Summary from goodreads: While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, sweet and sprightly Ellen “Nell” Gwyn impresses the theater’s proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to […]

Summary from goodreads: Jamil renounced a life of jihad when he encountered the life-changing message of Jesus Christ, but villagers and authorities in the hills of Afghanistan respond with skepticism . . . and even violence. Relief worker Amy Mallory is shocked by the changes in her organization—changes with dire implications for the women and children under her care. And […]

Summary from goodreads: In her first book, Trish Ryan chronicled the ways in which finding faith lead her to the happily-ever-after ending that had eluded her for so long. Only it wasn’t an ending. It was a beginning. In A MAZE OF GRACE, Ryan picks up where she left off, sharing the early years of her marriage, and the challenges […]

Summary from goodreads: A paragon of virtue, Miss Lillian Davenport has an unrivaled reputation. So why has she offered to pay dangerous American, Lucas Clairmont, for a single kiss? Lucas refuses to be molded by society and often walks on the wrong side of right, but Lillian’s pure goodness and pale, correct life fascinate him. He senses that beneath the […]

Summary from goodreads: Lose All the Weight You Want, One Meal, One Pound, One Day At a Time!   I’ve got great news for you: You are about to feel better and look better beginning today! Today is truly a new opportunity for you to reach your weight loss goals. No, you won’t fit into your “skinny jeans” today, but […]

Summary from Goodreads: Carpenter Adam Bede is in love with the beautiful Hetty Sorrel, but unknown to him, he has a rival in the local squire’s son, Arthur Donnithorne. Hetty is soon attracted by Arthur’s seductive charm and they begin to meet in secret. The relationship is to have tragic consequences that reach far beyond the couple themselves, touching not […]

Summary from Goodreads: Taken from the poverty of her parents’ home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny’s uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour […]

Summary from Goodreads: A mother’s tragedy, a daughter’s desire and the 7000 mile journey that changed their lives. In 1896 Norwegian American Helga Estby accepted a wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City within seven months in an effort to earn $10,000. Bringing along her nineteen year-old daughter Clara, the two made their […]

Synopsis from Goodreads:  A ne’er-do-well exploits his gentle daughter’s beauty for social advancement in this masterpiece of tragic fiction. Hardy’s 1891 novel defied convention to focus on the rural lower class for a frank treatment of sexuality and religion. Then and now, his sympathetic portrait of a victim of Victorian hypocrisy offers compelling reading. Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas […]

ABOUT THE BOOK Have you ever admired those successful people who seem to “have it all?” You see them chatting confidently at business meetings, and comfortably at social parties. They’re the ones with the best jobs, the nicest spouses, the finest friends, the biggest bank accounts, the most fashionable zip codes. But wait a minute! A lot of them aren’t […]