Observations of a Wallflower Journal Entry of December 5, 1816 Society can be odd and those within the ton do not always behave as expected. For example, Lady Violet Claxton spent more time in the gardens admiring flowers, plants, and bushes than she did inside any ballroom, and I left London wondering why she preferred roses over bachelors. Though perhaps it’s because she’s grows bored with tedious conversation, as her intelligence is beyond most, she’s pragmatic, and lacks patience when time is wasted. Therefore, a London Season must be trying indeed for someone such as she. Then there was Lord Emory Talbot, Viscount Ferrard, who behaved exactly as one would imagine of a rake. Though he is expected to marry and produce an heir and a spare, Ferrard showed no interest in any lady or miss for longer than an evening. Further, I have it on good authority that he fears any form of commitment, which may explain why he’s not even kept a mistress or settled on a wife. However, rumors have recently reached me that he may no longer have the option of waiting. The details have not been shared, but I’m certain they are drastic as I’m to understand that he is to attend a house party where Lady Violet is in residence. And, I have also learned from the most trusted authority that Ferrard never attends house parties. I cannot begin to imagine how the two might get on when they do finally meet. Will he show interest for no more than a night or will she spend all her time in the gardens avoiding all guests? Regardless of any interaction the two may share, I’m certain nothing will come from their association as I can’t think of two less likely candidates to enter into a courtship.

Claudia Morris was resigned to spend the rest of her life as a spinster teacher at the Wiggons’ School for Elegant young Ladies even though she was too young for the shelf she’d put herself on. That is until a gentleman moves into the neighboring estate. Lord Gabriel Westbrook has spent his adult life building a wicked reputation to hide his true identity as an agent for the Crown. When he’s given an assignment to track French spies trying to find a way into Cornwall, he’s happy to do his duty as it will also put him near his younger sisters for the Christmas Holiday. However, the trouble he encounters does not come from the French but from something more sinister and his mission is only further complicated by the superstitions of three interfering students who are convinced that he practices the black arts. With the assistance of Miss Morris, he may be able to quell their curiosity, but will it also put his heart in danger of being lost while another is intent on taking his life?

With nothing but brains, ambition and sheer nerve, Charlotte Hale built a career as a do–anything–to–succeed real estate developer. She's at the top of that mountain...but her life is empty. Her friends are as grasping and insincere as she has become. Far worse, Charlotte's alienated her family so completely that she's never held or spoken to her only granddaughter. One terrifying day, facing her own mortality, she realises that her ambition has almost destroyed her chance at happiness. So Charlotte vows to make amends, not simply with her considerable wealth, but by offering a hand instead of a handout. Putting in hours and energy instead of putting in an appearance. Opening her home and heart instead of her wallet. With each wrenching, exhilarating decision, Charlotte finds that climbing a new mountain– one built on friendship, love and forgiveness– will teach her what it truly means to build a legacy.

In a rural middle Georgia town during World War II, a plucky young girl takes risks to keep her beautiful, sultry older sister from ditching the handsome and kind Army officer the little sister hopelessly loves.

PBS's The Great American Read named it one of America's best-loved novels. A Separate Peace has been a bestseller in the United States for nearly thirty years, and it is ageless in its depiction of youth during a time when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II. A Separate Peace is a horrific and brilliant fable about the dark side of adolescence set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II. Gene is an introverted, lonely intellectual. Phineas is a reckless athlete who is attractive and taunts others. Like the war itself, what happens between the two friends one summer robs these guys and their world of their innocence.

Which sort of seducer could you be? Siren? Rake? Cold Coquette? Star? Comedian? Charismatic? Or Saint? This book will show you which. Charm, persuasion, the ability to create illusions: these are some of the many dazzling gifts of the Seducer, the compelling figure who is able to manipulate, mislead and give pleasure all at once. When raised to the level of art, seduction, an indirect and subtle form of power, has toppled empires, won elections and enslaved great minds. In this beautiful, sensually designed book, Greene unearths the two sides of seduction: the characters and the process. Discover who you, or your pursuer, most resembles. Learn, too, the pitfalls of the anti-Seducer. Immerse yourself in the twenty-four manoeuvres and strategies of the seductive process, the ritual by which a seducer gains mastery over their target. Understand how to 'Choose the Right Victim', 'Appear to Be an Object of Desire' and 'Confuse Desire and Reality'. In addition, Greene provides instruction on how to identify victims by type. Each fascinating character and each cunning tactic demonstrates a fundamental truth about who we are, and the targets we've become - or hope to win over. The Art of Seduction is an indispensable primer on the essence of one of history's greatest weapons and the ultimate power trip. From the internationally bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, Mastery, and The 33 Strategies Of War.

No longer in the first blush of youth and without a marriage portion, Miss Constance Woodley could scarcely imagine why one of the leading lights of London society should take an interest in the likes of her. But under her benefactor's guiding hand she was transformed into a captivating creature who caught the eye of the handsome, charming and ever-so-slightly notorious Lord Dominic Leighton. And before the shocked eyes of the entire Ton, the "nobody" and the rakish viscount showed that even in the heartless world of the marriage mart, when love was at stake, all bets were off….

The bestselling, award-winning modern classic Speak is now a stunning graphic novel—adapted by Laurie Halse Anderson herself and brought to life visually by Eisner Award winner E.M. Carroll. "Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, an outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, Melinda becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back—and refuses to be silent. The groundbreaking National Book Award Finalist and Michael L. Printz Honor Book about consent, healing, and finding your voice comes alive for new audiences and fans of the original novel in Speak: The Graphic Novel.

A dazzling Regency romance from bestselling author Jane Ashford. Life is predictable for a Duke's first son. Or so he once thought... He was delighted that she shared this pleasure with him. And how lovely she looked, out here on the water. The wind had whipped color into her cheeks. Her sandy hair leaped and curled around her face. And her gray eyes shimmered and sparkled. Violet's beauty—for it was undoubtedly beauty—arose from animation, he realized. When she was subdued and distant, as she'd always been when he saw her before their marriage, it was hidden. A secret, like the flower she was named for, obscured by broader leaves in the forest. But now he'd discovered a different Violet—vibrant, responsive. Watching her laugh as spray spattered her sleeve, he felt extremely fortunate. His instincts had somehow led him to a prize. As eldest son of the Duke of Langford, Nathaniel Gresham sees his arranged marriage to Lady Violet Devere as just another obligation to fulfill?highly suitable, if unexciting. But as Violet sets out to transform herself from dowdy wallflower to dazzling young duchess-to-be, proper Nathaniel sets out to prove he's a match for his new bride's vivacity and daring. Oppressed by her family all her life—especially her domineering and horrible grandmother—Lady Violet can't wait to enjoy the freedom of being a married woman. But then Violet learns her family's sordid secret, and she's faced with an impossible choice?does she tell Nathaniel and risk losing him, or does she hide it and live a lie?