Many lifetimes ago, the beautiful May Queen exquisite seduction not with her husband, but in the arms of the Green Man—the passionate ruler of all that is warm and light. And thus began the earth's most torrid love triangle. Now three women of diverse eras are drawn to the mystical site of the Celtic queen's tragic demise. Their fiery obsession ignited by Beltane Magic is barely perceived, but erotically felt. With each kiss, their passion would break an ancient curse— and reunite a love most profound…. CARA Driven by an unseen force, a Celtic maiden seduces the one man forsaken by law and principle—an Englishman soon for the priesthood…. CATHERINE The future lady of Fairfax House yearns for illicit nights and perfect love in the arms of her betrothed's cousin…. EMMALINE She inherits a decrepit house and garden that awakens in her a raw sexual awareness, the likes of which she can abide alone no longer….

The Pleasure Garden: An Anthology

Literature & Fiction

Featherstone, Charlotte

McIntyre, Amanda

Astor, Kristi

United States

Spice

From nationally bestselling author Kristina Cook (writing as Kristi Astor) comes this collection of three Edwardian-era novellas featuring steamy romance, some Celtic lore, and a little bit of magic. LOVER’S DAWN: Twenty-three-year-old Aisling Wainscott writes risqué stories under a secret pen name, but her real-life love life is a bore…until she makes a wish for her winter's desire that works only too well. But as the walls around Aisling’s heart begin to crumble, she can only wonder if her feelings are real, or if it’s simply the winter solstice playing tricks on her.MIDNIGHT SINS: Imprisoned in a loveless marriage, Madeline, Lady Briarton, yearns for escape with a passionate stranger. But her unearthly lover, met on the eve of Samhain, is not who he claims to be. Can she risk her heart--and her very life--with the beautiful Scot who sets her blood and her body on fire, even as he claims the impossible?RITES OF PASSION: War widow Emmaline Gage has inherited a crumbling old Cotswold manor that matches her bleak spirits, but a chance meeting across a Beltane fire stokes a passion inside her that can no longer be denied. Will she take the second chance at love she’s been offered, or will her fears--and the garden's haunts--send her scurrying away forever?

Celtic Heat: Lover's Dawn, Midnight Sins, Rites of Passion

Romance

Cook, Kristina

Collections & Anthologies

Grosvenor Street Press

This passionate collection of historical romances includes Virginia Henley's "Smuggler's Lair," in which Victoria Carswell, throwing lady-like behavior and caution to the wind, finds her skinny-dipping adventure interrupted by a dashing smuggler, as well as tales by Sally MacKenzie, Victoria Dahl, and Kristi Astor. Original.

Lords of Desire

Henley, Virginia

DAHL, VICTORIA

MacKenzie, Sally

Kensington Pub. Corp

Victoria Carswell, the heroine of Virginia Henley's "Smuggler's Lair" will not be bound by society's dictates. She'll even risk skinny - dipping in view of an abandoned castle. At least, Victoria thinks it's abandoned, until a dashing smuggler lures her into an adventure that defies every rule. In "The Naked Laird" by Sally MacKenzie, the viscount's house party promises to be one of the season's highlights, and Lord and Lady Kilgorn are delighted to attend. If only the long estranged couple had realised they were both invited - and assigned the same bedchamber. Victoria Dahl's "Lessons in Pleasure" introduces Sara Hood, who is newly married to her beloved James, and should be blissfully happy...yet close proximity to a man fills her with anxiety. But James plans to awaken Sarah to pleasure in order to forge a true union of body and soul. In Kristi Astor's "Swept Away", vivacious Christobel Smyth is a gentleman's daughter, while brooding, proud John Leyden comes from a family of northern mill owners. The two could not be more different, yet as passion flares at a country party, Christobel finds he may be her match in every way.

He Was Her Forbidden Fantasy. . . Miranda Granger arrives at the spectacular seaside resort The Grandview Hotel to spend the Christmas holidays, hoping it will be just the tonic she needs to forget her scandalous past. But when she crosses paths with Troy Davenport, the alluring stranger she met aboard an ocean liner, Miranda fears she will repeat the mistake that almost ruined her reputation many years ago. . . She Was His Greatest Muse. . . Troy Davenport has been struggling to paint the stunning woman he encountered by moonlight on the ship's deck. If only he could meet his muse again. When he learns she's staying at The Grandview, it takes a great deal of convincing to let him paint her. But once he begins he realizes he wants more than to capture her unique beauty on canvas. When they surrender to an all-consuming passion, Troy's past threatens to tear them apart--unless a Christmas miracle can save their love. . . "Kristi Astor transports you to a sensual past filled with intense and passionate characters. Put her on your 'must read' list today!" --USA Today bestselling author, Sally MacKenzie

A Midnight Clear

Zebra

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