George is enthralled by Cecil, and soon his sixteen-year-old sister, Daphne, is equally besotted by him and the stories he tells about Corley Court, the country estate he is heir to. But what Cecil writes in Daphne's autograph album will change their and their families' lives forever: a poem that, after Cecil is killed in the Great War and his reputation burnished, will become a touchstone for a generation, a work recited by every schoolchild in England. Over time, a tragic love story is spun, even as other secrets lie buried - until, decades later, an ambitious biographer threatens to unearth them.Rich with Hollinghurst's signature gifts - haunting sensuality, delicious wit and exquisite lyricism - The Stranger's Child is a tour de force: a masterly novel about the lingering power of desire, how the heart creates its own history, and how legends are made.

    With so many young men lost in the Great War, including her own brothers, her life is empty and her future without hope. Until, desperate to break out of her mundane existence, she decides to take up the position of nursery maid in the London home of acclaimed playwright Harold Berridge.Befriended by the actress Maud Ling and thrown into the glamorous but fickle world of cinema, Phyllis falls passionately in love with Maud’s young brother Teddy. But Teddy’s heart lies elsewhere, and when tragedy strikes the Berridge household a heartbroken Phyllis is forced to leave.Six months later, Phyllis has started to rebuild her life but her world is turned upside down once more when is invited to a party at Maud Ling’s film studios. For there she falls under the spell of the charming but devious American actor, Denver Towers, with disastrous consequences. . .

    But even their best intentions and deepest devotion can't hide the truth forever. Or soften the fate he must face with the girl he loves. Augusta Trobaugh's unforgettable novel speaks of loyalty, loss, the difficult choices we make in the name of family, and of courageous hope, each inspired by the fragile and painfully longing music of life, a song that seems to come from beyond the moon.

     John Radcliffe, heir to the earldom of Mountbank, must find a wife to show his father his seriousness towards his inherited responsibilities, or he will be disowned. When the two meet, they seem to hit it off—and they don’t have much of a choice when it comes to their hearts. They agree to marry, only later to realize that they are completely ill-suited for one another. Natalie is sociable, prone to gossip, and doesn’t take anything seriously. John takes things too seriously, thinks he’s always right, and is far more focused on his guilt about his past behavior than his new bride-to-be. As the two of them try to make do with one another, they find that they’re still drawn towards each other despite their frustrations. Perhaps they might even genuinely want to be with one another. But it’s all just for the sake of propriety… right? "Engaging Love" is a historical regency romance novel of approximately 90,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Enjoy!

    Her life seems perfect, until her father suddenly announces bankruptcy. To save Isabella from destitution he sends her to stay with family she has never met, far away on a violet farm deep in Devon.Isabella is horrified to find her uncle expects her to work for her keep, packing up the flowers and selling them in the nearby market. However she soon discovers that life on a violet farm may not be so bad, especially when she meets handsome local farmer Felix Furneaux… Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn.

    Young Patricio flees impoverished Spain and steps into the sultry island paradise of Havana with only the clothes on his back and half-baked dreams of a better life. Blessed with good looks and natural charm, he lands a job as a runner at El Encanto—one of the most luxurious department stores in the world.Famous for its exquisite offerings from French haute couture to Arabian silks, El Encanto indulges the senses in opulent extravagance. It caters to visiting Hollywood stars, rising politicos, and prerevolutionary Cuba’s wealthiest power players, including the notorious mobster César Valdés.Falling in love with the mobster’s young wife, Gloria, is suicide. But Patricio is irresistibly drawn to the beautiful girl with sad eyes, a razor-sharp intellect, and a penchant for both Christian Dior’s clothes and Einstein’s theories. Within the walls of El Encanto, anything seems possible, even a love that promises to heal them and a desire that thrums with the mambo beat of the city itself.In a reckless love affair that spans half a century, Patricio’s and Gloria’s lives entwine time and again, challenged by every twist of fate—for in a world of murder, betrayal, and revolution, those who dare to reach for paradise seldom survive unscathed.

    Her father is dead and his unscrupulous business dealings have been paraded all over the newspapers. Destitute and alone, Adelaide makes the difficult decision to leave England until the scandal has passed. She feels the perfect place to visit is her aunt’s cattle ranch in the Wyoming Territory. However, when she arrives, she discovers that she is half-owner of Brisbane Ranch. The other half belongs to a handsome, but infuriatingly brooding cowboy. Broderick Wakefield has worked hard to make Brisbane Ranch one of the most profitable cattle ranches in all of the Wyoming Territory. When the spoiled, pretentious Lady Adelaide shows up to claim her inheritance, he can’t believe she would give up her pampered life in England to live on a cattle ranch. He becomes determined to see her gone and will stop at nothing to ensure that happens.As Broderick sets out to prove that Adelaide doesn’t belong on Brisbane Ranch, he is surprised by her tenacity, despite the rigorous demands of ranch life. When his life is threatened, he finds himself turning to the one person he wanted to see gone, forcing him to recognize that Adelaide isn’t as horrible as he first believed. When someone from Adelaide’s past shows up, can Broderick prove that he really is the man for her, or will it be too late?

    I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. The way he left. The way he broke my heart when we were still teenagers. It’s still surreal to think about.Surreal… and pathetic. I still wear the bracelet he gifted me. Still miss his gentle touch. And the look in his eyes that said he loved me. But a lot has changed since we broke up. Ryan is a billionaire. He has women swooning over him. There’s no reason for me to think that he feels the same way about me. Seeing him back in town is going to be hard. Keeping my distance from him… even harder. Mending my heart was never easy. And doing it a second time around will be near impossible?Read as part of this series or as a stand-alone book. No Cliffhangers and a HEA!

    But their days of childhood innocence and adventure are destined to be followed by the apocalypse that will overwhelm their world as they come to adulthood.For Rosie, the path ahead is full of challenges: torn between her love for two young men, her sense of duty and her will to live her life to the full, she has to navigate her way through extraordinary times. Can she, and her sisters, build new lives out of the opportunities and devastations that follow the Great War?Louis de Bernières’ magnificent and moving novel follows the lives of an unforgettable cast of characters as the Edwardian age disintegrates into the Great War, and they strike out to seek what happiness can be salvaged from the ruins of the old world.

    1973: industrial strikes, bad pop music, corrosive class warfare, adolescent angst, IRA bombings. Four friends: a class clown who stoops very low for a laugh; a confused artist enthralled by guitar rock; an earnest radical with socialist leanings; and a quiet dreamer obsessed with poetry, God, and the prettiest girl in school. As the world appears to self-destruct around them, they hold together to navigate the choppy waters of a decidedly ambiguous decade.

    The life story, character and friends of Jacob are presented in a series for separate scenes and moments from his childhood, through college at Cambridge, love affairs in London, and travels in Greece, to his death in the war. Jacob's Room established Virginia Woolf's reputation as a highly poetic and symbolic writer who places emphasis not on plot or action but on the psychological realm of occupied by her characters.

    I was abducted and shipped out, meant to be sold. My freedom stolen. My body no longer mine. My life…over. Or so I thought. The Guardians swooped in. They saved me from a living Hell, but my life is still in danger. The men who took me want me back. They’re out there, hunting me. Once again, the Guardians step up. They assign me a Protector to keep me safe. A former Navy SEAL, Brett’s not only easy on the eyes, he’s a living hero with a unique skillset. Tough as nails, he takes his job seriously, and he’ll do anything to keep me safe. Even if it means risking his life while saving mine. There’s one problem and it’s getting bigger each and every day. The longer we’re together, the more I want Brett to guard more than my body. I want him to be mine. He can never be mine, but I want him anyway. BRETT My mission is to protect her, not make her mine. As a former Navy SEAL, I’m used to dodging bullets. I’m used to living by a code. Protect and defend is a motto seared into my soul. Now, I’m a personal protection specialist, a Guardian Protector, and my first assignment comes with a different kind of danger. Danger wrapped in the sinful curves of Sybil Niles incredible body. Which is why I made three rules. Rule #1: protect my client at all cost. Rule #2: no emotional entanglements. Rule #3: Don’t break rule #1 or rule #2 My rules keep things professional, but day by day, night by night, and touch by touch, my control is slipping. I’ll put myself in harm’s way, risk my life to save hers, but the one thing I can’t do is protect her from myself. Loving her could kill us both. I broke my second rule, but I won’t break the first. I’ll protect Sybil if it's the last thing I do. After all, Sybil is the siren who stole my heart.

    Three brave women who know their place is not at home. At the height of World War II, the British Air Transport Auxiliary need help. A group of young women volunteer for action, but the perils of their new job don’t end on the tarmac. Things are tough in the air, but on the ground their abilities as pilots are constantly questioned.There is friction from the start between the new recruits. Spirited American Lizzie turns heads with her audacity, but few can deny her flying skills. She couldn’t be more different from shy, petite Ruby, who is far from diminutive in the sky. It falls to pragmatic pilot May to bring the women together and create a formidable team capable of bringing the aircraft home.As these very different women fight to prove themselves up to the task at hand, they are faced with challenges and tragedies at every turn. They must fight for equal pay and respect while handling aircraft that are dangerously ill-equipped; meanwhile, lives continue to be lost in the tumult of war.Determined to assist the war effort doing what they love, can May, Lizzie and Ruby put aside their differences to overcome adversity, and will they find love in the skies?

    Against the vivid, gritty backdrop of 1980s China, Lu Yao traces the proud and passionate Gao Jialin’s difficult path to professional, romantic, and personal fulfillment—or at least hard-won acceptance.With the emotional acuity and narrative mastery that secured his reputation as one of China’s great novelists, Lu Yao paints a vivid, emotional, and unsparing portrait of contemporary Chinese life, seen through the eyes of a working-class man who refuses to be broken.

    He travels to California to try his luck at gold mining. From the first day he realizes he knows nothing about gold mining. Luckily for Greg his claim is next to Hugo Watkins and his daughter Mercy’s mine. Mercy Watkins has grown up traveling from mine to mine. Her father, a dreamer, always believed that they’d make it big at the next mine. Unfortunately her father dies but not before he asks Greg to take care of his daughter. In order to save Greg from hanging, Mercy marries him. Both are stubborn and it makes for an unconventional marriage as they mine for gold. Will they be able to survive, claim jumpers, bushwhackers and Greg’s family? Can they tell each other what is in their hearts before Mercy goes her own way?