Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Hillbilly Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus and Todd Gold
Hillbilly Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus and Todd Gold
Billy Ray Cyrus is an award-winning country music legend whose “Achy Breaky Heart” propelled his debut album, “Some Gave All,” to the top of the charts for a record-breaking seventeen weeks. He’s also father of Miley Cyrus, one of Hollywood’s most successful young stars, who grew up on stage and on screen, most famously as the lead on the Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana,” where Billy Ray Cyrus played her father. But sometimes the truth is even better than fiction. Now, for the first time, fans can read about Cyrus’s tenacious and inspiring struggle to find his own way to faith, family, and the power of music.
Hillbilly Heart opens during Cyrus’s turbulent childhood in Kentucky, where he sought refuge in music and sports after his parents’ divorce. He was a troublemaker in training, known more for pulling pranks than for following in his preacher grandfather’s much-vaunted footsteps. But when he heard a voice telling him to get a left-handed guitar and start a band, this rebel found his cause. Ten years later, after tirelessly working the club circuit and knocking on the closed doors of music executives from Nashville to Los Angeles, Cyrus finally made a stratospheric breakthrough, becoming a multi-platinum selling artist and taking his rock-and-roll twist on country music to the world’s stage.
Cyrus fans have always been able to piece together the details of his life through his lyrics—the ups and downs, adventures and disappointments—but Hillbilly Heart gives them a front row seat for his most candid performance ever.
Bobby on the Beat by Pam Rhodes
Bobby on the Beat by Pam Rhodes
Pamela Rhodes, one of the first British policewomen, tells her fascinating story in Bobby on the Beat. Back in 1950 Pam became one of the first policewomen in the country. But the force’s new female recruits faced a sceptical public in rural Yorkshire and even before they stepped out on the beat there were the prejudices of older male officers to overcome. Yet from the first Pam was thrust into the front line. From runaway bulls to investigating ladies of the night and cases of vice, her innocent eyes were quickly opened. And soon, spending her days on the streets, she came to know the neighbourhood and the extraordinary characters who lived on the right, as well as wrong, side of the law. In the charming Bobby on the Beat, Pamela Rhodes’ tales of life as a copper provide a fascinating glimpse of country life now long gone – when seeing a bobby on the beat meant all was well. Pamela Rhodes lives in Scarborough, where she was one of the first WPCs in Britain in the 1960s. Her unique story was picked up when she entered the life-story competition run by Penguin and Saga Magazine, in which she placed as a runner-up. This is her first memoir.
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life by Rod Dreher
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life by Rod Dreher
THE LITTLE WAY OF RUTHIE LEMING follows Rod Dreher, a Philadelphia journalist, back to his hometown of St. Francisville, Louisiana (pop. 1,700) in the wake of his younger sister Ruthie’s death. When she was diagnosed at age 40 with a virulent form of cancer in 2010, Dreher was moved by the way the community he had left behind rallied around his dying sister, a schoolteacher. He was also struck by the grace and courage with which his sister dealt with the disease that eventually took her life. In Louisiana for Ruthie’s funeral in the fall of 2011, Dreher began to wonder whether the ordinary life Ruthie led in their country town was in fact a path of hidden grandeur, even spiritual greatness, concealed within the modest life of a mother and teacher. In order to explore this revelation, Dreher and his wife decided to leave Philadelphia, move home to help with family responsibilities and have their three children grow up amidst the rituals that had defined his family for five generations-Mardi Gras, L.S.U. football games, and deer hunting.
As David Brooks poignantly described Dreher’s journey homeward in a recent New York Times column, Dreher and his wife Julie “decided to accept the limitations of small-town life in exchange for the privilege of being part of a community.”
The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France (P.S.) by John Baxter
The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France (P.S.) by John Baxter
John Baxter’s The Perfect Meal is part grand tour of France, part history of French cuisine, taking readers on a journey to discover and savor some of the world’s great cultural achievements before they disappear completely.
Some of the most revered and complex elements of French cuisine are in danger of disappearing as old ways of agriculture, butchering, and cooking fade and are forgotten. In this charming culinary travel memoir, John Baxter follows up his bestselling The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by taking his readers on the hunt for some of the most delicious and bizarre endangered foods of France.
The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France is the perfect read for foodies and Francophiles, cooks and gastronomists, and fans of food culture.
The Star Caster (The Elicit Novella Series) (Volume 1) by Jamie Loeak and Stacy Loeak
The Star Caster (The Elicit Novella Series) (Volume 1) by Jamie Loeak and Stacy Loeak
Danika wakes up, trapped in a barbed wire cage. All she knows is darkness, fear, and unending questions as to why she was kidnapped. When two strangers walk in, talking about a metamorphosis, Danika seeks to find answers in a handsome stranger, Sterren. Sterren shows Danika the world of the Star Caster, and they find themselves tangled in not only their escape, but in each other as well. When they face their worst enemies together, they grow stronger, and find that they are capable of making their own wishes come true.
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.
Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks series) (Volume 1) by Russell Elkins and Chris White
Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks series) (Volume 1) by Russell Elkins and Chris White
Ollie just wants one thing. The girl. Things haven’t been going so well with Anne lately, though; their relationship has become a perpetual study date, and Ollie’s roommates are starting to worry about him. How to fix things? Why, with a marriage proposal, of course. Unfortunately for Ollie, his relationship with Anne has run out of gas. Life feels like it’s counting down to one. And that one is the only person in Ollie’s life he really cares about: Ollie. Perhaps, then, he should get over himself. But first he has to deal with Sparks, the irritating little Yankees fan who invades his life in order to “help” him. And while Keith, his best friend, is doing all he can to help, Ollie’s other friend Richie never fails to show up and threaten to ruin everything just by being himself. Never mind all the drama Sparks brings to the party by forcing Ollie to take a job actually helping people in need. Will Ollie meet the girl? Will it be in history class? On a road trip to Colorado? Can he get over Anne, or should he try to mend the relationship? Should he pursue the new girl Sparks is trying to set him up with? As the strings of the puppeteer tangle with the strings of the heart, only one person can sort out the mess Ollie has made. It seems that the harder he tries, the more Ollie messes things up. Is Sparks a cruel manipulator, or is he really going to help Ollie find his match?
The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope: A Novel by Rhonda Riley
The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope: A Novel by Rhonda Riley
The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope is an unconventional and passionately romantic love story that is as breathtaking and wondrous as The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.
During WWII, teenager Evelyn Roe is sent to manage the family farm in rural North Carolina, where she finds what she takes to be a badly burned soldier on their property. She rescues him, and it quickly becomes clear he is not a man…and not one of us. The rescued body recovers at an unnatural speed, and just as fast, Evelyn and Adam fall deeply in love.
In The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope, Rhonda Riley reveals the exhilarating, terrifying mystery inherent in all relationships: No matter how deeply we love someone, and no matter how much we will sacrifice for them, we can only know them so well…
Illumine Her by Sieni A.M.
Illumine Her by Sieni A.M.
After being away for three years and graduating nursing school, Alana Vilo finally returns home to Samoa and knows nothing will ever be the same. Consumed with grief from the loss of her father, she buries herself in her work and the obligations that come with a large family. While her colleagues anticipate the arrival of a mysterious benefactor, Alana remains unimpressed, until she meets him. Chase Malek is not at all what she expects of the philanthropist that has donated so much to help her island’s hospital. Young, handsome, and strangely knowledgeable of their local customs, Alana realizes there’s much more to Chase than meets the eye. After a traumatic experience with one of her patients, her suspicions are confirmed. Alana starts to resurface as she attempts to uncover all of Chase’s secrets. As she starts to put the pieces together, she learns more about herself, and the walls she put up after her father’s death slowly start to crumble. But now that she’s opened her heart and let Chase in, will he even be able to stay? Or will his greatest secret of all keep them apart?
Midnight at Marble Arch: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel by Anne Perry
Midnight at Marble Arch: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel by Anne Perry
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In this superbly accomplished new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt adventure, Anne Perry takes us beneath the glittering surface of wealthy Victorian society into a nightmare world of fear and intimidation, where women are too often blamed for the violent attacks against them, and powerful men take what they want, leaving others to pay the price.
The horrifying rape and apparent suicide of Catherine Quixwood, wife of a wealthy merchant banker, falls outside the new jurisdiction of Special Branch head Thomas Pitt, but so pervasively offensive are the rumors about the victim that Pitt quietly takes a hand in the investigation.
Yet even with the help of his ingenious wife, Charlotte, and his former superior, Victor Narraway, Pitt is stumped. Why did high-minded, cultured Catherine choose not to accompany her husband to a grand party on the night of her demise? Why did she dismiss all her servants for the evening and leave the front door unlocked? What had been her relationship with the young man seen frequently by her side at concerts and art exhibits? And what can be done to avenge another terrible crime: the assault on Angeles Castelbranco, beloved teenage daughter of the Portuguese ambassador?
As an ordinary policeman, Pitt had once entered London’s grand houses through the kitchen door. Now, as a guest in those same houses, can he find the steel in his soul to challenge the great men of the world with their crimes? The path to the truth takes him in deeply troubling directions, from the lofty world of international politics and finance to his own happy home, where his own teenage daughter, Jemima, is coming of age in a culture rife with hidden dangers.
In this rich, emotionally charged masterpiece, Anne Perry exposes yet another ugly secret of Victoria’s proud empire. And in a courtroom battle of unparalleled brilliance, we thrill at the chance to witness a massive wrong righted.
Praise for Midnight at Marble Arch
“[Anne] Perry is a master at illuminating the wrongs of the Victorian age.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Bestselling author Perry continues her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series with another splendid success. She is so familiar with life at this time that history, attitudes and culture are slipped in seamlessly so the reader sees the world as Victorians did. Not only are Inspector Pitt and his wife fully realized, their circle of friends and acquaintances also feel real and alive. This is a series to read from the beginning.”—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
“May be [Perry’s] most intense and thrilling novel to date . . . Midnight at Marble Arch is stunning and insightful from start to finish.”—Bookreporter
“This book is packed with intrigue.”—The Huffington Post
“The monsters Anne Perry creates are not easy to live with, and their actions linger long after the book is closed.”—New York Journal of Books
“Engrossing . . . intriguing . . . Perry does a nice job exploring late Victorian attitudes toward sex crimes.”—Publishers Weekly
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble: A Novel by Ann B. Ross
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble: A Novel by Ann B. Ross
Bestselling author Ann B. Ross cooks up a batch of fun in this latest novel in her popular series
With a crisp bite in the air, Miss Julia is enjoying a well-earned respite by her new fireplace. But autumn leaves aren’t the only things falling: James, Hazel Marie’s housekeeper, has had a nasty tumble down some stairs. How can Hazel Marie feed and take care of him—not to mention a husband and two babies—when she barely knows how to boil water?
Miss Julia jumps in to help by convincing the ladies of Abbotsville to put on their aprons and give cooking lessons. With success so close she can taste it, Miss Julia isn’t thrilled when an unexpected visitor shows up. Brother Vern Puckett, Hazel Marie’s no-good uncle, started life on the wrong foot and stayed there. What could he possibly want from his frazzled niece this time?
With a delightful helping of madcap antics, Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble is a perfect next course in this charming series.
Because of You (Playing with Fire) (Volume 2) by T.E. Sivec
Because of You (Playing with Fire) (Volume 2) by T.E. Sivec
Brady Marshall has made a career of playing it safe. When he decides to do something rash and becomes a Navy SEAL, he thinks he’s finally escaped the rigid structure of the high society life his parents forced down his throat. All he does is trade in one set of rules for another. He follows military protocol to a T, but it still results in the death of an entire team of Navy SEALS and puts his best friends directly in harm’s way. He’s struggled to stay afloat and not drown in grief, guilt, and booze, but he’s losing that battle quickly. When his baby sister flees her abusive husband and shows up on his doorstep with his young niece in tow, he has no choice but to clean up his act. He will stop at nothing to protect them and never let them down again, even if it means taking a job that goes against everything he believes in. If protecting a pop star princess who thinks she’s better than everyone means he can keep a roof over their head, what other choice does he have? Layla Carlysle has lived a life of luxury. She’s been a star since the young age of fifteen, and every record she releases shoots straight to the top of the charts. She has people surrounding her every single day telling her how amazing she is, how beautiful she is, and how lucky she is, but she’s never felt more alone in her entire life. She wants nothing more than to break free and do what she really wants to do: write her own music, sing her own songs, and find a way to finally be happy with her life. The only thing standing in her way is her mother, Eve Carlysle. Eve has controlled every single aspect of her daughter’s life and will stop at nothing to achieve fame and fortune, even if that means using her daughter to get there. When an overly-amorous fan’s letters become increasingly more sinister, Brady will have to suck up his opinion of how the other half lives to take the job seriously. The pair will need to learn to trust each other and put aside their differences before the letters become a reality and someone’s life is in jeopardy. Brady has been to hell and back, and he refuses to let anyone else get close to him again. Layla has never lived her life for herself, and the emptiness is threatening to break her for good. Sometimes our lives are already planned for us, but because of you, all of that could change in an instant
Blood of the Assassin by Russell Blake
Blood of the Assassin by Russell Blake
A German hit man has targeted a world leader for execution. In a high octane race against the clock, an unlikely alliance must track and stop the assassin before he can carry out his unthinkable scheme. The fifth of the bestselling Assassin novels, Blood of the Assassin can be read as a stand-alone novel or as the continuation of the series. +++ Q&A with bestselling author Russell Blake Q: How is Blood of the Assassin different than the other Assassin books? RB: I wrote it so that it could be read by a someone who is new to my work, and unfamiliar with the prior books. In much the same way Da Vinci Code was the second in that series but was a satisfying read on its own, I wanted to try the same thing with Blood – a sequel that someone could start with knowing little or nothing about its predecessors. Having said that, it’s also consistent with the prior Assassin novels, so those who have read the series will find that it fits snugly in place. Q: So would you suggest new readers start here? RB: Sure. That’s the whole idea. I think that this book is a perfect example of my storytelling, pacing, character development, and plotting, and I’m confident that new readers will find it engaging and satisfying. Q: This volume features a lot more of Captain Cruz than the last ones. RB: Yes, I wanted him to have a central role, and explore his character more. Just as I wanted to flesh out El Rey in greater detail, and create a more nuanced story. It’s also by far the longest of the Assassin books, even after rigorous and ruthless editing. Q: So El Rey, the Mexican super-assassin, also features prominently. RB: For the same reason. I wanted to let him grow – give him a broader range. I’m particularly satisfied with how this effort turned out. El Rey fans will find everything they’ve grown to love or hate about him here, but with an evolving perspective on life. And I thought it would be fascinating to have one super-assassin hunting another. I think it wound up working well. But readers will be the ultimate judges…
Ancient Echoes by Joanne Pence
Ancient Echoes by Joanne Pence
USA Today bestselling mystery author Joanne Pence presents an intriguing paranormal thriller where past and present collide. It will appeal to fans of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs’ paranormal thrillers, and the interwoven history with current day events of Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian.
Over two hundred years ago, a covert expedition shadowing Lewis and Clark disappeared into the wilderness of Central Idaho. Now, seven anthropology students and their professor vanish in the same area. The key to finding them lies in an ancient secret, one involving alchemy, gold, and immortality…a secret that men throughout history have sought to unveil.
Michael Rempart is a brilliant archeologist whose colorful and controversial career has earned him admiring fans and implacable foes, but he is plagued by a troubling sense of the supernatural and a mysterious spiritual intuitiveness. Joining Rempart in this adventure are a CIA consultant on paranormal phenomena, a washed-up local sheriff, and a former scholar of Egyptology. All must overcome their personal demons as they attempt to save the students and, ultimately, the world.
From the Journal of Francis Masterson, 1806–
All hope is gone. Evil is victorious.
In the time I have remaining I will, herewith, impart a tale so filled with Dread and Terror that my heart overflows with immeasurable Sorrow to tell it. It began with the highest of Good Will and Promise and, on my part, great Excitement. I can only trust to Providence that one day this small account which I leave in a land of unimaginable desolation and Wildness, may be discovered, and that it will serve to warn others of the wickedness that may ensnare Good men.
Ours was to be a Secret Expedition…
Things Fall Apart (Read Red) by Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart (Read Red) by Chinua Achebe
Okonowo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West Africa and he is one of the most powerful men of his clan. But he also has a fiery temper. Determined not to be like his father, he refuses to show weakness to anyone – even if the only way he can master his feelings is with his fists. When outsiders threaten the traditions of his clan, Okonowo takes violent action. Will the great man’s dangerous pride eventually destroy him?
Safest Place by Suzanne Bugler
Safest Place by Suzanne Bugler
There is something about this dark story about ordinary, everyday people that is utterly compelling and very hard to put down. I found myself almost screaming at Jane at time, her behaviour is so frustrating and the reader knows that things are just not going to work out, even if the character pretends not to. The shock though, for the reader, is that the incident that finally breaks Jane is totally unexpected, and never quite resolved.
The Piper by Lynn Hightower
The Piper by Lynn Hightower
In this bone-chilling tale of terror from Shamus Award-winning thriller writer Lynn Hightower, a devoted mother must confront the paranormal forces that have cursed her family. – When Olivia James receives a phone call just after midnight, she recognizes her brother’s voice. But there’s a problem: her brother has been dead for the past nine weeks. Moving back to her old childhood home in Tennessee – the place where her brother has just died – her young daughter Teddy seems troubled, telling her mother that she’s being visited by a menacing ghost. When another tragic death occurs and her daughter disappears, Olivia must confront the demonic force that has cursed her family.
The Harbinger: A Darkwater Novel Book 1 by Lyza Larke
The Harbinger: A Darkwater Novel Book 1 by Lyza Larke
Indi has just moved to Darkwater and has just started a new life in a new town until the mysterious dark and dangerous Roman shows up…
Feeling drawn and haunted by him, Indi learns of a forgotten past that comes to terrify Indi and her friends, something from Roman’s past that will consume Indi whole.
Somewhere in the distance the beautiful, yet haunting melody of the sea beguiles Indi as a ghosty shadow watches on…
Will Indi deal with Roman’s past and will she be able to overcome the haunting sea that threatens to devour her?
This is a story of destined love, forgotten pasts and danger that threatens to tear Indi’s life apart.
Possessing the Grimstone by John Grover
Possessing the Grimstone by John Grover
An unknown enemy rises in the uncharted lands of the east, emerging from the mists of the Fifling sea. Armed with a powerful magical artifact thought lost over a thousand years ago, they’re destroying everything in their path. Yet hope remains, for this unstoppable evil only possesses one piece of this weapon, the Grimstone. Should they discover the remaining pieces, the world will fall.
Balance The Divine Book One Volume 1 by M.R. Forbes
Balance The Divine Book One Volume 1 by M.R. Forbes
My name is Landon Hamilton. Once upon a time I was a twenty-three year old security guard, trying to regain my life after spending a year in prison for stealing people’s credit card numbers. Now, I’m dead. Okay, I was supposed to be dead. I got killed after all; but a funny thing happened after I had turned the mortal coil… I met Dante Alighieri – yeah, that Dante. He told me I was special, a diuscrucis. That’s what they call a perfect balance of human, demon, and angel. Apparently, I’m the only one of my kind. I also learned that there was a war raging on Earth between Heaven and Hell, and that I was the only one who could save the human race from annihilation. He asked me to help, and I was naive enough to agree. Sounds crazy, I know, but he wished me luck and sent me back to the mortal world. Oh yeah, he also gave me instructions on how to use my Divine ‘magic’ to bend the universe to my will. The problem is, a sexy vampire crushed them while I was crushing on her. Now I have to somehow find my own way to stay alive in a world of angels, vampires, werewolves, and an assortment of other enemies that all want to kill me before I can mess up their plans for humanity’s future. If that isn’t enough, I also have to find the queen of all demons and recover the Holy Grail. It’s not like it’s the end of the world if I fail. Wait. It is
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