The Poisoned House

The Poisoned House

Michael Ford

Gay & Lesbian / Humor / Young Adult

Life can be cruel for a servant girl in 1850s London. Fifteen-year-old Abi is a scullery maid in Greave Hall, an elegant but troubled household. The widowed master of the house is slowly slipping into madness, and the tyrannical housekeeper, Mrs.Cotton, punishes Abi without mercy. But there's something else going on in Greave Hall, too. An otherworldly presence is making itself known, and a deadly secret will reveal itself---a secret that will shatter everything Abi knows.ReviewStarred Review "The year is 1855 and orphaned serving girl Abigail Tamper, 14, tries to escape Greave Hall, an austere London mansion, in the dead of night. She is hauled back and forced to work for Mrs. Cotton, cruel and devious housekeeper to senile Lord Greave. It isn't just the dreary residents who frighten Abi; there's something terribly amiss in the house. Glasses crash to the floor, rooms are turned topsy-turvy and then righted again when no one is looking, handprints appear in impossible places. Deepening Abi's dread is the upcoming anniversary of her mother's death. She pins her hopes for brighter days on the heir to the house, handsome Samuel Greave, who is returning as an injured hero from the Crimean War. The two played together in childhood, when Abi's mother was Master Samuel's nurse, and they share a brother/sisterlike bond. But the eerie occurrences only increase on his return. Is Abi's dead mother trying to tell her something? Every gothic trope is put to use here: the silent butler, a séance gone wrong, messages via Ouija board, secret alliances, out-of-wedlock pregnancies (two of them), and a last-minute will that changes everything. This ghost story is light fare, chilling, and suspenseful. Readers who ask for "more like this book" might well be primed for something more substantial, like Henry James himself." -School Library Journal, August 2011 review From the Inside FlapAbigail is a maidservant in Greave Hall, an elegant London household governed by the tyrannical housekeeper, Mrs Cotton. As Mrs Cotton's malice intensifies, a ghostly presence distracts Abi with clues to a deadly secret.
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Shadow Valley

Shadow Valley

Kate Sherwood

Romance / Gay & Lesbian / Contemporary

What could be worse than having a long-over affair with your boss—the governor—hit the headlines? Professional and personal exile. Banished from the state capital to ride out the media storm in Shadow Valley, Montana, Megan Archer is tasked with promoting cooperation between local police and the federal agents investigating the area’s drug trade. When she’s rescued from a near-drowning by handsome Joe Cody, Megan thinks things might be looking up. Until she finds out that her savior is an alleged drug kingpin and head of a notorious crime family. Yes, Joe has an edge, but the attraction between them is too intense to resist. She refuses to believe that the guy who saved her is a criminal. Megan has a responsibility to the law, but in this case a job well done might mean Joe’s downfall. And as Megan uncovers more secrets, it becomes clear that Joe’s not the only one in town who can’t be trusted. Something’s rotten in Shadow Valley…
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Samhain's Kiss

Samhain's Kiss

Amber Kell

Gay & Lesbian / Romance

Randall has a gut-wrenching foreboding that something is going to go wrong at the upcoming Samhain festivities. When he's taken over by the spirit of a dead fae king, he learns this is just the beginning of his problems. Now capable of accessing powerful abilities, Randall finds it difficult to submit to his vampire lover. Because, while Randall the medical student defers to his mate, the fae king attempting to take over his body will bow to no one. Even more disturbing, Randall discovers that he likes being in charge.
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Take This Man

Take This Man

Neil Plakcy

Mystery & Thrillers / Romance / Gay & Lesbian

A rarity — romantic erotica focused on male couples in committed relationships — Take This Man comes from one of the top-flight gay fiction writers, Neil Plakcy. Many erotic stories focus on the thrill of first contact, but Take This Man is thrillingly different, taking a close look at how much sexier an encounter can be when the two men involved have been together for long enough to make a commitment to each other. Formalized or not, the fact remains that knowing what turns your partner on — and vice versa — makes encounters even hotter, especially when the erotic encounter is an expression of an emotional bond.
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Ambush

Ambush

Clare London

Gay & Lesbian / Romance

Before meeting Zeke Roswell, Miles Winter's priorities were clear: business, then pleasure. Before Zeke, he wouldn't have cleared his desk earlier than usual, waiting for his artist lover to share his preparations for his latest gallery exhibit—on bondage. And he certainly wouldn't have let Zeke try out some of the pieces on him, right there in the middle of his office. If he'd had any choice, that is.
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Modeling Death

Modeling Death

Amber Kell

Gay & Lesbian / Romance

Jacob Williams was used to men hitting on him, but little does he realize Guy Franks has waited hundreds of years to find his mate and nothing was going to dissuade him from a relationship, even the man himself. When someone starts killing models, Guy knows its time to claim the man fated to be his. Content advisory: Extreme violence.
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