Showing results by narrator "Ruth Urquhart" in All Categories

September, 1943. Tuscany, Italy. In the hilltop town of Barga, everyone holds their breath. Even the bells fall silent. Everything Vittoria Guidi knows and loves is at risk. German troops occupy the mountains around her home, as America's Buffalo Soldiers prepare to invade. As Vittoria's country is torn in two, so is her conscience. Should she side with her Scots-Italian father or her Fascist mother? Should she do what she is told - or what she believes in?

When the Marquess of Campbell inherits a fiery, red-headed Scottish beauty as his ward, it's his job to marry her off. No problem. She comes with a fortune. Lady Bridget MacDuff will have suitors falling all over themselves to wed her. Not so fast. Lady Bridget has plans for that fortune, and they involve helping unfortunate women. And she has no intention of helping her devastatingly handsome guardian in his quest to get her off his hands. He doesn't plan to marry, either. Why should she?

Orphaned by a cholera epidemic, Neb and his young brother are sent to the desolate farm of their last living relative. But when the savage Horsekin tribes begin raiding the villages along Deverry's western border, the brothers must flee for their lives. A chance encounter with Salamander—a bard and master of dweomer magic—proves their salvation, as he brings them to the shelter of Tieryn Cadryc's dun. Here Neb finds love with his soulmate Branna only to be dragged into a war for the very survival of the kingdom.

Having survived the demonic nation of Palto and achieved more than she would've dreamed possible, Ruethwyn and her friends must take the time to recover and collect themselves before continuing their journey to Corval. Dealing with the repercussions will complicate their journey, and adds urgency to Ruethwyn's goals.

Once a hopeless wallflower, Clarissa Meadows blossomed into a beauty for a single splendid season—only to catch the eye of a madman bent on possessing her. Now, she must flee where he'll never follow: a friend's house in the Scottish Highlands. Except he does follow. And Clarissa has nowhere left to run.

The windswept Scottish Highlands hold great beauty, but also great danger. So when Aimil Mengue's abducted by a feuding clan, she's right to fear for her life - and her virtue. For Aimil's keeper is the infamous warrior Parlan MacGuin. Aimil sets out to hate him, but Parlan is more honorable - and infinitely more alluring - than expected. Though betrothed to another, Aimil cannot deny her startling desire for the man who holds her captive. Parlan MacGuin knows well his reputation as a fierce warrior; he uses it to claim land and lovers.

Winter Gregory and her twin sister, Daisy, live oceans apart, but they still have the 'twin thing' going on. Daisy is Winter's port in the storm, the first person she calls when things go wrong. And things are wrong. Winter has travelled to a remote Yorkshire village to write her new book and to escape her ex-boyfriend, Dan Bekener. But Dan can't stay away and remains intent on driving the sisters apart - because Dan knows something about Daisy....

At age 11, Alex Sinclair pledges an oath to the Duke of Chatham promising to serve and protect his illegitimate daughter, Lucy FitzHarris. Nine years later, the duke unexpectedly takes Alex up on his vow, offering the future Laird of Balforss his daughter's hand in marriage. Now a man, hotheaded Alex has difficulty convincing Lucy - who would rather starve to death than marry a vulgar Scot - to go through with the arranged marriage.

Ruethwyn's life may have been destroyed, but now she's ready. With the blessing of the fey and others who she barely dares dream of, Ruethwyn's body is whole once more. Turning to the future, she sets her sight on her beloved who was stolen away by a dragon. Yet even with all her magic at her command, Ruethwyn stands little chance against such a powerful foe, so she must tread lightly.

Yeah, I'm a treasure hunter. No, I'm not rich. Or busy. Or successful. Not yet. I'm doing my very best at making a living in my newfound career. I've got magic, a pair of brownie sidekicks, and enough ambition to fill every chilly corner of Edinburgh castle. What I don't have is any actual treasure to hunt. However, when a young girl asks me for help, I end up embroiled in a deeply dangerous search for an ancient magical artifact. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who wants to find it.

A twisted killer is making his mark in London, leaving a trail of blood and devastation in his wake. It's not only humans who are being targeted. Vampires, werewolves, and pixies are in mortal danger too. I've been called in to help with the investigation but I can't shake the feeling that there's more to the murders. Someone is playing a very sick game—and it's up to me to put a stop to it.

Fiona does not remember the years before she came to the priory on the Isle of Skye. Only the gentle Prioress knows the truth about the spirited, red-haired lass's true birth. So it is in a simple cowl and peasant's dress that she emerges from the island's mists and faces the famed warrior chief of the Highlands, Alec Macpherson. Alec has served King James with his sword. Now he would give his very soul to protect this beautiful girl from the intrigue that swirls around her. But Fiona wants his heart as well, and willingly he gives it.

A year ago, Sabella Lockhart lived in sheltered gentility as the sister of a Scottish lord. Then her brother's shocking crimes came to light, leaving her with nothing but horrifying memories, unpayable debts, and a blackened name. Before she leaves Scotland, she must face the family he harmed most: the MacPhersons. But when a Highland robbery takes everything but the gown on her back, she's forced to accept help from the MacPherson who despises her more than any other. The one man she can't forget.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islanders gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Spirits are high. A recently published novel about island history has brought hordes of tourists to the small Hebridean resort community. On the guest list is American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. Kate returns reluctantly to the island where her husband died, determined to repair her relationship with his sister, proprietor of the island’s luxe country-house hotel, famous for its connection with Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Saffron Sawyer is on her own. She's no longer part of the Office of Faery Godmothers - in fact, she's no longer part of anything, even if her magic is stronger now than she could have ever dreamed possible. Thwarted at every turn and stalked by monsters in the streets, her life feels like it's falling apart. But Saffron isn't going to give up hope. She's sworn revenge on the Director and she can't forget about Jasper and the way he makes her feel.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a great many things. Wealthy. Handsome. Respectable. But what he is not, is skilled at charming Elizabeth Bennet. When she refuses his offer of marriage and breaks his heart, an organ she doesn't believe he possesses, he has no notion of how to win her back. Fortunately for him, his scheming relation, Miss Anne de Bourgh, is more than willing to help. It doesn't matter to Anne that Darcy doesn't want her assistance. She learned from the best, namely her mother, that people don't know what's good for them until you tell them.

Kitchen maid Joan Hart and lady's maid Verity Hunter intend to enjoy their trip to the theater, especially as Verity's uncle Tommy is one of the leading men in the play. Act two of the play is curtailed when the lights come up in the interval, and the girls realize a man has been stabbed to death almost under their very noses. The case reunites the servant sleuths with their old ally, Detective Inspector Marks, and while the girls do their best to solve the case while keeping their jobs, the glitter and glamor of the theater may prove to be as dangerous as any battlefield.

The Supernatural Summit is about to start at the DeVane Hotel in London. Vampires and werewolves, ghouls and gremlins, and pixies and druids have all come together to find better ways to get along with the human community and address the strict laws that govern their existence. It's a real opportunity to change the world for the better, and I'm proud to be a part of it. But there are protestors camped outside the hotel and dangerous rumors circling about one of the delegates. When a dead body is discovered, I know it's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.

The final chapter begins in the holy city as it rises from the ashes of Deverry's long wars. Prince Maryn prepares to claim the high kingship, but still the rebel Boar clan stands fast against him. And at court, his illicit passion for the young dweomer apprentice, Lilli, threatens to revive a curse that only she—at her own peril—can lift. It is a drama that will be played out centuries later in the city of Cerr Cawnen. Among the many who take refuge in the lakeside citadel, nestled in a volcano's shadow, are a Westfolk band guided by the elven enchantress Dallandra.

The city of Cengarn is under siege. Armies both astral and physical are massing for and against the goddess Alshandra, who seeks to prevent the birth of one fate-bound child. It falls to the dweomermaster Jill and her allies to protect the child's human mother, Princess Carra—and Deverry's already foretold future—by magic and by might. But as the warrior Rhodry wings toward the battle on dragonback, he cannot know that soon he will face his ancient enemy, Alshandra's high priestess Raena, who will use any means to destroy him.