Showing results by author "Spark" in All Categories

First published in 1988 and described by Ali Smith as 'one of Muriel Spark's most liberating, and meditative novels' - A Far Cry from Kensington shows Muriel Spark at the mature height of her powers.The narrator is one Mrs. Hawkins. She writes from Italy, a far cry from Kensington indeed, taking us back to her threadbare years in postwar London. As a young, rather fat war-widow she spent her days working for a crazy, almost bankrupt publisher; and her nights offering advice from her boarding-house in South Kensington.

Can the mysteries of the human heart ever be unravelled? Pursuing a scientific explanation for a disturbing and unexplained phenomenon, Jeremy's sceptical nature is thrown off course when he meets Lexie, the town librarian. As they work together, ghostly occurrences and passionate moments converge, forcing Jeremy to realise that there are some truths science cannot explain, as he finally appreciates the pleasures of exploring the heart.

The complete Warriors of the Lost Planet Trilogy boxed set is here! Embark on a thrilling journey across the stars with three daring human women and the alien warriors who will claim their hearts... From unexpected encounters on distant planets to dangerous situations in deep space, each book is steamy and action-packed.

My parents despised me since the day I was born, expecting an omega with a lovely scent and a claw birthmark. But I was born with neither. Betas are meant to be the servants of the Alpha Compound run by our pack leader, Henry. Injured by my father—I ran away, never expecting to see another alpha ever again until

When the firm of Meadows, Meade & Grindley hires Dougal Douglas (a.k.a. Douglas Dougal) to do "human research" into the private lives of its workforce, they are in no way prepared for the mayhem, mutiny, and murder he will stir up. In fact, this Music Man of the thoroughly modern corporation changes the lives of all the eccentric characters he meets, from Miss Merle Coverdale, head of the typing pool, to V.R. Druce, unsuspecting Managing Director.

Colin Hancock is giving his second chance his best shot. At 28, he's focused on getting his teaching degree and avoiding all the places and people that proved so destructive in his past. The last thing he's looking for is a serious relationship. But when he crosses paths with Maria Sanchez one rainswept night, his carefully structured life is turned upside down.

Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. After six years with her boyfriend, she is no longer sure what she wants, and when her father becomes ill she heads to her family's cottage at Sunset Beach in North Carolina to make some difficult decisions. Tru Walls has been summoned across an ocean from where he was born and raised in Zimbabwe by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. In journeying to Sunset Beach, Tru hopes to unravel the mystery surrounding his mother's life, but the letter will lead him in an unexpected direction.

Graduate student Jon Greene thinks he has everything figured out. After dedicating himself to the study of rare and exotic birds, he's about to score his dream job as an ornithology professor and spend the rest of his life in the dull but comfortable arms of academia. But when a cold-hearted but devastatingly beautiful blonde vixen threatens to take it all away from him, Jon's entire future rides on the success of his final presentation in avian studies.

When the mighty and cruel must be brought low, it's the killers and the schemers who emerge from the shadows. As plans twist and change, and our protagonists are foiled and beaten, one thing remains true: no matter the cost, the king must fall.

At 32, Russell Green has it all: a loving family, a successful career and a beautiful house. But underneath his seemingly perfect life, cracks are beginning to appear...and no one is more surprised than Russ when the life he took for granted is turned upside down.

Tanner has spent his whole life moving from place to place. So when his dying grandmother reveals the name and location of the father he never knew, he plans to visit Asheboro to lay the past to rest, then move on - just as he always has. Kaitlyn knows exactly where she belongs. In Asheboro, she's built a life for herself and her kids that she's proud of, especially after the turmoil of divorce. But when she meets lone wolf Tanner, she can't help but feel something has been missing until now. Jasper will never belong again. He had everything - and he lost it all.

Do you believe in lucky charms? While in Iraq, US Marine Logan Thibault finds a photo, half buried in the dirt, of a woman. He carries it in his pocket, and from then on his luck begins to change. Back home, Logan is haunted by thoughts of war. Over time, he becomes convinced that the woman in the photo holds the key to his destiny. So he finds the vulnerable and loving Beth, and a passionate romance begins.

They were teenage sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks - with a passion that would change their lives forever. But life would force them apart. Years later, the lines between past and present are about to slip.... Called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who gave them shelter when they needed it most, they are faced with each other once again. Can true love ever rewrite the past?

Denise Hilton, a young single mother, is driving through Edenton, North Carolina, when her car skids off the road during a storm. With her is her four-year-old son, Kyle, a boy with severe learning disabilities for whom she has sacrificed everything. When volunteer fireman Taylor McAden finds her she is unconscious and bleeding, but when she wakes an even more chilling truth becomes clear: Kyle is gone.

Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked as an orthopaedic surgeon sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he'd inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any. Tending to his grandfather's beloved beehives while preparing for a second stint in medical school, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local....

In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous emperor, decadence has become the true ruler and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion - and only one man can see it.

With millions watching on live stream, a retired British school teacher running his heroic young battlemage avatar, Daxx, and his teammates—Qrysta, an Asian American dual-wielding sword dancer, and Grell, an Australian Orc—win the World Championship of Sword and Sorcery. Next thing he knows, he finds himself alone in the middle of a wilderness he doesn’t recognize, with no sign of the others. Armed only with a crappy sword he has no idea how to use, and in beginner-level gear, he discovers, to his astonishment, that he is now his own avatar, Daxx. For real.

So what if he's a bit older and usually regards a human female as dinner, not a dinner date? Yes, Roman Draganesti is a vampire, but a vampire who lost one of his fangs sinking his teeth into something he shouldn't have. Now he has one night to find a dentist before his natural healing abilities close the wound, leaving him a lopsided eater for all eternity. Things aren't going well for Shanna Whelan either... After witnessing a gruesome murder by the Russian mafia, she's next on their hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be on a downward spiral because she's afraid of blood.

Maggie hasn't told this story in years. More than two decades ago, she fell in love. She was 16 and far from home, waiting to give her baby up for adoption. Bryce showed Maggie how to take photographs, and he didn't judge her for the way her belly swelled under her jumper. They had the perfect first kiss. Theirs was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. Now, as Maggie sits by the Christmas tree in her gallery telling her story, surrounded by the photographs that made her famous - the photographs Bryce never saw - her new gallery assistant asks her a question.

Lise is thin, neither good-looking nor bad-looking. One day she walks out of her office, acquires a gaudy new outfit, adopts a girlier tone of voice and heads to the airport to fly south. On the plane she takes a seat between two men. One is delighted with her company, the other is deeply perturbed. So begins an unnerving journey into the darker recesses of human nature.