Showing results by narrator "Deborah Balm" in All Categories

Determined to avoid the strife-filled marriage of his parents, Marcus, the Duke of Ulvercombe, wants an amenable, biddable wife, and has set his cap for a certain pretty miss. Unfortunately, her vastly opinionated, frustrating, and lamentably beautiful guardian, Lady Clara Tinniswood, keeps distracting him, tempting him to consider a far more tempestuous—and passionate—union. Recently widowed Lady Clara Tinniswood wants only to organize a quiet new life for herself, beyond the control of any man. But one shockingly unguarded moment catapults her headlong into a forbidden passion.

No woman could resist Julian Dane. Except Lady Claudia Whitney. Julian had known her since childhood, but the headstrong lass had grown into a beautiful woman. Julian vows to teach her everything he knows about passion. But Claudia, in her most innocent ardor, promises to challenge him to the most dangerous emotion of all: wild, all-consuming love.

Bev may not know who she was before she showed up in the quaint village of Pigsend five years ago, but that doesn't bother her much. She's made a tidy little life for herself as the proprietor of the Weary Dragon Inn, where the most notable event is when she makes her famous rosemary bread. But when earthquakes and sinkholes start appearing all over town, including near Bev's front door, she's got to put on her sleuthing hat to figure out what—or who—might be causing them before the entire town disappears.

The story of a young girl's entrapment in gambling addiction. The true advert for problem gambling and how it controlled her every movement, her every thought and almost took her life. How the guilt and shame that go hand-in-hand with addiction stopped her from reaching out for help for eight years as she didn't feel it was okay for a young female to be a problem gambler. How she believed it was a male dominated problem, and how eventually, she did find the tools that enabled her to become free of her addiction.

Lord Gabriel Phel wants one thing: to rebuild the shattered fortunes of his people and restore his ruined house to its former station in the Convocation’s highest tiers of elegant society. Fortunately, through a wild chance of birth, he was born with powerful wizard magic, the first in his family in generations. If he can obtain a familiar to amplify his magic, a highborn daughter he can marry, to be mother to his children, he’ll be that much closer to saving his family. With her, he can ascend to such a position of power in the Convocation that he can destroy it forever.

Based on a true story, this is the tale of three strong women: Barbara, who was given a blue plastic cow that would later change her life forever; Florrie, who adopted a baby to replace the child she had lost; Carole, forced to give up her daughter by an unforgiving society. Growing up in a loving northern working-class family based on the banks of the River Mersey, Barbara felt that she was different. After accidently discovering that she had been adopted, she was only given a part of the story.

Julia London captivated listeners and critics alike with her acclaimed Rogues of Regent Street trilogy. Now the nationally bestselling author Romantic Times calls "a rising star" returns with the passionate story of a man and a woman pursued by secrets, shadowed by scandal, and surprised by love....

He was dangerous, infamous, scandalous...and the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Fighting for her land, widowed Kerry McKinnon can't believe the handsome Arthur has come to seize her home and leave her to a terrible fate. Yet from the moment they meet, a scandalous passion ignites between them—impossible to resist. Then a crime will force Kerry to flee with Arthur to England—where a challenge to their love could drive them apart forever....

In the aftermath of World War I, Clarissa Dalloway is an upper-class politician’s wife, who longs for the carefree, impassioned days of her youth. Her marriage to a sensible man gives her many opportunities to socialize and progress in society, but this practicality also prevented her from following other romantic and personal passions. These old regrets come to new light as Clarissa is reintroduced to Peter Walsh, a man she loved—and who had proposed to her—in her younger days.

As the granddaughter of the Earl of Richmond, Lady Amelia Montford is never in want of dance partners. Even though she finds the gentlemen tedious, she is always guaranteed good company for one set—her dance with the agreeable and handsome Sir Anthony Greene. Despite falling madly in love with the dashing baronet during her first season, Sir Anthony has become a devoted friend and confidante. Yet of late, he has behaved oddly and has even declared he is attached to a lady! Amelia is dumbfounded. Sir Anthony claims he is in love with her?

Georgiana Darcy wants nothing more than to fall in love, yet her innate reserve as well as a traumatic event in her past makes her uneasy in company—particularly in the company of gentlemen. She desires a husband and family, but how is she to manage such a feat when she will not even consider partaking of a London Season? She cannot so much as hold a meaningful conversation with most men, which does not bode well for falling in love.

After receiving a most unexpected personal invitation for a weekend of leisure and celebration, Miss Victoria Parker leaves London for the country seat of the Duke of Everton. Although unsure as to why a lowly spinster such as she would be invited anywhere by a duke, Victoria's trusted assistant, James Kensington, assures her it must concern her late father’s accounting firm, which she secretly runs.

Emma Hibbert will never again trust a good-looking man. They offer nothing but heartbreak and humiliation. But her conscience won't let her abandon a sinfully handsome stranger needing help—even if he ignites an unwelcome passion in her. She soon realizes she should have left him in the mud where she found him, for he has the power to ruin everything . . .

Devastated by the disappearance of his sister, the Earl of Stranraer has gone to extraordinary lengths to find the notorious rake responsible, and enters his household incognito to wreak his vengeance. But his enemy has an unexpected protector—the innocent but headstrong Miss Cassandra Blythe. Cassie is determined to learn the art of seduction. But she is blindsided by her body's thrilling response to the wrong man—a mysterious servant who shows up at the most inauspicious moments to spoil her lessons in love with warnings of her imminent ruin.

Velina has escaped the workhouse on the hunt for one thing: the witch who can grant her wish to live a normal life. Born with silver hair and noticeably pointy ears, she's passed from workhouse to workhouse since she can remember—shunned for her mysterious heritage. But the witch’s cottage she finds at the edge of the wood is abandoned, and as soon as she starts making herself at home, someone else comes calling: a noble with a wish of his own. With the promise of his coin, she agrees to help him when she starts noticing something strange about the cottage.

The official celebration of All Creatures Great & Small and its incredible setting: the Yorkshire Dales. Featuring an in-depth look at the characters and real-life inspiration for the show, this book tells the fascinating story of the program’s main character: the Yorkshire Dales.

Summer has arrived in Pigsend, and it’s not just the sweltering temperatures putting everyone on edge. It’s the sixth anniversary of the war ending, and a cadre of soldiers is camping north of town to keep the peace and monitor for strange activity. Rumor has it a rebellion is brewing, one that threatens to plunge the country back into war—not that anyone in Pigsend is keen on that. At the Weary Dragon, Bev’s playing host to the usual set of travelers, including butcher Vellora’s old commander Andres.

Darcy and his good friend Simon Lockhart are guests of Charles Bingley at Netherfield Park in Hertfordshire. When the otherwise sensible Lockhart becomes infatuated with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who has neither wealth nor a renowned family name, Darcy attempts to make his friend see reason. But there is a complication—Darcy’s growing attraction for Miss Elizabeth.

Nicholas Montford is tired of the London Season, tired of the marriage mart, and most of all, he is tired of encountering a certain duchess from his past. The Hatton viscountcy has an estate in Ireland, a place his father wrote fondly of in his journal. By journeying to Ireland, Nicholas could escape the duchess he once loved as well as see to a property that a Montford has not visited since he was a boy.

Annie Besant’s magnetic eloquence is brilliantly apparent in this volume of her writings and lectures on the spiritual life. The welfare of humanity and the world around us is our utmost concern, says Besant, and the primary tool of transformation is our own consciousness. Our inner life must change if outer conditions are to be improved. Besant illuminates the way with topics such as calmness of mind, devotion, knowledge, karma, reincarnation, and Divine Law. Quotes from poetry and the world’s scriptures provide additional inspiration.