Book picks similar to
Rod and Staff by R.S. Guthrie


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Riding Mr. Benson


Jillian Riley - 2019
    Now he wants me to pretend to be his wife! This guy has some nerve. I don’t work for free, and I know he has more than enough money to pay what he owes me. I created a one-of-a-kind piece of ironwork for him, art that came straight from my soul. Then he brings up this insane offer, one I’d normally refuse. But the price he’s willing to pay would make my life much easier. So I agree. Everything goes fine until I get to know him. I feel things for him I shouldn’t. Can I risk falling for him?

Doms of Decadence 3-Book Collection


Laylah Roberts - 2017
     Just For You, Sir Since losing his wife, Derrick hasn’t been interested in another relationship. But lately, he's been growing bored playing with a different sub each weekend. He needs something more. On the run from an abusive husband, the last thing Jacey needs a man. Yet, there is something about Derrick that calls to her, that makes her imagine impossible things… Like having him touch her, taste her, take her, dominate her. Forever Yours, Sir Blaming herself for her best friend’s death, Cady shuts herself off from the rest of the world, determined not to let anyone close again, determined not to care. But then circumstances throw her into the path of Hunter Black, a man who wasn’t used to hearing no. A Dom who sets her heart racing, has her craving his dominance, his touch, his love. From the moment he meets Cady, Hunter can’t get her out of his mind. He offers her a job to get her off the streets and under his protection. He wants to dominate her, protect her, love her. Now they just need to overcome their pasts and figure out that happily ever after really does exist. For The Love Of Sir Despite being rejected once by Alex, Tara couldn’t help but lust after the sexy, sophisticated Dom. Rundown and exhausted, sometimes it felt like her fantasies were all that kept her going. So what if part of her fantasy could become a reality? Alex wasn’t looking for a relationship. He wasn’t about to trust another woman after his ex-wife cheated on him. But he couldn’t deny the attraction he felt towards Tara. But would the sweet sub be willing to accept his proposal? He’d take care of her, protect her, dominate her and give her multiple, delicious orgasms. In return all she had to do was promise not to fall in love with him. No emotions=no pain. Simple right? Contains elements of BDSM, sexy romance and a touch of suspense.

The Continent


Keira Drake - 2018
    It seems an unlikely destination for a holiday: a cold, desolate land where two nations remain perpetually locked in combat. Most citizens lucky enough to tour the Continent do so to observe the spectacle and violence of battle, a thing long vanished in the peaceful realm of the Spire. For Vaela, the war holds little interest. As a smart and talented apprentice cartographer and a descendent of the Continent herself, she sees the journey as a dream come true: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve upon the maps she’s drawn of this vast, frozen land.But Vaela’s dream all too quickly turns to nightmare as the journey brings her face-to-face with the brutal reality of a war she’s only read about. Observing from the safety of a heli-plane, Vaela is forever changed by the sight of the bloody battle being waged far beneath her. And when a tragic accident leaves her stranded on the Continent, Vaela finds herself much closer to danger than she’d ever imagined—and with an entirely new perspective as to what war truly means. Starving, alone, and lost in the middle of a war zone, Vaela must try to find a way home—but first, she must survive.

NYPD Red Books 1 - 3


James Patterson - 2016
    It is the elite team in New York’s police department, handling the cases involving the most important and high-profile individuals in the city. It’s Detective Zach Jordan’s dream job, but he’s about to step into a nightmare.In the middle of a New York film festival, a maniac begins a very public and very brutal killing spree targeting Hollywood’s biggest stars. Zach is assigned a new partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald, who is also his ex-girlfriend. But they’ll need to put their history aside to have a chance of stopping this homicidal psychopath before he brings New York City to its knees.NYPD Red 2A vigilante serial killer is on the loose in New York City, tracking down and murdering people whose crimes have not been punished. The number of victims grows, and many New Yorkers secretly applaud the idea of justice won at any price.NYPD Red Detective Zach Jordan and his partner Kylie MacDonald are put on the case when a woman of vast wealth and even greater connections disappears. Zach and Kylie have to find what's really behind this murderer's rampage while political and personal secrets of the highest order hang in the balance. But Kylie has been acting strange recently – and Zach knows whatever she's hiding could threaten the biggest case of their careers.NYPD Red 3Hunter Alden Jr. has it all: a beautiful wife, a brilliant son and billions in the bank. But when his son goes missing and he discovers the severed head of his chauffeur, it’s clear he’s in danger of losing it all.The kidnapper knows a horrific secret that could change the world as we know it. A secret worth killing for. A secret worth dying for.New York’s best detectives, Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald, are on the case. But by getting closer to the truth, Zach and Kylie are edging ever closer to the firing line…

Caesar Triumphant


R.W. Peake - 2013
    The story opens with the last target of conquest: an island nation known then as the Isles of Wa, and what we know today as the country of Japan. It will be the final challenge of a remarkable career, but facing him and his battle-hardened Legions are a race of people as fiercely dedicated to the profession of arms, and fanatically devoted to their emperor as any foe Caesar and his Romans have ever faced. The Wa have never tasted defeat, repelling every attempted invasion of their sacred islands. In these warriors, has Caesar and his unstoppable force of an army finally met their match in the immovable object, in the form of the men of Wa, or will Caesar once again be triumphant? Caesar Triumphant is an alternative history, by the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Marching With Caesar series, R.W. Peake, featuring Titus Pullus, Legionary of Rome.

You're Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck: The Further Adventures of America's Everyman Outdoorsman


Bill Heavey - 2014
    This new book, again co-published with Field & Stream, collects more of Heavey’s top pieces from the magazine, as well as the best of his writing from the Washington Post and elsewhere. In this far-ranging read, Heavey’s adventures include nearly freezing to death in Eastern Alaska, hunting ants in the urban jungles of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and reconnecting to cherished memories of his grandfather through an inherited gun collection.With Heavey’s trademark witty candor, You're Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck traces a life lived outdoors through the good, the bad, and the downright hilarious.

Still Waters / Night Sins / Guilty as Sin


Tami Hoag - 2004
    Unwelcome newcomers to Still Creek, Minnesota, she and her troubled teenage son are treated with suspicion by the locals, including the sheriff. Yet nothing will stop her from digging beneath the town's placid surface for the truth - except the killer.Night Sins (Engineer: Jill Sovis): A peaceful Minnesota town, where crime is something that just doesn't happen, is about to face its worst nightmare. A young boy disappears. There are no witnesses, no clues - only a note, cleverly taunting, casually cruel. Has a cold-blooded kidnapper struck? Or is this a reawakening of a long-quiet serial killer?Guilty as Sin (Engineer: Melissa Coates): A cold-blooded kidnapper has been playing a twisted game with a terrified Minnesota town. Now a respected member of the community stands accused of a chilling act of evil. But when a second boy disappears, a frightened public demands to know: Have the police caught the wrong man? Is the nightmare continuing . . . Or just beginning?

Cats Have No Lord


Will Shetterly - 1985
    bound on a fool's quest to the top of the world to ask the Wisest One the oldest riddle of them all.WHY DO CATS HAVE NO LORD?A harmless enough question, isn't it? So why is someone moving heaven and hell to make sure it will never be asked?"The first-rate world building, the unique cast of characters, and the author's clever whimsey make it absorbing reading. Recommended." —Booklist

Justice for Oswin


Julia Bright - 2019
    When her past comes back to haunt her, she’s tossed into a world of human trafficking and slavery.
  Aiden Knight is too shy to ask Oswin out, but he goes to get his hair cut by her every two weeks, whether he needs to or not. She’s the nicest person he’s ever met, but fear of being turned down stalls him.
  When Oswin is worried about her mother, Aiden gives Oswin his number. What happens next throws them into the center of an investigation that might destroy their world.
 Can Aiden and Oswin hide from evil, or are they too exposed to break free?

The Crossing -- Free Preview -- The First 9 Chapters (A Harry Bosch Novel)


Michael Connelly - 2015
     Detective Harry Bosch has retired from the LAPD, but his half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, needs his help. The murder rap against his client seems ironclad, but Mickey is sure it's a setup. Though it goes against all his instincts, Bosch takes the case. With the secret help of his former LAPD partner Lucia Soto, he turns the investigation inside the police department. But as Bosch gets closer to discovering the truth, he makes himself a target.

The Obsidian Chamber - EXTENDED FREE PREVIEW (first 7 chapters) (Agent Pendergast series)


Douglas Preston - 2016
    Pendergast is missing, presumed dead.A SHOCKING RETURNSick with grief, Pendergast's ward, Constance, retreats to her chambers beneath the family mansion at 891 Riverside Drive--only to be taken captive by a shadowy figure from the past.AN INTERNATIONAL MANHUNTProctor, Pendergast's longtime bodyguard, springs to action, chasing Constance's kidnapper through cities, across oceans, and into wastelands unknown.BUT IN A WORLD OF BLACK AND WHITE, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMSAnd by the time Proctor discovers the truth, a terrifying engine has stirred-and it may already be too late . . .

The Black Panther of Sivanipalli and Other Stories of the Indian Jungle


Kenneth Anderson - 1964
    

League of Strays


L.B. Schulman - 2012
    When a mysterious note appears in Charlotte’s mailbox inviting her to join the League of Strays, she’s hopeful it will lead to making friends. What she discovers is a motley crew of loners and an alluring, manipulative ringleader named Kade. Kade convinces the group that they need one another both for friendship and to get back at the classmates and teachers who have betrayed them. But Kade has a bigger agenda. In addition to vandalizing their school and causing fights between other students, Kade’s real intention is a dangerous plot that will threaten lives and force Charlotte to choose between her loyalty to the League and her own conscience.

The Dark Element (The Elemental Saga Book 1)


Mason J. Torall - 2015
    The stars brought aliens to Earth. Claiming both cost us everything. A hungry alien empire known as The Collective has betrayed humanity. Earth is taken. Day-by-day, the ruthless Over-Seer harvests the planet we worked so hard to save, and only a mysterious group of individuals have found any success against him. The Elementals. Damien Vilan is one of these human enigmas. Able to spawn black holes and even smother light, he is the first man to ever command tangible darkness. While Damien stands lonely in the crumbling Seattle Islets alongside his adopted alien brother and an eccentric AI, the occupying aliens are hunting him. When a botched ambush on an enemy patrol wounds Damien’s brother, the trio is forced to test the weapon they’ve been building. If it works, it could change the downward spiral of the war, but if it fails and Damien’s dangerous powers are exposed? It could bring the Over-Seer himself crashing down on them. The tyrant would love to get his hands on such a powerful man, and he'd surely use Damien to find the elusive island sanctuary where other Elementals are gathering... When every chance of success has faded with the light, who better to turn to than the man who wields darkness? HOPE IS BORN IN DARKNESS

First Love: A Single Dad Second Chance Romance


Scarlet Wilder - 2018
    I read many of Scarlet's books and I love this one the most." (Reviewer) | "This book is riveting! (Reviewer)SarielleLiam was my first - my first love and the first man that I’ve made love to. Only, our lives were worlds apart and his family did everything they could to keep it that way.Ten years later, we meet again by chance.He somehow ends up smarter and sexier, and he still has the same effect on me.Only now, life is more complicated for us both, and he needs a pretend fiancé.What good is living your dream when you know that it’s just a lie?What good is having a dream if you never take the chance to live it?I was young and naïve the first time around and thought just because we loved each other, that would be enough, but it wasn’t. It turned out love wasn’t enough, and I thought I’d lost him forever.Moving on, but never really getting past the loss, I built myself a life, even got myself a cat, but never managed to fall in love again. I had no idea that just seeing him again would make me realize why.LiamA Baby!!I didn’t think it could be real until that DNA test was sitting right in front of me.Now, I’m all this little girl has, and I’m not about to let her down.I made up my mind years ago about the kind of dad I’d one day be and now that fatherhood came sooner than I planned, I'm even more determined to keep that promise.In my world, money isn’t a problem, but I still need to keep my shareholders and business partners happy.I need to find a wife, and soon, as my daughter needs a mother and the success of my business demands it.They say money can solve all problems – so let’s see if it can buy me the future I secretly desire.First Love contains adult language and situations. The book is intended for adult audiences. Don't worry about cliffhangers or sad endings because you won't find one here. Standalones are where it's at so sit back and ride this hot romance story all the way to the HEA.