Lucas Baird is on the lam. He accidentally killed a man in LA. Totally defensible, but he chose to run, as he has done most of his aimless twenty-four years of life. This time Luke ends up in New York, making love to Daisy on a beach on Long Island. A sudden storm traps him under debris in a rain sewer where he is held captive by a gang of kids under the sway and prod of a fiendish twelve-year-old town bully. The kids, in dreadful fear of their tyrannical master, turn savage, heaping hideous acts of torment and cruelty upon poor Luke. P> How he manages to free himself becomes a redemptive tale woven into the fabric of a fraught, bizarre love story reminiscent of THE BEACH and LORD OF THE FLIES.

Dreams of Innocence is a lushly erotic, deeply intelligent love story that begins when beautiful, celebrated journalist Helena Latimer investigates the mysterious disappearance and possible death of the only man she has ever loved, eminent ecologist Max Bergmann. Her search takes her to Germany, where Max was last seen, and where she discovers a leather-bound, handwritten manuscript dedicated to him. It is titled "Anna's Book", and it leads her back to Europe on the brink of World War I, and to a tale of shining ideals and shattering deeds that will ultimately reveal the truth not only about Max but about Helena as well.

When Brooklyn-born Barnard graduate Kathy Ross travels to post-World War II Berlin to help displaced refugees, she never expects to fall instantly, irrevocably in love. But David Kohn, a young American physician, is tormented by the deaths of his parents in the Holocaust, and uncertain about the future. Kathy impulsively marries David's cousin Phil--a decision that will have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. The charismatic heir apparent to a fur empire, Phil gives Kathy everything she could ever want, including a cherished son. But through the years--even as she forges her own career--Kathy is haunted by her yearning for the one man she can't forget.

This cyber-erotic romantic thriller, written by two queer icons in the 1990s, has been "rebooted" for today's readers. In this rowdy cyber-romance originally written in the 1990s, two people meet online and fall in love in every guise they can manage. As Scratch and Winc go from anonymous lovers to accidental heroes and gender outlaws, they expose the shadowy Web stretched between technology and capitalist greed, nearly becoming roadkill on the internet superhighway. With a little help from their friends including a brave teenager and a mysterious hacker, these darling rebels fight government intervention and find chosen family in this eerily prescient tale. The 30th anniversary “reboot” edition includes an updated lens for today’s readers, as GenZ investigative journalist Drew uncovers what just might be the greatest queer love story of all time . Like Octavia Butler's PARABLE OF THE SOWER, Margaret Atwood's A HANDMAID'S TALE, and George Orwell's 1984, the return of NEARLY ROADKILL is right on time with urgent lessons for our contemporary landscape.

Author of Prime Time, superstar Collins is back with a hornet's nest of romance, envy, lust and revenge (Kirkus). Murderous secrets and desperate passions shape the lives of those working on the movie Cortez as they are drawn into a powerful web of love, desire, and hate.

"Conrad in Quest of His Youth" by Leonard Merrick: a charming romantic comedy set in the vibrant theatrical world of early 20th-century London. This delightful story explores the exuberance of young love and the often-humorous trials of finding one's place in the world. Subtitled "An Extravagance of Temperament," Merrick's work captures the spirit of a bygone era with wit and warmth. A classic of British literature, this tale of youthful passion and self-discovery resonates with timeless appeal. Rediscover this literary gem, meticulously prepared for print republication, and be swept away by the enduring charm of "Conrad in Quest of His Youth." A perfect blend of literary fiction, romance, and humor. 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 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. 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.

Warren Adler is the acclaimed author of 25 novels, published in 30 languages. Two of his books, "The War of the Roses" and "Random Hearts" were made into major motion pictures. He lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and New York City. Ken and Sheila Kramer have a comfortable life and loving marriage. But when Ken is introduced to Carol, the wife of his wife's major client, we discover that she is Ken's old flame, the love of his life and the object of his sexual obsession as a young man. Carol has totally reinvented herself and married a rich husband who has no knowledge of her early life. While unbeknownst to Ken, his wife is carrying on a steamy affair with her client, Carol's husband. When love and sexual obsession again bursts into flames between Ken and Carol, the plot of this masterful black comedy thickens as both couples embark on an African Safari with startling and tragic results. The author of The War of the Roses surpasses himself with this powerful novel of love and betrayal, sexual passion and emotional obsession. It is storytelling at its dramatic best and once again shows Warren Adler's indisputable mastery of contemporary marital relationships. "A masterpiece of gallows humor." .New York Daily News "Warren Adler does for infidelity and betrayal what his The War of the Roses did for incompatibility and greed. He has with delicious tension, carved out the state of matrimony as his exclusive theater of war." .Fred Mustard Stewart, author of The Glitter and the Gold "Adler at his steamy, schemey best if you enjoyed the nice nastiness of The War of the Roses, this is right up your dastardly alley. .Palm Springs Desert Sun

What has been missing from the daring tales of fairy tale heroes is quite simply some heft. In Burly Tales, Lambda Literary Award-winning editor Steve Berman has gathered a dozen stories of whimsy and romance that feature gay men with plenty of curves and fur. Run away with us to the woods, where the cubs and bears are not going to eat you (not without informed, enthusiastic consent), where no one will judge if you take up residence in a house with seven bearded men and only one bed, and where if you fall in love with a large, hairy man with a forbidding castle and a well-stocked library, he'll still be that way after you kiss him. These are stories about trolls guarding gay bars, giants atop the clouds, and a prince trapped in a tower who hopes his beard might be long enough to help his lover climb to his rescue. The book also features an introduction by Matthew Bright and an afterword by acclaimed ursine author Jeff Mann.

An intelligent erotic novel that explores intimacy outside the gender binary. "Underneath all the androgyny and fluctuation, the book's about human connection. Rosenthal's use of sex and gender identities to illustrate how we reach toward and away from relationships is merely a new approach to an old idea: We all need intimacy with others to deepen our understanding of ourselves."- Time Out Chicago. Matt is dating Rye, a willfully free androgynous school teacher. Attracted to Matt's kinkiness and groundedness, Rye develops a taste for his masculinity and their top-bottom dynamic. At a weekend SexxCamp retreat, Matt meets Rain, a charming and snarky twenty-something GenderQueer woman. An unconventional three-way relationship develops, expanding their understanding of polyamory, gender identity, love and connection. "I spent some time devouring Rye and really really enjoyed not only the story and the characters and the death snark, but also the way that Sam tackled the new thing about relationships. It's the same as it ever was, and it's not the same as it ever was. And that melds so beautifully in Rye. Thanks for the good read "- Carol Queen, The Center for Sex and Culture, San Francisco. Read the first few chapters of Rye by clicking on the book cover above, to 'Look Inside.' In Rye, Brooklyn-based musician Sam Rosenthal expands his horizons beyond Black Tape For A Blue Girl, with a novel that takes the reader on a steamy, snarky and erotic walk on the wild side. "Rye is as intellectually stimulating as erotically charged. As for the erotic content, I can't hope to list of all that is covered, toys, BDSM, roleplay, gender fluidity in sex... the list goes on. A sense of realism triumphs; don't expect to read erotica with paper-thin characters you are only meant to overlay with your own fantasies (although if some of the book's scenes push your fantasy buttons in a good way, that's great too ). With fully developed characters who struggle through relationships, gender, and sexuality in an erotic context, Rye, is a unique work; quite the refreshing read " - Marilyn Roxie, genderqueerid.com ryethenovel.com

Lovers is pure Krantz, an intoxicating dance of love lost, stolen, and found among women and men who lure each other with potent combinations of money, talent, ambition, and passion. Chief among them is irresistible Gigi Orsini, the high-spirited, merry, adventurous creature who grew up into enchanting womanhood in Scruples Two . Now Gigi is working as a copywriter in a new Los Angeles advertising agency, with her creative "teammate," David Melville, a brilliant young art director who joins her in seeking new accounts. The agency is headed by dashing Archie Rourke, humorous Byron Bernheim and the severely difficult beauty, Victoria Frost, daughter of the famed Millicent Frost Caldwell who, with her husband Angus Caldwell, owns one of New York's largest advertising agencies. Ben Winthrop, a proper Bostonian and an enormously successful mall builder, attempts to capture Gigi's quicksilver affections, although his fierce contenders for the same prize include both David Melville and the dominating film director, Zach Nevsky. Meanwhile, Billy Winthrop Ikehorn Orsini Elliott, the unforgettably impulsive heroine of Scruples , and her new husband, the great charmer, Spider Elliott, are busy with their own fascinating lives, as are Gigi's father, canny film producer Vito Orsini, and her best friend, the ravishing Sasha Nevsky, none of whom can be forgotten from Scruples and Scruples Two . Lovers completes all the stories set in motion in the first two novels, yet it stands entirely on its own as a slice of life in the exciting years of 1983 and 1984.

Never Going Home is a wake-up tale of passionate love, intrigue, despair, and tragedy. The players in Never Going Home are alone. They find their way to one another and create a family of super-intellects. Betty, a wise eighty-five-year-old retired librarian, leads the family. Other accomplished family members include Harold, a lawyer; Bailey, a widow and mother with an MSF degree in finance; Will, a sociologist; Bob, a bank president; Gloria, with an MBA degree; and Lenny, a Vietnam veteran who studied psychotherapy to understand his PTSD in which he relives his combat experiences. Ruby, a Las Vegas showgirl, and voted best of Vegas five years running, hearing of Lenny's thesis in psychotherapy, surmises Lenny could be the key to unlocking her very private dysfunction. Betty reveals the enormous wealth Harold and she accumulated investing in the military-industrial complex off a tip from an aircraft-manufacturing lobbyist Harold defended in court prior to the Vietnam War. They made millions as crony capitalists. There seems to be no challenge the family can't rise to. Author Jerry Lewis exposes through his "can-do" characters a wide variety of issues facing Americans today: war, deplorable treatment of veterans, religious intolerance, racial issues, corruption and deception, cultural evolution, mismatch disease, health-care hoaxes, diet, and exercise. This book will earn a front-and-center position on your bookshelf.

'A . . . tender love story . . . This book is alive. It pulses with warmth and intelligence' The Times A wickedly observed novel about falling in love at the end of your life, by the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Finkler Question. At the age of ninety-something, Beryl Dusinbery is forgetting everything - including her own children. She spends her days stitching morbid samplers and tormenting her two carers with tangled tales of her husbands and affairs. Shimi Carmelli can do up his own buttons, walks without a frame and speaks without spitting. Among the widows of North London, he's whispered about as the last of the eligible bachelors. He forgets nothing -especially not the shame of a childhood incident that has long hung over him. There's very little left remaining for either of them. . . But perhaps just enough to heal some of the hurt inflicted along the way, and find new meaning in what's left. * SHORTLISTED FOR THE WINGATE LITERARY PRIZE 2020*

Sun. Sin. Sex. Scandal - St. Tropez! For the rich and famous, it's not always fun in the sun... Having recently ended an abusive marriage, the beautiful and filthy rich Contessa Carlotta di Ponti looks to find true love on the beautiful French beaches of the Côte d'Azur. And what better place to find love than the playground of the wealthy and beautiful, the exquisite enclave of St. Tropez. With the annual party season kicking into high gear at billionaire Harry Silver's palatial mansion, tragedy soon strikes paradise. Among the high fashion, nude sunbathing and heavy drinking a bad oyster, a fatal wasp sting, and a faulty cliff railway have changed the mood of the party-goers. Death is in the air and these appear to be no accidents. Is there something far more sinister coming down upon the wealthy party-goers of the usually festive St. Tropez? The gorgeous detective Gabrielle Poulpe makes it her mission to save the day, as well as the financial security of the town, and find the murderer in their midst. Otherwise, life in this sanctified corner of France could change forever. Can Gabrielle find the suspect before they strike again? St. Tropez is known as the ultimate playground of the rich and famous and thrives on the mega-money spent here, but now, it's riddled with threats from within which is scaring everyone away...

Jed and Martha agree to raise orphaned Daniel to Jed's delight. Martha lets her grief for her two lost daughters ruin her joy of having Daniel to love until Christmas Eve and love wins out.

Tolstoy famously wrote, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." To Tracy Farber, thirty-three, happily single, headed for tenure at a major university, and content to build a life around friends and work, this celebrated maxim is questionable at best. Because if Tolstoy is to be taken at his word, only unhappiness is interesting; happiness must be as placid and unmemorable as a daisy in a field of a thousand daisies. Having decided to reject the petty indignities of dating, Tracy focuses instead on her secret project: to determine whether happiness can be interesting, in literature and in life, or whether it can be--must be--a plant with thorns and gnarled roots. It's an unfashionable proposition, and a potential threat to her job security. But Tracy is her own best example of a happy and interesting life. Little does she know, however, that her best proof will come when she falls for George, who will challenge all of her old assumptions, as love proves to be even more complicated than she had imagined. Can this young feminist scholar, who posits that "a woman's independence is a hothouse flower--improbable, rare, requiring vigilance," find happiness in a way that fulfills both her head and her heart? Love may be the ultimate cliché, but in Rachel Kadish's hands, it is also a morally serious question, deserving of our sober attention as well as our delighted laughter.

"Climats" is a profound and elegant psychological novel that explores the intricate complexities of human relationships, love, and the shifting emotional landscapes of the heart. Written by the celebrated French author André Maurois, this masterpiece delves into the lives of Philippe Marcenat and the women who shape his existence, offering a searingly honest portrayal of the joys and devastations of romantic obsession. The narrative is divided into two compelling perspectives. The first part follows Philippe as he recounts his tumultuous marriage to the ethereal but elusive Odile, whose need for freedom clashes with his possessive nature. In the second part, Philippe's second wife, Isabelle, provides a contrasting viewpoint, revealing the challenges of living in the shadow of a past love and the struggle to create a lasting bond. Through these dual narratives, Maurois examines how personal "climates"-the emotional atmospheres individuals bring to their relationships-can both attract and repel, leading to cycles of misunderstanding and longing. Regarded as a classic of 20th-century literature, "Climats" remains a timeless meditation on the nature of jealousy, the difficulty of truly knowing another person, and the pursuit of happiness within the confines of marriage. Its lyrical prose and keen psychological insights continue to resonate with readers seeking a deep understanding of the human condition. 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 may 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.

A disgraced woman. A faraway land. A forbidden love... An unforgettable tale set in Victorian London and 1840s China from a shining, young historical talent.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER From #1 internationally bestselling author Santa Montefiore comes a gripping new novel of enduring love and devastating secrets, sweeping across England during WWII to Australia five decades later, based on a true story. Rupert promised he was going to come back. All Florence had to do was wait. Cornwall, 1944 When Rupert Dash is declared missing, presumed dead during the Battle of Arnhem, his wife, Florence, is devastated. She can’t accept that he has gone from her life forever, and so when she finds a poem called ‘Wait for Me’ hidden in an old book, she believes it’s a sign from her husband. A promise that he will return to her. London, 1988 Since childhood Max has suffered from a recurring nightmare. Surrounded by the horrific chaos of war, he has an urgent mission he knows he must complete. But time after time, the dream ends with him awaking in terror, his heart pounding from the horror of the battlefield. Desperate to understand why he is haunted by such terrible visions, Max embarks on a journey that leads him to Cornwall and a man named Rupert Dash. Melbourne, 1995 Florence receives a letter from someone she has never met, who lives on the other side of the world. This stranger says he remembers a life that belonged to another before him. Could this be the one person Florence has waited fifty-one years to meet again?

From a small, bogside cabin in rural New England, 38-year-old Aimee Slater unravels the story of her life, attempting to make sense of the tangled thread that leads from her mother's house-a short, unbridgeable distance away-to the world she now inhabits. It is soon after the Civil War; Aimee lives alone, but is graced with visits from two friends, a crippled man and a troubled eleven-year-old girl. She is perpetually caught between the sensual world she so desires and the divine retribution passed down to her by her mother's scorn. How Aimee ultimately creates a life for herself and bridges that distance makes for a moving story of love and loss. Told in a voice of spare New England lyricism, Unravelling is a remarkably haunting account of the power of redemption.

We first meet Lucy Appelbaum, the heroine of Paradise, New York , n 1970, when she is a nine year old girl enjoying her family's Catskills hotel, the Garden of Eden. Ten years later, having found nothing else at which she can distinguish herself, she tries to save the Eden by capitalizing on a wave of nostalgia for the Borscht Belt, running the hotel as a sort of living museum of Yiddish culture. In the course of that season, Lucy comes to realize her love for the hotel's black handyman, Mr. Jefferson -- and the difficulties she faces in overcoming the barriers between them. She battles her grandmother's not-so-subtle attempts to sabotage her success, her parents' superstitious fear of anything that attracts attention to the Jews, and her brother's contention that what Lucy is doing is more a matter of ego than authentic religious feeling. On top of all this, Lucy must contend with the Hasid who buys the chicken farm next door, a cell of ancient Jewish Communist who foment a strike among Eden's overworked young staff, and a gay chef and a gay baker who want to prove to the world that kosher cuisine can satisfy the most sophisticated gourmet. Among the novel's characters are Shirley and Nat Feidel, who barely survived the Holocaust but refuse to allow bitterness to rule their lives; Mami Goshgarian, the Eden's tumeler ; and Jimmy Kilcoin, and Irish Catholic insurance adjustor who has earned a reputation as "the Don Juan of the Catskills" and is determined to seduce Lucy before summer's end.