Great Summer Reads: Queen Mary's Daughter by Emily-Jane Hills Orford

Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books, including Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. She writes about the extra-ordinary in life and her books, short stories, and articles are receiving considerable attention. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca

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There are so many possibilities that affect the course of history. One change, one small item overlooked, can make a world of difference, not only in a person's life, but in the history and well-being of an entire nation. And then there are those multiple scenarios of what if? 

What if King James VI of Scotland didn't succeed in amalgamating Scotland with England? What if there had been another heir to the throne of Scotland? One who would secure its independence? Would Scotland have remained free and independent and a nation of its own well into the twenty-first century? And would Scotland, this independent version, make its own decision to join the European Union when its southern neighbor was choosing to pull away?

"Queen Mary's Daughter" presents another plausible timeline, one that incorporates both historical fact and fiction with the endless possibilities of time travel.

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Snippet:

“What?” the regent bellowed. “Not another Mary, and a Stuart at that. We cannot be related. Are we?” He winced in the dim light and bent forward to take a closer look. “You have her look about you. It is uncanny. You could almost pass for her. And that brooch. Where did you get that brooch?”

“I do not know, sir.” Mary Elizabeth took her time to choose her words carefully. She wasn’t sure how to answer about the brooch, so she steered clear of that comment, saying instead, “Are not all Stuarts somehow related?”

It was not the right thing to say. James Stuart, Regent of Scotland, was not amused. “Grab her. She must be a spy. Or a traitor. Either is punishable by death.” He pointed accusing fingers at the others. “The rest of you stay here. I will deal with this troublemaker.”

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Great Summer Reads: The Legacy Chronicles - Courage by Lauren H Salisbury

Lauren H Salisbury was an English teacher for sixteen years with an MA in Education. She is now a writer who dabbles with tutoring and lives with her husband and a room full of books in Yorkshire, England. 

She likes to spend winters abroad, following the sunshine and becoming the seasonal envy of her friends. When she’s not writing, she can be found spending time with family, reading, walking, crafting, or cooking. Courage is her debut novel.

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Can one woman evade an alien empire to save her son's life?

Gilla and Elias have the perfect life—or as perfect as life can be for slaves living deep in the Esarelian Empire. Elias wants freedom for his precious wife and daughter, and the rest of their people, and he is willing to fight to get it. Pregnant with her second child, Gilla only wants a happy, healthy family who share a strong faith in the God of Old Earth and to get through her workload each day. 

When the Esarelians decide to teach their rebellious slaves a lesson they will never forget, Gilla’s entire life is turned upside down. She must trust that God has a plan to protect her new-born son, and have the courage to follow it, choosing the strangest of allies in an effort to ensure his survival.

Courage is a science fiction retelling of the Biblical story of Moses’s birth. It has strong, quirky characters, strange alien worlds, and a gripping plot with a twist on the original.

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The next book in this Series is available in September! Find out more about that book HERE!

Snippet:

This is taken from a chapter where the Ra’hos and her best friend have escaped the space cruiser for a while:

Velay looked at the display and then gripped the back of Reemah’s chair and spun it around. “Are you crazy? We’re heading towards U’du. We can’t go planet-side; your father will kill me! Reemah, sneaking out to have some fun flying is one thing, sneaking out and going down to the planet is entirely different. You know the rules. What if we get caught? You’ll never be allowed out of your suite again, and as for me...”

Gently brushing her friend off, Reemah swung back to the controls. The strongest surge of curiosity she had ever felt was pulling her to that pod. She tried to sound reasonable when she responded. “We’re just seeing where it’s going, not traipsing around a dirty planet. No one will ever know.” Seeing Velay’s still uncertain look, Reemah added, “We won’t even land.”

“You’re sure? We won’t land?”

“Probably not.”

“Probably,” Velay repeated. She stood, speechless, blinking her inner eyelids rapidly before capitulating. As she returned to her station, Reemah thought she heard her friend say, “And people think I’m the bad influence.”

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Great Summer Reads Countdown Day Eighteen: The Last Princess by Jewel Allen

Jewel Allen is an award-winning journalist and author of the historical series Islands of the Crown.

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1768, Philippines

Spanish Captain Raúl Calderón has accepted a daring mission in the Philippine colonies – to negotiate docking rights in hostile waters for the Manila Galleon. If successful, he can return from exile to be with those he loves. But when he is captured by slave raiders and delivered to the Last Princess, a woman known for killing those who cross her, he is thrust into the center of royal intrigue. The Last Princess is not what she seems, however, and Raúl must stay alive long enough to warn her of the danger in trusting those close to her.

Juliza Alimuddin, The Last Princess, hides behind a cutthroat reputation to protect her beloved islands. But when a mysterious Spaniard, Raúl Calderón, falls into her hands, she decides to go against her allies’ wishes and nurse him back to health. Her heart has been bruised in the past, yet Raúl brings out feelings she never thought she’d have again. Just when Juliza starts to believe in the possibility of love, however, she is betrayed and her family and sultanate put in a deadly situation. Will The Last Princess live up to her reputation when forced to choose between her people and the man she loves?

This is book 2 of a series, but can be read as a standalone.

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Snippets:

“Look forward, my daughter," the sultan told Juliza, "and look to the light. Glance outside now, and see how the twilight is deepening. Everything looks dark now, but don’t lose hope. The morning will come. Someday, you shall find a fitting consort that can usher you into a new day.”

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Great Summer Reads Countdown Day Seventeen: Breathe In by Michelle Bellon

Michelle Bellon lives in the Pacific Northwest with her four quirky and beautiful children. She loves coffee, Superman, rollercoasters, and has an addiction to chapstick. 

She works as a registered nurse and in her spare time writes novels. As a multi-genre author, she has written in the categories of romance suspense, young adult, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. She has won four literary awards. 

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Breathe in, breathe out. 

This mantra gets Tessa Benson through the day. 

The man she loves walks all over her, and she just wants to get by without her heart shattering to pieces. If she could find her voice, she’d scream.

Everything changes in one night, when she’s snatched from the streets and tied to a bed, a camera set up to capture her dying moment. And the person who paid to watch her die...is still out there somewhere.

Tessa prowls dark neighborhoods in a quest for justice, but she doesn’t find the killer. Not until they strike again…in the place Tessa is least expecting, and where it hurts worst.

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Snippets:

Eyes open. Darkness. Eyes close. Darkness. Where am I? I can’t breathe. I’m so hot. Memory floods back. Eyes open wide. The bag is still over my head. My heart thuds in my chest and my respirations increase. The humidity of my warm breath presses against my face. I really can’t breathe. Instead of flailing around, I hold still and hone in on my other senses. I’m sitting upright, and by the way my body bounces in the seat, I know I’m in a vehicle of some sort and the road is not paved. It’s rough. Over the sound of my desperate panting, I make out the hum of the engine and crunch of tires against rugged terrain.

Oh god! Oh god! Oh god! Where are they taking me?

“Slow down, Jake. We’re bumping around like crazy back here.”

I snap my head toward the left, following the sound of the man’s voice. Is it the man from the library or the other one who grabbed me from behind? Racking my brain, I think back to what his voice sounded like. I think the man next to me is the one from the library. He was in the club tonight too. So the driver must be Jake. How many are there?

“Hold tight! I just want to get there already,” a man barks from the front. His tone is much sharper, deeper. Dangerous. I’m not okay, I’m not okay. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Too fast. I’m breathing too fast. It’s too damn hot in this bag. My back and hips ache as I’m jostled about. The taste and smell of stale tequila wafts into my warm nostrils. A thick wave of nausea suddenly rises. Oh, no, I’m going to throw up. Not in the bag. I’ll choke. I can’t hold it down.

Sour, vile fluid bubbles up and bursts from my mouth and nose. I gag and retch inside the sack. Feels like I’m inside a microwave that has cooked too long and burst the contents. Vomit spews over my lips and down my face and neck, pooling up at the neck where the bag is cinched tight.

“Oh, shit, Jake. She’s puking. Pull over.”

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Great Summer Reads Countdown Day Sixteen: Such A Secret Place by Cortney Pearson

Cortney Pearson is a mother, a musician, and a lover of all things pink and sparkly. She is the author of Phobic, about doors that shouldn't be opened, and the Stolen Tears series, about an enchanted vial of tears and the girl chosen to wield them. 

Cortney lives with her husband and three sons in a small Idaho farm town. She loves chocolate, romantic books, and classical music, and believes anything can be made better with a book tucked away for those just-in-case times.

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She is their protector.

In an emotionless world, tears are a precious commodity, valued for their magic and sold on the black market. When Ambry stumbles across a vial of these enchanted tears, she finds herself the target of not only the tyrannical Arcaian army, who is stealing her people’s magic left and right, but of handsome, battle-scarred Talon Haraway, who seeks the tears for his own personal vengeance.

Ambry soon realizes the reason for their interference: these tears are the most powerful ever shed. They are the key to saving her people and rescuing her brother and others who've been taken by the Arcaians.With the Arcaian army threatening her every move, and Talon attempting to take the tears from her, Ambry must keep the tears safe at all costs. Her people need them. Her brother needs them. She needs them.
And they need her.

With bold twists, a riveting world of magic-powered technology, and a slow-sizzle romance, find out why readers are calling Such a Secret Place “totally original!”

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Snippets:

The jar illuminates her face with its pale hue, bouncing blue light into the gleam in her eyes. From across the room, the glow also points out another pair of eyes, and I know Gwynn and I aren’t the only ones admiring the jar filled with glistening, blue-tinted tears.

“Can you at least tell me what our immediate plans are?” I ask. We’ve been heading toward the tears, but that can’t be all there is to this whacked-out journey we’re on.

“That’s in your hands, actually,” he says, sliding me a husky look.

“Mine? Why?”

The tears pang at my back, reminding me of their direction. Right. I’m leading him to them.

Talon sighs and frowns into the heat of the fire. “There’s also someone I need to find. I want to know who shed those tears, and I think he has a way of determining that.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. “And you think it’s important, to know whose they are?”

His fire-gleamed eyes hold me still. “Very.”

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