Showing results by narrator "Polly Lee" in All Categories

Teresa, Dowager Marchioness of Darent, is rumored to have exhausted her four deceased husbands with her insatiable needs. So it’s no surprise that every rake in the ton wants to bed her. If they only knew… through clever marriages to men who would ask nothing of her physical self, Tessa has remained rather innocent in the ways of the bedroom. But now she’s on the verge of losing everything and wants to take care of the stepson she’s grown to adore. Enter Captain Owen Purchase.

Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos, is a luminous work of fiction inspired by the real-life, 37-year friendship between two towering figures of the late 19th century, famed writer and humorist Mark Twain and legendary explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley.

For nine-year-old Beth Lowe, it should have been a magical summer—sun-kissed days lounging in rickety deck chairs, nights gathered around the fire. But what begins as an innocent vacation to Hungary ends with the devastating separation of her parents. Beth and her father return home alone, leaving her mother, Marika, behind.

This is an exploration of feminine spirituality from the beginning of time to the present day. These extraordinary women have expressed their experiences of the agony and ecstasy of pursuing spiritual enlightenment through their poetry and prose, which is beautiful, inspirational, and very moving.

In his first collection of short stories, Barnes explores the narrow body of water containing the vast sea of prejudice and misapprehension which lies between England and France with acuity, humor, and compassion. For whether Barnes's English characters come to France as conquerors or hostages, laborers, athletes, or aesthetes, what they discover, alongside rich food and barbarous sexual and religious practices, is their own ineradicable Englishness. The 10 stories that make up Cross Channel introduce us to a plethora of intriguing, original, and sometimes ill-fated characters.

Outshone by a gregarious stepsister and overbearing stepmother, Lady Athena Cummins is used to fading into the shadows. Beloved only by her youngest sister, Persephone, Athena has accepted her destiny as a spinster. But Persephone has a different scheme in mind, and conspires to send Athena out for one night of fun at Lord Finchley’s masquerade Christmas Ball. The masked beauty catches the Lord’s eye but, determined to avoid the wrath of her stepsister, Athena leads Lord Finchley on a wild chase to discover her true identity.

In less than a year, Kelsea Glynn has transformed from a gawky teenager into a powerful monarch. As she has come into her own as the Queen of the Tearling, the headstrong, visionary leader has also transformed her realm. In her quest to end corruption and restore justice, she has made many enemies - including the evil Red Queen, her fiercest rival, who has set her armies against the Tear.

.Though born into one of Seattle's most prestigious families, Margot Benedict has fought to claim all the independence offered to young women in 1923. Where her brother Preston embraced a life of debauchery, Margot has a thriving medical practice. Working at a local orphanage, she's shocked to see a young boy who looks every inch a Benedict. But though she's convinced this is the illegitimate child Preston once mentioned, Margot has no way to prove any family connection.

In this poignant book, the writer and investigative journalist Katharine Quarmby describes the 20-year search for her Iranian birth father and her own adoption history. She links this narrative to the wider story that she uncovered during her search - of the many missing Iranian military fathers, who disappeared after the Iranian Revolution, but who are still sought by so many Iranian love-children in Britain today. Her narrative is a meditation on the importance of both birth and adoptive families.

Strong-willed and intelligent, Miss Jessica Sutton-Drew enjoys championing worthy causes such as women's independence, much like her formidable aunt, Susan Peele, London's most daunting bluestocking, and regardless of other relatives' protests against such unladylike behavior. But Miss Sutton-Drew may have met her match in Sir Brian Gregory, a shockingly wealthy mine owner and local magistrate, who is also handsome, brilliant, and charming.

You think you know these stories, don’t you? You are wrong. You don’t know them at all. Twelve tales, 12 dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that free hearts long kept tame, truths that explore life...and death. A prince has a surprising awakening. A beauty fights like a beast. A boy refuses to become prey. A path to happiness is lost…then found again.

Leo Zaccharelli is a gorgeous TV chef, but to Amy Driver he's just her best friend. Yet when he saves her from a disastrous near miss down the aisle, Amy escapes to Tuscany with Leo and his adorable baby daughter, Ella. Spending time with this beautiful little family, which suffered so much tragedy after Leo's wife's death, opens Amy's eyes to the joys of being a mother and a wife! Now she's seen Leo in a whole new light, can their friendship lead to forever?

It was as I was walking into the drama class that I remembered the girl I had bumped into and the green sweater just like mine. That was what had got Mrs. Watt mixed up. She had seen the girl in the green sweater and thought it was me. That was the simple explanation. Wasn't it? Fay can't help thinking it odd that people start remarking on conversations she knows she hasn't had, or saying they have seen her when she knows she was somewhere else. But then she starts hearing muffled footsteps behind her...

In 1692, Bridget Bishop was hanged as a witch. Two hundred years later, her legacy lives on in the scions of two very different lines: one dedicated to using their powers to heal and help women in need; the other, determined to grasp power for themselves. This clash will play out in the fate of Annis, a young woman in Gilded Age New York who finds herself a pawn in the family struggle for supremacy. She'll need to claim her own power to save herself - and resist succumbing to the darkness that threatens to overcome them all.

In a world where love and duty collide, Florence finds herself wedded young to a stern man, her life a silent testament to obedience and sacrifice. Cast out into the cold from seeking solace in forbidden arms, she faces her exile with the weight of a shattered family—one son by her side, the other left behind in the grip of her unforgiving husband. With doors shut firmly by those she once called family and the church that promised sanctuary, Florence embarks on a humble journey as a nurse.

Written in the language of the era, this witty and entertaining novel captures Austen's original style, suspenseful narrative, and sardonic humor. The Lost Years of Jane Austen begins with a true historical event - the arrest of Jane's aunt, Mrs. Leigh Perrot, on charges of shoplifting a piece of black lace. The fictional events that follow take Jane across the sea to the prison colony in Australia, bring her face to face with the dashing Mr. Wentworth and place her in many other adventures that are sure to thrill and delight Austen fans.

Anna Rice is avoiding a coworker's advances when she encounters enigmatic John Stone at a trendy London bar. With his impeccable suits, salt-and-pepper hair and suave demeanor, John is unlike any of the boys Anna has dated in the past: he's definitely all man. It's not long before Anna is head over heels in love, and experiencing out-of-this world erotic dreams.

Leo Zaccharelli may be a gorgeous TV chef, but to Amy Driver he's just her best friend. Until he rescues her and takes her to Tuscany with his adorable baby girl! Now Amy can't help dreaming about turning their friendship into forever....

Desert prince Zahid once walked away from Trinity Foster and the fire blazing in her eyes. He was heir to the kingdom of Ishla, and duty required that he return home, but a chance encounter reveals more than just passion. As painful truths of the past are revealed, Zahid realises that Trinity needs his protection. Although she’s strictly forbidden, walking away from her again is impossible!

On an early summer morning in 2001, Mandy Retzlaff received the phone call that she and her family had been dreading. Her farmhouse in northern Zimbabwe was being decimated at the hands of an angry mob of Robert Mugabe’s war veterans, who had been tasked with driving white farmers from their homes. In just a few short days, forty-five of Mandy’s neighbours narrowly escaped with their lives and decided to leave Zimbabwe behind.