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The Dragon of New Orleans (The Treasure of Paragon Book 1) (affiliate link)
New Orleans: city of intrigue, supernatural secrets, and one enigmatic dragon.
A deadly curse…
For 300 years, Gabriel Blakemore has survived in New Orleans after a coup in his native realm of Paragon scattered him and his dragon siblings across the globe. Now a jealous suitor’s voodoo curse threatens to end his immortal existence. His only hope is to find an antidote, one that may rest in a mortal woman.
A lifesaving gift…
After five years of unsuccessful treatment for her brain cancer, death is a welcome end for Raven Tanglewood. Her illness has become a prison her adventurous spirit cannot abide. Salvation comes in the form of Gabriel, who uses dragon magic to save her.
A harrowing price…
To Raven, the bond that results from Gabriel’s gift is another kind of captivity. Can Gabriel win Raven’s love and trust in time to awaken the life-saving magic within her? Or will his fiery personality and possessive ways drive her from his side and seal his fate?
Dating Games: A Fake Relationship Romance (affiliate link)
My rules for being a Manhattan billionaire’s fake girlfriend… No kissing. No fooling around. No falling in love. What can possibly go wrong?
Note to self: When your boyfriend dumps you on your thirtieth birthday, it’s probably not the smartest idea to drink so much that you wake up in the same bed as the mysterious hottie wearing the gorgeous suit who you noticed sitting across the bar.
The only silver lining in my obvious lack of judgment is the promise of never seeing Mr. Suit again, not in a city the size of New York.
Or so I thought, until a story I’m working on about the country’s most sought-after and elusive escort lands me in the same café as Mr. Suit.
So I do what any self-respecting woman of my age would do in my shoes… Try to ignore him.
Mile High Death (Tess Winnett) (affiliate link)
The sea didn’t have her long enough to ravage her broken body. Her beauty is still intact, her pale lips slightly parted in the memory of her last breath, her dark hair clinging to her face in long, wavy strands. Every inch of her skin bears testimony of her terrifying fate at the hands of the man who never expected her to be found.
After the body of a brutally murdered young woman is recovered from the Gulf of Mexico far from shore, FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett is called in to assist with the profiling of the murderer. Although only one body has been found, every detail about the gruesome crime points to the work of a serial killer.
Have there been others, left to die far at sea, where no one will ever find them? Is there a connection to be found, or is Tess searching for evidence that doesn’t exist?
MIAMI HOMICIDE (The City Murders) (affiliate link)
Detective Eva Hernandez is called it the middle of the night to a scene with little evidence to help identify the victim. She has no way of knowing the series of events ahead that will draw her into a complicated web of deceit and murder.
Just steps behind a charming man with a dark secret, she can’t get her hands on him, and he threatens the lives of innocent girls if she doesn’t stop him.
Follow Eva as she works to solve her most emotional case since joining MIAMI HOMICIDE.
Attack on Nantucket (affiliate link)
Andrew Russell, the 46th president of the United States, along with his wife and two young children have brought back a Kennedy-era feeling of Camelot to the White House. President Russell and his family are spending another vacation on the beautiful island of Nantucket.
After three years of planning, the Islamic Front has embedded terrorist cells on the island in preparation for the arrival of President Russell and his family.
With the resources of the US Navy at the ready — the President, an ex-naval aviator, responds to the attack on his family with the focus, determination and aggressiveness that made him one of the best fighter pilots in the Fleet.
The people of Nantucket, descendants of hardy New England stock, along with the combined military and intelligence assets of the US Government are about to be challenged by the events unleashed on the tiny picturesque island.
The Chief Resident (affiliate link)
The New James Beard (affiliate link)
James Beard became a household name teaching home chefs how to cook like culinary stars, from the Theory & Practice of perfecting processes to crafting Menus for Entertaining to fine-tuning Simple Foods. This cookbook brings together his wealth of gastronomic knowledge in one essential guide, filled with one thousand elegant recipes guaranteed to please any palate and indispensable tips for mastering the art of cooking.
In The New James Beard, you can discover a fresh, flexible approach to preparing food with a focus on ingredients and simple yet inventive substitutions. With clever takes on traditional recipes, like Mexican Pot Roast and Lime and Tea Sherbet; internationally inspired dishes, such as Peruvian Eggs and Turkish Stuffed Eggplant; and instructions on how to refine classic techniques, such as making pasta or poaching eggs, you can learn how to prepare and experiment like the top chefs in the world.
The Ballad of the Sad Café: And Other Stories (affiliate link)
One of the most celebrated and enduringly popular works in Southern literature, this collection assembles Carson McCullers’s best stories, including her beloved novella “The Ballad of the Sad Café.” A haunting tale of love and violence in a small Southern town, the novella introduces readers to Miss Amelia, a formidable woman whose home serves as the town’s gathering place. Among other fine works, the collection also includes McCullers’s first published story, “Wunderkind,” about a musical prodigy who suddenly realizes she will not go on to become a great pianist.
First published in 1951, The Ballad of the Sad Café was adapted for the stage by the Edward Albee and later made into a film starring Vanessa Redgrave and Keith Carradine.
Shirley (affiliate link)
Shirley, Charlotte Brontë’s second novel, following Jane Eyre, tells the story of two women of radically different circumstances, whose bond of friendship helps them emotionally navigate the romantic entanglements of Victorian society.
The quiet and shy Caroline Helstone was raised lovingly yet sternly by her uncle in a Yorkshire rectory. Shirley Keeldar is a bold and beautiful heiress whose wealth catches the eye of the ambitious—though nearly bankrupt—Robert Moore. All three lives will become entangled in matters of the heart, as both women struggle to find their own way in a changing society.
Caroline and Shirley’s friendship and their contrasting life conditions and views of traditional gender roles make this novel “as interesting and relevant today as when Brontë wrote it” (Curled Up with a Good Book).
Every house has its secrets . . .
For twelve-year-old Ottilie Finch, London is an exciting playground to explore. Her family have recently arrived in Hampstead from Durham, under a cloud of scandal that Otty is blissfully unaware of. The only shadow over her days is her mother’s mysterious illness, which keeps her to her room.
When young local girl Mabs is offered the chance to become Mrs Finch’s companion, it saves her from a desperate life on the canals. Little does she know that all is not as picture-perfect as it seems. Mabs is about to become tangled in the secrets that chased the Finches from their last home, and trapped in an impossible dilemma . . .
The Street Singer (affiliate link)
Trisha Mills, a student in her final semester of law school, has fond memories of listening to the music of Adaline, a once-famous recording artist. Trisha learns that Adda is now a street singer in Asheville, NC, where she lives in a storage closet she rents for her equipment. Adda’s sole means of support in her senior years comes from the donation box.
Along with her meager possessions, Adda has a box labeled, “Things to Remember.” Once Adda and Trisha become friends, Adda agrees to show Trisha the contents of the box, and reveals her journey from her beginnings as a sharecropper’s daughter, her rise to fame, and her fall into poverty.
Even while busy cleaning out the home of her deceased grandfather, preparing to sit for the bar exam, and planning her wedding, Trisha cannot overlook the injustices that Adda has experienced. Aided by attorney Rusty Bergstrom, Trisha convinces Adda to seek restitution.
Learn how these four natural, everyday items can accomplish hundreds of household tasks—from personal to pet care, kitchen to outdoor uses.
Salt, lemons, vinegar, and baking soda are the all-you-need all-stars of the home. From personal hygiene and grooming to household cleaning and gardening, this powerful quartet has a long and storied history of usefulness that is also utterly modern and of-the-moment: green, cheap, and effective.
Beginning with a brief introduction to each of these amazing substances, this comprehensive book of household hints (useful indoors and out, for people and for pets) offers hundreds of smart solutions for better living. Combining one part science with one part practicality, and a dash of fun, this indispensable, earth-friendly reference is a must-have in any home.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2