Tags:historical
The Child's Curse
An exciting prequel to the fantastic time travel historical romance series, Touching Time. In a single moment, her life was no longer her own…On the streets of Peking, Sparrow survives by picking pockets and stealing food from street vendors, until the day she touches an item that sends her hurtling through time, awakening a power in her she cannot control or understand.Sparrow is forced to use her “trick” to tell fortunes, an endeavor that is exhausting at best, and deadly at worst. Every day becomes a nightmare that Sparrow is afraid she will never escape.But then she catches the attention of the Empress herself. A woman of immeasurable cruelty and power—the woman with the ability to change Sparrow’s destiny forever…Don’t miss The Child’s Curse, the exciting prequel to the Touching Time Trilogy.Keywords: free book, free romance book, free fantasy, free novel, romance books free, free books to read and download, time travel romance, complete series, historical fiction, historical romance, free time travel books, free time travel romance, time travel fiction, time travel historical romance, time travel romance books, time travel books romance, Chinese historical fiction, historical fantasy
The Emperor's Seal
A fantastic time travel romance series set in Qing Dynasty Era China. The Emperor’s Seal – the divine symbol of the Emperor on earth – is missing. The Empress will do whatever it takes to get it back. Jiayi has a gift – she can travel through time just by touching historical artifacts. More than anything, she wants to escape the clutches of the Empress and run away to a foreign land. Finding the Emperor’s Seal could be her only chance at freedom, but is she willing to risk the wrath of the Empress? Historian and wannabe archaeologist Zhihao has no love for the Empress or the Qing Dynasty, but when the Empress orders him to find the Emperor’s Seal in exchange for funding China’s first history museum, he cannot refuse. It is only after he accepts the assignment that he realizes the key to finding the seal lies in the hands of a palace slave. Civil unrest and encroaching foreign powers threaten Jiayi and Zhihao's mission and lives as they hunt for The Emperor's Seal.Keywords: time travel romance, complete series, historical fiction, historical romance, time travel fiction, time travel historical romance, time travel romance books, time travel books romance, Chinese historical fiction, historical fantasy, time travel books, time travel adventure, time travel alternate history, time travel alternate history, time travel complete, time travel fantasy, sale, discount, great deal, new deal
The Other Empress
In this exciting novel from USA Today best-selling author Amanda Roberts, the story of the slow march toward the fall of the Qing Dynasty comes to life in vivid detail, revealing a world of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue surrounding the world of empresses, princesses, consorts, and concubines, and the emperors they served.History books may tell about the fall of the Qing Dynasty. But they haven't told my story…Born to a family of wealth and privilege, Zhenxiu was trained from a young age to become the wife of a very powerful man, though she prayed it would not be Prince Yizhu, the future Xianfeng Emperor, a man with cruel and salacious appetites. The sudden death of the prince's consort, however, thrusts fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu into the prince's bed and the center of the Qing Court, a court still reeling from the aftershocks of the Opium War.Zhenxiu finds solace in the friendship of a girl named Lanhua, and she does her best to help her friend rise in the emperor's estimation. When the emperor dies and leaves only Lanhua's five-year-old son as his heir, Zhenxiu finds herself as the de facto ruler of China, a position she was never trained to occupy. As she leans more and more on Lanhua for help, she slowly comes to realize that Lanhua's ambition has no bounds. An ambition that could get them both killed.The Other Empress is a riveting historical drama that brings to light the story of an empress who stood at the helm of the Qing Dynasty for more than twenty years. An empress overshadowed by the strong presence of the woman who would prove to be her dearest friend—and her most dangerous rival.Keywords: historical fiction, historical Chinese fiction, 19th century, China, Qing Dynasty, Philipa Gregory, Amy Tan, saga, series, epic, Asia, classics, dark ages, royalty, dark history, royal, imperial, genealogy, medieval, middle ages, kings, queen, emperor, empress, romance, drama
Empress in Hiding
She thought that the favor of the emperor would keep her safe. She was wrong.At the center of power and privilege, Daiyu is now in more danger than she ever imagined. No longer able to hide among the countless palace ladies, as empress, Daiyu cannot escape the jealousy and scheming of the other women who would do anything to take her place.But that is not the only danger Daiyu faces.Foreign enemies besiege Peking, sacking the city and forcing the imperial family to flee for their lives. War changes everything.With enemies lurking in every corner, Daiyu, the girl from the streets, must step into a role she was never born to play.All of China depends on it.
Empress in Disguise
To save her family, one girl will sacrifice her very identity.Living in poverty in the shadow of the Forbidden City, Daiyu never imagined that the life of the emperor would impact her own. But a chance meeting with a girl who looks exactly like her changes everything. Daiyu's family is offered enough money to support them for life if she only agrees to take the stranger's place at the emperor's selection for new consorts. In order to pull off the ruse, Daiyu must abandon everything she ever knew and become a completely different person, a person she despises. And if she fails, if she is discovered, she will be guilty of treason and put to death.Daiyu cannot allow her family to suffer if it is within her power to save them, so she strikes the deadly bargain. But living within the Forbidden City is even more dangerous than she imagined...In this incredible retelling of The Princess and the Pauper, based on true events, authors Zoey Gong and Amanda Roberts bring to life the opulent and dangerous world of imperial consorts trapped within the great red walls of the Forbidden City.
Empress in Danger
She thought that fate was finished with her. But it was only beginning…After being banished to a remote abbey, Daiyu thinks the machinations of the inner court can no longer hurt her. But she is wrong. A ghost from the past emerges and threatens everything Daiyu has worked so hard to build for herself.From the opulence of the inner court and the right hand of the emperor, Daiyu finds herself back at the beginning, back outside the imposing red walls of the Forbidden City. Daiyu discovers that she has the power to choose her future, but both futures carry a risk she is not sure she has the strength to face.But underneath it all is a love so powerful, Daiyu cannot walk away.The future of a dynasty rests with her…
The Familiar
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * #1 INDIE BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“An immersive, sensual experience.” —The New York Times"Essential." —The Washington PostGOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FINALIST * A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Kirkus, Women's World, Town & Country Magazine, NYPLFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
The Water Dancer
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.“This potent book about America’s most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist.”—San Francisco ChronicleIN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Adapted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kamilah Forbes, directed by Nia DaCosta, and produced by MGM, Plan B, and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo FilmsNOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • Vanity Fair • Esquire • Good Housekeeping • Paste • Town & Country • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures. This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and children—the violent and capricious separation of families—and the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of today’s most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.Praise for The Water Dancer“Ta-Nehisi Coates is the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race with his 2015 memoir, Between the World and Me. So naturally his debut novel comes with slightly unrealistic expectations—and then proceeds to exceed them. The Water Dancer . . . is a work of both staggering imagination and rich historical significance. . . . What’s most powerful is the way Coates enlists his notions of the fantastic, as well as his fluid prose, to probe a wound that never seems to heal. . . . Timeless and instantly canon-worthy.”—Rolling Stone
The Palace of Lost Memories: After The Rift, Book 1
From a multi-USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author comes this romantasy (romantic fantasy), the first in a 6-book series.“This fantasy novel is simply the most captivating I remember reading in decades of fantasy books.” “It has been years and years since I have stayed up all night, literally, to read a book!” “An exceptional story plot with characters who are written in a manner that makes them feel so real” “How does Ms. Archer create pure magic so easily!? This is one of the best books that she has ever written!”The king's magnificent palace was built in a matter of weeks. No one saw the builders, no villagers are allowed beyond the gilded gate, and only one servant has ever left. The haunted look in her eyes as she was recaptured by the palace guards is something Josie, daughter of the village healer, has never forgotten.For Josie, the palace is a mystery that grows more intriguing after she meets the captain of the guards, a man known only as Hammer, as mysterious and captivating as the palace itself. Whispers of magic fuel Josie's desire to uncover the truth, but an ordinary girl like her can only dream of ever being invited inside.When the king decides to take a wife from among the eligible daughters of the noble families, the palace gates are finally thrown open and the kingdom's elite pour in. In a court where old rivalries and new jealousies collide, the king's favorite is poisoned, and the healer is summoned. As her father's assistant, Josie finally sees inside the lavish walls, but she soon learns the palace won't surrender its secrets easily, for not a single resident, from the lowest servant to the king himself, has a memory from before the palace existed.In her quest to help the servants, Josie becomes embroiled in courtly intrigues alongside the enigmatic captain. As their feelings for each other grow, the hopelessness of their situation becomes apparent. How can she love a man who doesn’t know his own past? To make matters worse, they discover that ending the enchantment will shake the very foundations of the kingdom, and destroy everything Josie holds dear.
Sauron Defeated (The History of Middle-earth, Book 9)
The final part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety. In the first section of Sauron Defeated Christopher Tolkien completes his fascinating study of The Lord of the Rings. Beginning with Sam’s rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and giving a very different account of the Scouring of the Shire, this section ends with versions of the hitherto unpublished Epilogue, in which, years after the departure of Bilbo and Frodo from the Grey Havens, Sam attempts to answer his children’s questions. The second section is an edition of The Notion Club Papers. These mysterious papers, discovered in the early years of the twenty-first century, report the discussions of an Oxford club in the years 1986-7, in which after a number of topics, the centre of interest turns to the legend of Atlantis, the strange communications received by other members of the club from the past, and the violent irruption of the legend into the North-west of Europe.
The Book of Lost Tales 1 (The History of Middle-earth, Book 1)
The second of a two-book set that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien’s epic tale of war, The Silmarillion. The Book of Lost Tales stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor, for the Tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend, they are set in the narrative frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol to the lonely Isle where the Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. In the Tales are found the earliest accounts of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of the geography and cosmology of Tolkien’s invented world. This first volume in Christopher Tolkien’s epic History of Middle-earth series is the perfect gateway for anyone wanting to tread deeper into the rich tapestry of Tolkien’s world and discover the evolution of the Middle-earth stories.
The War of the Jewels (The History of Middle-earth, Book 11)
The second of two companion volumes which documents the later writing of The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s epic tale of war. In The War of the Jewels Christopher Tolkien takes up his account of the later history of The Silmarillion from the point where it was left in Morgoth’s Ring. The story now returns to Middle-earth, and the ruinous conflict of the High Elves and the Men who were their allies with the power of the Dark Lord. With the publication in this book all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s later narrative writing concerned with the last centuries of the First Age, the long history of The Silmarillion, from its beginning in The Book of Lost Tales, is completed; and the enigmatic state of the work at his death can be understood. This book contains the full text of the Grey Annals, the primary record of The War of the Jewels, and a major story of Middle-earth now published for the first time: the tale of the disaster that overtook the forest people of Brethil when Hurin the Steadfast came among them after his release from long years of captivity in Angband, the fortress of Morgoth.