The Ugly Duckling

      Iris Johansen
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If fate suddenly made you more beautiful than you ever dreamed possible, would it be the beginning of a fairy tale, or your worst nightmare? The brutal attack should have killed anybody, but Nell Calder did more than survive. She emerged a woman transformed, with an exquisite beauty found only in fairy tales. Nell Calder deserved a happy ending. Instead, her descent into terror has just begun. Her attacker is still on the hunt, determined to finish what he's started. And Nell, protected by a new face, is just as determined to fight back and take her revenge. But to catch her prey, she will have to expose herself—even if it makes her a killer's prime target.

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    The Bear and the Nightingale

      Katherine Arden
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A magical debut novel for readers of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, and Neil Gaiman's myth-rich fantasies, The Bear and the Nightingale spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent with a gorgeous voice. At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil. After Vasilisa's mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa's new stepmother forbids her family...

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    Double Date

      R. L. Stine
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No girl in her right mind would say no to a date with Bobby Newkirk. Not with those great looks, that easy charm, and the awesome way he plays the guitar. Of course, some people think he's just a bit conceited. But when it comes to breaking hearts, that hasn't slowed Bobby down one bit. At least, not until the beautiful Wade twins move to Shadyside. And Bobby brags to his friends that they'll both fall for him. And they do. Too bad for Bobby the twins never learned to share. One of them is jealous, murderously jealous. Is it quiet, shy Bree? Or bold, sexy Samantha? Bobby had better figure it out...or his double fun will turn to double terror.

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    A Grim Pet (Tornians Book 6)

      M. K. Eidem
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The Great Raptor is a fearsome and deadly creature; and while the Raptor is no one's pet, he is fiercely protective and loving of his family... Carly and Miki have never forgotten the stories that Grim has told them of the Great Raptor, the symbol of their new home world of Luda. Yet, it is the comparison their mother once made of the Great Raptor to Grim that gives them the courage to help the injured bird they find in the garden. Find out what happens when their single act of love, faith, and kindness creates far-reaching consequences that no one, including their mother and Grim, could ever have predicted. **

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    Don't Tell

      Karen Rose
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It was a desperate plan. But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child from her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of their former life is at the bottom of a lake. Armed with a new identity in a new town, she and her son have found refuge hundreds of miles away. As Caroline Stewart, she has almost forgotten the nightmare she left behind nine years ago. She is even taking a chance on love with Max Hunter, a man with wounds of his own. But her past is about to collide with the present when her husband uncovers her trail and threatens her hard-won peace. Step by step, he's closing in on her- and everything and everyone she loves. From Publishers WeeklySince escaping her abusive cop husband and moving to Chicago seven years earlier, Mary Grace Winters has reinvented herself. With the help of a safe house for battered women, she changed her name to Caroline Stewart and her son's to Tom and secured a secretarial position at Carrington College. But unbeknownst to Caroline, her husband is on her trail, determined to reclaim his son and kill anyone who stands in his way. Meanwhile, Caroline struggles to live a normal life and open her heart to the love of a good man, Max Hunter. A handsome history professor and former NBA star, Max still bears physical and emotional scars from a long-ago car crash. But as their whirlwind romance progresses, enhanced by generous doses of steamy sex, Max realizes that Caroline's reluctance to commit stems from her past fears, not repulsion over his injury. Despite one stormy scene, in which Caroline and Max fling insults at each other and compare scars, first-time author Rose handles her subject matter well. She informs without preaching and allows her characters to sort through their emotions in a mature manner. As gripping as a cold hand on the back of one's neck, but tempered by lovable characters and a moving romance, this assured debut bodes well for Rose's future books. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review'Rose delivers the kind of high-wire suspense that keeps you riveted to the edge of your seat' -- Lisa Gardner 'Romantic suspense at its ultimate best' -- Romance Junkies

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    Heels and Heroes

      Tiffany Allee
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Brenda is a second-rate superhero, normally more concerned with uniform fashion than defeating bad guys. But when a violent, new super villain declares war against her city, she suddenly finds her specialized power to deafen sound in high demand. As if facing the destructive force of a new enemy isn’t bad enough, she finds herself paired with the powerful, yet emotionally d. . .

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    South American Jungle Tales

      Horacio Quiroga
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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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    Hildegarde's Holiday: A Story for Girls

      Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
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Hildegarde's Holiday - a story for girls is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

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    Penrod

      Booth Tarkington
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Penrod is a collection of comic sketches by Booth Tarkington that was first published in 1914. The book follows the misadventures of Penrod Schofield, an eleven-year-old boy growing up in the pre-World War I Midwestern United States, in a similar vein to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In Penrod, Tarkington established characters who appeared in two further books.

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    Castles in the Air

      Baroness Emmuska Orczy Orczy
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My name is Ratichon - Hector Ratichon, at your service, and I make so bold as to say that not even my worst enemy would think of minimizing the value of my services to the State. For twenty years now have I placed my powers at the disposal of my country: I have served the Republic, and was confidential agent to Citizen Robespierre; I have served the Empire, and was secret factotum to our great Napoleon; I have served King Louis - with a brief interval of one hundred days - for the past two years, and I can only repeat that no one, in the whole of France, has been so useful or so zealous in tracking criminals, nosing out conspiracies, or denouncing traitors as I have been. And yet you see me a poor man to this day: there has been a persistently malignant Fate which has worked against me all these years, and would - but for a happy circumstance of which I hope anon to tell you - have left me just as I was, in the matter of fortune, when I first came to Paris and set up in business as a volunteer police agent at No, 96 Rue Daunou.

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    Callista : a Tale of the Third Century

      John Henry Newman
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In CALLISTA: A TALE OF THE THIRD CENTURY John Henry Newman brings the riches of his intellect and imagination to bear upon the the Roman colony of Sicca Veneria in North Africa, circa 250 A.D. Persecution is far from most Christians' living memory. Priests and bishops have grown lukewarm in matters of faith and preoccupied with matters of business. In celebration of the Roman millenium, Emperor Decius decrees that all citizens must pay homage to Rome by swearing by the genius of the Emperor and worshipping Jove. Against this backdrop Newman's novel dramatizes Pagan-Christian conflicts of great consequence through the interwoven fates of three main characters: Agellius, a Christian farmer of Roman descent; Caecilius Cyprianus, the persecuted Bishop of Carthage; and Callista, a Greek decorator of sculptures drawn to the Christian way. Together they must reckon with the most pressing problems of tolerance and exclusivity, conversion and martyrdom. Wiseblood Books fosters fiction, poetry, and philosophy that render truths with what Flannery O'Connor called an unyielding "realism of distances." Such works find redemption in uncanny places and people; wrestle us from the tyranny of boredom; mock the pretensions of respectability; engage the hidden mysteries of the human heart, be they sources of either violence or courage; articulate faith and doubt in their incarnate complexity; dare an unflinching gaze at human beings as "political animals"; and suffer through this world's trials without forfeiting hope. Visit us at www.wisebloodbooks.com. We are wide-eyed for new epiphanies of beauty.

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    Baiting & Fishing

      Meredith Rae Morgan
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A newspaper reporter investigates the circumstances of a corporate scandal, and finds the woman of his dreams. Is she his perfect match or a murderess? Is he a heel or a hero?After moving to Hawaii, Emma dismisses the strange goings-on as figments of her imagination — until she stumbles upon a gathering of ancient spirits. Can she combat a curse that threatens her soul and an impossible love triangle? With over 600 five-star ratings on Goodreads, The Night Marchers series is a complete young adult paranormal romance series that will appeal to fans of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, and The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith. NEVER, EVER lock eyes with a Night Marcher! Everyone in Hawaii has heard this warning, except for seventeen-year-old Emma Townsend that is. For most Hawaiians know that looking into the eyes of Night Marcher can strike a curse that will end in death or eternal servitude. Even though her paranormal investigator father solely raised Emma, she has little experience in the realm of the supernatural. After being forced to move with her father to Hawaii only months before her graduation, Emma starts seeing the unexplainable — fire balls in the distance, beating drums in the middle of nowhere, and strangers who vanish into thin air.When an eventful evening lands Emma in the middle of the woods at night, she comes face to face with a procession of Night Marchers. With the help of a mysterious stranger, Emma barely escapes and finds herself on the run for her life. With her life at stake, and a curse chasing her, Emma must put her trust in a man she knows little about to survive. Praises for Night Marchers: "I read books but this one took me on a wild roller coaster ride of emotions. It is a hard book to put down. Be prepared to be up late reading! Can't wait to read the next book!" ~Marella4 "The story is original, thrilling, includes several twists in the romance department, and in the supernatural content as well."~Sally "I am always interested in things based in some kind of paranormal "truth" and this story didn't fail to impress with the authors obviously having taken a great deal of time to do their research. By the time I got to the end I could not wait to pick up the second one and see where the story went."~Chantress

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    The Giving Plague

      John Krissilas
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Not all villains succeed at being evil. Not all diseases deserve the word plague. Fate can be ironic indeed. The chilling short story, The Giving Plague, follows microbiologist Forry, a self-proclaimed cynic, as he encounters a virus transmitted by blood donations that could alter humanity for good, forcing him to wrestle with his own inner demons.Not all villains succeed at being evil. Not all diseases deserve the word plague. Fate can be ironic indeed. The chilling short story, The Giving Plague, follows microbiologist Forry, a self-proclaimed cynic, jealous of his “boy wonder” colleague who discovers a unique virus that could change humanity. Transmitted by blood donations, the virus manipulates humans toward altruism and charity. Forry decides that he will do anything to take credit for this discovery…until a more deadly alien virus infects the human race, forcing him to wrestle with his own inner demons.

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    The Tale of Spam City

      M T McGuire
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Griselda, the Spam Eating Wench of Noop has never clapped eyes on a can of spam, let alone eaten any. If the situation becomes public knowledge her family faces social disgrace. But the world tinned-meat by product crisis is deepening and spam is thin on the ground. Only Griselda can save her family from ruin but can she find some spam before the truth gets out?British English, light swearing PGA note from the author.This is a short story. Before you start, I think I ought to clear something up.'Short' to me, means a piece of writing that is not long. My shorts are character sketches, scenes, events, experiements that come in under five thousand words. So, 'short' here is a description of length, not a genre or a specifc way of presenting a plot. And because they're experimental, they are free.

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    Charlie Needs A Cussbomb

      Daniel Whittman
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Spoof on a high strung man about to blow his top. Funny short storyThere's a certain intimacy about the word "embedded." I don't know who came up with it, but once it was in common usage, we talked about it endlessly in the pub. Embedded, being there, part of the action, eyewitness news on the front line. Embedded became a term shared by the media and the military to describe correspondents who were carried to war as an extra mural member of a fighting unit, journalist as warrior, and it was hoped, certainly from the military standpoint, that this symbiosis, a new quirk on the old Stockholm syndrome, would rub off on the reporters and ensure that coverage swayed towards the soldiers' point of view. Sure there was huffing and puffing over journalistic integrity and freedom of the press, but if you wanted to go to war there was no better way than embedded.You see the Vietnam War had taught the military a hard lesson. If you have newsmen running around the combat zone, left to their own devices, reporting the kill count as it happens, blood baths like Mi Li Four, then the public appetite for the conflict diminishes in direct proportion to the tv footage of body bags coming home. So if you couldn't muzzle the media, then the next best thing was to get them on board, get them embedded, in the hope that the old adage that it is better to have your critic in the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in, would pay dividends.Not that the military were less than sanguine about the prospect, Imagine how it would have been if there had been reporters embedded at The Somme filing eyeball accounts from the trenches of soldiers eating rats to stay alive, and the criminal lunacy of officers ordering troops over the top into machinegun fire.But those kind of considerations didn't cloud the judgement a couple of centuries ago when the spectre of invasion from across the Channel loomed large, and Napoleon Bonaparte summoned the combined naval strength of France and Spain into the largest battle fleet the world had ever seen; when the course of history hung by a thread. When the nation turned to one man, already hailed as a national hero, to save the day. So this is the story. With all the journalistic technique, the breakneck speed of instant communication technology and the clamour for on scene reporting; with every morsel of the action devoured to satisfy the voracious appetite of twenty four seven rolling news I can tell you what transpired when Nelson set sail for the great sea battle off Cape Trafalgar because I was there, embedded with the fleet.My name is John Pretty, naval correspondent of the Daily Chronicle, and with the benefit of hindsight I have collected all my pieces, the news columns, the features, the e-mails, the tapes and scribbled shorthand notes, into a chronological sequence, translated the arcane patois of the eighteenth century tar into the modern idiom to give you a feel of how Trafalgar played in the press. If you want the unalloyed facts, go to the history books, but if you're curious to know how it felt to report Trafalgar then as Mark Twain put it, turn the page, read the log.

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    The Clock Winder

      Anne Tyler
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Mrs. Pamela Evans lives a lonely new widowhood outside of Baltimore, with only a house full of ticking clocks for company. Then she hires eccentric Elizabeth Abbott as a handyman and both discover that parts don't have to be a perfect match to work. "Anne Tyler is a magical writer." LOS ANGELES TIMES From the Paperback edition.

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