A Rather Charming Invitation

A Rather Charming Invitation
Author: C.A. Belmond
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2010-02-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101196661

Her work has been hailed as "a return to the golden age of romantic suspense," and Belmond is back with her beloved characters and their search for a missing bridal tapestry. Dateline: London, Paris, Antibes. It's time to get down to wedding planning. But while heiress Penny's distant relatives insist that the nuptials be held in their native France, Jeremy's kin won't have it anywhere but England. And either choice might just re-ignite the Hundred Years' War... Then, in a family château high above the perfume fields of Grasse, Penny's French cousin offers her the loan of an ancient bridal tapestry. But Penny has barely begun to crack its perplexing imagery before a series of strange events unfolds, threatening to derail the wedding. From a secret chalet on Lake Geneva, to a nostalgic stop at the opulent Train Bleu, to a winner-take-all gamble in Monte Carlo, Penny and Jeremy are off on another romp...while the clock is ticking down until they say, "I do."

A Rather Lovely Inheritance

A Rather Lovely Inheritance
Author: C.A. Belmond
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2007-01-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780451220523

After her Aunt Penelope dies, historical researcher Penny Nichols is astonished to learn that not only is she a bona fide heiress-but she's also been invited to put her research skills to work. This time, the history she's researching happens to be her very own. What she discovers about Aunt Penelope-a pair of wills, double lives, secret histories, and a family tree of vultures-is about to sweep Penny and a long-lost relative across France, over the hills of Italy, and throughout half of Europe on the adventure of several lifetimes.

A Rather Remarkable Homecoming

A Rather Remarkable Homecoming
Author: C.A. Belmond
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2011-09-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 110154404X

Join the fun and frolic with American heiress Penny Nichols and her English hero Jeremy Laidley, as the adventurous couple sets off for more elegant travel and delightful sleuthing together! Penny and Jeremy are just returning from their honeymoon, only to be greeted by eccentric friends of Prince Charles bearing a rather royal request: to rescue a historical village on the coast of Cornwall, England. A property developer is bulldozing his way across the countryside to build a monstrous new development, and he's heading straight for Grandmother Beryl's old homestead where the newlyweds first met long ago as kids. Can Penny and Jeremy solve an ancient puzzle in time to save Grandma's house-and the entire village-from total destruction? On the romantic rocky cliffs of Cornwall, amid Celtic lore and tales of Shakespeare, smugglers, and shipwrecks, Penny and Jeremy must contend with a rakish cast of local characters: a bird-watching earl, a famous TV chef, a vain actor, a New Age farmer, a pair of thuggish real-estate tycoons, a rebel rock-and-roller, and a band of determined "eco-warriors." Following a trail of cryptic clues, Penny and Jeremy's new caper takes them to the lush island of Madeira and the legendary castle of Tintagel, in a race against time to find the astonishing truth... before the wrecking ball strikes. With her trademark wit, wisdom, and verve, C.A. Belmond's newest novel in her beloved "Rather" series provides a perfect armchair voyage of Europe's glamorous locales, with plenty of mystery, history, food, wine, love, and life's little pleasures.

A Rather Curious Engagement

A Rather Curious Engagement
Author: C.A. Belmond
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2008-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780451224057

Belmond's much-beloved debut novel, A Rather Lovely Inheritance was "a rare gem" (Romance Reviews Today) and "An entertaining yarn with family drama and intrigue aplenty." (Booklist). Now, in the eagerly anticipated sequel, A Rather Curious Engagement, our American freelancer-turned-heiress Penny Nichols is back for more fun--and another engaging international romp with her English hero, Jeremy. Penny has the great London flat, the classic car, the villa in France, the fabulous bank account, and a great guy to share them with. So everything's perfect, right? Right? Er, well... Pursued by gigolos, gold-diggers, an ex-wife, and highly aggressive salesmen chasing after their millions, Penny and Jeremy decide to take the summer off and sock away most of their inheritance for one year. But they allow themselves one big "splurge" from their wish list--and that's where all the trouble begins. At an auction on the French Riviera, Penny and Jeremy win much more than they bargain for, uncovering a centuries-old rivalry involving the theft of a priceless treasure linked to Beethoven's Germany, the mysterious island of Corsica, a luxurious 1920s yacht, and a medieval castle on Lake Como, Italy. A Rather Curious Engagement is a stay-up-all-night read, with an irresistible, unbeatable heroine seeking answers to intriguing questions about history, art, fortune, and love. It's the perfect companion to the first novel.

Problems

Problems
Author: Jade Sharma
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2016-06-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1566894433

Dark, raw, and very funny, Problems introduces us to Maya, a young woman with a smart mouth, time to kill, and a heroin hobby that isn't much fun anymore. Maya's been able to get by in New York on her wits and a dead-end bookstore job for years, but when her husband leaves her and her favorite professor ends their affair, her barely-calibrated life descends into chaos, and she has to make some choices. Maya's struggle to be alone, to be a woman, and to be thoughtful and imperfect and alive in a world that doesn't really care what happens to her is rendered with dead-eyed clarity and unnerving charm. This book takes every tired trope about addiction and recovery, "likeable" characters, and redemption narratives, and blows them to pieces. Emily Books is a publishing project and ebook subscription service whose focus is on transgressive writers of the past, present and future, with an emphasis on the writing of women, trans and queer people, writing that blurs genre distinctions and is funny, challenging, and provocative. Jade Sharma is a writer living in New York. She has an MFA from the New School.

An Invitation to Sin

An Invitation to Sin
Author: Suzanne Enoch
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 006174526X

Seven marriageable daughters . . . And Lord Zachary Griffin is just the man to help them. After all, what could be more tantalizing than teaching the beautiful Witfeld sisters all the special ways of driving a man into submission—and marriage? And leading exquisite Caroline Witfeld, the most spirited and least frivolous sister, to temptation would be wildly delicious. Zachary doesn't realize that Caroline's longing gazes have less to do with attraction and more to do with admission—to a prestigious arts conservatory. If only she could set those high cheekbones, that aristocratic brow, and those powerful shoulders to canvas, her dreams would all come true. But Caroline is soon having dreams of a very different sort—ones that involve the charming rogue and some improper behavior hardly befitting a lady dedicated to her art . . .unless she becomes dedicated to the art of love.

Not Like the Movies

Not Like the Movies
Author: Kerry Winfrey
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2020-07-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984804049

What happens when your life is a rom-com . . . but you don’t even believe in true love? Chloe Sanderson is an optimist, and not because her life is easy. As the sole caregiver for her father, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, she’s pretty much responsible for everything. She has no time—or interest—in getting swept up in some dazzling romance. Not like her best friend, Annie, who literally wrote a rom-com that’s about to premiere in theaters across America . . . and happens to be inspired by Chloe and her cute but no-nonsense boss, Nick Velez. As the buzz for the movie grows, Chloe reads one too many listicles about why Nick is the perfect man, and now she can’t see him as anything but Reason #4: The scruffy-bearded hunk who’s always there when you need him. But unlike the romance Annie has written for them, Chloe isn’t so sure her own story will end in a happily-ever-after.

The Sense of an Ending

The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2011-10-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307957330

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.

Charming the Prince

Charming the Prince
Author: Teresa Medeiros
Publisher: Amber House Books
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2013-01-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1939541018

One of the most charming Cinderella stories of all time! Lord Bannor the Bold has never feared anything in his life--until the war ends and he finds himself a reluctant papa to a dozen unruly children. He sends his steward out to find them a mother--some meek, plain creature who won't tempt him to get her with child. But his steward returns with a spirited beauty who makes him think of nothing else. Lady Willow is everything Bannor has sworn to resist. He never dreams she will join forces with those mischievous imps of his to teach him just how sweet surrender can be! Book 1 in Teresa Medeiros's ONCE UPON A TIME Series, which includes Charming the Prince, The Bride and the Beast and Fairest of Them All Praise for New York Times bestseller CHARMING THE PRINCE “What joy! The magic that comes from Teresa Medeiros’s pen makes you smile with satisfaction, sigh with pleasure and wish Charming the Prince never came to an end.” –Romantic Times “Ms. Medeiros gives her fans another wonderfully witty and charming tale…purely delightful!” The Old Book Barn Gazette “From the opening page of Charming the Prince, the reader knows the fun has just begun…humorous and entertaining. You’ll be charmed by Charming the Prince.” –Rocky Mountain News “Nobody writes humor with more heart or passion with more pleasure. Medeiros is magic!” –New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION Medieval romance, Humorous romance, Historical romance, Knight romance

American Rhapsody

American Rhapsody
Author: Joe Eszterhas
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2001-03-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0375725547

If the Watergate scandal was a previous generation's National Nightmare, then maybe the Clinton scandal was our National Wet Dream, and who better to narrate it than the screenwriter Joe Eszterhas? In American Rhapsody, Eszterhas, whose credits include Basic Instinct and Showgirls, and Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse, for which he was nominated for a National Book Award, takes us through the events that threatened to topple a president and left most of the nation's citizens with, at the very least, a bad taste in their mouths. Taking full advantage of his considerable journalistic and storytelling talents, Eszterhas gives us every fact, rumor, or innuendo surrounding the president's foibles in the context of late century American politics and entertainment. Here Washington and Hollywood do more than just flirt with each other; they share the same bed. From scandalmongers Matt Drudge (who began as a Hollywood gossip) and Ken Starr, to would-be president paramours Sharon Stone and Barbra Streisand, to his final, unimpeachable witness, Willard—none other than President Clinton's talking penis—Eszterhas gives us the goods on the story that nobody could stop talking about and, thanks to American Rhapsody, will be impossible to think about the same way again.