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The Velvet Promise
Part #1 of "Velvet Montgomery Annuals" series by Jude Deveraux
Romance / Contemporary / Historical Fiction
All of England rejoiced on her wedding day. But Judith vowed that her husband would get only what he took from her!
At the flower-bedecked altar, the first touch of their hands ignited an all-consuming passion. Gavin Montgomery looked deep into her golden eyes and burned with desire for her...but his heart had been pledged to another.
Humiliated and alone in a strange castle, Judith resolved to hate this husband who took her body, but rejected her love...never admitting her fear of losing him.
But destiny held another fate for Judith...a fate that would keep at last...The Velvet Promise.
Velvet Angel
Part #4 of "Velvet Montgomery Annuals" series by Jude Deveraux
Romance / Contemporary / Historical Fiction
She came to him as a precious gift, a naked angel rolled in a rug. Once he gazed into her green eyes, saw her tangle of honey blonde hair, he was undone with passion.
Elizabeth would never surrender. He was a hated Montgomery -- she was a Chatworth -- and the blood war between their families raged on, a wildfire of rape, murder, and betrayal.
Elizabeth vowed to fight the handsome lord, to resist the burning desire in his eyes -- no matter how great the temptation.
Midnight Velvet
Jaci Burton
Romance / Contemporary
NCA Intelligence analyst Nevada James, code name Velvet, has just been given the opportunity of her dreams. She's about to enter the NCA field agent training program. But a chance encounter with sexy field agent Midnight turns her world upside down, putting her life and her heart in danger. She doesn't want to think hot, passionate thoughts about her superior officer, but she's unable to control her body's desires where Tyler is concerned. The mission is everything to NCA agent Tyler Call, code name Midnight. Nothing stands in the way of getting the job done. But when Nevada ends up under his protection and he's charged with supervising her field training, he knows the mission and his goals are in trouble. How can he concentrate on work when sultry Velvet tantalizes him every waking moment of the day? They're stuck with each other, running for their lives as a traitor tries to kill them. Passion and danger explode, forcing a moment of truth neither are ready to face.
Blue Velvet
Iris Johansen
Romance / Literature & Fiction / Suspense
Part gypsy, part untouched golden child of the sea, Kate Gilbert was the most bewitching woman Beau Lantry had ever seen. Rashly he agreed to help rescue her friends, risking his ship, his crew, even his life. But Kate was no damsel in distress, he discovered, and showed him it was all he could do to match her bravado. But under the sultry moonlight, Beau took the lead, teaching his untutored Kate the exquisite joys of loving, vowing to make her happy, yet fearing that meant letting her go...
Tipping the Velvet
Sarah Waters
Literature & Fiction / Historical Fiction / Gay & Lesbian
Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.
The Velvet Glove
Harry Harrison
Science Fiction / Fantasy
SF writer and editor Harry Harrison explores a not-too-distant future where robots -- particularly specialist robots who don't know their place -- have quite a rough time of it. True, the Robot Equality Act had been passed -- but so what? New York was a bad town for robots this year. In fact, all over the country it was bad for robots. . . .
Brainstorm on Black Velvet
Charles Hibbard
Sequential Art / Comics / Graphic Novels
poems about life, love, old age, death, birds, beaches, nature, chemistry, time, guns, and mice. Along with the usual unanswerable questions.Welcome to the magical town of Cottontail Pines, where animals talk, and there is always a friend around the corner. In this new story called “Blacky’s Birthday,” Blacky the skunk wakes up on his special day expecting to be lavished with attention… and cake. Unfortunately, nobody seems to want to talk to him at all, and worst of all… no cake! Have all of Blacky’s friends decided not to like him anymore? And most importantly, will he never, ever get to eat any cake?! Find out what happens in this cute new story by T.K. Wade.
Of Blood and Velvet
Eduardo Jimenez
Short Stories / Fantasy / Fiction
A hit man has tracked down his victim and contemplates the meaning of his actions as he waits the right time to strike.Eloise Assad never wanted to spend eternity as a corpse. But two years after waking up as a vampire, Eloise wields powerful magic, sleeps in graves, and lives with a tiny pixie determined to annoy her forever. Turned against her will, Eloise has dedicated her undead life to helping innocent people avoid the same fate. Instead of joining a coven of vampires, Eloise has sided with their sworn enemies. She slays monsters and stakes her own kind alongside the human magicians who’ve done so for centuries. To keep safe from the bounty hunters who profit from the sale of vampire blood—a curative liquid worth millions to the right buyer—Eloise poses as a human witch in society, her true identity known to only a handful of close friends. In the modern world, protecting innocent life has never been harder. Ocean levels are rising, coastal cities are flooding, and the United States is dealing with climate change refugees, homeless citizens on the move. These people make easy targets for monsters, and as many of them seek shelter in Senna, Colorado, the monsters keep arriving in town along with them. As Eloise and her teammates fight for their lives, Eloise must confront nightmares and secrets, terror and lies, forbidden love and a fate worse than death, as she struggles to outwit an enemy who is always three steps ahead—only to find herself caught in one final trap. Outnumbered, weaponless, and stripped of the use of her magic, Eloise has to face the hard truth that she will never save the people she loves unless she becomes a true monster, and the most ruthless vampire in the room is herself.
Velvet Manor
J Niessen
Sheryl Mocner is a live-in caregiver. Contained within the sub-level of the hospital there dwells a dark, ongoing secret. It’s the source of recovery for each terminally ill patient living within the tall structural complex. A team of investigators want to know why visitors are missing. Sheryl faces the threat of being the next one abducted, by learning what hides beneath Velvet Manor.With the opening lines of Lightbringer from the poem The Word, "it is a means to communicate inner feelings/it is the medicine for healing scars over 400 years old/back when we were told to learn another language and religious practice and submit to the oppression of racists/we decided to pimp their language and use it as the basis/to create an oasis for our people to find freedom" Qwantu Amaru announces his intent for writing. He delivers on this promise in 19 hard-hitting, thought-provoking poems. Invest .99 cents to get to know one of the most powerful new voices in poetry!
Hotel Scenes from the Velvet Paw of Asquith Novels
Thomas Corfield
New Fable / Humor and Comedy / Mystery
Excerpts from the Velvet Paw of Asquith novels, the infamous international jet-setting adventures of Oscar Teabag-Dooven, involving greed, espionage and the odd foray into professional cheese-shaping.Consider a world inhabited with only cats and dogs: a society recognizable as our own, but with its eccentricities being the norm, rather than the exception. A world where the charm of Kenneth Grahame’s Wind In the Willows meets the exotic world of Ian Fleming’s Bond. A world where fluffy just got dangerous. These are the Velvet Paw of Asquith Novels, also known as the Dooven Books: welcome to the genre of New Fable.The books follow Oscar Teabag-Dooven, a secret agent who believes he's more poet than spy. He finds training brash and clinical, with far too much shouting and not enough singing. But triumphing over villains and thwarting their garish plans isn’t easy when unable to do much more than rhyme one lot of words with another. Nevertheless, he succeeds with the help of the characters he meets and a courage that arises when he believes it cannot.
The Case of the Velvet Claws
Erle Stanley Gardner
The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933) – This is the first Perry Mason mystery published in March, 1933. We meet Perry, Della Street and detective Paul Drake for the first time. District Attorney Hamilton Burger and Lieutenant Arthur Tragg do not appear in this story. There is no courtroom scene in the entire novel, which is prevalent in the later books. The plot revolves around a spoiled woman, who calls herself Eva Griffin. She comes to Mason claiming that she is being blackmailed by her powerful husband. She wants to keep the news of her affairs secret from him and seeks help from Mason. Meanwhile, she is accused of murder and, in turn, she puts the blame on Mason himself. But Perry avoids being double-crossed and fights to free her from the charges.Criminal lawyer and all-time #1 mystery author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote close to 150 novels that have sold 300 million copies worldwide. His most popular books starred the incomparable attorney-sleuth Perry Mason. And the first time the world heard the name Perry Mason was in 1933 with the publication of the novel that has become an enduring classic...The Case of the Velvet ClawsThanks to a bungled robbery at a fancy hotel, the already-married Eva Griffin has been caught in the company of a prominent congressman. To protect the politico, Eva's ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid his hush money. But Perry Mason has other plans. He tracks down the phantom fat cat who secretly runs the blackmailing tabloid -- only to discover a shocking scoop.By the time Mason's comely client finally comes clean, her husband has taken a bullet in the heart. Now Perry Mason has two choices: represent the cunning widow in her wrangle for the dead man's money -- or take the rap for murder.
Last Dance
Velvet Vaughn
After COBRA Securities Agent Mason Rossi's wife was murdered, he vowed to never get seriously involved with a woman again. While on assignment guarding the granddaughter of the President of the United States as she competes on a reality dancing show, he's stunned to discover a woman he saved from a runaway car weeks earlier is also competing. She is elegance and grace and he's seriously intrigued. She could easily breach the wall he's built around his heart. But when accidents keep piling up, putting her life in danger, Mason will stop at nothing to keep her safe.Professional dancer Cassidy Swain fantasized about the muscular giant who saved her life for weeks. When she comes face to face with him again, she's convinced fate keeps bringing them together. He's strong and capable and she trusts him with her safety—and her heart. But a killer is determined to tear them apart and make sure Cassidy's next dance is her last dance.
Red Velvet & Reindeer
Part #2 of "Southern Charms Cozy Mystery" series by Bella Falls
Mystery / Cozy Mystery
Velvet Dawn
Rowena Summers
Andrea Gilmore, young, beautiful and successful in her public relations job, is constantly embarrassed when her brash, earthy father becomes a huge football pools winner. Josh Gilmore, newly rich, revels in the fame and friendship his status brings him, refusing to head his daughter's warnings that he's being exploited by everyone around him. Not least by Maggie, the pretty widow he eventually marries. Lewis Sutton is the dashing owner of the charter boat Velvet Dawn, with whom Andrea has a whirlwind love affair. She joins him and his passengers on one of his charter cruises to the Canaries after Josh and Maggie go to Paris on their honeymoon. Convinced that her new stepmother is only after Josh's money, the situation causes tension and suspicion between all four of them. After becoming estranged from her father, it takes a tragedy for Andrea to realise how much she loves him, and to understand him. But a disaster involving the charter boat is the catalyst that finally...
The Velvet Ribbon
Nadine Dorries
The heartbreaking final novel in the Tarabeg trilogy, from million-copy bestseller Nadine Dorries. Mary Kate Malone has come to Liverpool from Ireland to seek her fortune, but from the very beginning things have gone wrong. Now she is living secretly with her great love, Dr Nicholas Marcus, while his wife Lavinia, mother of his two sons, plots her revenge on the girl who she believes has destroyed her marriage. When disaster strikes, Mary Kate's first instinct is to flee to her family in Ireland. But back in Tarabeg, a charismatic American stranger has set among the pigeons and it isn't the place Mary Kate remembers any more. To add to her problems, Dr Gaskell and Matron from St Angelus Hospital have come to Tarabeg to recruit nurses – and Mary Kate's Liverpool life is about to come back to haunt her with a vengeance. What readers are saying about the Tarabeg Series: 'A brilliant read, a wonderful story and I...
Lunchtime Chronicles: Red Velvet
S. London
A LoveRotica sex journal, a curious librarian, and a sexy alpha who keeps what he finds. Knox UenoI never thought a bookworm librarian could crack my spine.Talk about underestimating a book by the plain cover.Siah rewrote every page I thought I knew, and then put me back on the shelf, well-used and ready for check-out again.I'm not mad that she worked me over.I'm pissed that she left. Siah KentWhen I went to Knox's bed, I unleashed all my wicked fantasies.I can't want more, so after our weekend together, I scribbled, "The End" to our story in my LoveRotica Sex Journal and boarded a flight for home.I'm single and satisfied until Knox rolls into town flipping all my well-ordered hormones with an erotic entry of his own.It doesn't matter.He'll never know my backstory, and I refuse to share my climax. Red Velvet is a standalone ambw interracial erotic romance with a happy ending.
The Clue of the Velvet Mask
Carolyn Keene
Children's Books / Mystery & Thrillers / Young Adult
A masquerade party quickly turns into a mystery when Nancy and Ned spy an enigmatic man in a black cloak and an exotic woman in a glittering Javanese costume. Are they members of the gang of wily thieves who sneak into parties hosted by wealthy citizens to rob jewels and painting treasures? Why is the owner of the black velvet hooded mask Ned found during the party desperate to retrieve it? To find the answers, Nancy and George switch identities. George soon discovers that it can be both exciting and dangerous to masquerade as Nancy Drew! This book is the revised text. The plot of the original story (©1953) is similar with minor revisions.
The Black Velvet Mystery
Carolyn Keene
Children's Books / Mystery & Thrillers / Young Adult
The Black Velvet Mystery Keene, Carolyn 1999 Nancy and her friend are modeling in a local fashion show. Someone maliciously cuts a hole in the beautiful black velvet jacket Nancy's friend is wearing, and Nancy must solve the case.
The Velvet Glove
Mary Williams
Nonfiction / Biography / Autobiography
The year is 1905.
Eighteen year old Kate Barrington is getting ready for a ball. She has fallen deeply in love with Jonathan Wentworth, heir to his uncle’s estate.
But when she arrives, Jon’s attention is captivated by her frail but enigmatic cousin Cassandra.
Consumed by jealousy Kate tries to leave, but is stopped by Rick Ferris, a charming and handsome business tycoon.
Kate knows she cannot love Rick like she loved Jon - but when Rick proposes she agrees, and becomes Mrs Ferris.
Shortly after Jon marries Cassandra. Yet when he tries to touch her she shrinks in fear.
With Kate longing for another man, and Jon unable to consummate his marriage with his wife, both relationships are put under terrible strain.
Will Kate be able to forget Jon and fall in love with her husband?
Or will Jon and Kate’s attraction to each other prove their undoing?
‘The Velvet Glove’ is a moving social drama following the lives of two women from very different social backgrounds at the beginning of the 20th century.
“Mrs Williams is a skillful scene-setter, and piles up her bricks of fear with a malevolent daintiness which makes her final climax more fearful.” The Times
Mary Williams was born in Leicestershire and attended Leicester College of Art where she trained as an illustrator. During a varied and colourful life she wrote and illustrated children’s programmes for BBC Wales and worked as a newspaper columnist. She has had many occult novels published as well as her bestselling Cornish romances which she wrote under the pseudonym Marianne Harvey.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
The Secret of Lillian Velvet
Jaclyn Moriarty
Young Adult / Literature & Fiction
Here are only a few of the wonderful, strange, and mysterious elements in this breathtaking visit to the Kingdoms and Empires: A very proper girl named Lillian Velvet, living a very lonely life with a nasty Grandmother. A jar of coins, each with the power to take Lillian on a journey to a different time and place...and also to grant a single wish. A small boy in a barn about to be crushed to death by a load of hay. A family, each member in mortal danger, who are strangers to Lillian (but whom clever readers will recognize). And a web of dangerous magic closing tight around all. Who IS this Lillian Velvet? And what is her secret?Only Jaclyn Moriarty has the ability to make readers laugh, even while they grip the sides of their chairs in suspense. In THE SECRET OF LILLIAN VELVET she is at the height of her storytelling powers, spinning, spinning, spinning seemingly disparate elements until all is revealed as one delicious, tantalizing whole.
The Velvet Touch
Edward D. Hoch
Nick Velvet is the choosey crook, who steals only the seeminglyvalueless — for a hefty fee of course. In The Velvet Touch, Nick steals a bald man's comb, a faded flag, an overdue library book, an ordinary playing card, a menu -- and 9 other items
While engaged in pilfering, Nick finds that he often has to become a detective, sometimes in order to save Sandra Paris, the White Queen, who is also a thief -- a mistress of bizarre crimes, who does "Impossible Things Before Breakfast." Nick Velvet and Sandra Paris sometimes compete, sometimes work together — as in the theft of a snake-charmer's basket on the front cover.
**About the Author
Edward D. Hoch, is a legend of ingenuity in the world of mystery writing. Author of more than 800 short stories, winner of the Edgar Award, former President of the Mystery Writers of America, and contributor to every issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine since 1973, Hoch is one of the great mystery writers of our time. And Nick Velvet and Sandra Paris are two of his greatest characters.
Velvet in Venice
Karin Kallmaker
Romance / Gay and Lesbian / Chick Lit
The Coin of Love Series: Women looking for their perfect match get the inspiration they need at just the right moment. Artie Bryson came to Venice to finish her PhD. Five years later the PhD still isn't done, but life is okay. Leading guided tours of the magnificent city pays the bills. The days are all the same — until she seeks respite from the summer swelter in the Casino di Venezia cabaret. Nikki Velvet has finally found her musical niche singing Postcards from America in a solo tour across Europe. Her bluesy, jazzy, sultry voice brings Artie back the next night. And the next... The two Americans find they have a lot in common, but Nicki's gig in Venice ends in two short weeks. Not long enough for anything more than a bit of fun, right? One very old coin knows otherwise... Welcome to Venice, a city like no other, where a touch of old magic can create a new future.
Velvet Lightning
Kay Hooper
Mystery & Thrillers / Romance
VICTORIA AND FALCON SAIL IN HOT PURSUIT OF MARCUS TYRONE, THE ONLY MAN ALIVE WHO CAN REVEAL THE GREATEST SECRET OF THE CIVIL WAR. BUT WILL THEY REACH HIM IN TIME?
A handsome rogue whose recklessness and courage had made him a fortune as a blockade runner, Marcus Tyrone had no scruples when it came to getting what he wanted, especially when it was a woman. Exquisite and deliciously tempting, the woman he could not resist was an ice goddess. She smiled for no man, but in Tyrone's arms she melted trembled, sizzled with yearning that only a daring captain could satisfy. He'd touched her deeply, exposed a passion she'd never suspected, only dreamed of... and unmasked a woman whose secrets rivaled his own. The web of intrigue that had brought Tyrone to the island of Port Elizabeth finally held him fast, as did the woman he loved without illusions. He longed to confide in her, possess her, bind her to him in any way he could--but he was haunted by the agony in her eyes. The end of one trail meant another's beginning, but would the sins of the past deny them their precious dream?
Velvet Ligntning
Kay Hooper
Mystery & Thrillers / Romance
In this triumphant and tantalizing historical romance from New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper, a daring sea captain seeks paradise with a troubled beauty. Out of allegiance to her ailing father, Catherine Waltrip has remained in Port Elizabeth, an isolated island where nothing is as it seems. Cool, distant, and enigmatic, Catherine hides behind the frosty reserve of her porcelain features. But behind closed doors, she melts in the arms of her rugged and infamous blockade runner. Their secret and forbidden love is her only escape from inner demons she could never confess, deadly demons that could destroy them both. But secrets have a way of surfacing, and not even Captain Marc Tyrone will be able to keep Catherine safe when the terrifying truth is revealed. . . . A renegade born to command the high seas, Marc traces his fortune back to the dangerous choices he made when his country was divided by war. One of those choices comes back to haunt him when...
The Velvet Caress
Part #2 of "Velvet Lies" series by C. P. Mandara
*When the final spank had slammed into her backside she was sobbing, but not with pain. Jen was so aroused she was literally crying with frustration. She kept saying 'please' over and over again, and I was pretty certain I knew what would wash the tears away.*
When one lie is shattered, another begins.
My wife is on her deathbed and I’ve barely been married a day. The poison she took was meant for me. I should be the one lying in a hospital bed looking as though each moment might be my last. The guilt I feel is indescribable.
It’s a bit too late to realise I’m in love with Jennifer. I’ve screwed the poor girl over so many times she can barely stand to look at me. Every time I come near her she flinches, and I can hardly blame her. All I know is that I need to make this right. I owe her that much.
I used to be good at delivering the impossible, but this time I'm not so sure. The odds are not stacked in my favour.
Losing isn’t going to be an option, though. If I lose her, I lose everything...
Velvet Night (Author's Cut Edition)
Jo Goodman
Literature & Fiction / Historical Fiction
In The Aftermath of War, A Young Woman Struggles to Find Peace and Love in Velvet Night, a Historical Romance by Jo Goodman— England Countryside and London; Boston 1815 —Abducted, drugged, and sold to a brothel, Kenna Dunne is believed dead. If not for Rhys Canning's timely rescue, her death would be a reality. Escaping England and a shadowy past with Rhys, the only person she trusts to protect her, Kenna arrives in Boston as Rhys's wife and with a newfound purpose. Together they will save the shipping line inherited from his father.Believing Kenna is safe from her father's killer and the trauma of witnessing his death, Rhys truly enjoys his time with her. But peace is short-lived when the past catches up to them.Now, they must learn the truth behind Kenna's father's murder. With Kenna's life at risk once again, she acknowledges that someone she loves may be trying to kill her.Publisher Note: For new and old fans of Jo Goodman comes...
The Velvet Hand
Hulbert Footner
Literature
Madame Rosika Storey is a detective living near Gramercy Park, NY, created in the mid-1920s by Canadian born Hulbert Footner. Storey's secretary, companion and gushing admirer, Bella Brickley narrates through five novels and thirty short stories as her hero solves crimes and straightens out people's problems. The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection calls her, "a stunningly beautiful young woman who describes herself as 'a practical psychologist--specializing in the feminine."
Mike Grost wrote: "Hulbert Footner's tales of Madame Rosika Storey have a period charm. They tend not to be overwhelmingly brilliant as puzzle plots. Footner's tales, from the 1920's and 30's seem oddly old-fashioned for their era. His detective technique would have seemed familiar to Émile Gaboriau in the 1860's: footprints, rooms searched for hidden clues, an obvious suspect and a hidden suspect, mild sorts of financial skullduggery lurking in the background. Footner was good at describing every sort of romantic attraction. He was alert to the emotional feelings of his characters. His characters are oddly, rawly sexual for their eras: one is especially startled by the gigolos in "Wolves of Monte Carlo", but Footner liked to include really handsome, seductive young men in many of his tales. Footner is perhaps a bit influenced by the Jazz Age tradition of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and its emphasis on both romance and sexuality. Madame Rosika in Madame Storey is somewhat unusual as a great detective of the era who happens to be a woman. She works as a paid professional, uses her brains, is universally respected for her skill, and basically plays the same role in her world that Hercule Poirot does in his."
Vixen in Velvet
Part #3 of "The Dressmakers" series by Loretta Chase
Romance / Historical Fiction
From the Diary of Leonie Noirot: *The perfect corset should invite its undoing . . .*
Lethally charming Simon Fairfax, Marquess of Lisburne, has reluctantly returned to London for one reason only: a family obligation. Still, he might make time for the seduction of a certain redheaded dressmaker—but Leonie Noirot hasn't time for him. She's obsessed with transforming his cousin, the dowdy Lady Gladys, into a swan.
Leonie's skills can coax curves—and profits—from thin air, but his criminally handsome lordship is too busy trying to seduce her to appreciate her genius. He badly needs to learn a lesson, and the wager she provokes ought to teach him, once and for all.
A great plan, in theory—but Lisburne's become a serious distraction, and Leonie's usual logic is in danger of slipping away as easily as a silk chemise. Could the Season's greatest transformation be her own?
Velvet Was the Night
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir”* about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find. *Simone St James, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger. Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for...
The Velvet Badge
Bob Mantel
"Elevated by a satisfying blend of hard-boiled suspense and subtle hints of satire, Bob Mantel's The Velvet Badge: A New York Noir is a stunning debut from a must-read author." — IndieReader- "A horrific crime catalyzes desperate New Yorkers in this arresting neo-noir ensemble tale. In his striking first novel, [Bob] Mantel creates a dark world where everyone has a secret that could lead to destruction. . . Mantel's terrific use of language [is] an homage to classic noir fiction but always fresh in its own way. . . The mood lasts long after the reader has finished." — BookLife, Publishers Weekly "In this debut literary novel... [Mantel's prose is...] stylish, evoking hard-boiled crime novels through Pynchon-esque prose. An entertaining...murder tale." — Kirkus Reviews Lesbian disco-era careerist fall afoul of a New York City revenge murder in this hard-eged neo-noir.A tasteless night club...
Match Point
Velvet Vaughn
Willa Ashford was basking in the glory of defending her gold medal in beach volleyball when her world came crashing down after her partner's death. Two years later, the USA is on the verge of missing the next Olympics. Willa comes out of retirement to win an important tournament and secure the spot for the USA, but someone wants to ensure she doesn't succeed.COBRA Securities agent Colt Fontaine has been tasked with keeping Willa safe as she and her new partner train for the event. What started as harmless warnings suddenly escalates. While Colt battles to stop an unknown entity from harming Willa, passion ignites, and they fall in love.Soon, the threats turn violent and the body count rises. Betrayal hits close to home. Can Colt save Willa before the game reaches match point?
The Velvet Rage
Alan Downs
A groundbreaking examination of the psychology of homosexuality, why it leads to shame over one's identity and how to overcome it
The House of Velvet and Glass
Katherine Howe
Literature & Fiction / Young Adult / Thriller
Katherine Howe, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, returns with an entrancing historical novel set in Boston in 1915, where a young woman stands on the cusp of a new century, torn between loss and love, driven to seek answers in the depths of a crystal ball.
Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.
But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Derby, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.
From the opium dens of Boston’s Chinatown to the opulent salons of high society, from the back alleys of colonial Shanghai to the decks of the Titanic, The House of Velvet and Glass weaves together meticulous period detail, intoxicating romance, and a final shocking twist that will leave readers breathless.
Fatal Dreams
Velvet Vaughn
Romani blood flows through Esmerelda Jovanovich's veins, but she's never possessed any psychic abilities—until recently. Strange visions are plaguing her sleep, and they're as unsettling as they are prophetic. Her dreams are literally becoming nightmares.After a chance encounter along the side of the road, COBRA Securities Agent Ethan Addison hasn't been able to chase the exotic Esme from his thoughts. When he runs into her again and learns of the danger she's facing, he'll stop at nothing to protect her.Ethan and Esme's chemistry is instant, scorching and in jeopardy when the body count rises and the killer targets Esme. They team up to unravel her dreams before it's too late, but are they the work of evil spirits or something conjured in the disturbed mind of a twisted psychopath?
A Green Velvet Secret
Vicki Grant
Letters from beyond the grave and a green velvet dress reveal a secret to Yardley's beloved grandmother; for fans of The Parker Inheritance and The List of Things That Will Not Change and ages 10 and up.It's always hard to lose a friend, but for Yardley O'Hanlon it's devastating. Her best friend is her wild and wonderful grandmother Gidge. They're two fashionable peas in a quirky little pod. They spend all their time together sewing and crafting and creating beautiful things — until Gidge dies, and Yardley loses her for good.Or does she?Yardley isn't convinced. Gidge was a big believer in reincarnation. She promised she'd never leave Yardley, and Gidge always kept her promises. So when a stylish older woman walks into the Over Easy Vintage Emporium where Yardley is helping out, Yardley is sure it's her grandmother, back from the dead. But her happiness doesn't last long, as the woman runs away in terror and no one else believes she was Gidge...
The Velvet Rose
Susan Holmes McKagan
In the early nineties, Scarlet, a painter and high fashion model, finds herself working in some of the world's most famous fashion capitals. As her adventure continues, she meets Johnny of The Westies, an up-and-coming band on the cusp of superstardom. What ensues is an unhinged ride of a novel following the audacious lead female protagonist as she navigates her life through fame, addiction, infidelity, and all the ups and downs of dating a legendary musician from one of the biggest rock bands in history. A riveting and heartfelt journey of figuring out one's own path and championing that aspect to finding their dreams. Rich in spirit and relatable for all those who have ever had the courage to chase their dreams and pursue an unconventional path in this glorious world. A page-turner, frequently injected with laugh-out-loud humor, front row seat of fun debut that is being heralded as the earnest generation of authenticity of a nineties voyage, Susan Holmes McKagan shines in...
Raging Inferno
Velvet Vaughn
Eighteen years ago, a deadly blaze tore apart the lives of five friends. COBRA Securities agent Presley Parrish was also profoundly impacted by the tragedy. Now someone is eliminating the women involved, putting Presley in the crosshairs of a killer.A string of fatal fires in his hometown has Fire Captain Dominic Bianchi on edge. When Presley reenters his life, sparks of attraction ignite and blossom into love as they race to stop a series of murders linked to her past.During the course of the investigation, secrets are revealed that threaten to upend their lives. Can Presley and Dominic stop a killer seemingly one step ahead before everything goes up in flames?
The Velvet Fox
Catherine Fisher
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Poetry / Young Adult
After rescuing Tomos from enchantment, orphan Seren Rhys is enjoying her first summer at Plas-y-Fran. But as autumn arrives, it brings with it a mysterious new governess who seems intent on drawing Tomos away from Seren and his family. Dangerous figures from a bewitched toy carousel stalk the house and, fearing the worst, Seren calls on the clockwork crow to help her. But can he reach her in time, and will Tomos be able to escape the magical creatures threatening to ensnare him, led by the Velvet Fox?
Velvet
Huzama Habayeb
Hawa is a child of the grinding hardship of a Palestinian refugee camp. She has had to survive the camp itself, as well as the humiliation and destruction of an abusive family life. But now, later in life, something most unexpected has happened: she has fallen in love. Velvet unfolds over a day in Hawa's life, as she makes plans for a new beginning that may take her out of the camp. She sifts back through her memories of the past: the stories of her family, her childhood, and her beloved mentor, who invited her into the glamorous world of the rich women of Amman. This is a novel of enormous power and great beauty. Rich in detail, it tells of the women of the camp, and the joy and relief that can be captured amid repression and sorrow.
Shot Through Velvet
Part #7 of "Crime of Fashion" series by Ellen Byerrum
Fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian is touring a failing velvet factory in Virginia on its final day of operations-and finds one of the factory owners dead, lashed to a spool of velvet and soaked in blue dye. The workers are delighted, since they blamed the "Blue Devil" for killing their jobs. But when another nickname, the "Velvet Avenger", makes the rounds, and ribbons of blue velvet start popping up, it could be more than Lacey's job at stake-it could be her life... **
Iron Cross
Velvet Vaughn
Pro hockey player Finnegan Bates is coming off a high after an award-winning season, but his world comes crashing down when his old girlfriends start dying one by one.After a brief meeting a month ago, COBRA Securities agent Kayla Hepburn thought about Finn often. When bodies pile up around him and he becomes a target, she jumps into action to protect him.Love blossoms even as a killer grows bolder. With time running out, they race to stop a deranged psychopath who has Finn and everyone he loves in their sights.
Velvet Song
Part #3 of "Velvet Montgomery Annuals" series by Jude Deveraux
Romance / Contemporary / Historical Fiction
They were both outcasts by a harsh decree -- and on the brink of a shared destiny of passion!
With her father murdered, her home burned, lovely Alyx Blackett fled to the woods -- and sanctuary in the camp of Raine Montgomery, a nobleman outlawed by the king's edict. There she hid her beauty in the guise of a boy, and her sorrow in her work as Montgomery's squire.
But how long could such loveliness as hers be hidden? How long could such a gallant man's desires be blind? And how soon -- even as a blood feud raged between the Montgomerys and the Chatworths, as angry swords clattered in the name of family honor -- one woman's love would make all the difference... one woman's love would inflame a hero's passion, touch a king's pity, and raise a song of praise in every English heart.
Velvet Kisses
Addison Moore
Mystery / Romance
Marley Jackson has an ax to grind with the entire male population. After having her heart brutally broken, she’s out to prove to both herself and the world that a woman only needs one thing from a man—and it isn’t love.
Wyatt James isn’t interested in anything that resembles a commitment. He’s self-made, secure, and happy to entertain a one-night stand any day of the week—enter Marley.
Marley quickly dispels the idea that she’s anybody’s one-night stand. What Marley has in store for Wyatt is far more complex and requires a binding contract to back it.
Marley and Wyatt aren’t in it for love. Marley is looking to glean some expertise in the bedroom. Wyatt is looking to find some solace after a string of nameless faces that have rocked his bed.
But when feelings change, and that four-letter word takes ahold of both their hearts, they’re left to face the fact they might be in deeper than either of them thought possible.
Marley and Wyatt smolder beneath the sheets.
She’s eager to learn—yet, bossy as hell.
He’s eager to lay down one hard lesson after the other, yet determined to save her from herself.
Sometimes heartbreak is the greatest teacher.
Sometimes it leads you into the arms of the one you belonged with right from the start.
Highland Velvet
Part #2 of "Velvet Montgomery Annuals" series by Jude Deveraux
Romance / Contemporary / Historical Fiction
Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0671739727 here.
Bronwyn MacArran was a proud Scot. Stephen Montgomery was one of the hated English.
He came to Scotland as a conqueror, saw her beauty and was vanquished. But still she would abhor him.
She owned a temper hot enough to forge the armors of battle or inflame a valiant soldier's passion. Yet still she would resist him.
She became his reason to live, his reason to love. And still she would deny him.
But while clan fought clan, while brother took up sword against brother, and the highlands ran with blood -- their destiny was made... and this mighty warrior pledged himself to his woman's pride, her honor and her name -- and made of their love a torch to burn through the ages!
Velvet Sky, Arizona -
J. C. Hulsey
After two days of traveling, I pulled up on Sugar's reins, stared at the trail ahead, turned in the saddle and looked at the dusty trail behind. It looked like silver water running off a duck's back, and the land in front of us seemed to sizzle, like a burning flame. Some of the terrain looked vaguely familiar, but then looking a second time, it didn't look like anything I had seen before. As I took another look, the subtle rise and fall of the land all looked the same.
Without a Trace
Velvet Vaughn
As an emergency room physician, Dr. Amelia Howell has had little time during her career to give back to the less fortunate. Before embarking on a new job, she volunteers for a humanitarian trip with Doctors International. Her mission sends her to the rainforest of Santigo, a small country struggling with poverty and rampant with corruption. When she inadvertently witnesses a crime, she becomes a target of very dangerous people and is abducted.Injuries sustained in a bomb blast have sidelined COBRA Securities Agent Wyatt Hollister indefinitely. At loose ends, he decides on a spur of the moment trip to visit Amelia in Santigo. But once he arrives, he walks into a nightmare and discovers Amelia is missing.Against all odds, Wyatt finds Amelia and their mutual attraction ignites into a flame of passion. But their budding love...and their lives are at stake while on the run from a deadly cartel attempting to make them both disappear Without a Trace.
The Velvet Collar
C. P. Mandara
Mr Watters didn't believe in warm-ups, and the first ten smacks of the paddle had my eyes smarting with tears. I then got ten seconds of recovery time before he started the next round. This was nothing compared to what Mark usually doled out, but tiredness was probably getting the better of me. When he started his third round of spanks I wanted to mewl in protest, but I managed to restrain myself.
Blood, Sperm, Black Velvet
Oscar Wilde
Theatre / Poetry / Fiction
The Decadent movement in literature, which flourished from the 1880s until the turn of the century, drew its inspiration equally from gothic novels, Baudelaire and the morbid funeraries of Poe, the psychotropic ravages of alcohol and exotic drugs, and the Satanic dream-art of such Symbolist painters as Redon, Stuck, Delville and Rops. Although the group of European writers that includes J-K Huysmans, Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, and Paul Verlaine are generally held to epitomise the Decadent literary aesthetic, there was also a core of English or English-speaking authors who between them produced a stream of dark reveries which often surpassed those of their continental counterparts. BLOOD, SPERM ANd BLACK VELVET collects 12 of the most delirious and subversive writings of English Decadence, including works by Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, Arthur Machen, M.P. Shiel, Aleister Crowley, Count Stenbock and several others, in a single, unprecedented volume of nightmare, black...
Longarm and the Diary of Madame Velvet
Tabor Evans
Some dirty diaries give Longarm clues to a killer!When two spinsters inherit a former whorehouse—and stumble on the incriminating journals of the scarlet woman who once ran the place—it's up to Longarm to fend off danger and keep these very loving gals happy.
The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet
Jaclyn Moriarty
Young Adult / Literature & Fiction
A magical book in the rich and whimsical world of the Kingdoms and Empires about a girl, a threat and a pickle jar filled with gold coins by the internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning author of The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst.'Jaclyn Moriarty is one of the most original writers we have.' Markus ZusakLillian Velvet lives a very lonely life with her cold and remote Grandmother. That is, until her tenth birthday, when she is given a pickle jar of gold coins, along with a note with clear instructions: don't go out, don't open the door for anyone, and don't spend all your coins in one day.What happens next seems impossible. The coins whisk Lillian away to a different time and place. There she meets a small boy in a circus about to be crushed to death; a lively family, each member in a distinctive form of mortal danger; a boy with a skateboard; and a girl who can Whisper. And a web of dangerous magic closing tight...
The Velvet Hours
Alyson Richman
Historical Fiction / Literature & Fiction
From the international bestselling author of The Lost Wife and The Garden of Letters, comes a story—inspired by true events—of two women pursuing freedom and independence in Paris during WWII.As Paris teeters on the edge of the German occupation, a young French woman closes the door to her late grandmother's treasure-filled apartment, unsure if she'll ever return. An elusive courtesan, Marthe de Florian cultivated a life of art and beauty, casting out all recollections of her impoverished childhood in the dark alleys of Montmartre. With Europe on the brink of war, she shares her story with her granddaughter Solange Beaugiron, using her prized possessions to reveal her innermost secrets. Most striking of all are a beautiful string of pearls and a magnificent portrait of Marthe painted by the Italian artist Giovanni Boldini. As Marthe's tale unfolds, like velvet itself, stitched with its own shadow and light, it helps to guide Solange...
Running Scared
Velvet Vaughn
Declan Elliot has fully recovered following serious injuries obtained while protecting Jamal West from danger. The ink isn't yet dry on the contract for Declan to become COBRA Securities' newest agent when Jamal's life is threatened again. Declan drops everything to rush to his rescue.Kenzie Bryant reported her boss for harassment and was unceremoniously fired from her job as an editor. On the same day she was canned, she learned her beloved aunt had died. As Kenzie is clearing out her aunt's condo, a ruthless gang sets their sights on the young boy in the unit next door and Kenzie is caught in their crosshairs.On the run for their lives, Declan and Kenzie fall in love while teaming up to evade and outwit the killers. As they race to discover why the gang is targeting a seven-year-old boy, the threats become increasingly violent and deadly. Time is running out to uncover the motive and neutralize the threat before it's too late.
The Viper
Velvet Vaughn
After a successful first mission as a COBRA Securities Agent, Kellan Polizzi was headed home for a well-deserved break when he encounters a beautiful blond with killers hot on her tail. Bullets start flying and he risks everything to keep her safe, even if it means putting his own life in jeopardy. Annabelle St. John just inherited a fortune, setting her up as a target for greedy opportunists. When bodies start to pile up, she turns to Kellan for protection. He's strong and brave and willing to lay his life on the line to keep her safe. Love blooms as they team up to outwit the bad guys.Fate brought them together but danger awaits at every turn and they soon discover there's nowhere safe to hide from The Viper.
Red Velvet (Silk Stocking Inn #1)
Tess Oliver
Romance / Contemporary / Paranormal
Jessi has it all, success, money and a corner office with a view. The only thing she doesn't have is the right man. But when a wrong turn lands her at the welcome mat of the Silk Stocking Inn, and in the arms of hot handyman, Grayson, Jessi's well-planned life is turned upside down... both in and out of bed.Jessi is about to get a tasty sample of love, erotic fantasies and red velvet cupcakes.
