Showing results by narrator "Lillian Rachel" in All Categories

Necromancers infest the land of Alderyth, fueling a dark plague that always kills its victims. For Nell, it’s more than a story told by travelers. The deathmark claimed her family and fated her to a life of servitude. When a battered old hag collapses in her arms, suspicion swirls through her fearful town. Could Nell be a carrier of the plague? She flees rather than submit to prying authorities, but not without trouble.

After Miss Catherine Tregowyn, poet, and Dr. Harry Bascombe, her bête noire, discover a body in the Somerville College chapel, they are declared suspects in a murder inquiry. How can they prove their innocence? The pair decide they must launch their own investigation into the strangling of Oxford don, Agatha Chenowith. But working as a team will not be easy. Their relations are anything but cordial.

Miss Charlotte despises the man she's supposed to marry. Of course, she hasn't actually met the Earl's son, but from the letters they've exchanged, he's exactly the sort of overbearing brute she can't stand. Not at all like that handsome, witty, romantic stranger she met at the bookshop. She agrees to meet this intriguing stranger in the garden at midnight, not realizing that the man she's agreed to meet...is the same man she's vowed to hate.

North and South follows the young Margaret Hale as she is caught in the middle of the brutal world between employers and local workers following the Industrial Revolution. She finds herself at odds from the very start with John Thornton, a local factory owner and self-made man, as she believes him to be unfeeling and callous about the poverty and suffering of the workers while John sees Margaret as haughty and entitled. Further conflicts arise when the workers strike and Margaret feels compelled to intervene with no regard for her own safety.

Thus far, Cassandra’s abysmal luck has kept her from reaching her goals. With no husband and no household, she’s beginning to wonder if she has a future at all. A surprising encounter with a cunning thief brings more to light than Cassandra is prepared to handle. But the lady has never backed down from a challenge, and it seems this mystery man might have finally met his match. When circumstances, once again, threaten Lady Cassandra’s dreams, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her careful plans for the thief who has stolen her heart.

Captain Dylan Blake has spent the last decade fighting for his country. Desperate for a little peace, he sells his commission and returns to England but soon finds himself angry and adrift in London Society. When an old nemesis challenges him to a wager - he must get Lady Natalia Sinclair to dance with him twice in one evening - he is willing to play along. As the lines between the wager and attraction blur, can Dylan and Natalia find the courage to take the biggest gamble of all - love?

When it was first published in 1847, Wuthering Heights was considered highly controversial for its blunt portrayal of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and the dismissal of Christian values by some of its characters. Today, this gothic novel is considered one of the greatest in English literature.

Her reputation tarnished and her prospects all but gone, the School of Charm's headmistress has nothing left to lose. At least, that's what Miss Farthington believed. But now she's being pursued by a man as charming as he is clever, and she's realized that she was wrong. She still has something very dear left to lose...her heart.

Elizabeth Bennett never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennett accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband's heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?

Church Planting Thresholds explores both the why's and the how's of church planting, providing "Thresholds" that serve as progress mileposts along the church-planting journey. This simple guide will encourage ordinary Christians as they seek to fulfill the great commission through planting churches.

Madame Pratolungo is a close companion to Lucilla Finch, a young woman who has been blind since birth. Madame Pratolungo records the narrative of Lucilla's trials from falling in love with Oscar Duborg, her wealthy and shy neighbor, to ending up in a romantic entanglement between Oscar and his brother Nugent. When Lucilla temporarily regains her sight thanks to Herr Grosse, mistaken identities and manipulative schemes are there to greet her.

Plagued by misfortune, Ingrid Norling treks into the woods to clear her head. She emerges a monster-slayer, the shaken executioner of a creature so ferocious that even the king's strongest warriors could not destroy it. In a land that reveres swords and worships strength, this accidental heroism earns Inge an audience at court and an ill-fated prize: King Halvard impulsively adopts her and names her as his heir.

There's no love lost between this shy wallflower and society's most formidable duke. The Duke of Mandrick has made it clear he's only aiding Felicity's successful entrance into society because he's taken pity on his friend's poor country relation. Luckily for Felicity, her chaperone Lady Greta has agreed to tutor her in the art of flirtation. And since the coldhearted duke is the last man to fall for her charms, he's the perfect man to practice on.

As a renowned wizard, Fitzwilliam Darcy thinks he is familiar with most of the spells, enchantments, and magic practiced in the wizarding world. When he reluctantly joins his friend Bingley in Meryton, a small town not known for its magic, he is startled to stumble upon the rare gift possessed by Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The daughter of a poor country squire, she possesses a singular talent: She is not only immune to magic, but she can counter enchantments as well.

‘Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s dishonor upon his soul, and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society. If his 15-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, her scandal could destroy years of perfect behavior.

She's on the run from her cruel guardian... And Miss Adelaide has found the perfect hiding spot in the home of the formidable Earl of Tolston. But masquerading as a maid comes at a cost. One day she faints on the job, and when she wakes... She's in the arms of the Earl. His eyes are dark as he glowers down at her, but then he says, "What are you hiding, little one?"

Two women, one ancient Egyptian harem, and the daring decision that changed the course of history. In the opulent court of Egypt’s tenth dynasty, Princess Hagar has always known her destiny. One day, she will marry the Crown Prince Merikare and become the Great Royal Wife, the most powerful woman in Egypt. But dark dreams afflict Hagar the moment she hears of the latest addition to Pharaoh’s harem: The stunning, iridescent Sumerian, Sarai. Princess Hagar feels a powerful presence around the Sumerian woman.

“Mr Darcy, I am eager to hear your explanation for the fact that quite a few people believe we are engaged.” It starts with a bit of well-meant advice. Colonel Fitzwilliam suggests to his cousin Darcy that, before he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in Kent, perhaps he ought to discuss his plans with their families first. What neither man could have predicted however was that Lord Matlock would write the news to his sister, or that Viscount Saye would overhear and tell his friends, or that his friends might slip a little and let their friends know as well.

When the Marquess comes to court her sister, Louisa has one job... To stay out of trouble, and remain out of sight. She's failing spectacularly. But Louisa never expects the irritatingly charming Marquess to find her dancing alone in the moonlight, or that he'll be the one to catch her when she falls out of a window attempting to be unseen. And the more the Marquess tries to draw her out of her sister's shadow, the more clear it becomes. It's not just her reputation that's in trouble . . . it's her heart.

When the dashing spy finds the painfully shy wallflower alone in the library...Miss Lydia has been mistaken for many things. A part of the draperies, for example. And once...a potted fern. But she's never been mistaken for a spy before. Until now. But now a ridiculously handsome Viscount has come in her life, who's as cryptic as he is charming. And he seems intent on wooing the world's most timid wallflower.