met at Thirty-ninth and Broadway, and the political and artistic intrigues that exploded around its move to Lincoln Center. With stunning candor, he writes about the general managers he worked under, including Rudolf Bing and Anthony Bliss; his own embattled rise to the top; the maneuverings of the blue-chip board; his bad-cop, good-cop collaboration with the conductor James Levine; and his masterful approach to making a family of such highly charged artist-stars as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, and Renee Fleming, and such visionary directors as Franco Zeffirelli, Robert Wilson, and Julie Taymor.

My Life in the Mafia


Vincent Charles Teresa - 1973
    

A Season for Love


Cynthia Breeding - 2012
    When she is thrown from her horse while on a country ride, a dashing, raven-haired soldier, just home from the war, gallantly rescues her as a knight-of-old.At twenty-two with no dowry, Elizabeth knows she will never marry into the aristocracy, but the soldier, Darian, would be a good match. Harboring fantastical thoughts, she hopes to see him at the Duke’s provincial ball the following week.See him she does, for Darian is the Marquess of Bingington, heir to the duke—and totally out of her league. Totally.

The Forest Dwellers


Judith Arnopp - 2011
    When �lf and Leo encounter a trio of Normans molesting Alys, a forest girl fairer than any they have ever seen, they stop the attack in the only way they can ... violently. The resulting social upheaval tears the family apart and will end only with the death of a king.The Forest Dwellers is a story of oppression, sexual manipulation and revenge.

Feel The Burn


Lauryn A. King - 2015
    Her empathetic, intuitive and compassionate nature makes her invaluable. According to her ex-boyfriend, it makes her an inattentive girlfriend. After a personal revelation, she joins Feel The Burn, a popular gym in Miami owned by Nikolaj Balakov. Known as Nico to his friends, he’s also one of the best personal trainers in Miami. Their workouts quickly develop into a friendship. Nico comes to the rescue, pretending to be her fiancé and a wild night in Vegas changes everything. With her improved curves, her ex now wants her back, her friend’s jealous and her mother’s intent on controlling her life. Even Nico’s feelings changed. But how can he convince her that their one night in Vegas can lead to so much more?

Choosey Lovers


Thalia Lake - 2015
    When you're Satra Sinclair, you run away from love as fast as you can. You find every excuse in the book for being choosey about who you date, or, in her case, don't date at all. Being a successful advertising executive working for a top advertising firm in New York, she had the world in the palm of her hand. She had the love of her close-knit family, great friends, but a non-existent love life. Since a recent heartbreak, Satra has carefully erected an iron clad wall around her heart, determined to never have it broken again. Fate and circumstance, however, had other ideas. Her boss' family emergency leaves her with the task of closing one of the biggest deals her firm was trying to land with one of the most well-known businessmen on the east coast. Little did Satra know that she'd meet the love of her life that day. Shane Evans is a rich, successful businessman with a secret past that he'd like to forget. Besides work, Shane barely made time for anything else. Love and long term relationships were never a priority to him. After being cheated on by his former girlfriend, he became very jaded about love. Being constantly chased by gold diggers didn't help either. Becoming more successful and proving to his father that he could make it without the family money was his mission in life...until he met the beautiful Satra Sinclair. Besides being beautiful, she was smart, career-driven, and single, just like Shane. Forced to work closely together, their attraction to one another is instant. A friendship quickly blossoms, and their attraction grows stronger. Together they uncover a duplicitous plot that could hurt everyone they care about and each other. While trying to stop the evil forces determined to tear their lives apart, will these two lonely, hurt souls take a chance at love and finally choose one another?

The Pirates


Matthew West - 2015
    During that time, as this vividly written book by historian Matthew West shows, poverty and oppression prompted many men - and even a few women - to sea in search of treasure, adventure, and sometimes, revenge. The treasure taken in a single trip could net a captain many times the profit an average sailor might expect to gain over a lifetime. The Pirates provides an exciting glimpse into the characters, crimes, and legends created by the buccaneers.

Hearticulations: On Love, Friendship & Healing: On Love, Friendship & Healing


Jeff Brown - 2020
    

The Lodger


C.L. Taylor - 2017
    Available for free to members of the CL Taylor Book Club.

Hunger


William R. Dantz - 1992
    Now they've escaped, and they've learned man is slow and clumsy underwater...and delicious.

Say Yes


Mish Daniels - 2014
    In the past, it has always been followed with disappointment. Now, when it comes to relationships, she's more than a little skittish. When her best friend asks her to be best "man" at his wedding, how can she decline? Through a series of coincidences and mishaps, she and the gorgeous maid of honor end up sharing Jess's apartment for a long weekend. In that short amount of time, Jess discovers something very significant. Things are so much better when you let go and just say yes…

By Love or by Sea


Rachel Harlin - 2009
    She yearns to trust him again, but what about her plans to marry Clarence Hielott, the wealthy shipyard owner? When Clarence exposes the secrets of Caleb's past, Alice realizes that the boy she once knew is now a man with a dark history. Can she trust Caleb with her heart once again? And what will she do about Clarence? Find out in this thrilling and adventurous love story.

The Pattern


Jane Peart - 2008
    She could not have known then how love for the young, rough-hewn, mountain doctor would cause her to turn her back on her privileged lifestyle, threaten to estrange her from her family, and bring her to the wild mountains of Appalachia. Johanna did not know what the future held. But she trusted God ... and she knew that he would cause her own family quilt to be rich and beautiful---a pattern like no other. Beginning in the mountains of North Carolina, the American Quilt series takes readers through the Civil War, across the country by wagon train to California, and finally across the Pacific to the romance and wild beauty of Hawaii. At the end of each book, you'll find the pattern for its quilt. Follow it to create a beautiful quilt of your own.

Two Minus One: A Memoir


Kathryn Taylor - 2018
    But five years later, in a car packed with food she has carefully prepared to nourish her husband’s dying brother, the other shoe does drop. Taylor’s husband unexpectedly proclaims he is, “done with the marriage and doesn’t want to talk about it.”With this, the life Taylor has come to know is over. Relying on the strength of a lifelong friend who refuses to let her succumb to the intense waves of grief, she slowly begins to find her way out of the shadows of grief. Over the course of two years, through appointments with attorneys and therapists, purging shared belongings, and pushing herself to meet new people and do new things, Taylor not only regains a sense of control in her life, she also learns to enjoy the new life she has built, the friendships she’s formed—and to savor her newfound strength.