Showing results by narrator "Hollis McCarthy" in All Categories

Prince Alessandro Barrali is known for his wild ways. After he's compelled to stand in for his staid identical twin, all Alessandro wants is to escape the fishbowl of palace life and indulge himself. When he awakens aboard the royal yacht awash in hedonism, yet bored out of his mind, he decides a new quest is in order.

The Barrali family has seen its share of scandals. But what of those who work for the famous royals? This collection of three romantic holiday tales takes you to the Barrali Winery, to an elegant royal yacht, and through the palace's secret garden to experience the passions of those who serve.

Raised on a farm, Tabitha Salt, the daughter of Irish immigrants, leads a bucolic and sheltered existence. When tragedy strikes the family, Tabitha and her mother are forced to move to the notorious Five Points District in New York City, known for its brothels, gangs, gambling halls, corrupt politicians, and thieves. As they struggle to survive in their new living conditions, tragedy strikes again. Young Tabitha resorts to life alone on the streets of New York, dreaming of a happier future.

Rocco Cornaro dedicates his life to creating innovative, life-saving medical devices...and in the process has become a wealthy man. However, he harbors a deep secret: his mother was once the lover of Sarcaccia's King Carlo Barrali, and Rocco is the product of their illicit affair.

Tormented by the suicide of his ex-girlfriend, Sarcaccia's crown prince Vittorio Barrali escapes the glare of the cameras by secretly trading places with his twin brother and traveling to Argentina. There, he nurses his wounds in private, mentally preparing to resume the role to which he was born, a role that doesn't allow emotion to take precedence over duty.

Max Slade has no time for regrets. Until the biggest regret of his life shows up in Wyoming. Four years ago Max left Calley Hastings without a word of explanation. He'd tried to write, but how do you tell a thoroughly urban woman that you're moving to a ranch to take care of three orphaned little boys? No, Calley didn't belong on the ranch or in his life - then or now.

Wren Mallory is no stranger to failure. Reeling from the humiliation of a very public breakup, she has fled LA for the comfort of her East Coast hometown of Archer Cove. Here, she happily passes her days as the barista in her family's bakery and spends her nights writing her screenplay. Hollywood bad boy Jax Cosgrove has to fix his image if he's going to be considered for the role of a lifetime. When a good deed leads to a misunderstanding, he presents Wren with an opportunity.

To pay a debt, Juliana Tate must accept five kisses from the Earl of Eastbrook...but she never suspects how delicious each kiss will be.

Miss Anna Harcourt foolishly disguises herself as a maid to be near the man she thinks she loves, but little does she know how far this charade will lead her... or how close to ruin.

Miss Miranda Price detests her neighbor Edward Havens, the rakish Earl of Edgerton - but when he catches her breaking into his library at midnight, secrets are revealed that will change the course of their lives... forever.

Clara Becker is a supremely gifted composer - a talent of little to use to a woman in 1830s England. Her compositions only have worth when they are published under her brother's name, yet this deception barely enables them to scrape out a living in the poorest quarter of London. Meets the Master... Darien Reynard, the most celebrated musician in Europe, pursues success with a single-minded intensity.

Either Ginger is an elf, or there really is magic to be found in an old cookie recipe.

Willis Digby is the letters editor at Sis(Sisterhood) magazine, a job that drives her mad. Plowing through correspondence that fluctuates from the predictable boosterish boilerplate to letters challenging conventional notions of sanity, Willis struggles to find a balance in her selections for publication in the landmark feminist journal. As Digby strikes up an unconventional friendship with one of her correspondents, she also confronts a harrowing childhood incident that has come back to haunt her.

Some friendships are meant to last forever. Nicknamed the four musketeers since they met freshman year of college, Anna, Kat, Erin and Barbara's friendship spans over fifteen years. Known as the tough one, Anna's only dream was to escape her mother's kitchen by setting the fashion world on fire. An ambitious executive for one of New York's oldest department stores and engaged to an up-and-coming politician from an affluent old school family, her life's dream seems to be coming true until Barbara and her husband are in a car crash sending Anna's world into a tailspin.

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.

Commanded to the far north to capture his friend, the rebel Lar Tor, he longs instead to be in Larlingarde. There, his Forest Lady love, Laraynia, has become heir to the Grand Lar, using all her powers to thwart the evil wizard who strives to kill her uncle and take her prisoner. Beneban, his magic sword and his troops fight many foes in his quest to rejoin her, but even their combined magics may fall short. In her darkest hour, Laraynia finds a possible ally in an enemy enchantress. Can she win the aid of the mysterious vardraken queen and her winged, ice-breathing beasts?

Due to a misunderstanding, Mary publishes a novel, an action she considers highly improper. Behind a pseudonym, she frets over the undiscovered fact that she is an author. When she learns that her brother is forcing his daughter, Louisa, into an arranged marriage, she recognizes the opportunity as an escape for them both. Mary sweeps her niece off to Bath where she intends to stay away from the lure of her pen and to help Louisa find a match.

Elizabeth was drawn to Malcolm Burns from the first moment she saw him loading cargo onto the ship that would take her to Boston. When she is made to share a room with him for the duration of their voyage, the breeches that protect her female identity do nothing to shield her heart against the growing attraction she feels for her handsome and mysterious cabin mate.

Spring in Lobster Bay means fresh starts, busy days at the inn, and preparations for the annual Springtide Festival. But when a leaky ceiling leads Jane Carter and her sister Andie to uncover a hidden closet, they find a decades-old journal belonging to Lillian Whitmore—a woman who vanished without a trace.

Irish islander Caitlin Conner has been in love with professor of Irish folklore Liam O'Sullivan for as long as she can remember. But just when he is starting to look at her as more than a friend, a mysterious woman arrives on Seal Island and captures his heart. As Caitlin discovers the truth behind the woman's lies, she realizes Liam is trapped in a dangerous enchantment and the only way to break the spell is to uncover a secret Irish fairy tale that has remained hidden for hundreds of years.