Amatore's Restaurant: The international cast of the Recreative Theatre Company meet for their end-of-season dinner at Ristorante Amatore. As the evening progresses, each guest recalls a past liaison, an encounter which has made an impression in their life: narratives of love and tales of deceit.
Will Prudence ever discover the identity of the elusive stranger she meets on a train? Just how much of a con-man is Monsieur Raul? Has Cordelia's unconventional approach to men proved to be a success? A common theme begins to unfold: hidden truths behind the motives for seduction.
As the evening draws to a close, emotions rise to the surface. Declarations of love are expressed, jealousies and resentments run deep. Who will think back to the evening as a success and who will regard it as nothing more than a disaster?
Intriguing, erotic, insightful and perceptive. This novel explores the relationship between characters with a refreshing approach to the theme of seduction.
Part Two: Sensual Desires - Another seven episodes from Amatore's Restaurant. New characters come into play: The imaginative wife Samantha, the mysterious Frau Eisler, and the psychopathic Nicole, each manipulating the situation to suit their own purpose.
From the stormy atmosphere of Spain to the exotic forests of Brazil and the rolling countryside of Brittany; evocative settings which provide a perfect background for these engrossing characters.
Note: This book contains adult content; there are passages which describe sex explicitly.
He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.
He speaks Spanish. I speak English.
He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.
He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.
He’s married and has a five-year-old daughter. I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.
Until now. Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.
To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people, and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.
Mateo Casalles is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close, and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something… more. Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time. Something that can never, ever be. Or so she thinks.
Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his position at the University of Toronto to embark on a new life with his beloved Julianne. Together, they’re confident that they can face any challenge. And he’s eager to become a father.
But Julianne’s graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans, as the pressures of being a student become all consuming. When she is given the honor of presenting an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel is forced to confront her about the subject of her presentation – research that conflicts with his own. And in Oxford, several individuals from their past appear, including an old nemesis intent on humiliating Julia and exposing one of Gabriel’s darkest secrets.
In an effort to confront his remaining demons, Gabriel begins a quest to discover more about his biological parents, beginning a chain of events that has startling repercussions for himself, Julianne, and his hope of having a family.
A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire—though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins.
A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature.
The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.
And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.
What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow.
Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.
When Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina's ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own.
The house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends, the Halletts, but also to the people who lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and talk to the inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon finds herself falling for Daniel Butler, a man who lived - and died - long before she herself was born.
Eva begins to question her place in the present, and in laying her sister to rest, comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so drawn towards.
✔Royalty ✔Funny ✔Sexy ✔Romantic ✔Strong Heroine
This hilarious mix of Princess Diaries and One Night with the King will leave you in stitches and filled with romance from another land.
The beautiful land of Bantaniomos had everything - the great smell of the ocean, the pathways were made of cobblestone, and the streets were gray bricks. The buildings looked like they were centuries old, but they had been kept up. And the best thing? They had a hunk as a Prince.
But for Anna from Montana, going there was the perfect escape from her usual life, and she didn't care much for the Prince - until she was suddenly kidnapped and was woken up in the palace.
She suddenly found herself in a competition for the Prince's heart - Anna sure doesn’t know how, but she knew that she had to stay away from the Prince as much as she could. With her mischievous ways and un-royal manners, she was sure that the Prince wouldn’t pick her.
But what if the Prince was as determined to be with her as she was determined to stay away from him?
Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen; or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
Widowed Anna Wren is having a wretched day. After an arrogant male on horseback nearly squashes her, she arrives home to learn that she is in dire financial straits.
When she must do the unthinkable...
The Earl of Swartingham is in a quandary. Having frightened off two secretaries, Edward de Raaf needs someone who can withstand his bad temper and boorish behavior. And find employment.
When Anna becomes the earl's secretary, it would seem that both their problems are solved. Then she discovers he plans to visit the most notorious brothel in London for his "manly" needs. Well! Anna sees red—and decides to assuage her "womanly" desires...with the earl as her unknowing lover.
In the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale.
Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella—until fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! So she set out to make a new life for herself. But breaking with "The Tradition" was no easy matter—until she got a little help from her own fairy godmother. Who promptly offered Elena a most unexpected job...
Now, instead of sleeping in the chimney, she has to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who keep trying to rise above their place in the tale. And there's one in particular who needs to be dealt with...
Sometimes a fairy godmother's work is never done...
Bestselling author Judith McNaught masterfully portrays a remarkable heroine, and an unforgettable passion, in this powerfully moving love story -- one of her most beloved novels of all time!
The tempestuous marriage of Alexandra Lawrence, an innocent country girl, and Jordan Townsende, the rich and powerful Duke of Hawthorne, is about to face its ultimate test of tender loyalty. Swept into the endlessly fascinating world of London society, free-spirited Alexandra becomes ensnared in a tangled web of jealousy and revenge, stormy pride and overwhelming passion. But behind her husband's cold, arrogant mask, there lives a tender, vital, sensual man...the man Alexandra married. Now, she will fight for his very life...and the rapturous bond they alone can share.
Jim Eckert was a dragon. He hadn't planned it that way, but that's what happened when he set out to rescue his betrothed. Following her through an erratic astral-projection machine, Jim suddenly found himself in a cockeyed world - locked in the body of a talking dragon named Gorbash.
That wouldn't have been so bad if his beloved Angie were also a dragon. But in this magical land, that was not the case. Angie had somehow remained a very female human - or a george, as the dragons called any human. And Jim, no matter what anyone called him, was a dragon.
To make matters worse, Angie had been taken prisoner by an evil dragon and was held captive in the impenetrable Loathly Tower. So in this land where georges were edible and beasts were magical - where spells worked and logic didn't - Jim Eckert had a problem.
And he needed help, by george!
To Arabella Tallant, the eldest daughter of a penniless country clergyman, the invitation to stay with her London godmother was like the key to heaven. In addition to living in the glamorous city, Arabella might even find a suitable husband there. Armed with beauty, virtue, and a benevolent godmother, the impetuous but impoverished Arabella embarked on her first London season with her mother's wish in mind: snare a rich husband.
On her way to London, Arabella's carriage breaks down outside the hunting lodge of the wealthy and socially prominent Robert Beaumaris. Fate cast her in his path. Arabella's only fault is impetuosity, and her pride is stung when she overhears a remark from her arrogant host, who accused her of being another petty female after his wealth. The proud, headstrong ingenue made a most startling claim — she was an heiress! A pretense that deeply amuses the jaded Beau.
To counter her white lie, Beaumaris launches her into high society, thereby subjecting her to all kinds of amorous fortune hunters in London and other embarrassments. Suddenly, Arabella found herself the talk of the ton and pursued by some of the most eligible young men of the day. But only one caught Arabella's fancy: Beaumaris, the handsome and dedicated bachelor. She should know better than to allow herself to be provoked by nonpareil Beau. But would her deceitful charade destroy her one chance for true love?
Beaumaris, however, although a most artful matrimonial dodger, badly underestimated his seemingly naive adversary. When compassionate Arabella rescues such unfortunate creatures as a mistreated chimney sweep and a mixed-breed mongrel, she foists them upon Beaumaris, who finds he rather enjoys the role of rescuer and is soon given the opportunity to prove his worth in the person of Bertram Tallant, the also impetuous young brother of Arabella.
Being confronted on the beach by a sexy stranger wasn't part of Natalie Conner's plans for a peaceful morning taking photos. And why on earth would he think she's taking pictures of him, anyway? Who is he? One thing’s for sure, he’s hot, and incredibly romantic, feeding Natalie’s wounded soul.
Luke Williams just wants the world to give him a break, so seeing yet another camera aimed at his face has him ready to pounce on the beauty behind the lens. When he finds out she has no idea who he is, he's intrigued and more than a little tempted by her. Natalie has a body made for sex, a sassy mouth, and Luke can’t get enough of her, but he’s not ready to tell her who he really is.
Natalie is a no-nonsense girl who doesn’t do well with lies and secrets. What will happen to this new relationship when she discovers what Luke’s hiding?
Are you sure you want to say that to your boss’s face? - Adrian Kingston
A day of rest and relaxation is overdue, and Adrian Kingston, owner of one of the largest corporations in the world, spends it with his assistant, Emily. With the advances he's been making, it's pretty obvious that he wants her in his bed. And badly…
But the lengths he will go through to accomplish this may become the reason he would want her to be more than just a fling. As Adrian sees the side of Emily that’s headstrong and stubborn, he can't help but be drawn to her little quirks as well. Everything about her intrigues him.
A heated debate ensues after she refuses to participate in a business deal he wants to do with her help. As anger and frustration creep into his head, it leads to a sexual tension that results in a moment that will change the whole dynamic of their relationship.
The best things in life happen when you least expect it. For Anna, becoming Zach’s fiancé is something she never dreamed of, and being Queen is far from the fantasy life she imagined. Fate plays a different card for her, and she takes the leap with her prince in tow. Now she’s ready to take on another name and be with her man. But fairy tale happy ever after all have their price.
All she has to do now is breathe in a little deeper, and take the plunge.
At thirty-three, Warner Truman is one of the richest men on the planet, a spa mogul who buys and sells resorts at will. He holds powerful executive’s careers in his well-groomed hands. Nothing is beyond Warner’s reach…until he meets her.
Stunning, tantalizing, and perverse, Taddy Brill captivates Warner’s carnal desire like no woman he’s ever met. A self-made millionaire, Taddy is tougher than steel, more brilliant than diamonds and, at twenty-seven, she’s never depended on a man for anything…until she meets him.
The more Taddy plays with Warner’s affections, driving him to erotic heights, the more she is confronted by a dark past. But before she can love him, Taddy must meet her worst fears head-on or risk losing it all, including herself.