Beautiful Ruins

Beautiful Ruins
Author: Jess Walter
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2012-06-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 006209808X

“Why mince words? Beautiful Ruins is an absolute masterpiece.” — Richard Russo The acclaimed, award-winning author of the national bestseller The Financial Lives of the Poets returns with his funniest, most romantic, and most purely enjoyable novel yet: the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962 . . . and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later. The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, deep in daydreams, looks out over the waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an American starlet, he soon learns, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier. What unfolds is a dazzling roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

Beautiful Ruins

Beautiful Ruins
Author: Jess Walter
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2013-04-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0241963001

The No. 1 New York Times Bestseller Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins is a gorgeous, glamorous novel set in 1960s Italy and a modern Hollywood studio. The story begins in 1962. Somewhere on a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and views an apparition: a beautiful woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an American starlet, he soon learns, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away in Hollywood, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot searching for the woman he last saw at his hotel fifty years before. Gloriously inventive, funny, tender and constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a novel full of fabulous and yet very flawed people, all of them striving towards another sort of life, a future that is both delightful and yet, tantalizingly, seems just out of reach. 'Magic...A monument to crazy love with a deeply romantic heart' New York Times 'A novel shot in sparkly Technicolor' Booklist 'Hilarious and compelling' Esquire

Beautiful Salvation

Beautiful Salvation
Author: Piper Lawson
Publisher: Piper Lawson Steamy Romance Books
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2022-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1777526426

Enjoy this steamy British billionaire romance novel from USA Today bestselling author Piper Lawson! “Marry me here. Now. In Vegas.” Trapped in a corner, my only way out was the ruthless billionaire who put me there. In the three years since, we’ve healed each other. We did things in the dark we’re not proud of, things that will forever be kept secret from the world. Those sins forged a bond as strong as the love that binds us together. King and Queen. Freedom and Salvation. Now, we have a chance at forever. And nothing—not a jewelry mystery, our friends’ hijinx, or The King himself—will steal it from us. BEAUTIFUL SALVATION is a Vegas wedding novella and should be read after BEAUTIFUL RUIN (Enemies #3). Don’t miss the steamy, delicious book readers are calling “the BEST POSSIBLE ending to Harrison and Rae’s story!” PRAISE FOR THE ENEMIES SERIES: ★★★★★ “Beautiful Enemy has the spice of romance and brute force of a cage fight. Drama. Suspense. Temptation. Lawson finds a place for each and every conflicting emotion and creates a combustible inferno.” -Isha, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Captivatingly sexy and fresh. It consumed me.” -Beautiful Chaos Reviews ★★★★★ “Overflowing with drama and suspense. Rae and Harrison will take you on an emotional roller coaster.” -BP34, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I am not usually a fan of the billionaire sweeps poor girl off her feet trope, but this book grabbed me by the heart strings and tugged hard. Leaves you breathless and wanting more.” -Amanda, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Powerful and full of feels...my new obsession.” -Stital, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “WOW! My heart stuttered at the ending! Keeps you gripped.” -Suzanne, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “What an explosive couple...I cannot wait for more!!!” -Nicola, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I love Piper’s musical world of Wicked, and this new saga is just as delicious.” -Michelle, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Loud, gritty, hot and freaking amazing!!! Little Queen and her King will burn up your pages.” -Debbie, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “This book was amazing! I’m in love with Harrison and Rae.” -Kristen, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I want a Harrison, pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top...I was completely blown away by this book.” -Shelly, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Suspense, romance...Enemies to lovers at its best! Can’t wait to get my hands on the second installment. HIGHLY recommend.” -Anneli, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I felt every touch, every emotion through Pipers writing. I absolutely LOVE books that just transport me away so clearly... Beautiful Enemy is one of those books. 5 outstanding, phenomenal Stars.” -Cat, Goodreads reviewer *** KEYWORDS: Alpha, Alpha billionaire, alpha male, billionaire, travel, billionaire romance, alpha male romance, strong heroine, Ibiza, EDM, holiday, beach romance, contemporary romance, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, age gap, British billionaire, interracial romance, series, romantic series, women’s fiction, romance saga, romance series, romance saga, romantic family saga, bestseller romance, sexy, family, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, captivating romance, emotional, healing, hot, hot romance, sparks, loyalty, swoon, funny romance, modern romance, new release, forbidden romance, hidden romance, strong alpha, alpha hero, family business, strong female lead, strong heroine, family secrets, top romance reads, best seller, New Adult, best seller, series, romance novels, love story, alpha, bully, angst. Readers also enjoyed books by: Carrie Ann Ryan, Corinne Michaels, Susan Stoker, Natasha Madison, Chelle Bliss, Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover, Talia Hibbert, Helena Hunting, Elle Kennedy, Kristen Callihan, Melissa Foster, Bella Andre, Sarina Bowen, Vi Keeland, Winter Renshaw, Meghan March, Willow Winters, Carly Phillips, Erika Wilde, Kendall Ryan, Jillian Dodd, Melissa Foster, Nana Malone, Anna Todd, Lauren Blakely, Julia Kent, Siobhan Davis, Vivian Wood, JS Scott, LJ Shen, Louise Bay, TL Swan, Nicole Snow, MS Parker, Lucy Score, Ava Harrison, Parker S Huntington, Ivy Layne, Tia Louise and Ainsley St Claire.

Beautiful Terrible Ruins

Beautiful Terrible Ruins
Author: Dora Apel
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2015-06-23
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0813574099

Once the manufacturing powerhouse of the nation, Detroit has become emblematic of failing cities everywhere—the paradigmatic city of ruins—and the epicenter of an explosive growth in images of urban decay. In Beautiful Terrible Ruins, art historian Dora Apel explores a wide array of these images, ranging from photography, advertising, and television, to documentaries, video games, and zombie and disaster films. Apel shows how Detroit has become pivotal to an expanding network of ruin imagery, imagery ultimately driven by a pervasive and growing cultural pessimism, a loss of faith in progress, and a deepening fear that worse times are coming. The images of Detroit’s decay speak to the overarching anxieties of our era: increasing poverty, declining wages and social services, inadequate health care, unemployment, homelessness, and ecological disaster—in short, the failure of capitalism. Apel reveals how, through the aesthetic distancing of representation, the haunted beauty and fascination of ruin imagery, embodied by Detroit’s abandoned downtown skyscrapers, empty urban spaces, decaying factories, and derelict neighborhoods help us to cope with our fears. But Apel warns that these images, while pleasurable, have little explanatory power, lulling us into seeing Detroit’s deterioration as either inevitable or the city’s own fault, and absolving the real agents of decline—corporate disinvestment and globalization. Beautiful Terrible Ruins helps us understand the ways that the pleasure and the horror of urban decay hold us in thrall.

He Will Be My Ruin

He Will Be My Ruin
Author: K.A. Tucker
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501152920

"Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what's left of her best friend's belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned...But when Maggie discovers secrets in the childhood lock box hidden in Celine's apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie...On the hunt for answers that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine's private life--and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered"--Provided by publisher.

The Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece

The Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece
Author: David Le Roy
Publisher: Getty Publications
Total Pages: 572
Release: 2004
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780892366699

The striking engravings of Julien-David Le Roy's The Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece (1758) first revealed the architectural wonders of ancient Athens to the West. Part architectural theory, part archaeological report, part travelogue, the greatly expanded edition of 1770 -- here translated into English -- is entirely original in its understanding of the spirit of classical Greek architecture and in its influence on the direction of contemporary architectural creation. Book jacket.

The Ruin of Kings

The Ruin of Kings
Author: Jenn Lyons
Publisher: Tor Books
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2019-02-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250175488

A Kirkus Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy pick for 2019! A Library Journal Best Book of 2019! An NPR Favorite Book of 2019! "Everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it."—Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians When destiny calls, there's no fighting back. Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a minstrel's son raised on tales of long-lost princes and magnificent quests. When he is claimed against his will as the missing son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds himself at the mercy of his new family's ruthless power plays and political ambitions. Practically a prisoner, Kihrin discovers that being a long-lost prince is nothing like what the storybooks promised. The storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, and how the hero always wins. Then again, maybe he isn't the hero after all. For Kihrin is not destined to save the world. He's destined to destroy it. Jenn Lyons begins the Chorus of Dragons series with The Ruin of Kings, an epic fantasy novel about a man who discovers his fate is tied to the future of an empire. "It's impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all . . . a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings to dwell in for a good long while."—The New York Times A Chorus of Dragons 1: The Ruin of Kings 2: The Name of All Things 3: The Memory of Souls

The Ruins Lesson

The Ruins Lesson
Author: Susan Stewart
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2020-01-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 022663261X

How have ruins become so valued in Western culture and so central to our art and literature? Covering a vast chronological and geographical range, from ancient Egyptian inscriptions to twentieth-century memorials, Susan Stewart seeks to answer this question as she traces the appeal of ruins and ruins images, and the lessons that writers and artists have drawn from their haunting forms. Stewart takes us on a sweeping journey through founding legends of broken covenants and original sin, the Christian appropriation of the classical past, and images of decay in early modern allegory. Stewart looks in depth at the works of Goethe, Piranesi, Blake, and Wordsworth, each of whom found in ruins a means of reinventing his art. Lively and engaging, The Ruins Lesson ultimately asks what can resist ruination—and finds in the self-transforming, ever-fleeting practices of language and thought a clue to what might truly endure.

Beautiful Enemy

Beautiful Enemy
Author: Piper Lawson
Publisher: Piper Lawson Steamy Romance Books
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2021-05-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1999288882

Enjoy this steamy age gap enemies to lovers billionaire romance book from USA Today bestselling author Piper Lawson! I sold my soul to a billionaire I hate. Now, he owns me. I had a plan: sign a contract and board a plane to Ibiza. The anonymous deal would salvage the smoldering wreckage of my life. It would not involve billionaire Harrison King, the reason I need saving in the first place. He’s as beautiful as he is ruthless. A British business titan who makes a living getting what he wants. The man flies private. Dates supermodels. But the crisp accent and cocky smirk don’t fool me. He’s a gentleman on the outside, a savage beneath. He knows nothing about compromise, and even less about love. Because after my attempt to publicly stand up for those who needed it, he destroyed my reputation. Now, he’s come for the rest of me. I can’t escape him, no matter what he has planned. But the first rule of war is never underestimate your opponent. Harrison King might know my secrets… But kings keep secrets too. BEAUTIFUL ENEMY is an enthralling, explosive full-length age gap billionaire romance novel from USA Today bestselling author Piper Lawson. It is book 1 in an addictive new enemies to lovers romance trilogy. Read it FREE now! REVIEWS FOR THE ENEMIES SERIES: ★★★★★ “Beautiful Enemy has the spice of romance and brute force of a cage fight. Drama. Suspense. Temptation. Lawson finds a place for each and every conflicting emotion and creates a combustible inferno.” -Isha, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Captivatingly sexy and fresh. It consumed me.” -Beautiful Chaos Reviews ★★★★★ “Overflowing with drama and suspense. Rae and Harrison will take you on an emotional roller coaster.” -BP34, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I am not usually a fan of the billionaire sweeps poor girl off her feet trope, but this book grabbed me by the heart strings and tugged hard. Leaves you breathless and wanting more.” -Amanda, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Powerful and full of feels...my new obsession.” -Stital, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “WOW! My heart stuttered at the ending! Keeps you gripped.” -Suzanne, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “What an explosive couple...I cannot wait for more!!!” -Nicola, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I love Piper’s musical world of Wicked, and this new saga is just as delicious.” -Michelle, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Loud, gritty, hot and freaking amazing!!! Little Queen and her King will burn up your pages.” -Debbie, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “This book was amazing! I’m in love with Harrison and Rae.” -Kristen, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I want a Harrison, pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top...I was completely blown away by this book.” -Shelly, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “Suspense, romance...Enemies to lovers at its best! Can’t wait to get my hands on the second installment. HIGHLY recommend.” -Anneli, Goodreads reviewer ★★★★★ “I felt every touch, every emotion through Pipers writing. I absolutely LOVE books that just transport me away so clearly... Beautiful Enemy is one of those books. 5 outstanding, phenomenal Stars.” -Cat, Goodreads reviewer *** KEYWORDS: Enemies to lovers romance, age gap romance book, alpha male billionaire, romance travel, billionaire romance series, strong heroine, Ibiza, holiday, beach romance, contemporary romance, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, age gap, British billionaire, interracial romance, romantic series, women’s fiction, romance saga, romance series, romantic family saga, bestseller romance, kissing books, emotional journey, captivating romance, emotional, healing, hot, hot romance, sparks, loyalty, swoon, funny romance, modern romance, new release, forbidden romance, strong alpha, alpha hero, family business, strong female lead, strong heroine, family secrets, top romance reads, new adult, best seller. Readers also enjoyed books by: Carrie Ann Ryan, Corinne Michaels, Susan Stoker, Natasha Madison, Chelle Bliss, Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover, Talia Hibbert, Helena Hunting, Elle Kennedy, Kristen Callihan, Melissa Foster, Bella Andre, Sarina Bowen, Vi Keeland, Winter Renshaw, Meghan March, Willow Winters, Carly Phillips, Erika Wilde, Kendall Ryan, Jillian Dodd, Melissa Foster, Nana Malone, Anna Todd, Lauren Blakely, Julia Kent, Siobhan Davis, Vivian Wood, JS Scott, LJ Shen, Louise Bay, TL Swan, Nicole Snow, MS Parker, Lucy Score, Ava Harrison, Parker S Huntington, Ivy Layne, Tia Louise and Ainsley St Claire.

Perfect Ruin

Perfect Ruin
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2013-10
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1442480610

"Sixteen-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives in Internment, a floating city utopia. But when a murder occurs, everything she knows starts to unravel"--