Showing results by narrator "Hollis McCarthy" in All Categories

When Lady Henley Killigrew's father dies and his title of earl passes to a not-so-friendly cousin who wants her and her two younger sisters out of their elegant London townhouse, she takes them to Moonstone Cottage, a lovely manor house they inherited from a maiden aunt in the Cornwall seaside village of Moonstone Landing. But their funds are limited, and the new earl is a stingy guardian who will not loosen the purse strings to allow her to properly maintain herself and her sisters in their new home. The only way to save them all is for her to marry.

Malcolm MacRae, Duke of Camborne, is one of the ton's most sought-after bachelors. But when his latest scandal is too much even for him, he decides to return home to Scotland to contemplate his rakehell ways. However, a broken coach wheel strands him in the seacoast village of Arbroth, where he secures accommodations at an inn for the next two nights. What he does not expect is to find the loveliest lady he has ever set eyes upon fast asleep in his bed. Is it a sign? Is he ready to reform his rakish ways?

Sadie and Max fell in love while training to be classical pianists in music school, and they’ve been chasing their dreams together ever since. Now they’ve gotten engaged and are on the verge of a bright future—until an unexpected twist throws them out of harmony. When they’re both finalists in the prestigious Van Cage piano competition, they go from being each other’s biggest fans to fierce rivals. The winner will be launched into a meteoric career as a concert pianist, but only one can take first place.

When Lady Olivia Gosling finds the Book of Love in a musty bookshop, she is most eager to try out its love "recipes" on someone safe. Did she say safe? Well, Beast isn't really safe, but with her odious guardian about to marry her off to one of his unsavory friends, Olivia needs her childhood friend to fall in love with her...fast. If Beast can love her, then any man she chooses will surely do the same. Alexander Beastling, Duke of Hartford, is known as Beast among the ton. He is big and muscled, and there is a dark aura of mystery about him that he makes no effort to dispel.

Poppy Farthingale has made a pact with her two best friends to use The Book of Love to find true love. How else will Nathaniel Sherbourne, Earl of Welles, ever notice her? With a small dowry and no prominent lineage, Nathaniel will never consider her a suitable wife, especially when her competition is a beautiful duke's daughter who has already been declared an Incomparable. Poppy has four days to win his heart, but with time running out and her rival about to attend a weekend party at Nathaniel's country home, is all hope lost?

Although Major Fionn Brennan worked his way up the military ranks, no amount of cultured upbringing will make him worthy of Lady Chloe. His heart aches to have her, yet how can he dare hope for a match when he was raised as a nameless orphan left to fend for himself on the roughest London streets? If not for the viscount who chose to bring him home instead of having him tossed as a boy into prison, he would probably be dead. Now that he has been put in command of Moonstone Landing's army fort, he is bound to see Chloe every day.

Daire Claymore, Duke of Claymore, does not understand why he is so drawn to Moonstone Landing, the sleepy village on the coast of Cornwall. He has all the wealth and power any man can want and women who will come running to warm his bed at his slightest nod. He is used to getting whatever strikes his fancy. Except he cannot coax, bribe, buy, or get the impertinent Brenna Angel. Not that he wants her, although she is stunning and irresistible in an irritating way. He is merely negotiating to purchase a property owned by the stubborn beauty.

Lady Phoebe Killigrew is appalled by the scandalous country parties her new neighbor, a war hero marquess, is holding at his estate in Moonstone Landing. She has every intention of keeping well away from him—until a governess arrives at her door with his two nieces. They are mere children and cannot possibly reside under the same roof as that dissolute. When she storms over to demand he reform his ways, or she will not give them over to him, she is unprepared for the feelings he stirs in her, for her heart understands his nieces are not the only ones in need of rescuing.

When her ex took her family from California to live in the small town of Magdalene in Maine, Amelia decided it was time to sort herself out. In order to do that and win her children back, she moves to Cliff Blue, an architectural masterpiece on the rocky coast of Magdalene. Her boxes aren’t even unpacked when she meets Mickey Donovan, a man who lives across the street, a man so beautiful Amelia takes one look at him and knows she wants it all from him.

It is 1556 and the queen's astrologer, the prophet Nostradamus has uncovered a secret that could destroy the kingdom of France. The queen, Catherine de Medicis, a dabbler in black magic, has decided to get rid of the king's mistress by seeking out the legendary Undying Head of Menander the Magus, known as the Master of All Desires. But she does not know that evil befalls all those who wish upon this accursed object. And the head, in its coffer, has fallen into the possession of a charming, wryly perceptive but stubborn young woman: Sybille Artaud de la Roche.

Early in her life, Josephine Malone learned the hard way that there was only one person she could love and trust: her grandmother, Lydia Malone. Out of necessity, unconsciously and very successfully, Josephine donned a disguise to keep all others at bay. She led a globetrotting lifestyle on the fringes of the fashion and music elite, but she kept herself distant. While Josephine was trotting the globe, retired boxer Jake Spear was living in the same small town as Lydia.

Spring in northern Lower Michigan means morel hunting for the Winchester family … even when Bay Winchester doesn’t want to participate. What Aunt Tillie says goes, though, so the whole family heads out for a day of sun and collecting. What they find is a bit more concerning than mushrooms. A ghostly figure draws Bay’s attention to a young girl running through the woods. When she follows, she finds multiple graves. Multiple small graves. Finding children abandoned in the woods is terrible. What’s worse—how can it be worse?—is that nobody has reported these children missing.

Connor Fieldstone, the Duke of Lynton, renowned as a Silver Duke, has no intention of ever marrying again. One failed marriage is enough for him, but he readily admits his heathen children need to be brought under control, especially now that his dowager mother has invited a horde of eager...

Gawain Burton, the Duke of Bromleigh, is a Silver Duke, and everyone in the ton knows these exceptionally handsome forty-something men with some gray salted in their hair have no intention of ever marrying. However, carrying on the Bromleigh title is important, and Gawain is determined to find a proper wife for his nephew and heir.

Jayne Frost and husband Sinclair Crowe are off on another adventure, this time to Nashville, a.k.a. Music City, to pay a royal visit to one of the Santa’s Workshops toy stores. Once that’s done, they’ll have a little time to sightsee and play tourist. Which they do. Until something rather peculiar happens in the Country Music Hall of Fame that leaves Sinclair feeling all shook up.

The Happy Holidays Players—a renowned acting troupe—is coming to town, and Hemlock Cove is bursting with excited residents who want parts in the winter festival. That includes the three Winchester matriarchs, who are vying with one another for top billing.

It was a day like any other day for Marina Trahan…until she caught her husband in bed with another woman. Before that eye-opening wake-up call, Marina would have described her life as average or uneventful, maybe even boring. But now, chaos and confusion reign supreme.

Princess Jayne Frost and Prince Consort Sinclair Crowe have been called back to Nocturne Falls for Christmas so that Jayne can help out at the short-staffed Santa’s Workshop. Being back means seeing some old friends, but also finding new trouble that Jayne just can’t stop thinking about. Are the random break-ins really someone trying to ruin Christmas? Because as Santa Claus’s niece, that feels personal to her.

Haunted Traditions has made a name for itself as the premiere reality television show catering to paranormal enthusiasts. Of course Hemlock Cove pops up on their radar. What they want most of all is an interview with Bay, the local newspaper owner and expert on all things Hemlock Cove, and a shot of magic happening in real time wouldn’t hurt either. The woman in question is not having it. When a body drops in an alley, it’s bad enough that the production crew is on site.

A gripping and empathetic work of reportage, Free reveals what awaits them and the hundreds of thousands of others who are released from prison every year: the first rush of freedom followed quickly by institutionalized obstacles and logistical roadblocks, grinding bureaucracies, lack of resources, societal stigmas and damning self-perceptions, and the sometimes overwhelming psychological challenges. Veteran reporter Lauren Kessler, both clear-eyed and compassionate, follows six people whose diverse stories paint an intimate portrait of struggle, persistence, and resilience.