...and a mysterious painting, dripping with secrets.
It wasn't the strangest creation he'd ever seen, but close. A girl with a wounded, sack-like face; a boy with pinhole eyes and a cruel sneer; and a distant shadow peering out from behind a dying tree, all stared back at him from that perfect painted canvas.
Yet it wasn't only the subjects that challenged him, but the riddle that came with it.
"Here in Art, Denial."
Four words shrouding a secret that awakens a surreal nightmare. Where objects from his past manifest in canvas and oil. Where painted clocks tick-tock away in the dark hours before dawn, and a missing dog whimpers from between the walls. Where the painted children leave the canvas to stalk the halls of his once quiet and happy home.
And where all answers lead back to a blind artist and an impossible creation, one that threatens to destroy his family and devour his sanity."
But when Leigh finds out that the handsome “someone” at her great aunt’s wake is Prince Roman Habsburg von Lorraine of Austria, she suddenly doubts her instincts—not that she was intending to sleep with the guy. The royal house of Habsburg was once completely inbred, insanity and impotency among the highlights of their genetic pedigree. (The extreme “bulldog underbite” that plagued them wasn’t called the Habsburg Jaw for nothing.)
It doesn’t matter that his family hasn’t sat on a throne (other than the ones in their Toilette) since 1918, or that Austria is now a parliamentary democracy. Their lives couldn’t be more different: Roman is routinely mobbed by paparazzi in Europe. Leigh is regularly mocked for having the social skills of a potted plant. Even if she suddenly developed grace, charm and a pedigree that would withstand the scrutiny of the press and his family, what exactly is she supposed to do with this would-have-been king of Austria who is in self-imposed exile in Denver, Colorado?"
Claire should be able to answer this simple question, but she has no idea. The only thing she knows for sure is that she met him in a sleep lab for an appointment one day, and woke up at home seven weeks later to find that he’s suddenly her loving boyfriend instead of her cold and remote doctor. According to Brendan, her brother and all their friends, Claire is in the middle of a whirlwind love affair with him, a claim bolstered by the weeks of steamy emails and text messages the two of them have exchanged. But to Claire, he's just the arrogant doctor with only a passing interest in finding a diagnosis for her debilitating symptoms.
Claire Beau is afflicted with “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome,” a mysterious disorder that causes her to sleep for days at a time, and black out for entire weeks. Dr. Brendan Charmant might have given her the best night (or two, or three) of her life, but she has no memory of ever seeing him out of his white coat. Still, she can’t help finding herself more than willing to fall for him (again). After all, doesn’t every girl deserve a Prince Charming?
But when Brendan’s arrested, and she discovers that she’s the alleged victim of a heinous crime that she can’t recall, she realizes that sometimes the best way to make your dreams come true is to just stay asleep. So why is she risking everything to save both of them from this hellish, waking nightmare?"
In Depression-era Mississippi, Millie Reynolds longs to escape the madness that marks her world. With an abusive father and a "nothing mama," she struggles to find a place where she really belongs.
For answers, Millie turns to the Gypsies who caravan through town each spring. The travelers lead Millie to a key that unlocks generations of shocking family secrets. When tragedy strikes, the mysterious contents of the box give Millie the tools she needs to break her family's longstanding cycle of madness and abuse.
Through it all, Millie experiences the thrill of first love while fighting to trust the God she believes has abandoned her. With the power of forgiveness, can Millie finally make her way into the free?
Saturated in Southern ambiance and written in the vein of other Southern literary bestsellers like The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin, Julie Cantrell has created a story that will sweep you away long after the novel ends."
Just as Ashton comes to accept her newfound heritage, she's summoned to fulfill a treaty laid down centuries before -- a treaty that will divide her love and test her loyalty. In the end, her future isn't her biggest concern, her humanity is. To run may mean war, but is she strong enough to stay? "
CHAMPAGNE FOR TWO
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