Christmas At Thorncliff Towers

THE WEREWOLF'S SERVANT Thorncliff Towers is done up for Christmas, secure against wind and wolves. But Karina Petri is shut out, too, and the gypsy witch wants what's inside. She envies the gifts, the feast, the pretty clothes, of course. But her true desire is for the love of Constantin Stoica. Her smolderingly handsome childhood friend agreed to serve Lord Draven after his brother was caught stealing last year. He suspects Karina was involved—and it would take more magic than she possesses to make him forgive. . . Constantin has always been drawn to Karina's dark curls, flashing eyes, and reckless ways. But trusting her has proven dangerous before, and this night holds more to fear than most. The wrong decisions could cost him his job, his safety—even his life. But letting Karina go could cost him his heart. . . Praise for Beauty and the Wolf "Dynamic and sensual, paranormal readers will gobble up this sexy read." —Donna Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight's Warrior "Beauty and the Wolf is a deliciously dark retelling of the classic tale that will make you fall in love all over again." —Erin Quinn, author of The Five Deaths of Roxanne Love 19,200 Words

Join the Heartly family as they return to Thorncliff manor for the holiday season where sisters and four very handsome, very eligible bachelors are about to enjoy a lively Christmastime filled with laughter and love.

A DANGEROUS ATTRACTION When her demanding stepmother died, Ella Benoit knew just how far their fortunes had fallen, unlike her spoiled stepsisters. So she never expected the bequest from her late father. A chateau in France and the freedom to live her own life, all at once! The chateau has seen better days, but Ella knows she can put the ruined house to rights. The life-size portrait of its first owner, Jean-Daniel Girard, seems to watch her work with approval, even pleasure. With bright blue eyes, strong features, and an athlete’s body, the viscount is a tempting sight even now, more than three hundred years after his tragic death. But the more she looks at the portrait, the more convinced Ella is that she’s met Jean-Daniel before. In another life, perhaps—or maybe, as the form who haunts the halls at night, invading Ella’s dreams...

Governor General’s award-winning author Teresa Toten’s story about one girl’s transformative eight-day road-trip to retrieve her mother’s body. How do you face a heartbreaking past? One day at a time. Or as Aggie says, one crisis at a time. In Teresa Toten’s compelling new novel Eight Days, Samantha finds out that the mother she thought had died years ago has actually just passed away. Added to this charged secret is her recovering alcoholic grandfather’s strange behaviour and sudden insistence that he take Sami back to Chicago to retrieve her mother’s body. Luckily, Sami’s beloved neighbour and surrogate mother figure, Aggie, insists on coming on the road trip, bringing along her quirky sense of humour and fantastic wig collection. The eight-day journey takes us from Toronto to Chicago and back again, as Sami, an American living with her grandfather in a Muslim-dominated apartment complex in Toronto, struggles to find out who she is and where she belongs. Infused with warmth and love, even as family struggles and secrets are torn open, Eight Days is ultimately about forgiveness and strength in community. It is truly a novel for our times.

"Dynamic and sensual, paranormal readers will gobble up this sexy read." --Donna Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight's Warrior "Beauty and the Wolf is a deliciously dark retelling of the classic tale that will make you fall in love all over again." --Erin Quinn, author of The Five Deaths of Roxanne Love A Union Of Curses Isabella Farrington's marriage was hasty. For all her new husband's riches, Lord Draven Winthrop is whispered about, avoided, and feared. Yet Isabella is drawn to Draven's dark good looks, his strength, the charm he can turn on as easily as she can blink. The impoverished daughter of an Egyptologist, she knows there are rumors about her, too, and the amulet she wears. Nothing more than superstitious babble... But when Isabella returns to Draven's remote coastal manor, she senses there is something more at work in the grim gardens of Thorncliff Towers than superstition. Draven is passionate and seductive, but he has a brutal, uncontrolled side too, and a history of secrets. To live in peace she must discover the reasons behind a gypsy curse and a mother's scorn. Especially when she learns Draven believes his sweet young bride is doomed to a fate even darker than his own...

Sleight Of Hand Dragomir Starkov poses as an illusionist, a showman performing tricks, his Romanian accent and dark good looks all just a part of the drama. That's how Rose Carlisle first sees him. She's a respectable girl—she wouldn't accept witchy birthday gifts from a demon. But the hustle and bustle of 1912 New York City offers plenty of ways to slip around the strict old rules of propriety. A good thing, too, because once Rose meets Drago, she no longer cares about being respectable. But the only illusion in Drago's act is that his magic is smoke and mirrors. Every word of power he speaks is as real as Rose before him, in thrall to his lust and adoration. Drago knows about Rose's curse, that she will die on her next birthday. But the shadowy threat that stalks her hasn't won her yet. If she can trust him, perhaps he can save her too. . . "An intriguing twist on a classic fairy tale." —Jennifer Estep, New York Times bestselling author Praise for Beauty and the Wolf "Dynamic and sensual, paranormal readers will gobble up this sexy read." —Donna Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight's Warrior "Beauty and the Wolf is a deliciously dark retelling of the classic tale that will make you fall in love all over again." —Erin Quinn, author of The Five Deaths of Roxanne Love 75,000 Words

For the architectural tourist, one of Cheshire's greatest delights is the use of timber. Chester, whose famous rows with their upper walkways are unique in medieval Europe, continues the timber-framed tradition in its riotous Victorian buildings but glories also in its Roman past.

THE TORONTO STAR'S "30 BOOKS WE CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS SPRING" The updated edition of a Toronto favorite meanders around some of the city’s unique neighborhoods and considers what makes a city walkable What is the 'Toronto look'? Glass skyscrapers rise beside Victorian homes, and Brutalist apartment buildings often mark the edge of leafy ravines, creating a city of contrasts whose architectural look can only be defined by telling the story of how it came together and how it works, today, as an imperfect machine. Shawn Micallef has been examining Toronto’s streetscapes for decades. His psychogeographic reportages situate Toronto's buildings and streets in living, breathing detail, and tell us about the people who use them; the ways, intended or otherwise, that they are being used; and how they are evolving. Stroll celebrates Toronto's details – some subtle, others grand – at the speed of walking and, in so doing, helps us to better get to know its many neighbourhoods, taking us from well-known spots like the CN Tower and Pearson Airport to the overlooked corners of Scarborough and all the way to the end of the Leslie Street Spit in Lake Ontario. "When I moved to Toronto in 2011, Stroll was the first book I added to my library and course reading lists. My students and I get lost in the PATH, sneak into lobbies, and visit the archives with this book as our guide. Micallef’s friendly voice invites us to slow down and notice not just a few landmark buildings but the city’s built fabric as a whole. This updated version offers our collective memory a much-needed affectionate yet critical view of recent changes to the city." – Erica Allen-Kim, Author of Building Little Saigon "Stroll is a delightful and eccentric guidebook, full of clever writing, amusing stories and charming maps that will make you want to strap on your walking shoes and head into the streets of Toronto." – Carol Off, Author/Broadcaster "Shawn Micallef is the unofficial mayor of Toronto, the genial ambassador the city needs and deserves. As he strolls Toronto’s broad avenues and its little streets, he finds hidden pockets of delight – and weirdness, too. Join him and fall in love with the city again." – Liz Renzetti, author of Bury the Lead "Shawn Micallef looks at the city in a way we all should more often – he sees it as a living book that is alive with stories just waiting to be told to the attentive observer. In Stroll, he gives us an introduction to just how interesting and surprisingly dramatic those stories are, and how exciting our city is when we hear them." – David Crombie, former mayor of Toronto "A smart and intimate guide to the city that makes you feel like an insider from start to finish." – Douglas Coupland This new edition updates things in the city that have changed and includes several new walks.