Showing results by author "Barbara" in All Categories

Something is amiss with the world's magic. Spells don't work the way they used to—when they work at all. Only the powers of the Crystal Mages remain as they were, powers founded on the use of the mystical element adamis, the harvesting of which has enslaved the peoples of the Twilight Lands. Ravenous beasts have begun to appear, legendary creatures that seem to be proof against any magic.

Aurora Halle McPhee, a girl of humble (some might say unconventional) background, cannot believe her luck when she is betrothed to the dashing, well-bred Harland Podell. Aurora soon learns, however, that the match is too good to be true when the nuptials are interrupted by the brother of the groom's wife! Kenyon Warriner, Earl of Windham, is determined to foil that bigamous bounder Podell before he disgraces another innocent female as he did Kenyon's own sister.

Barbara Cooney's story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went. Miss Rumphius received the American Book Award in the year of publication.

Gobble, gobble! Room One is getting ready for their very own Thanksgiving feast! There's even a contest to see which room can write the best thankful list. The winners will get a pumpkin pie! Only it turns out being thankful is harder than it looks. Because Junie B. is not actually thankful for Tattletale May. Or squash. Or scratchy pilgrim costumes. And pumpkin pie makes her vomit, anyway. Will Room One win the disgusting pie? Can May and Junie B. find common ground? Or will this Thanksgiving feast turn into a Turkey Day Disaster?

Everyone makes resolutions - for New Year’s, for big birthdays, for new school years. In fact, most of us are so good at resolutions that we make the same ones year after year. This audiobook is an uplifting look at those resolutions. Why did we make them? How did they turn out? What did we learn? The stories included feature people who learned to be proud of who they are, what they achieved, and what they know they can achieve going forward.

That meanie Jim has invited everyone in Room Nine to his birthday party on Saturday - except Junie B.! Should she have her own birthday party six months early and not invite Jim? Or should she move to It's a Small World After All in Disneyland?

The charming vacation house on the coast of Maine was meant to be a heavenly retreat for Danica Lindsay and her husband Blake, a place where they could mend the wounds of a strained and tired marriage. Instead, she finds herself mostly there alone while Blake's political star is rapidly rising back in Boston. Were it not for the companionship of her new neighbor, gentle and caring Michael Buchanan, Danica would surely be overcome by loneliness and despair.

Was sind Ihre geheimen Träume? Wonach sehnen Sie sich wirklich? Wer nicht weiß, was er will, steht seinem Glück im Weg...

England, 1487—Ludovic Sumerford knows he'll never see a penny from his father's estate. His three older brothers will make sure of that. Fortunately, his smuggling venture brings in more than a few sovereigns. But when he tells a local woman about the sudden death of her brother, money is the least of his worries. Meanwhile, King Henry's insecurity is testing the country to breaking point. He quietly seethes and plots, while rumors of a man claiming to be the rightful heir to the throne of England cause poor decisions.

When Rena's father dies she is alone in the world, forced out of the vicarage that has been her home, with nowhere to go and no money. She seeks help at the large wooden cross standing in the nearby grounds of "The Grange". And there in the earth she finds three golden coins, which she hands over to the new young Earl of Lansdale. They form a friendship, the sweetest one of her life. But her new happiness is threatened by Mr. Wyngate, a wealthy man determined to force the Earl to marry his daughter.

To most, Princess Katya Nar Umbriel is a rogue and a layabout; she parties, she hunts, and she breaks women's hearts. But when the festival lights go down and the palace slumbers, Katya chases traitors to the crown and protects the kingdom's greatest secret: The royal Umbriels are part Fiend. When Katya thwarts an attempt to expose the king's monstrous side, she uncovers a plot to let the Fiends out to play.

May, 1924. It's been months since young British widow Emma Blackstone arrived in Hollywood to serve as companion to Kitty Flint: her beautiful silent-movie star sister-in-law. Kitty is generous, kind-hearted . . . and a truly terrible actress. Not that Emma minds; she's too busy making her academic parents turn in their graves with her new job writing painfully historically inaccurate scenarios for Foremost Studios. So when one of Kitty's old flames calls Emma and tells her it's imperative he meet with Kitty that morning, she's not surprised. Until, that is, he adds that lives depend on it.

Viola Brookfield has not a care in the world until the awful day when her parents are tragically killed in a road accident, leaving her all alone in the world. So when her Aunt Mary, Lady Wakefield, writes to invite her to come and live with her in India, Viola decides to accept. But when she arrives, she finds a country fraught with unexpected dangers and that her uncle, Lord Wakefield, behaves as if she is not welcome. Viola's life is further complicated when she meets the handsome but enigmatic Earl of Devonport.

When disaster struck inspirational gurus Allan and Barbara Pease’s lives, they turned to science to learn how to turn failure into ultimate success. They discovered new studies of the brain that show how you can reprogram your mind-set, enabling you to see opportunities, not difficulties. In The Answer, the Peases share their experiences with honesty and humour and show you how to make your life what you want it to be.

WWII secrets, forbidden love, and one terrible mistake... When Mia discovers an old letter, she sets out on a mission to uncover the truth about her grandmother's past. With the help of brooding local guide Leo, they sneak into the closed-off Isola di Parissi, where Mia falls in love with both the country and her guide. But as they uncover hidden and handwritten notes, Mia learns of a heartbreaking mistake her grandmother made during WWII that tore apart the island community. Will Mia be forced to leave Italy and her newfound love forever?

The summer of 1898 is filled with ups and downs for 11-year-old Moses. He's growing apart from his best friend; his superstitious Boo-Nanny butts heads constantly with his pragmatic, educated father; and his mother is reeling from the discovery of a family secret. Yet there are good times, too. He's teaching his grandmother how to read. For the first time she's sharing stories about her life as a slave. And his father and his friends are finally getting the respect and positions of power they've earned. But not everyone is happy with the political changes at play....

Princess Zelda of Brienz in Switzerland is being harassed by her father to marry a King or Prince of one of the small countries of Europe. Zelda is very beautiful and determined when she does marry it will be for love and only love and she cannot possibly fall in love with any of her father’s suitors. She runs away from her home to her cousin, Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein, who has always been very fond of her. She tells him that she is determined to find out the truth about a scandal that has been repeated ever since she was born.

The time is 1995, but everybody is linked by their past. Brilliant Australian Caroline can command everyone except her own ghoulish mother, which means that things aren't easy for Josh and Zoe, her husband and twelve-year-old daughter. In its mix of people from different spheres, the book throws up the complexity, cruelty and richness of the global world while, as a sequence of personal stories, it comes together like a dance; a masquerade in which things are not always what they seem.

The House of Four is the brand-new Istanbul crime thriller featuring Inspector Ikmen, from Barbara Nadel. Perfect for fans of Donna Leon. Everyone in the Istanbul neighbourhood of Moda knows the Devil's House. A crumbling Ottoman mansion, and once the home of a princess, it is a place associated with ill fortune. The princess' four children, now in old age, still live in separate apartments on different floors and are rumoured never to speak to each other.

In Istanbul - the golden city on the Bosphorus - ancient myths and modern evils are at work.... On a buzzing street in the fashionable district of Beyoglu, a young man drops dead. Ümit Kavas' death was natural, but the autopsy betrays a shocking truth: his last meal was human flesh. Under desperate pressure from their superiors, Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his colleague, Mehmet Süleyman, begin their most obscure investigation yet.