Reviews
Love Story
Claudio Roman is a world-famous tenor and perhaps even more well-known lothario. His life is the envy of men in all walks of life, until a fateful random attack leaves him a shell of his former self.
Now, three years later and no longer performing opera, he is still a singer in very high demand—but he knows he can’t be too careful about his security. Women still fawn over him too, so it is hard to understand why, when in need of a new aide and publicist to travel and be with him night and day, he would hire a small, average-looking woman who he will later compare to a sparrow.
Laura is surprised the morning after her twenty-sixth birthday party when she is called into the boss’s office and offered the job of accompanying Claudio Roman on his singing engagement—effective immediately. Hesitant at first, she accepts the opportunity and throws herself into it with all the professionalism she can bring. Soon becoming the only one Claudio requests from the agency, her dedication to making sure that Claudio has everything he needs at all times endears her to the singer. She takes her position so seriously, in fact, that she sees the opportunity to play her sincerity against his cynicism and bring him the hope he gave up long ago. As Laura desperately searches for ways to restore his confidence and stature as a premiere opera performer, she awakens feelings in Claudio he thought were lost forever.
Shadow Spell (The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy #2)
With the legends and lore of Ireland running through his blood, falconer Connor O’Dwyer is proud to call County Mayo home. It’s where his sister, Branna, lives and works, where his cousin, Iona, has found true love, and where his childhood friends form a circle that can’t be broken…
A circle that is about to be stretched out of shape—by a long-awaited kiss.
Meara Quinn is Branna’s best friend, a sister in all but blood. Her and Connor’s paths cross almost daily, as Connor takes tourists on hawk walks and Meara guides them on horseback across the lush countryside. She has the eyes of a gypsy and the body of a goddess…things Connor has always taken for granted—until his brush with death propels them into a quick, hot tangle.
Plenty of women have found their way to Connor’s bed, but none to his heart until now. Frustratingly, Meara is okay with just the heat, afraid to lose herself—and their friendship—to something more. But soon, Connor will see the full force and fury of what runs in his blood. And he will need his family and friends around him when his past rolls in like the fog, threatening an end to all he loves…
Casino Royale (James Bond #1)
In the first of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, 007 declares war on Le Chiffre, French communist and paymaster of the Soviet murder organization SMERSH.
The battle begins with a fifty-million-franc game of baccarat, gains momentum during Bond's fiery love affair with a sensuous lady spy, and reaches a chilling climax with fiendish torture at the hands of a master sadist. For incredible suspense, unexpected thrills, and extraordinary danger, nothing can beat James Bond in his inaugural adventure.
Humbled by the Journey
In “Humbled by the Journey: Life Lessons For My Family…And Yours”, from which the proceeds will go to The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, Miguel "Mike" Benito Fernandez takes readers on parallel journeys: A 508-mile pilgrimage along El Camino de Santiago from France through Spain – and from a dirt road Cuban town to the pinnacles of U.S. business success. The book shines a light on the lessons Mike has learned over a lifetime of working tirelessly, overcoming obstacles and “showing up.” The most important lesson: “You have to take care of those who come after you.”
In 2013, Mike hiked along El Camino -- an ancient, spiritual trail that attracts "pilgrims" from around the world -- with a pledge for each mile that led to more than $5 million for a children's hospital. The experience was challenging and rigorous and provided Mike with a unique opportunity to embrace his life in a deep, meaningful way. “Humbled by the Journey” is part self-portrait, part adventure story, and shuttles readers back and forth between Mike’s path on El Camino and his journey through life. El Camino becomes a metaphorical backdrop as Mike narrates the details of his 62 years of living.
In 1964, in the midst of revolutionary activity in Cuba, Mike’s family was expelled from their rural hometown without any warning or money and soon after made New York City home. Suddenly, they all were on a new trajectory of unforeseen challenges, opportunities and lessons. Mike lumbered through school, while working as a floor cleaner and delivery boy to help pay for tuition. During these years, Mike learned about values and principles from those around him, including his father and an extraordinary Jesuit priest. After a stint in the Army, Mike worked as a door-to door salesman, selling health insurance, and subsequently found his stride in business and success, against great odds.
Since then, Mike has given more than $125 million to causes focused on health care, education and those most in need. He requires only this: Recipients must want to help themselves, be willing to sacrifice to gain a better future, and promise to pay it forward when they can.
Filled with engaging stories and beautiful photographs, “Humbled by the Journey” is more than a rags-to-riches tale; it is a celebration of family, an appreciation of the brief encounters, fleeting moments and memorable events that irrevocably changed a man’s life. With humor, compassion and optimism, Mike inspires and reminds readers, that by giving to and connecting with others, they will gain for themselves the ultimate prize: a rewarding and “rich” life.
The Echoes of Love
Set against the breathtaking beauty of Italy, “The Echoes of Love” is a passionate, heart-breaking romance to ignite the senses and rekindle your belief in the power of love. Seduction, passion and secrets... Venetia Aston-Montagu has escaped to Venice to work in her godmother's architectural practice, putting a lost love behind her. For the past ten years she has built a fortress around her heart, only to find the walls tumbling down one night of the carnival when she is rescued from masked assailants by an enigmatic stranger, Paolo Barone.
Drawn to the powerfully seductive Paolo, despite warnings of his Don Juan reputation and rumours that he keeps a mistress, Venetia can't help being caught up in the smouldering passion that ignites between them. When she finds herself assigned to a project at his magnificent home deep in the Tuscan countryside, Venetia not only faces a beautiful young rival but also a sinister count and dark forces in the shadows, determined to come between them.
Can Venetia trust that love will triumph, even over her own demons? Or will Paolo's carefully guarded, devastating secret tear them apart forever?
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
When Camels Fly (Parched #1)
Seconds after Grace shoots Maggie's abductor, a handsome shepherd drops from the sky to kill a second assassin. The women's world crumbles in two blinks of an eye.
Running for their lives, they quickly unearth a global evil poised to sacrifice millions. Their pursuit of justice plunges them into a vortex of intrigue and espionage, endangering friends and family while the world teeters toward disaster. As they crisscross the "cradle of civilization," they unexpectedly extinguish old flames and ignite new loves.
How far will they have to go to save everyone and everything they hold dear? From the shadowy alleyways of old Jerusalem to a congested caravanserai in Jordan, and from elderly operatives hiding under Masada to youthful rescuers disguised as snake charmers in Jericho, the mother-daughter team soon realizes that nothing is as it seems. Even each other.
Because sometimes, doing what's right is all that's left.
An Age of License: A Travelogue
Acclaimed cartoonist Lucy Knisley (French Milk, Relish) got an opportunity that most only dream of: a travel-expenses-paid trip to Europe/Scandinavia, thanks to a book tour. An Age of License is Knisley s comics travel memoir recounting her charming (and romantic!) adventures. It s punctuated by whimsical visual devices (such as a new experiences funnel); peppered with the cute cats she meets along the way; and, of course, features her hallmark drawings and descriptions of food that will make your mouth water. But it s not all kittens and raclette crepes: Knisley s experiences are colored by anxieties, introspective self-inquiries, and quotidian revelations about traveling alone in unfamiliar countries, and about her life and career that many young adults will relate to. An Age of License which takes its name from a French saying is an Eat, Pray, Love for the alternative comics fan."
Longitude
Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution.
The scientific establishment of Europe--from Galileo to Sir Issac Newton--had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had ever been able to do on land. Longitude is a dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world.
The Brother’s Keeper (Parched #2)
While cataloging looted antiquities in Brussels, Grace learns that her son's bride has been attacked in Switzerland. Her day careens from bad to catastrophic when daughter Maggie, a hydrologist, disappears in France.
Coincidence is a luxury that Grace cannot afford. Particularly when near-fatal history—saturated in espionage—is repeating itself.
Family members convene in Paris, where they discover the key to the danger consuming them. Embedded like a taproot in the Ancient Near East, the cuneiform clay tablet is their only lifeline. But before they can save themselves, they must first find and rescue their elderly friend—if he'll let them.
On an epic journey following two brothers, crossing three continents, and spanning four thousand years, the Madison family risks it all to save it all. They rediscover and reinvest in love. Offer and receive redemption. And summon the courage to face truth: about themselves, each other, and the difference in right and wrong.
