Showing results by narrator "Hollis McCarthy" in All Categories

A male - and royal - Eliza Doolittle meets a female Professor Higgins. Having completed his military service, Prince Marco diTalora of San Rimini wants only one thing on his return home: His freedom. He has good reason for avoiding the public eye, and little interest in his father’s plans to immerse him in royal life. In the hours before his brother’s high-profile wedding, he dodges the media hordes for a few hours of respite.

When Princess Isabella diTalora needs an expert to study the ancient artifacts hidden beneath the royal palace, she’s determined to hire the best: Nick Black, a mysterious collector who knows San Rimini’s medieval era better than anyone. Nick Black knows San Rimini’s history for good reason. He lived it. In fact, he was once known as Domenico of Bollazio, a powerful knight pledged to San Rimini’s king. But he was cursed for his ambition and will never know peace - or mortality - until he can solve the riddle of his enchantment.

Jennifer Allen is on a mission to assist refugees, not to be swept away by a fairy tale prince. Even if the prince in question is a drop-dead sexy billionaire. When Prince Antony diTalora visits her camp, she’s certain it’s a publicity stunt and keeps him at arm’s length. But when he invites her to the palace to speak about her work, it brings her beliefs into question and has her looking at Prince Charming in a whole new light.

Daniela D’Ambrosio is the most trusted employee of Sarcaccia’s Queen Fabrizia, managing the queen’s schedule and ensuring she never makes a misstep in public. But when Fabrizia sends Daniela to organize the belongings of San Rimini’s late queen for a charity auction, Daniela finds a locked closet full of treasure, a suspicious king, and an attractive handyman who seems strangely familiar.

Evalina Voll is a simple farm girl who dreams of one day becoming a dragon rider. The only problem is there hasn’t been a female dragon rider chosen in almost fifty years. One day, a rare red-and-black dragon is found injured in a meadow near her home. The events that follow propel Evalina on an adventure of a lifetime. Evalina finds herself far from home in King’s Citadel, training to be a dragon rider. Whispers of a dark prophecy puts Evalina and the land of Eryieth at great risk.

In this Regency-set short story, widowed Lady Diana Waverly finds love and passion in the most unlikely of places when a new piano tutor arrives at her door.

Aspiring chef Sarah Thomas isn't a very good liar, but when the opportunity to compete in a prestigious culinary contest presents itself, she jumps at the chance. Too bad the opportunity involves a whopper of a lie. She has to pretend to be engaged to playboy restauranteur Raffe Washburn.

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.

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.

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.

I’m Dove Agnew and I was settling into a routine of working at my mom’s quilt shop in the sleepy town of Harland Creek. Just my luck, on the one day I go back to church, there’s a dead body in the baptismal. It’s not just anyone, it’s Pastor John’s sister, Eleanor Simmons!

After a solving the last case in Harland Creek, I was looking forward to some much-needed rest. But that plan goes out the window when I discover that my ex-boyfriend, Dean, has gone missing. Determined to find him, I travel to Tennessee, only to uncover a bigger mystery. A young college student has also disappeared, and the whole campus is on edge.

After Windsor Ebonwood’s love life and successful career as a book conservator vanish in one fell swoop, she’s determined to begin anew. Win moves to Darkly Island off the coast of Louisiana, where she’s been bequeathed an unusual bookshop and a charming home on the edge of a dark swamp. Win gets to work settling into her new life in the sleepy Southern town but discovering Darkly’s heartless town alderman impaled on a gravestone wasn’t on the books. Nor was finding out about her family’s legacy as powerful witches responsible for protecting the bookshop at all costs.

When Julie Green’s ailing grandmother asks her to arrange one last party at the old Inn she used to run, Julie can’t say no even though the last thing she wants is to leave the city for middle-of-nowhere Vermont. Even worse, Cozy Holly Inn is in disrepair, there’s a persnickety cat hiding in the basement and the family of grinches who own the competing inn down the street seem determined to ruin her chances of success.