Leaving behind her only relative, her cousin Mordecai, and her first true love, Cyrus, she is thrown headlong into the unrestrained extravagance of palace living. Quick of mind and strong in spirit, she refuses to suffer the fate of her harem sisters and boldly challenges Xerxes to give of his heart before taking his pleasure, thus sealing her place beside him as queen. While conspiracy spins its diabolical web, Esther's mind and spirit waver, and she is forced to confront the past in order to save her future—and that of an entire nation.

    She has big dreams and a warm heart. But when her first love affair ends badly, she finds herself struggling to deal with the consequences. A Family Saga charts Bea’s highs and lows over the decades, with family secrets, changing relationships, raising children, and the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life. Despite all the pressures of a large family and little money, Bea still works hard to pursue her dreams and desires. Finally, Bea seems to have found the recognition she has always hoped for, but an old lover threatens to snatch it all away. Will Bea find recognition and happiness? Or will the mistakes of her youth continue to haunt her? Find out in 'A Family Saga,' a book you won’t want to put down Patricia Keyson is the bestselling author of LADY HOPE, THE MAGIC TOUCH, LAW OF ATTRACTION, HOLIDAY ROMANCE, SNOWBOUND WITH A STRANGER, CHERRY BLOSSOMS, and SUZI LEARNS TO LOVE AGAIN all available on Kindle.

    Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.

    To her, a mirror feels like a film of honey. She can reach through it, grab things…even step inside.On the other side she lives every teenager’s fantasy: a universe all her own, zero consequences. She can kiss the hot guy, break into La Jolla mansions, steal things…even kill. When finished, she just steps back into reality and smashes the mirror—and in an instant erases every stupid thing she did. Gone. It never happened.But breaking symmetry is also dangerous. First there’s the drug-like rush she gets when passing through the glass, like a shot of adrenaline. She suspects it’s degrading her body, making a new copy of her each time. A reflection of a reflection, each one a little hazier. Then, of course, there’s the risk of getting cut off from reality.When she narrowly escapes a military quarantine zone with the San Diego Police Department hot on her heels only to discover her escape mirror littering the floor in shards, her worst fear is realized. Now, trapped in a broken reflection, she must flee through a mind-bending maze of mirrors, going deeper into the nightmare as she struggles to grasp a betrayal, uncover the chilling truth about her ability, and somehow find a way out of a dead-end universe that “never happened.”Somehow, she must find a way home.

    In this kingdom, called Chiveis, snowcapped mountains provide protection, and fields and livestock provide food. The people live medieval-style lives, with almost no knowledge of the "ancient" world. Safe in their natural stronghold, the Chiveisi have everything they need, even their own religion. Christianity has been forgotten--until a young army scout comes across a strange book.With that discovery, this work of speculative fiction takes readers on a journey that encompasses adventure, romance, and the revelation of the one true God. Through compelling narrative and powerful character development, The Sword speaks to God's goodness, his refusal to tolerate sin, man's need to bow before him, and the eternality and power of his Word. Fantasy and adventure readers will be hooked by this first book in a forthcoming trilogy.

    Pursued for a secret he does not possess and with the fleet at his heels, he has but one thought: to stay alive. His pursuers aren’t inclined to sit down and talk, although that’s not the end of Elei’s troubles. The two powerful parasites inhabiting his body, at a balance until now, choose this moment to bring him down, leaving Elei with no choice but to trust in people he hardly knows. It won’t be long before he realizes he must find out this deadly secret — a secret that might change the fate of his world and everything he has ever known — or die trying.

    a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family. But when an old graffiti tag in a tube station transports Saira to the 19th Century and she comes face-to-face with Jack the Ripper, she realizes she needs help after all. Saira meets Archer, a charming student who helps her blend in as much as a tall, modern American teen can in Victorian England. He reveals the existence of the Immortals: Time, Nature, Fate, War and Death, and explains to Saira that it is possible to move between centuries – if you are a Descendant of Time. Saira finds unexpected friendships at a boarding school for Immortal Descendants and a complicated love with a young man from the past. But time is running out for her mother, and Saira must embrace her new identity as she hides from Archer a devastating secret about his future that may cost him his life.

    He is the prince she is forbidden to love.Companions are the kingdom’s most beautiful and educated women — possessions of Syrasan’s royal men.Aldara is sixteen when she is sold to the obnoxious crown prince as a gift for his brother. Forced to leave the only life she has ever known, Aldara is sent to Archdale Castle, where she is mentored to become Prince Tyron’s perfect Companion. But no amount of lessons can prepare her for the troubled man marked by war. He sees straight through the polished exterior presented to him. He sees her.Prince Tyron has just returned from war. All he wants is privacy to grieve the men who died at the border. So when his brother gifts him a Companion upon his return, he is forced to embrace a tradition he has so far managed to avoid. Except Aldara is not like the others. She walks with her face to the sun and arms swinging. Her laughter makes him forget the lie. But if they ignore the rules that safeguard them, there will be consequences…This is book one in The Companion series. If you enjoy dark medieval romance, then this epic tale of love against all odds is for you. Please note: This is part one of Tyron and Aldara's story. Their story continues in books two and three.Trigger warning: This book contains sexual violence, death and dark themes.

    As he arrives in Jerusalem for Passover, he is looking for a miracle. Author Sigmund Brouwer retells the last week of Christ before the crucifixion through the eyes of this one man, and draws you in with a story that you will remember long after finishing the last page.

    In the small world of 1979 Burl, Texas, all Mara really has are the tree limbs, a lumbering Aunt Elma, her boyfriend Officer Gus, the bully General, and her new best friend Camilla who rhymes maddening snatches of truth. Mara needs to escape General's advances and find out who her real parents are before those who would want to destroy her succeed. Will she recognize redemption through Zady the Jesus-loving housekeeper, Denim the clandestine town prophet, or Mr. Winningham her new guardian whose quiet rage masks even deeper secrets?

    The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.But what if death finds him first?Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

    What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill....Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father ... Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living...Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars...And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North...And everyone is trying to stop her.

    Then, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle move next door as they battle to break Babe Ruth's home run record. Based on historical facts, The M&M Boys explores the parallel lives of an embittered Maris and a self-destructive Mantle who live together incognito in a remote Queens apartment. Maris, a misplaced Midwesterner, gets booed by the Yankee fans who prefer Mantle, and the press pursue him mercilessly. Mantle, on the other hand, basks in New York fans approval, but a series of injuries destroy his hope of winning the competition. Marshall's friendship unearths childhood memories for both men. What all three M&M Boys have in common is a good lesson in how to play the game of life, on and off the field.

    Trying to escape the Great Depression, Julie’s father buys The Alderton Sentinel, a small-town newspaper in flood-prone Alderton, Pennsylvania, and moves his family there. As flash floods ominously increase, Julie’s investigative reporting uncovers secrets that could endanger the entire community.Julie, the newspaper, and her family are thrown into a perilous standoff with the owners of the steel mills as they investigate the conditions of the steelworkers. Battle lines are drawn between the steel mill owners and their immigrant laborers. As The Sentinel and Julie take on a more aggressive role in reforming these conditions in their community, seething tensions come to a head.When a devastating tragedy follows a shocking revelation, Julie’s courage and strength are tested. Will truth and justice win, or will Julie lose everything she holds dear?

    The community promised stability and devotion that Gabrielle wholeheartedly embraced. But when a local doctor must be brought into Harmony Hill from the outside, he sets into motion a chain of events that will challenge Gabrielle's loyalty to the Shakers. As she falls deeper into a forbidden love for this man of the world, Gabrielle must make a choice. Can she experience true happiness in this simple and chaste community? Or will she abandon her brothers and sisters for a life of the unknown?