Blood on the stone wall. Rust on the cell’s bars. The glance of a gladiator sitting in his cell. The soldier’s sandals stepping in front of her. Amora grasped every detail as her world moved in slow motion, drawing her closer to her fate. The stench of death permeated the suffocating darkness, making a mockery of the heightened vitality within her. Her chains rattled, gears ground, animals roared, and people cheered. She gave them no heed. Amora, in an elegant white gown, moved with natural grace in front of a cell of prisoners. Her sixteen-year-old chained slave, Maria, followed behind wearing a simple tunic; a second soldier brought up the rear…”With that introduction, author Grant Hallstrom draws you into the world of ancient Rome with its intrigue and contrasts, where he explores the timeless struggles between revenge and forgiveness, hope and despair, and loss and redemption.This award-winning bestseller follows Amora on her path of self-discovery from her opulent teenage wedding with Leo through her life full of personal disappointment, tragedy, and betrayal, ultimately leading to peace in the face of death. We watch Leo withdraw into his dark private world of despair as he struggles to maintain his standing in society while trying to escape from the ever-present pain of loss. We delight in the romance between two slaves and champion the young man’s quest to avenge his lover’s untimely death. The sweeping panorama of this immersive story includes the suspense of battles and the action of gladiators fighting to survive in the arena as well.The author weaves a well-crafted and deeply researched historical fiction based on a true story that will captivate the reader’s attention from the start. The book is filled with non-stop action and suspense, so you are never sure what’s about to happen on the next page. This superbly written and richly descriptive novel with brilliantly drawn characters and settings will have you turning pages from beginning to end. Skillfully constructed, cinematic in presentation and deeply inspiring, this thought-provoking book makes a solid impact.Even though the book shows how new Christian ideas influenced some characters, it does not try to convert the reader. It simply tells the story including the role that religion played in their lives. Amora is ultimately a story about love, family, friendships, faith, trials and forgiveness. It is well worth the read!

    Now, to save the life of another, he must return to Syria and confront his biggest failure.Defense Intelligence Agency operative Matt Drake broke a promise. A promise that cost three people their lives and crippled his best friend. Three months later, he's paralyzed by survivor's guilt and haunted by the memories of the fallen. Matt may have left Syria, but Syria hasn't left him.In the midst of his self-imposed exile, Matt is dragged back into the world of espionage and assets that he tried to forget. A Pakistani scientist working for an ISIS splinter cell has created a terrifying weapon of mass destruction. The scientist offers to defect with the weapon, but he trusts just one man to bring him out of Syria alive—Matt Drake.

    It will take all their skills and courage to find her, and the hunt pushes each of them further than they are prepared to go. Refusing to give up on the young mother, they are eventually thrown into a vicious confrontation with Oleg Roth, an ex MMA champion, now head of the brutal Polish mob.Join Trent, Silk and Radford as they 'finesse' their way through the decadent underbelly of Las Vegas, and infiltrate Roth's horrifying secret world. Fight alongside them as they champion the vulnerable and wage war against the criminal elite.

    One throne. A world on the precipice. 1315 BC: Tensions soar between the great powers of the Late Bronze Age. The Hittites stand toe-to-toe with Egypt, Assyria and Mycenaean Ahhiyawa, and war seems inevitable. More, the fierce Kaskan tribes – age-old enemies of the Hittites – amass at the northern borders.When Prince Hattu is born, it should be a rare joyous moment for all the Hittite people. But when the Goddess Ishtar comes to King Mursili in a dream, she warns that the boy is no blessing, telling of a dark future where he will stain Mursili’s throne with blood and bring destruction upon the world.Thus, Hattu endures a solitary boyhood in the shadow of his siblings, spurned by his father and shunned by the Hittite people. But when the Kaskans invade, Hattu is drawn into the fray. It is a savage journey in which he strives to show his worth and valour. Yet with his every step, the shadow of Ishtar’s prophecy darkens…About the Hittites & the Bronze Age:Over three thousand years ago, before iron had been tamed, before Rome had risen, before the ashes from which Classical Greece would emerge had even been scattered, the world was forged in bronze. It was an age when Great Kings ruled, when vast armies clashed for glory, riches and the favour of their strange gods.Until the late 19th century, historians thought that they had identified the major powers who held sway in the last stretch of the Bronze Age: Egypt, Assyria… Ahhiyawa (Homer’s Achaean Greece) even. But there was another – a fourth great power, all but lost to the dust of history: the Hittites.Hardy, fierce masters of Anatolia, utterly devout to their myriad gods, the scale and wonder of their world is only now shedding its dusty cloak thanks to the tireless work of archaeologists. The Hittites ruled from the high, rugged plateau at the heart of modern-day Turkey, commanding a ring of vassal states (most notably Troy) and boasting a dauntless army that struck fear into the hearts of their rivals. Their Great King, titled Labarna and revered as the Sun itself, was every bit the equal of Egypt’s Pharaoh, of the trade-rich King of Assyria, and of the brash lords of Ahhiyawa.The Hittites were there when the Bronze Age collapsed. They bore the brunt of the cataclysmic events that destroyed the great powers, threw the Near East into a centuries-long dark age and changed the world forever.This is their story…

    When I was seven years old the bullies in my class almost killed me; my father was angry that I let it happen but he always hated me.At thirteen I went to prison for a crime I didn’t commit; it was the worst experience of my life.Living on the streets was hard; being part of a gang was harder.Oh, and I did find people to love along the way…and, I would do anything to protect them. Anything.**WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter. (This is a standalone novel)NOTE: Mean Little People was previously titled Born Mobster. The content remains the same.

    But fate has other ideas. Now, Grace finds herself not only the keeper of tremendous power, but the only person in the world able to control it.Change isn’t the only battle Grace must face in this new and frightening world. Seth McPhee, vampire and master in the art of seduction is hot on her heels. While Graces' power will ensure his leadership in the underworld, her beauty will make her captivity a pleasure. Rushing to her rescue is Lucian, a man who is more than he seems. Will he prove to be the white knight who he claims? Or is he just another beautiful monster?

    Jessica is an honor-student, track star, and all-around good kid. So how could that same teenager be responsible for the death of the high school’s beloved football coach? This is Texas, where high school football ranks right up there with God, so while the legal battle wages, the public deals its own verdict.Desperate for help, Liz turns to a lawyer whose affection she once rejected and attempts to play nice with her ex-husband. Jessica faces her angry peers and her own demons as she awaits a possible prison sentence for an accident she doesn’t remember."One of the few books in recent memory I was completely unable to put down, yet still wished I could read more slowly so it would never end. Achterberg writes with a seamless combination of aching sensitivity and a page-turning urgency. Easily one of the best books of any genre I’ve read this entire year." -C.H. Armstrong, Author

    The town of Darling, Vermont, has used Aiden’s image on the famed bridge—local legend has it that a kiss there results in everlasting love—as part of its tourism campaign. Now, twenty years later, Aiden is asked to recreate the moment with the woman he once kissed: Laurel Stone.Recently divorced, there’s nothing Laurel wants less than to pretend happily-ever-after with Aiden. As teenagers, their romance was no fairy tale—and Laurel has never quite forgiven Aiden for breaking her heart. But now that she is back in her hometown, and keeps bumping into police officer Aiden, Laurel can’t deny that there’s still a strong flicker between her and her old flame. Could it be that the Kissing Bridge is working its magic on Laurel and Aiden—and that all true love ever needed was a second chance?

    Expanding the literary universe spun in his earlier novels, Vodolazkin explores music and fame, belonging and purpose, time and eternity. At the stunning finale of Brisbane, all the carefully knit stitches unravel into a riddle: Whose story is it – the subject’s or the writer’s? Are art and love really no match for death? Is Brisbane, the city of our dreams, our only hope for the future?

    Set in Brooklyn, we meet the young widow Lillian Hapsey and her two sons, Tommy and Gabriel. Even though the Christmas season is just around the corner, Lillian has no Christmas spirit. Alone, unhappy with her job, and plagued by financial concerns, Christmas has become a burden to her. Overshadowing everything is the war in Europe. Despite the setbacks, Lillian is determined to give her sons a happy Christmas. Can she rekindle her girlhood love for the holiday season? Rediscovering her touchstone just might be the key to unlocking the excitement and magic of Christmas.

    It's a battle he won't survive.When he awakens three days later, clawing his way from a shallow grave, Marcus must face the reality of his new existence. He cannot be killed--but that won't stop him from dying time and again over the next 2,000 years.Meanwhile, others like Marcus plan to bring the world crashing to its knees. Can he prevent the inevitable and find redemption?"An extraordinary idea extraordinarily well-told. Greenwood has a special talent for creating believable characters in a believably realized historic setting."---Ron Miller, Hugo Award-winning Author

    But when he starts on his way to Phoenix, he wants nothing more than to hide who he truly is and find a place where he doesn't have to deal with monsters... at least for a short while. So, when a local business owner offers him a construction job in a small town in Arizona, he takes it.Little does he know, however, that this small town has big, terrifying secrets.Before long, Damian finds himself drawn into a blood-curdling world of mysteries, lies and intrigues. With the lives of people he cares about on the line, he struggles to identify the unknown, powerful evil that lurks in the shadows. And when he finally learns the truth, it comes with a shocking revelation that his chances of winning this deadly cat-and-mouse game are next to nothing.Faced with this horrifying reality, he must make a choice that will change his life forever, shaking his entire world to the core. But what is his future in comparison to the destruction of the entire town... and possibly the world?If you like fast-paced, action-packed Urban Fantasy novels with dynamic characters, intense action, and breathtaking suspense, then you'll love this edge-of-your-seat series, with a touch of Slavic mythology. Get your copy now!

    It’s a standalone enemies to lovers, mistaken identity, jilted bride romantic comedy filled with heart, heat, and billionaire romance fun!

    At the other end of the spectrum are classic adventures, such as The Golden Tapestry, set in 1960s Istanbul, as well as several uniquely different attempts at what would have been the most profoundly intimate of all of L'Amour's novels, a saga of reincarnation that stretches from a time before time, to the period of Alexander the Great, and on to Warlord-Era China.Illustrated with rare photographs, this book reveals the L'Amour you have never known, his personal struggles as a writer, and the contest between mortality and a literary legacy too big for one life to contain.Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures is a project created to release some of the author's more unconventional manuscripts from the family archives.In Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volumes 1, Beau L'Amour takes the reader on a guided tour through many of the finished and unfinished short stories, novels, and treatments that his father was never able to publish during his lifetime. L'Amour's never-before-seen first novel, No Traveller Returns, faithfully completed for this program, is a voyage into danger and violence on the high seas. These exciting publications will be followed by Louis L'Amour's Lost Treasures: Volume 2.Additionally, many beloved classics will be rereleased with an exclusive Lost Treasures postscript featuring previously unpublished material, including outlines, plot notes, and alternate drafts. These postscripts tell the story behind the stories that millions of readers have come to know and cherish.

    Dreams and goals came to an abrupt end soon after Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. The media reported that a virus was discovered in wood soaked by seawater, thought to have the potential to decimate the population. It became the excuse to relocate thousands of citizens from the coast, burning entire beach towns, the only known way to eradicate the virus, possibly the gateway to the Apocalypse. Soon, rumors spread that napalm is what the authorities used to burn without evacuating the people. A neighbor warned Laura and Mike that their town would be next as the destruction moves inland. Is it a drastic way to halt the spread of disease, or is there another catalyst? In survivalist mode during the post-apocalyptic time, the family uses the doomsday prepper skills Mike has acquired in his quest for self-sufficiency and to save the life of his family, including his amazing son who was born with Downs syndrome. Burn District, Jenkins new science fiction series, follows an American family as they flee from political insanity to save their lives in the Arizona Desert.