Sometimes the only way to find home is to leave it. Dori Bardwell's father was the white Southern author of THE novel about slavery, a man who settled his large family up north in a replica of a plantation house and never spoke of his past. A tragic accident pulled Dori from college to care for her only remaining brother, but now the money is running out, her ex-boyfriend appears intent on revenge, a media baron has designs on her father's last, unfinished manuscript, and her own thoughtless blackface joke is about to go viral and turn her life upside down. With a new, media-savvy African American friend, Dori embarks on a voyage into her family's secret history that might just lead her right back to where she started. If you like humorous, heartfelt book club fiction with a strong romantic thread, a love of literature, and a sharp eye for race and class in America, you'll love BARDWELL'S FOLLY. "Dori is a fabulous, sympathetic character, caught up in a rollicking, funny, original, beautifully-written journey." -- Lucia Nevai, author of SALVATION "Once again, Sandra Hutchison expertly weaves enticing characters with captivating imagery, creating a story so engrossing it's impossible to put down and even harder to forget." -- S.M. Freedman, author of THE FAITHFUL and IMPACT WINTER Includes discussion questions.
When she hears that her younger brother Danny has committed suicide, Sayre Lynch relents from her vow never to return to Destiny, the small Louisiana town in which she grew up. She plans to leave immediately after the funeral, but instead soon finds herself drawn into the web cast by Huff Hoyle, her controlling and tyrannical father, the man who owns the town's sole industry, an iron foundry, and in effect runs the lives of everyone who lives there. As she feared, Sayre learns that nothing has changed. Her father and older brother, Chris, are as devious as ever, and now they have a new partner-in-crime, a canny and disarming lawyer named Beck Merchant, who appears to be their equal in corruption. Soon, Sayre is thrown in closer contact with Beck and becomes convinced that something more sinister is at play than her father's usual need to dominate people and events. As she sets out to learn just what did happen to Danny, she comes to realize that there are many secrets in Destiny -- secrets that hide decades of pain and anger, and that threaten at any moment to erupt and destroy not only her father and brother, but perhaps Sayre herself. Underneath the rigid control that the Hoyles exert over the town, trouble is brewing. Old hatreds foster plans for revenge, past crimes resurface, and a maverick deputy sheriff determines that Danny Hoyle's death was not suicide, but murder. As tensions mount, threatening to ignite a powder keg of long-held hostility, Sayre finds herself inextricably drawn into a struggle with striking laborers, her unscrupulous father, and her own emotions over the love/hate relationship that is growing with Beck, a man apparently with his own agenda, and mysteries of his own. As she has shown in the dozens of bestselling novels in which she has combined hard-edged suspense with intense emotion, Sandra Brown is a master storyteller, and in her new novel she is at her very best.
One of romance’s best-loved authors, Sandra Brown creates love stories whose “larger-than-life heroes and heroines make you believe all the warm, wonderful, wild things in life” (Rendezvous). Now the New York Times bestselling author delivers a poignant, funny, and irresistibly sensual novel about one night in the life of a man and a woman that will change their future forever. Television producer Brin Cassidy was throwing the biggest dinner party of her life. And with everything in utter chaos, who should show up unannounced on her doorstep but her handsome estranged husband, Jon Riley. Brin had not only worked with the popular star of Riley in the Morning, she had fallen in love with and married him. She knew she owed Riley an explanation for why she walked out. But did he have to come on this of all nights? Temperamental, charismatic, and devastatingly blue-eyed, Riley was a man who knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t leaving until he got it. But the sensuous and strong-willed beauty he still called his wife was every bit his match. From dusk until dawn the two will experience a second honeymoon of passion, seduction, and deep revelation that will determine if there is any future for Riley in the morning.
I met a man, a wonderful man. He kissed me, touched me like no other man ever has. I think I’ve fallen in love. What am I going to do about it? That’s the dilemma confronting Keely Preston upon meeting dashing Congressman Dax Devereaux. The attraction between them was like a lightning strike – hot and unexpected. But also terribly inconvenient. Keely is in Washington D.C. to appeal to a congressional committee on behalf of families of soldiers Missing In Action. Serving on that committee is Dax. Both are under close scrutiny. What has sparked between them is difficult to keep secret. After twelve years of living in limbo, married but alone, Keely is reawakened to desire by Dax’s passion. But he also touches her heart, where she has preserved the sweet memory of her husband. One love represents her past; another her future. Will clinging to one mean having to sacrifice the other?
In a vibrant New Mexico art community, a career-driven young teacher is irresistibly drawn to a sexy and mysterious TV star with a dark past. Lauri is a dedicated young teacher for the deaf. Her past conceals a wound still unhealed, her present is a facade, and she uses her career to hide her loneliness. Drake, daytime TV's most popular actor, has two secrets -- the dead wife he can't forget and his daughter Jennifer, a hearing-impaired child who may become a pawn between the man and the woman she needs most. Now, in a chic New Mexico arts community, the three are given a chance to be a family . . . but each of them must find a voice to express the deepest fears and greatest needs of the heart.
Of the lot, this man was still her best bet. He not only looked the most inebriated, but the most disreputable – lean and hungry and totally without principle. Once he was sober, he would no doubt be easy to buy. “Sister” Kerry Bishop got more than she bargained for when she entered the seedy bar seeking the services of a man, more particularly a mercenary. Linc O’Neal wasn’t the soldier of fortune Kerry mistook him for...but he proved to be just as dangerous and twice as unscrupulous. Linc agrees to help Kerry rescue a group of children from a ruthless dictator, but his motivation is far from noble. If they survive what appears to be a suicide mission, he plans to take Kerry’s promised fifty thousand dollars—in addition to her body—which she provocatively advertised in order to trick him, then withheld. With innocent lives at stake, malevolence and distrust all around, and forbidden desire simmering between them, the steamy atmosphere surrounding Kerry and Linc has little to do with the jungle they must penetrate. Struggling against all odds to stay alive, they discover that their real challenge is to fight the devil within.
FREE PREVIEW OF THE FIRST 5 CHAPTERS From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown comes a gripping story of family ties and forbidden attraction. A Texas Ranger, relegated to deskwork due to past recklessness, petitions to regain custody of his five-year-old daughter, and his case is assigned to a family court judge who is as attractive as she is ambitious. When a masked gunman barges in during the custody hearing with his sights on the judge, the Ranger reacts instinctually and goes after him. But authorities apprehend the wrong man, and the real gunman remains unknown, at large, and a threat. Will this take-charge lawman jeopardize his chances of custody by going after the would-be assassin? And will this unlikely pair be able to deny the forbidden attraction building between them?
When a determined doctor meets the rebellious heir to a Texas oil dynasty, sparks fly . . . but the flames of passion blazing between them could destroy an empire. No one knows why Dr. Lara Mallory opened up her medical practice in the rowdy Texas town controlled by Tackett Oil. But everyone remembers her role in the well-publicized scandal that caused the downfall of White House hopeful Senator Clark Tackett. Now the iron-fisted matriarch of Tackett Oil intends to use her money and power to drive Lara out of town . . . especially when Lara meets Key, the hell-raising -- and handsome -- youngest Tackett son. Following a cataclysmic meeting, this determined doctor and brash, daring pilot find themselves hurtling on a dangerous quest for the one secret that can destroy the Tackett empire -- and anyone who dares to challenge its power. But Lara decides to find the truth behind the corruption in town, even if it costs her everything.
From the beloved Sandra Brown, whose "storytelling gift [is] surprisingly rare" (Toronto Sun), comes this New York Times bestselling novel, an exquisitely sensual tale of a young woman's sudden, irresistible affair with a stranger—a man whose secret could shatter her life.... Since the death of her husband, Alicia Russell has struggled to take care of her two young sons alone. But when a sudden storm threatens to ruin a family camping trip, Alicia must rely upon a stranger for help. Before long, the man offers much more than shelter from the storm. Handsome, sensual, and slightly mysterious, Pierce Reynolds showers much-needed attention on Alicia's sons—and reminds her how it feels to be desired. But even as Pierce tempts Alicia to explore her newly reawakened longings, he holds her at arm's length, his only explanation a silent refusal to share the secrets of his heart. Alicia knows she can't give Pierce up without a fight. But how can she convince him that love is a risk worth taking?
A young mother stranded on a Texas highway is rescued by a handsome hero in a pickup truck . . . and now, she must face the fears of the past or risk losing the greatest love she's ever known. Leigh is terrifyingly alone on a Texas road about to deliver her first child when a rugged stranger in a pickup truck stops to help her. Eight months ago, she lost her husband when he was tragically killed on the job. This fateful meeting on a lonesome highway has brought a new man into her life . . . but he's a man with secrets and the power to break her heart again. Chad is in a dangerous business and hides the mysteries of his past. He is determined to make Leigh care for him, but there are no guarantees that his love can protect her from disaster. Together, this young mother and mysterious stranger will discover the depths of their love . . . and face their worst fears.
Sloan Fairchild has made a rousing success of her elegant San Francisco bed-and-breakfast inn, but her love life has suffered--until her best friend's fiance comes to stay for a month. Should Sloan betray her friend, or deny her heart?
A beautiful fashion buyer is still in love with someone from her past -- and now, she must choose between him and the man she's planning to marry. Kathleen, a smart and sophisticated woman, is ready to marry the man of her dreams -- but she's in love with someone else. Erik is a talented videographer who finds women easy to love but doesn't want to settle down. And Seth, the wealthy heir to a department store fortune, could give Kathleen everything she wants . . . except the one thing that would make her happy. All three of them are about to get caught up in a web of lies so fragile that one fateful encounter could tear it apart -- and force Kathleen to choose between her family and the needs of her own heart.
“...his eyes met hers in the mirror. They were dark and smoldering, like the purest of blue flame. And in her own eyes was the glassy sheen of desire.” Arden Gentry went to the lush island of Maui for the specific purpose of ingratiating herself into Drew McCasslin’s world. The dashing widower, who had bitterly grieved the death of his wife, is ready to tackle life again and believes that his meeting with Arden is fortunate happenstance. He and his young son, Matt, are drawn to Arden’s warmth and tenderness, and both open their wounded hearts to her. But even as the passion between Drew and Arden intensifies and points toward love, she’s harboring the secret of their inextricable bond...which could also rip them apart.
The author of forty-five New York Times bestselling novels, Sandra Brown is one of the romance world’s most acclaimed writers. Rendezvous magazine has praised her as a novelist whose “larger than life heroes and heroines make you believe all the warm, wonderful, wild things in life.” Now, in the classic romantic tradition her fans have come to love, here is another sexy and extraordinary tale of passion—the story of a woman who gives up fame and fortune...and discovers true love in the last place she expected to find it. The Rana Look The modeling world called it the Rana Look...the exotic, one-of-a-kind allure that only supermodel Rana Ramsey could deliver. With her green eyes, olive skin, and wildly lustrous auburn hair, Rana posed for ad campaigns and strutted down runways all over the world, naming her own price to sell everything from cosmetics to women’s lingerie. But all of that suddenly ended one day when she looked her demanding mother-manager in the eye and said, “Enough.” That was the day Rana packed her things and left New York—and modeling—forever. Settling in Miss Ruby’s boardinghouse in Galveston, Texas, Rana finds success with her own busines—and cultivates a new look to go with her new life. Now her beautiful eyes are shielded behind tinted glasses, her famous figure hidden under shapeless dresses, her trademark wild hair falling straight down her back. Rana knows she’ll never attract a man this way, and that’s just fine with her—that is, until Ruby’s nephew, football star Trent Gamblin, moves in to nurse his injured shoulder. Ruggedly handsome, charming, and undeniably charismatic, Trent is the kind of man that Rana finds irresistible...the kind of man she is certain would never look twice at a woman as ordinary as the new Rana. But to her surprise, Trent seems unfazed by her Plain Jane look. For he is drawn to a beauty that Rana can’t hide. He is determined to learn the mystery behind the elusive, reclusive boarder with the secret past. To do so, he proposes an unusual pact: they will only be friends, nothing more.As the days pass, Rana and Trent are drawn together in a sensual idyll unlike anything either of them has ever known. But the outside world cannot be kept at bay forever. And Rana fears that when Trent learns the truth about her past, he’ll feel betrayed and deceived. Even worse, he’ll never be able to see her as she truly is. Then an unexpected tragedy strikes, and the stakes seem higher than ever. Now they must look deep into each other’s heart to determine if their relationship is just an impossibly erotic dream—or a dream of love come true.
Ella Barron runs her Texas boarding house with the efficiency of a ship's captain and the grace of a gentlewoman. She cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose busy behavior and failure to speak elicits undesired advice from others in town. Ella's plate is full from sunup to sundown. But when a room in her boarding house opens up and the respected town doctor, Dr. Kincaid, brings Ella a new boarder--the handsome and gallant Mr. David Rainwater--Ella is immediately resistant to opening up her home to this mysterious stranger.
In this explosive New York Times bestselling thriller, a New York City-based book editor travels to a Southern island to meet a mysterious author -- but she's about to uncover a shocking truth about a carefully concealed crime. Maris Matherly-Reed is a renowned New York book editor, the daughter of a publisher and the wife of a bestselling author. It's rare for an unsolicited manuscript to pique her interest, but a new submission with blockbuster potential inspires her to search for the book's elusive author. On an obscure island off the Georgia coast, amidst the ruins of an eerie cotton plantation, Maris finds Parker Evans, a writer determined to conceal his identity as well as his past. Maris is riveted by his tale of two friends who charter a boat with a young woman for a night of revelry . . . an excursion from which only one person returns. Working with Parker chapter by chapter, Maris becomes increasingly convinced that his story is based on real-life events. Disturbed by this realization -- and her growing attraction to Parker -- she searches for clues relating to a crime that was committed long ago. When someone close to Maris suddenly dies, an evil presence looms even closer: a man who will use anything -- and anyone -- to get what he wants . . .
In 1800s Texas, an innocent young woman must learn to love again after a painful betrayal . . . but the seeds of greed and desire harvest a scandal when she falls for the toughest cowhand in the west. Betrayal ruined Banner Coleman's wedding day -- and on her wedding night she was a jilted bride. But now, her innocence and pain have touched the heart of Jake Langston, a close family friend. Grappling with emotions that surprise them both, Jake and Banner are caught up in a scandal that could shatter a friendship and a family. But theirs isn't the only affair stirring up trouble in this rough cattle town. Twenty years ago the seeds of greed and desire were sown, and now the Texas landscape will once more reap the wild harvest of a man's hunger and a woman's enduring love.
Erin O'Shea finds the brother she had never known only to become involved in his big money scam and to fall in love with the government officer investigating the case.
One of romance's best-loved authors, Sandra Brown creates love stories whose "larger than life heroes and heroines make you believe all the warm, wonderful, wild things in life."* Now the New York Times bestselling author delivers a powerfully erotic and deeply moving tale of a woman reunited with her first and only love--a man who wants what she denied him ten years ago.... In A Class By Itself Dani Quinn knew Logan Webster would be at her high school reunion. Yet she had come in order to prove to herself that she was not afraid to see him again. Her departure years before from both Logan and the small Texas town where they were sweethearts had been abrupt, painful, and not of her choosing. Worst of all, she'd never had the chance to tell Logan the truth of why she had to leave. Now she would not only have a chance to explain, but to ask him for a favor. Handsome, charming, and dangerously charismatic, Logan exudes all the power and confidence of a self-made success. He listens as Dani describes her work for a charitable foundation and expresses her hope that he will donate one of his properties for a much-needed summer camp. Logan agrees, but with one shocking proviso: that Dani fulfill the intimate promise she made to him years ago. It is meant to be a coldhearted business transaction...but this time when Dani is once again compelled to leave without an explanation, nothing can keep Logan from following. *Rendezvous
Give up while you’re ahead, ol’ boy. She doesn’t want you. Then he remembered the passion of her kiss, the taste of her mouth, the scent of her hair, the feel of her skin beneath his hands, and he knew he wasn’t about to give up. While serving his country, Trevor Rule experienced the wrenching heartache of losing his best friend in a brutal attack. His grief is coupled with guilt when he falls in love with that friend’s wife by reading letters she’d written to her husband. Kyla gave birth the same day she learned that her husband had been killed in a terrorist assault on Marine barracks. That was almost two years ago. Now, Kyla is struggling to rear her son alone...and wrestling with the longing generated by the handsome stranger who fortuitously enters their lives. Except Trevor’s entrance into Kyla’s life isn’t accidental. He has sought her out not only because he feels he owes her and her child a debt he can never repay, but also because he remembers the impassioned words she wrote to her husband. Which Trevor took to heart. Will her growing love be strong enough to forgive his deception?
After the death of her wealthy husband, a young widow must settle the estate with his son -- the same man who once broke her heart. Caroline Dawson survived the town gossips who whispered behind her back. She survived the slow death of her husband, Roscoe Lancaster, the richest man in the county and her senior by three decades. But she feared she might not survive Rink Lancaster, her husband's son. Years before she married, when she and Rink were teens, he introduced Caroline to her first tremulous taste of love -- and then broke her heart. Now he's back. Rink says he wants to settle his father's estate, but his storm of emotions is undeniable and more dangerous than ever -- and what he really wants is to settle the score with Caroline.
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