Showing results by author "Alydia Rackham" in All Categories

Young Princess Linnet has been given a grave task. If she succeeds, it could end her life. If she fails, it could destroy her people. She must kill a prince. But first, she must marry him. Prince Rajak of the Badi, son of the conquering desert king, has given Linnet's kingdom an ultimatum: give him a princess for his bride, or be slaughtered. Linnet volunteers, to save her people. Her mother, however, sees an opportunity. She secretly instructs Linnet to gain Rajak's trust, and then assassinate him. Now, Linnet is forced to live among foreigners and enemies, married to a man she hates. But ...

All of a sudden, Anne is caught between the fear that this venture may ruin all her plans for the future—and the knowledge that trying to save Peter Wren may be the role of a lifetime. Anne studied to be a speech therapist, and she lives in a little apartment in New York, actively searching for a job in a non-scary school system. She has a steady, reliable boyfriend named Jim. She also has premonitions. She secretly calls them “Pictures,” and she’s never been able to stop even one from coming true. Now, her dad has suggested she try out for a role in a play written by his old ...

A grieving soprano becomes entangled in a web of magnificent music and secret revenge—and the climax will either exceed all her greatest dreams, or crush her in inexpressible tragedy. When Christine Daae` became a member of the chorus of the Paris Opera after the death of her father, she never imagined she would find comfort in a tenuous friendship with an aloof stagehand who always remains cloaked and masked. Nor did she ever expect that her childhood sweetheart, Raoul de Chagney, is now the owner of the opera—and both Raoul and her mysterious friend seem to be guarding terrible ...

What if the only person who can help you is a murderer? When young, solitary archaeologist Marina Feroe meets a beautiful young man with an interest in Norse myths, she believes her life has turned for the better. But the last thing she expects, when she sneaks after him into the woods one night, is that he is actually Bauldr, younger son of Odin. Days later, winter suddenly descends. Bauldr has been killed. Marina is the only one who knows how to bring him back—but to do so she must travel all through Midgard, with Hel’s wolves on her heels. She has no choice but to bargain help from ...

If a princess transformed into a beast, could a man see through that fearsome ugliness enough to love her? The poisonous jealousy of a sister gives birth to curse of vengeance. The body of a princess is warped and twisted into the form of a scaly, snake-like monster, and her mind is lost in shadow. A misfit minstrel, with a voice like sunshine, may be her only hope for salvation--but only if he survives their first encounter. A thrilling and unexpected reversal of the timeless romance of “Beauty and the Beast” launches Alydia Rackham's epic fairy tale series. If you enjoy magic, mystery...

London, November 3, 1881. A young woman slips through the curtains of fog down Pendy Corner to the 26th house in the row. She vacillates at the gate. For, past that sullen door, she must seek the help of the distinctively eccentric and impatient young language expert named Basil Collingwood. The fate of Europe, and indeed, the free peoples of the world may depend upon getting him to understand her. The only trouble? She cannot speak a word.

She has two choices: marry a man she does not love, or chase the man she does love into the jaws of high-seas danger… Lady Gwendolyn Montgomery has defied her father, dressed as a boy and bargained passage aboard a merchant ship to save her beloved, who has been banished to the Caribbean. But what will happen when her ship is waylaid by the flashy and dangerous Captain Lady Rackham? Will she join the pirates and risk the hangman's noose? Or will she sail into the teeth of a trap set by Blackbeard himself? “Lady Rackham” is the first of Alydia Rackham’s tales about this intrepid ...

To save her family, she has to trust a man whose past is a mystery and whose future is riddled with danger. A huge machine appears out of nowhere in the middle of young Kestrel Evans' shop in the KC Space Port, and an intimidating stranger steps out of it, toting a sawed-off shotgun. The next minute, the machine self-destructs-- And the stranger saves her life. Now, Kestrel has become entangled in a centuries-long hunt for an infamous scientist, and swept into a race across the galaxy. Can this stranger be trusted, or will he lead her to her death? “The Paradox Initiative” is the first ...

Christmas is forbidden at Pendywick Place. A tragic shadow from Basil Collingwood’s past looms over the season. Nevertheless, he plans to take Victoria to the Hampton Court Christmas Ball, to confront his former mentor - and her attempted murderer - Professor Winchester. If they can steal back Victoria’s unbreakable code from him, they may save England itself. If they cannot, it will put all of Europe in grave danger.

Can two enemies stop a war from breaking out and destroying both their families? The European war between vampires and werewolves ended in 1848. But in America, it's a different story. After over a century of vicious fighting, the Campbell pack has made an agreement with all nearby vampires: stay off Campbell land, and leave humans alone. So what will Mara Kaylock, a werewolf, do when she finds a vampire lying on the bank of the Campbell River--a vampire she knows has his sights set on a human girl? “The Campbell River” is the second of Alydia Rackham’s vampire/werewolf novels. If you...

What if your very first assignment is impossible, because the one you were sent to help has a heart of stone? Rose has lived in a mountain fortress with curse-breakers almost all her life, never venturing out into the wilds. But now, her masters have sent her on a mission to free a lost kingdom that crafts unbreakable glass. But this task may prove impossible, for the prince has an unyielding, selfish heart, and he and the kingdom are frozen under the hand of the Snow Queen. A suspenseful and unexpected reimagining of the timeless romance of “The Snow Queen” continues Alydia Rackham's ...

Have you started a book and then gotten caught in this endless spiral of rewriting, revising, and re-analyzing the same pages over and over without making any forward progress? Or have you taken a deep breath and screamed through the white-knuckle race of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and then finished out November feeling like a mummified fruit that’s been run over by a truck? And your book STILL isn’t finished? The MOST frequent question I get is “How do you find it in you to keep going to the end?” And people who ask me this don’t want an answer like “Just keep ...

Pirates, ye be warned! Captain Lady Rackham has been captured, and she demands an audience with the king himself. But a young lord with a bitter vendetta is determined to see her hang before she even comes close to the throne. Will Rackham's former crew be able to obtain elusive evidence that their captain is responsible for Blackbeard's death and obtain a royal pardon, or be forced to watch her go to the gallows? “Blackbeard’s Sword” is the second of Alydia Rackham’s tales about this intrepid pirate crew. If you enjoy “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Treasure Island” and “...

If he succeeds, he will be named a hero. If he fails, his kingdom, and everyone in it, will crumble to dust. Young Lord Oleron MacDonald has been given a mission. The mysterious wizard, Rune, has cursed him, forcing him to leap forward through time in a desperate search for a great treasure Oleron has coveted and killed for: the treasure that Beowulf himself wrested from the dragon. But while Oleron sees only the chance to return home in wealth and glory, his courage and his heart will be tested by the devastating trials of the London fire of 1666, the sinking of the Titanic, the bombing of...

He has lived all his days blind, crippled, and in darkness. He has one chance to escape to the light—but he will risk his life if he tries. Crispian has lived in the city of Tutus all his life. He is used to the darkness that always cloaks the world, broken only by the lamps that huddle in the streets and winding alleys. He knows what it is to live in a segregated quarter, away from the despicable Rubrum race. He takes comfort in the company of his few friends, and the Minister--the only people who do not look twice at his missing eye and hand. But when he allows a young woman named Aiva ...

How could a painting be stolen from a museum without a single door or window being broken? Two young women and one young man lead unobtrusive lives working at a Victorian coffee house, for the owner Mr. McDougal. But when a famous painting is stolen, they must assume their other identities: moonlighting as apprentice detectives under the employ of Mycroft Holmes. But will this case strain the limits of their friendship and their wits? “The Case of the Young Patrician Lady” is a lighthearted mystery from the pen of Alydia Rackham. If you enjoy the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule ...

Enjoy three stories of romance, mystery, and the magic of Christmas! THE OXFORD STREET COFFEE HOUSE DETECTIVES Two young women and one young man lead unobtrusive lives working at a Victorian coffee house, for the owner Mr. McDougal. But when a famous painting is stolen, they must assume their other identities--for they moonlight as apprentice detectives under the employ of Mycroft Holmes. THE ROOKS OF MISSELTHWAITE - PART 1: IN THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN Lilias Lennox and her sister Evelia have lost everything. Their parents are dead, their brother is serving in India, and now their sole ...

An intruder has broken into Pendywick Place, attempting to steal back Victoria’s torn page. This spurs Basil and Victoria to strike up an alliance with Lord Fred Brody and his siblings - and it sweeps them to the bustling city of Bath in pursuit of the menacing Professor Winchester. But while they attempt to navigate the treacherous social waters, the tenuous bond between Basil and Victoria may be strained to breaking. And the looming confrontation with the increasingly-volatile Winchester if approached without heed, could prove to be fatal.

It is too late to retrieve the code. Victoria and Basil must instead recreate it and get it to the queen as fast as possible. To do that, they must travel to the remote Yorkshire seaside, along with Basil’s sister and her husband, and their friend Fred Brody, to a vast, empty house of Professor Winchester’s where Victoria’s reference books reside. But a ghostly presence begins to interfere, drawing closer and closer every day. Will Victoria, who has already lost so much and achieved so much, be able to stop her old mentor’s wicked plans once and for all?

Galahad Stormcrane is perhaps the greatest curse-breaker who ever lived. But in spite of all his experience and strength, this mission may finally break him. Young Galahad Stormcrane comes to a small seaside kingdom to investigate the loss of a Guardian of the Seal—only to find that this guardian has abandoned her post, and made a deal with a sea witch to become human. However, if the prince refuses to marry her, she will die, and the Great Seal will fall into the hands of incredible evil. For the sake of the entire realm, Galahad must somehow arrange a marriage between a royal prince and...