Book picks similar to
A Handful of Gold: A New Fairy Tale Adventure by Heidi Joy Tretheway
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As Good as the First Time
AlTonya Washington - 2010
Their passion was hot, tempestuous, explosive. And to her surprise, it didn't last forever.To escape the pain of yet another breakup, Julia moved to L.A. But now, when she hears startling news about her ex-lover, the successful TV producer comes home to Detroit for one final encounter with the man she simply can't get out of her heart....Popular television anchor Cortez has loved Julia since high school. Except Julia's the one who walked out. Cortez's mind remembers betrayal. His heart tells him to win his woman back. But love is never as good as the first time...is it?
A Question of Proof
Joseph Amiel - 1993
A Question of Proof is a profoundly moving courtroom drama in which a lawyer struggles to defend the woman he loves against the accusation that she murdered her husband. Tough and street-smart, a principled rebel against an establishment he has always scorned, Dan Lazar has risen from the working class to become one of Philadelphia's top criminal defenders. But now divorced and badly missing his young son, disillusioned by years of representing vicious criminals, humiliated by the politically ambitious DA's charge that he bribed a witness in a brutal rape-homicide case, Dan is burned out, depressed, and ready to call it quits. On the surface he would seem to have nothing in common with Susan Boelter, the beautiful and patrician wife of Peter Boelter, who runs the city's dominant newspaper and heads one of its most powerful families. But when Peter deserts her and files for divorce, moving to seize everything that is precious to her, including custody of their thirteen-year-old daughter, Susan turns to a reluctant Dan for help. Suddenly, Peter is found dead. Susan becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Driven by his love for her and by an inner need to defend someone in whose innocence he can truly believe, Dan starts to investigate. He soon discovers a maze of conflicting evidence and of growing doubts and mystery about the woman he thought he knew and loved. And he realizes that the truth he desperately seeks - especially about Peter Boelter's death - depends on finding the answer to a question of proof. From Philadelphia's courtrooms in City Center to the mansions in its moneyed suburbs, A Question of Proof is the gripping story of one man's internal battle between love and justice and the lengths to which a wealthy family will go to hide its secrets.
Jesse James and the Secret Legend of Captain Coytus
Alex Mueck - 2013
When a Harvard history professor receives a thesis paper titled Jesse James and the Secret Legend of Captain Coytus, from Ulysses Hercules Baxter-an underwhelming student-he assumes the paper must be a prank. He has never read such maniacal balderdash in his life. But after he calls a meeting with the student, Professor Gladstone is dismayed when Baxter declares the work is his own. As he takes a very unwilling Professor Gladstone back in time via his thesis, Baxter's grade hangs in the balance as he attempts to prove his theory. It is 1864 as philanderer and crusader Captain Coytus embarks on a mission to avenge his father's death and infiltrates the Confederate Bushwacker posse looking for the man responsible, Jesse Woodson James. Accompanied by the woman of his dreams, Coytus soon finds himself temporarily appointed to be the sheriff of Booneville and commissions his less-than-loyal deputy to help him carry out his plan. But when tragedy strikes, the Captain is forced to change his immature ways and redefine his lofty mission-more or less.
Beasts and Maidens
M.E. Timmons - 2012
Forced to live in the forest, their only hope of becoming human again is an annual ceremony.Going into the forest is forbidden, but Selene doesn't always follow the rules. After befriending a beast, she knows very well that they're just like everyone else on the inside.Selene uses her powers as a witch to do everything she can to free the beasts from their fate, but the curse isn't easy to break, and no matter what she tries, it might not be enough.
Dreams and Shadows
C. Robert Cargill - 2013
Robert Cargill—part Neil Gaiman, part Guillermo Del Toro, part William S. Burroughs—that charts the lives of two boys from their star-crossed childhood in the realm of magic and mystery to their anguished adulthoodsThere is another world than our own—one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares—where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same.Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish. But while Ewan and Colby left the Limestone Kingdom as children, it has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies argue metaphysics with foul-mouthed wizards, and monsters in the shadows feed on fear, you can never outrun your fate.Dreams and Shadows is a stunning and evocative debut about the magic and monsters in our world and in our self.
Five Glass Slippers
Anne Elisabeth Stengl - 2014
. . but on the wrong girl? What happens when Cinderella is determined to oust an imposter prince from her rightful throne? Or when she is a cendrillon miner working from a space station orbiting a cthonian planet? What happens when Cinderella, a humble housemaid, is sent with a message for a prisoner trapped in a frightening fairy circus?Here is Cinderella as you have never met her before, wearing glass slippers and off on unforgettable adventures!WHAT EYES CAN SEE ~ BROKEN GLASS ~ THE WINDY SIDE OF CARE ~ A CINDER’S TALE ~ THE MOON MASTER’S BALL
The Lone Gladio
Sibel Edmonds - 2014
Drug running. False flag ops. A shadow paramilitary global network. Synthetic wars. CIA-NATO: A darker truth. Operation Gladio Plan B: Murder. OG 68—a k a Greg McPhearson—no longer works for the company. The hunter has now become prey. He knows this beast: what created him and shattered his soul. Until Mai. When he opened the door to her three years ago, he opened what soul he had left. Yet no amount of pride or power, he discovers—too late—can ever replace one precious breath … When a sting is called off at the last minute by his FBI bosses per order of the CIA, Special Agent Ryan Marcello decides to do some digging. He calls in senior analyst Elsie Simon, expert in the Turkey-Central Asian-Caucasus nexus, to help track down the high-level target with ties to ruthless power players in a global narcotics-terrorism ring. Every lead and each new suspect brings them that much closer to home. With Elsie’s help, and at risk to their lives, the two begin their own investigation … The murdered son of a U.S. mogul leads to the hiring of Ryan and Elsie, who are used and then trapped in a byzantine scheme of retribution: of black ops within black ops, trails gone cold, kidnappings, blackmail, unexplained murders … a plot that extends from Russia and Azerbaijan to Cambodia, Vietnam, and deep inside the Deep State. In a world where reality now stands on its head, “my enemy’s enemy is my enemy”—and for his final mission, no one would be spared … the Gladio would be acting alone ...
The Crane Wife
Patrick Ness - 2013
Impossibly, a great white crane has tumbled to earth, shot through its wing by an arrow. Unexpectedly moved, George helps the bird, and from the moment he watches it fly off, his life is transformed.The next day, a kind but enigmatic woman walks into George's shop. Suddenly a new world opens up for George, and one night she starts to tell him the most extraordinary story.Wise, romantic, magical and funny, The Crane Wife is a hymn to the creative imagination and a celebration of the disruptive and redemptive power of love.
The Inevitable City: The Resurgence of New Orleans and the Future of Urban America
Scott Cowen - 2014
When federal, state, and city officials couldn't find their way to decisive action, Cowen, known for his gutsy leadership, quickly partnered with a coalition of civic, business, and nonprofit leaders looking to work around the old institutions to revitalize and transform New Orleans. This team led the charge to restore equilibrium and eventually to rebuild. For the past nine years, Cowen has continued this work, helping to bring the city of New Orleans back from the brink. The Inevitable City presents 10 principles that changed the game for this city, and, if adopted, can alter the curve for any business, endeavor, community—and perhaps even a nation.This is the story of the resurgence and reinvention of one of America's greatest cities. Ordinary citizens, empowered to actively rescue their own city after politicians and government officials failed them, have succeeded in rebuilding their world. Cowen was at the leading edge of those who articulated, shaped, and implemented a vision of transformative change that has yielded surprising social progress and economic growth: a drowned city identified with the shocking images of devastation and breakdown has transformed itself into a mecca of growth, opportunity, and hope.
The Last Slice of Rainbow and Other Stories
Joan Aiken - 1985
A collection of nine fairy tales including: The Last Slice of Rainbow / Clem's Dream / A Leaf in the Shape of a Key / The Queen with Screaming Hair / The Tree that Loved a Girl / Lost - One Pair of Legs / The Voice in the Shell / The Spider in the Bath / Think of a Word.
Seed Money: The Entrepreneur (The Delegate, #1)
Cyndie Shaffstall - 2015
By 2062, we are burdened by the weight of unchecked population growth and global warming has reduced our inhabitable space by half. With our workplace frustratingly neutered by the Genderless Act, we came to embrace sex in trystrooms—where anything goes—and it’s all kept secret by the Privacy Act. Combined concern for humankind and the planet drives innovation, and businesses thrive in an environment where unemployment and poverty have been eliminated. The Government Reorganization and Realignment Effort enables one group of brilliant young designers to reclaim some of the ever-shrinking space—but bringing it to market exposes manipulation and corruption on a devastating, worldwide scale.
Cinder and Ella
Melissa Lemon - 2011
But it isn't long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you'll never forget.
Shadow Born
Jamie Sedgwick - 2011
when the end of the book arrived I was surprised." -Goodreads review5 Stars: "A superb start to a wonderful trilogy..." -Amazon ReviewDescription:Discovered wandering alone in the woods at night. Taken to a secretive mansion. 12-year-old Gabriel Frost has amnesia. He has no clue where he came from, how he received the scars on his back, or where he learned the assassin-like skills he seems to possess. His entire life is a mystery.Gabriel is about to find out the world is nothing like he believed: assassins, monsters, and new super technologies bridge the gap between our world and the shadow world. But what other sinister secrets are his new guardians hiding? Who are the shadowfriends, and what do they want? Can anyone he knows be trusted? What if Gabriel has a few secrets of his own?Gabriel must unravel the mystery of his past before the monsters of the present destroy him.
Gargoyle
Ben English - 2011
He was smart and strong and goofy, as boys are meant to be, but peculiar - he remembered everything. In the span of a single summer, she made him fearless. Now, even as Mercedes Adams is at the height of her career, forbidding changes loom over the world. That night, in the hushed calm of a spring evening, two plain-faced killers watch her home, waiting to make their approach. A few hundred miles away, a brilliant technologist returns to his childhood home in order to begin a descent into darkness . . . in London, a military game theorist finds himself pursuing kidnappers . . . outside Prague, a hacker and a thief stumble upon plans for a weapon unique to the world . . . an FBI agent faces an unpredictable fugitive in Chicago, while in Germany, a sniper-turned-schoolteacher finds reasons to take up his ancient calling . . . and a sitting United States Senator finds his life and his work invaded to terrifying conclusion. In Paris, a widowed man begins to recognize the hints and patterns of a greater puzzle that will bring them together . . . or kill them all. Mercedes Adams is about to find herself at the center of a vast, tightening knot of mystery, intrigue, and globe-spanning terror borne of her family's legacy. Rising to her aid is a small group of specially-trained men and women. And at their center? A man who remembers everything.
Concrete Pearl
Vincent Zandri - 2011
She's also had to rebuild her family business from the bottom up thanks to bad luck and bad fines. So it's easy to see why OSHA, breathing down her neck on her latest job at Albany's PS 20, has the contractor on edge. She's used to putting out fires, but this is about to be a full-on explosion--three hundred students at risk for exposure to deadly asbestos--and the asbestos removal contractor, Jimmy Farrell, is nowhere to be found. The clues--Jimmy's cleared-out office, his impounded car, his "gone fishing" story to his wife--point to something more troubling, possibly foul play. Armed with a framing hammer in lieu of a gun, Spike must sleuth her way through a world of deception, greed, and murder if she's going to nail a killer.