London-based artist Avery Cullen refuses to sell her late father's art collection. But bold, brash Marcus Price will try everything to get her to reconsider. He even launches an all-out sexual siege on the lonely heiress in the gilded cage. Securing the collection would be a coup for his auction house, but for Marcus, it would settle a lifelong score. He's managed to keep his true motives hidden along with his family's skeletons...and now he's so close, he can taste success in Avery's kiss. But after their torrid night of passion, is Marcus prepared for the outcome?

“One of the finest romance authors of all time.” —Julia Quinn “[Loretta Chase has] a rare talent for creating crackling sexual tension and characters so fresh and compelling that readers won’t be able to forget them.” —Susan Elizabeth Phillips One of the most beloved authors in the field of historical romance, the remarkable Loretta Chase proves that Silk is For Seduction. The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author brings readers the first in a very sexy, emotionally rich new series in which sisters from a rather scandalous aristocratic family—the purveyors of the most fashionable shop in Regency London—discover passion and love as sumptuous as the exquisite gowns they create. Stephanie Laurens fans will adore this sensuous love story, as ambitious dressmaker Marcelline attempts to win the patronage of a future duchess…and ends up inadvertently enchanting the Duke!

*

Within the so-called seduction community, the ability to meet and attract women is understood as a skill which heterosexual men can cultivate through practical training and personal development. Though it has been an object of media speculation – and frequent sensationalism – for over a decade, this cultural formation remains poorly understood. In the first book-length study of the industry, Rachel O’Neill takes us into the world of seduction seminars, training events, instructional guidebooks and video tutorials. Pushing past established understandings of ‘pickup artists’ as pathetic, pathological or perverse, she examines what makes seduction so compelling for those drawn to participate in this sphere. Seduction vividly portrays how the twin rationalities of neoliberalism and postfeminism are reorganising contemporary intimate life, as labour-intensive and profit-orientated modes of sociality consume other forms of being and relating. It is essential reading for students and scholars of gender, sexuality, sociology and cultural studies, as well as anyone who wants to understand the seduction industry’s overarching logics and internal workings.

The hidden truth about the French way of life: it's all about seduction—its rules, its pleasures, its secrets France is a seductive country, seductive in its elegance, its beauty, its sensual pleasures, and its joie de vivre. But Elaine Sciolino, the longtime Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, has discovered that seduction is much more than a game to the French: it is the key to understanding France. Seduction plays a crucial role in how the French relate to one another—not just in romantic relationships but also in how they conduct business, enjoy food and drink, define style, engage in intellectual debate, elect politicians, and project power around the world. While sexual repartee and conquest remain at the heart of seduction, for the French seduction has become a philosophy of life, even an ideology, that can confuse outsiders. In La Seduction, Sciolino gives us an inside view of how seduction works in all areas, analyzing its limits as well as its power. She demystifies the French way of life in an entertaining and personal narrative that carries us from the neighborhood shops of Paris to the halls of government, from the gardens of Versailles to the agricultural heartland. La Seduction will charm you and encourage you to lower your defenses about the French. Pull up a chair and let Elaine Sciolino seduce you.

Red-faced, red-handed! Octavia Denison has always known exactly what she wants--that is, until she's caught in a compromising position by brooding former rock star Jago Marsh. Tavi is mortified, and judging by the gleam in his golden eyes, he's seen everything--and liked it! Used to getting what he wants, millionaire Jago is determined to uncover the identity of the mysterious, flame-haired temptress that trespassed on his property...and to satisfy the craving she's awakened in him. But seducing Tavi proves harder than expected, especially when she's set on putting as much distance between them as possible! It's time to up the ante....

The first book-length English-language study focusing on the early modern export of Chinese silk to New Spain from the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, An Object of Seduction compares and contrasts the two regions from perspectives of the sericulture development, the widespread circulation of silk fashion, and the government attempts at regulating the use of silk. Xiaolin Duan argues that the increasing demand for silk on the worldwide market on the one hand contributed to the parallel development of silk fashion and sericulture in China and New Spain, and on the other hand created conflicts on imperial regulations about foreign trade and hierarchical systems. Incorporating evidence from local gazetteers, correspondence, manual books, illustrated treatises, and miscellanies, this book explores how the growing desire for and production of raw silk and silk textiles empowered individuals and societies to claim and redefine their positions in changing time and space, thus breaking away from the traditional state control.

From five-time RITA Award winner Jo Beverley comes a scintillating historical romance set in the Georgian age—where a centuries old feud and a wicked curse lead to a most unconventional marriage... When confirmed bachelor Peregrine Perriam is named heir to Perriam Manor, he discovers that he only has a month to persuade a stranger to the altar. Otherwise the property will be lost and his line will be cursed—forever. Having survived her parents’ tormented marriage, Claris Mallow prefers poverty to any husband. When a high-born stranger demands her hand, she drives him off at pistol point. Then Perry finds weapons of his own, and the reluctant lady is compelled to accept his proposal. Claris sets the condition that their marriage be in name only. But once she becomes mistress of Perriam Manor, she discovers that she isn’t immune to Perry’s charms. Perhaps a real marriage might be worth the risk—including a real marriage bed...

Wealthy Texas scion Matthew Stallion is the epitome of a playboy. But it may be time to hang up his Stetson after he meets Katrina Broomes. Original.

Fans of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton Series and Johanna Lindsey’s Malory Series will love the passionate romances and gripping adventures of the League of Rogues. Can the League’s most wicked rakehell be tamed? Or has this Rogue fallen too far? Horatia Sheridan has been hopelessly in love with Lucien, her brother’s best friend, ever since he rescued her from the broken remains of her parents’ wrecked carriage. His reputation as London’s most notorious rakehell doesn’t frighten her, for under his veneer of cool authority she has glimpsed a man whose wicked desires inspire her own. Lucien, Marquess of Rochester, has deliberately nurtured a reputation for debauchery that makes every matchmaking mother of the ton quake with fear. His one secret: he is torn between soul-ripping lust for Horatia, and the loyalty he owes her brother. That loyalty is put to the test when an old enemy of the League threatens Horatia’s life. With Christmas drawing near, he sweeps her away to his country estate, where he can’t resist granting her one wish—to share his bed and his heart. But sinister forces are lurking, awaiting the perfect moment to exact their revenge by destroying not only whatever happiness Lucien might find in Horatia’s arms, but the lives of those they love. Warning: This book contains an intelligent lady who is determined to seduce her brother’s friend, a brooding rake whose toy of choice in bed is a little bit of bondage with a piece of red silk, a loyal band of merry rogues and a Christmas love so scorching you’ll need fresh snow to extinguish it.