From steam-powered bunkers to steamy boudoirs, paranormal detective Phaeton Black knows his way around Victorian London. But sometimes, when you slip down a rabbit hole, there's no turning back...If The Portal's A-Rockin'Phaeton Black is missing. Sucked into an alternative universe—courtesy of Professor Lovecraft's Trans-Dimensional Injection Portal—the illustrious investigator is nowhere to be found. Even the bewitching Miss America Jones, who's pregnant with Phaeton's child, has no clue to his whereabouts. But when a spy fly's microphone picks up Phaeton's voice in the parlors of Paris, she enlists his dearest friends to track him down—before his deadliest enemies find him first.Don't Come A-Knockin'Accompanied by the dashing Dr. Exeter, his delightful ward Mia, and a trusty duo of Nightshades, it's off to the City of Lights for the determined Miss Jones. Unfortunately, there is something about Paris in the fall that brings out the devil in Dr. Exeter—and the beast in mild-mannered Mia, whose animal urges transform her into a gorgeous panther. With physical reality unraveling on both sides of the cosmic rift, the good doctor must extract Phaeton Black from the clutches of a diabolical techno-wizard—or both could lose the women they love to love...forever.

Harry Pennyngton, Earl of Anneslea, is surprised when his estranged wife, Elise, arrives home for Christmas, especially as she is still intent on divorce! The festive house party is in full swing when the guests are snowed in, and Harry and Elise find themselves together beneath the mistletoe.

When Ellen Carr abandons grey, dreary London to become housekeeper at an experimental school in Austria, she finds her destiny. Swept into an idyllic world of mountains, music, eccentric teachers and wayward children, Ellen brings order and joy to all around her. But it’s the handsome, mysterious gardener, Marek, who intrigues her — Marek, who has a dangerous secret. As Hitler’s troops spread across Europe, Ellen has promises to keep, even if they mean she must sacrifice her future happiness… A Song for Summer is an unforgettable love story from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan.

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina's focus remains on the sword. Russia's fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.

Sir Waldo Hawkridge, known in London society as 'the Nonesuch' for his sporting abilities and perfect manners, is obliged to go into Yorkshire to inspect a property that he has just inherited. Sir Waldo is a very wealthy and philanthropic man, and intends to renovate the house to turn it into yet another of his charity orphanages. While there, he meets Tiffany Wield, a positively dazzling young heiress who is entirely selfish and possessed of a frightful temper, as well as her far more elegant companion-governess, Ancilla Trent. While Waldo's young cousin, Lord Lindeth, falls in and out of love with the young ladies of the neighborhood, Waldo must convince the practical Miss Trent that it is not above her station as a governess to fall in love with him.

Book 1 of the Bluestocking Brides Trilogy. Miss Rachel Odell and Cory, Lord Newlyn, are childhood friends but when Cory comes to Midwinter Royal to assist Rachel's antiquarian parents in the excavation of the famous burial site, they find their feelings for each other have changed. Rachel and Cory want different things in life. Rachel detests the travelling that has always been a part of her parents' profession. To Cory the quest for adventure is as necessary as breathing. But now Cory has another pursuit on his mind… How can he make Rachel see that they could be so much more than just good friends?

Hot on the heels of The Mischief of the Mistletoe (2010), Willig’s engaging spy series continues with an adventure set in Napoleonic France. Fresh out of spy school, Laura Grey has been dubbed the Silver Orchid and sent to France to be a governess to the children of Andre Jaouen, the deputy minister of police. It is up to Laura to discover if Jaouen and the sinister inspector Gaston Delaroche are about to thwart a Royalist plot to put a prince of royal blood back on the throne. Working with the legendary spy known as the Pink Carnation, Laura is surprised to uncover where Jaouen’s loyalties truly lie when a respected artist, Antoine Daubier, is arrested by the dastardly Delaroche. After rescuing Daubier and being forced to flee France with him and the royal heir, Laura and Andre pose as a married couple in a troupe of actors and find themselves battling their powerful feelings for each other. Another delightfully delectable adventure from Willig, who expands her rich, appealing stable of characters with each entry.

Two women competing for a man’s heart…Two queens fighting to the death for dominance…The untold story of Mary, Queen of Scots.Fleeing rebels in Scotland on Queen Elizabeth’s false promise of sanctuary, Mary, Queen of Scots, finds herself imprisoned as the “guest” of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick. Soon the newly married couple’s home becomes the center of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, and their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the headsman. Using new research and her passion for historical accuracy, Gregory places the doomed queen into a completely new tale of suspense, passion, and political intrigue.

To escape marriage to a despised man twice her age, Lady Aurora Demming makes a scandalous arrangement with Nicholas Sabine, a dangerously handsome American facing execution for murder and piracy. She agrees to become his wife for one day . . . and one glorious, intoxicating night. Widowed, Aurora returns to London society with Nicholas's orphaned sister at her side to face a lifetime without love-until her "dead" husband returns, insisting that she honor their vows and haunting her dreams with promises of forbidden desire. . . .

Eva understands Hitler is married to Germany and must herself stand back unacknowledged as he enclasps the world in a passionate, python-like thrall. Until the last days in the final chapter of the Third Reich (and the first chapter of the novel) when Adolf and Eva move into their first home together, the Führerbunker. There, deep underground, hidden from the light of day and the light of history, but laid fully bare to the author’s unblinking eye, Eva Braun’s unquestioning patriotism and patience finally pay off in a private wedding ceremony and a cyanide capsule.

Mueller imagines the claustrophobic and morally twisted underground world of the Third Reich’s last gasp. All the Führer’s men and women, like rats in a trap, grow more and more desperate, more and more perverse, as they compete for the final crumbs of attention from their doomed leader. Only one soul remains calm amid the chaos, the ever-patient, ever pliant paramour of the vilest man who ever lived. As the world around them goes astoundingly mad, their devotion to each other remains unsullied. Trusting. Even innocent.

After a series of mishaps, Mr. Darcy is in a foul mood when he arrives at the estate his friend, Charles Bingley, rented in Hertfordshire. His mood persists at the assembly he is forced to attend, accounting for his diatribe about country life and even the lovely Elizabeth Bennet, who hears his disparaging remarks. When the two meet again at Rosings, Darcy is totally smitten by Elizabeth, while she still holds a grudge, causing another clash when he proposes. Darcy holds no hope until his cousin, Anne de Bourgh, steps in to play matchmaker to the reluctant pair with the help of Darcy’s all-too observant sister, Georgiana. Using her creative license, Simonsen offers her insights into Austen’s beloved characters in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice, giving prominence to minor characters’ influence over the mismatched couple so that true love will prevail. For instance, Anne de Bourgh is not her overbearing mother’s puppet but rather a much beloved cousin who chooses her battles, giving the story a unique spin.

The Barnes Noble ReviewIn this captivating historical romance about Stephanie Laurens's intriguing Cynster family, an unexpectedly perilous house party is the setting for an equally unexpected love match between Simon Cynster and Portia Ashford. Simon has known Portia for ages, and his natural protectiveness toward her has always encouraged her defiance. Their clashes have only gotten worse since his sister wed her brother (in On a Wicked Dawn). But, when Portia decides it's time for her to explore the passions that inspire men and women to marry, she needs a tutor who is both discreet and accomplished. Despite Simon's rakish reputation, she knows she can trust him absolutely…if she can persuade him to go along with her wild plan. What she doesn't know is that Simon has also decided it's time to marry, and he's prepared to employ all his seductive wiles to persuade Portia to become not just his paramour but also his wife. In a family known for bold warriors and passionate lovers, Simon Cynster is about to prove himself The Perfect Lover. This volume also includes a teaser chapter for Laurens's exciting Bastion Club series, scheduled to debut in the fall of 2003. Sue Stone

Happily married for over a year and more in love than ever, Darcy and Elizabeth can’t imagine anything interrupting their bliss-filled days. Then an intense snowstorm strands a group of travelers at Pemberley, and terrifying accidents and mysterious deaths begin to plague the manor. Everyone seems convinced that it is the work of a phantom—a Shadow Man who is haunting the Darcy family’s grand estate. Darcy and Elizabeth believe the truth is much more menacing and that someone is trying to murder them. But Pemberley is filled with family guests as well as the unexpected travelers—any one of whom could be the culprit—so unraveling the mystery of the murderer’s identity forces the newlyweds to trust each other’s strengths and work together.Written in the style of the era and including Austen’s romantic playfulness and sardonic humor, this suspense-packed sequel to Pride and Prejudice recasts Darcy and Elizabeth as a husband-and-wife detective team who must solve the mystery at Pemberley and catch the murderer—before it’s too late.

When William X dies, the duchy of Aquitaine is left to his fifteen year-old daughter, Eleanor. But such a position for an unmarried woman puts the whole kingdom at risk. So on his deathbed William made a will that would ensure his daughter’s protection: he promised her hand in marriage to the future King of France.Eleanor grows into a romantic and beautiful queen, but she has inherited the will of a king, and determines to rule Aquitaine using her husband’s power as King of France. Her resolve knows no limit and, in the years to follow she was to become one of history’s most scandalous queens.

Angelet HansonThe tale is long and complicated, but attention is held as Angelet, daughter of Annora and Rolf of Midsummer's Eve, begins to enter adulthood. One incident marks her indelibly. At the superstition-laden pool of St. Branok in Cornwall, she is saved from a rapist by Ben, a young family connection on a visit from Australia. When she and Ben dispose of the attacker's body in the pool, their bond is strengthened. Ben returns to Australia in pursuit of gold; Angelet debuts in London and marries a charming scapegrace, a gambler who will eventually take her to Australia in pursuit of a fortune. There the stage is set for Angelet, by now a widow, and Ben, a putative widower.

Victoria Holt demonstrates her mastery once again in her most exciting novel set in turn-of-the-century England where a young woman grows up in the shadow of the great estate - and privileged way of life - that was once her family's birthright. But a unique inheritance compels Jessica Clavering to marry the owner of a fabled opal mine and leads her to faraway Australia. There she will discover the mysteries - and evil - surrounding the greatest opal ever found. There she must confront the danger that lust for the stone has aroused even in her own husband - and there she must find love.

Young and idealistic, the Prince of Wales develops a deep affection for a beautiful quakeress, Hannah Lightfoot, who catches his eye as he is riding through the streets. A first meeting is arranged, leading to several more, and eventually they discreetly marry in a secluded house where they live as man and wife. She is prepared to betray her beliefs for him, just as he is willing to defy the desires of various courtiers for her. Eventually, his mother’s lover Lord Bute uncovers the affair and Hannah mysteriously disappears.The novel explores the lasting question, did the future George III contradict royal protocol and marry a commoner? Shortly after his affair with Hannah, he becomes King George III. After a potential engagement to Sarah Lennox falls through, he marries Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The untimely death of Richard the Lionheart left his nephew Arthur and his younger brother John in contest for the throne of England. Reluctantly the barons chose John, and so began years of rule by a ruthless and greedy tyrant. Yet despite his reputation, John, still manages to seduce the young and beautiful Isabella of Angeloume. But in taking her as his bride he makes an enemy for life. And in the tempestuous years that follow many men come to believe that the House of Anjou was tainted by the Devil's blood, the loathsome monarch was himself Evil Incarnate, the very Prince of Darkness...

Two former lovers, Dare, the Marquess of Wolverton, England's most notorious rake, and Julienne, a beautiful actress, play a provocative game of seduction and intrigue as they become patriotic allies in a dangerous search to bring down a secret traitor whose treachery threatens the British crown.

With the advent of Joseph Stalin to power in 1927, the Soviet Union begins to turn into a monstrous totalitarian state eager to enslave its own population and consume the neighboring countries. But the world is not aware of what is going on since Soviet Russia closely guards its secrets and knows how to deal with the inquisitive.

Nina Kupina, a Russian political exile, is abducted by the Soviet agents in China who bring her to Moscow. She takes refuge at the house of Oscar Reich, an American millionaire who, unaccountably, has a privilege to run a private enterprise in the USSR.

Nina suspects that Mr. Reich is not who he pretends to be, and there is some shady deal between him and the Bolsheviks. But she accepts his advances, knowing that he is the only person able to help her return home to her husband, Klim, who is living in Shanghai.

Little does she know that Klim is already in Russia looking for her. To make inquiries about Nina’s whereabouts, he takes a position in the United Press as a correspondent in Moscow. His search leads him not to the reunion with his wife but to his imminent arrest as a spy. And Oscar Reich is ready to do everything to make sure Klim gets into the trap set by the OGPU (the predecessor of the KGB).