Download or read book Stormdancer written by Jay Kristoff and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2012-09-18 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first in an epic new fantasy series, introducing an unforgettable new heroine and a stunningly original dystopian steampunk world with a flavor of feudal Japan. A DYING LAND The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever. AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shogun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shogun is death. A HIDDEN GIFT Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shogun's hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he'd rather see her dead than help her. But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

Download or read book Steampunk Bandidtos written by Mario Acevedo and published by WordFire +ORM. This book was released on 2018-08-16 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his undead quest for justice, Felix Gomez—detective vampire extraordinaire—has traveled from dusty desert battlefields, to gritty urban barrios, to the deepest corners of outer space. Now he’s about to embark on his wildest adventure yet: back to an alternative past of steam-powered technology, telepathic magic, and intrigue more deadly and unforgiving than any he has ever encountered. There, he’s a renowned pistolero hired to find the missing daughter of notorious Chinese gangster Wu-Fei. Accompanied by philosopher-gunfighter Malachi Hunter and mercenary femme fatale Hermosa Singer, Felix follows clues through the reimagined Southwest of Aztlan to the Gulf of California. The fate of Wu Fei’s daughter is known only to the sex slaves imprisoned on Isla Tiburón—Shark Island—the fortress home of a mad scientist whose ambitions are as twisted as her evil genius. Getting on the island proves tough. Getting off the island proves impossible. But to learn what happened to Wu Fei’s daughter, Felix must brave a gauntlet of murderous henchmen, infernal machines, and ferocious prehistoric monsters. And don’t forget the sharks.

Download or read book Steampunk II Steampunk Reloaded written by Ann VanderMeer and published by Tachyon Publications. This book was released on 2010-09-16 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gentle Readers, after the outraged letters following our first volume, I would be remiss not to warn you. The handsome tome of classic and original fiction, nonfiction, and illustrations is perhaps even more shocking than its predecessor. And yet, I see that your curiosity is piqued, so.... Enter the Scintillating Clockpunk Gear-o-Torium: Herein dwell the breathless adventures that you secretly seek. Gaze upon the rebellious Mecha-Ostrich, the seductive Steam Dancer, the intrepid Mssrs. Balfour and Meriwether, and the hithertofore undefeated Cast-Iron Kid. Experience the Delights of the Chrononaut Odditorium: An esteemed panel of self-appointed experts, under pain of ridicule, will reveal Top Secret Historical Enticements. Be dazzled by the first English translation of the quintessential Steampunk story “Flying Fish Prometheus” by Vilhelm Bergsøe. Oooh and Ahhh at the Subculture Contraptor Lounge: Authoress of the Parasol Protectorate Gail Carriger gaily holds forth on the fashionable subjects of fashion, fiction, and more. The Steampunk Workshop founder Jake von Slatt’s “Steampunk Manifesto” shares his musings amusing and profound on the future of Steam. Look Upon Our Brass-Plated Wonders: From the rough streets of modern-day Manchester, world-famous adventurer John Coulthart provides the near-tactile visual experience of this elaborative tome. He is joined by the likes of the artistes Secret Agent Ramona Szczerba (a.k.a. Winona Cookie) and Lovereaftian maestro Eric Orchard. Meet the Masterminds: Editors Extraordinaire Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, the well-known literary vagabonds and mesmerists, do fully guarantee your satisfaction. However, the publisher does regret that the VanderMeers have become mysteriously unavailable to respond to any grievances. It’s Steampunk—and it’s reloaded.

Download or read book The Mammoth Book of Steampunk written by Sean Wallace and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2012-04-05 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anthology focusing on newer elements of steampunk, one which deconstructs the staples of the genre and expands on them, rather than simply repeating them, with a greater spread both in terms of location and character. This is steampunk with a modern, post-colonial sensibility. Contributors include: Jeff VanderMeer, Caitlín Kiernan, Mary Robinette Kowal, Jay Lake, Cherie Priest, Cat Rambo, Catherynne M. Valente, Genevieve Valentine and many more.

Download or read book Steampunk Magic written by Gypsey Elaine Teague and published by Weiser Books. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A glove full of Goth, a helping of Sci-Fi, and a vial of Cyberpunk all neatly wrapped inside a Victorian Satchel--the popular new genre of Steampunk is reverberating throughout our culture in art, fashion, style and music. Now you can hop aboard the airship and embark on a spiritual adventure that brings dramatic ritual and practical magic into your everyday life with Steampunk Magic. Gypsey Elaine Teague draws on her experience as a practicing High Priestess and magician and her love of Steampunk to bring readers an entirely new magical system. Steampunk Magic is a compendium of altar arrangements, spells, and magical tools--traditional Wicca and magic with a Steampunk twist. Teague shows how to craft and use a compass instead of a pentacle, use a rigging knife in place of an athame, and join an airship in lieu of a coven. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and art. From author: "This book describes the new magical system that stems from the tools and philosophies of Steampunk--the alternate Victorian history genre, and incorporates many of the tried and true methods of other crafts while applying quite a few very unique visioning and application tools specific to Steampunk. I believe that you will find this new system extremely interesting and applicable to your day to day magical and non-magical life."

Download or read book Steampunk World written by Jay Lake and published by Alliteration Ink. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There's something compelling about the shine of clicking brass clockwork and hiss of steam-driven automatons. But there was something missing. It was easy to find excellent stories of American and British citizens... but we rarely got to see steampunk from the point of view of the rest of the world. Until now. Steampunk World is a showcase for nineteen authors to flip the levers and start the pistons and invite you to experience the entirety of steampunk.

Download or read book Mammoth Book Of Steampunk Adventures written by Sean Wallace and published by Robinson. This book was released on 2014-09-18 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the editor of The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, this anthology of steam-powered short stories, dirigibles aloft, retro-tech wonders, and astounding adventure will set clockwork-loving hearts hammering with delight. Longtime steampunk fans: prepare to gleefully grab your goggles to read these remarkable stories! Newcomers: prepare to become fans of this popular genre involving both the past and present—entertainingly and provocatively re-thought, re-invented, and re-evaluated. With stories by K.W. Jeter, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Ken Liu, Cherie Priest, Carrie Vaughn, and many others. Full list of contributors: Christopher Barzak; Tobias Buckell; C. S. E. Cooney; Aliette de Bodard; Lisa L. Hannett; Samantha Henderson; K. W. Jeter; Caitlin R. Kiernan; Jay Lake; Ken Liu; Alex Dally MacFarlane; Tony Pi; Cherie Priest; Cat Rambo; Chris Roberson; Margaret Ronald; Sofia Samatar; Gord Sellar; Nisi Shawl; Benjanun Sriduangkaew; E. Caterine Tobler; Genevieve Valentine; Carrie Vaughn; AC Wise; Jonathan Wood. Praise for the author: The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, edited by Sean Wallace, focuses on newer elements of steampunk and proudly includes work by Mary Robinette Kowal, Jay Lake, Cat Rambo, Ekaterina Sedia, Catherynne M. Valente, Genevieve Valentine and more. Kirkus Reviews The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, edited by Sean Wallace, includes five original stories (and a large selection of good recent work). All the originals are worthy of attention. Locus World Fantasy Award-winning editor Wallace has compiled an outstanding anthology of thirty stories (including four originals) sure to satisfy even the most jaded steampunk fans and engage newcomers and skeptics. Each story exemplifies steampunk’s knack for critiquing both the past and the present, in a superb anthology that demands rereading. Publishers Weekly, starred review What I liked best about the majority of these short stories was that they’re true to steampunk; no real unusual deviations for those of you looking for goggles and corsets . . . Wired

Download or read book A Tiger s Heart written by E.C. Ayres and published by Speaking Volumes. This book was released on with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: San Francisco based Investigative reporter Jake Fleming has a problem: Desmond Lewis, a Professor of English Literature and an old friend of his from London has vanished, en-route to a talk at the University of California in Berkeley about a new book promising shocking revelations. He never arrives. When a rented car is found parked on the Golden Gate Bridge with Lewis’s travel bag in the trunk, the police deem it a suicide. Jake doesn’t believe that for a minute, and convinces his newspaper, The San Francisco Tribune, to sponsor a trip to London to investigate. When Jake arrives, he discovers Lewis’s office and apartment have both been ransacked. Any evidence of a new book is gone: no manuscripts, no flash drives, nothing. The only remaining clue is a list of brief words or abbreviations. Their meaning escapes him, but it’s all he has.

Download or read book Steampunk London written by Helena Esser and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2024-07-25 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the genre through fiction, visual art, film and videogames from the 1980s to the present, this book offers a comprehensive exploration of the intersection between neo-Victorianism, urban spaces and Steampunk. Characterised by its interplay between past and present and its anachronistic retro-speculation, Neo-Victorian-infused Steampunk remixes modern collective memory to produce a re-imagined vision of Victorian London. Investigating how Steampunk's re-calibrated Londons both source from and subvert Victorian discourse about the city, Steampunk London offers a deeper understanding of how a popular cultural memory of the Victorian past is shaped and transmitted in light of present-day identity politics. Covering key themes including retrofuturism, gender and sexuality, colonialism and postcolonialism, it considers such ideas as how early Steampunk synthesizes Victorian urban ethnography; how Victorian urban Gothic shapes shared transmedia memory to challenge reactionary, nostalgic meta-narratives; how Steampunk video games mobilize urban space as an immersive storytelling device with cities open to play; and how Steampunk interprets the modern metropolis as an opportunity for feminist and queer agency. Through examination of Victorian-era writers from Charles Dickens to Arthur Conan Doyle, the book digs into works of fiction and media alike, looking at The Difference Engine, Soulless, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, cyberpunk classic Blade Runner, and Assassin's Creed: Syndicate and The Order 1886. An important intervention in the study of steampunk, Helena Esser demonstrates how the works explored invite participatory consumption and considers the genre's potential- and failures- to interrogate and challenge our relationship with the Victorian past.

Download or read book Cyberpunk Steampunk and Wizardry written by Nader Elhefnawy and published by Nader Elhefnawy. This book was released on 2015-06-14 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where writing on science fiction is concerned, it is the most recent decades that most often get overlooked, so that "big picture" views of the period are a rarity. CYBERPUNK, STEAMPUNK AND WIZARDRY seeks to correct that, offering an overview of the genre that emphasizes exactly these years, with an eye to the big trends and what they meant, both for science fiction, and today's culture as a whole.

Download or read book Steampunk and Nineteenth Century Digital Humanities written by Roger Whitson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Steampunk is more than a fandom, a literary genre, or an aesthetic. It is a research methodology turning history inside out to search for alternatives to the progressive technological boosterism sold to us by Silicon Valley. This book turns to steampunk's quirky temporalities to embrace diverse genealogies of the digital humanities and to unite their methodologies with nineteenth-century literature and media archaeology. The result is nineteenth-century digital humanities, a retrofuturist approach in which readings of steampunk novels like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine and Ken Liu's The Grace of Kings collide with nineteenth-century technological histories like Charles Babbage's use of the difference engine to enhance worker productivity and Isabella Bird's spirit photography of alternate history China. Along the way, Steampunk and Nineteenth-Century Digital Humanities considers steampunk as a public form of digital humanities scholarship and activism, examining projects like Kinetic Steam Works's reconstruction of Henri Giffard's 1852 steam-powered airship, Jake von Slatt's use of James Wimshurst's 1880 designs to create an electric influence machine, and the queer steampunk activism of fans appearing at conventions around the globe. Steampunk as a digital humanities practice of repurposing reacts to the growing sense of multiple non-human temporalities mediating our human histories: microtemporal electricities flowing through our computer circuits, mechanical oscillations marking our work days, geological stratifications and cosmic drifts extending time into the millions and billions of years. Excavating the entangled, anachronistic layers of steampunk practice from video games like Bioshock Infinite to marine trash floating off the shore of Los Angeles and repurposed by media artist Claudio Garzón into steampunk submarines, Steampunk and Nineteenth-Century Digital Humanities uncovers the various technological temporalities and multicultural retrofutures illuminating many alternate histories of the digital humanities.

Download or read book Steampunk Fantasy Adventures written by Celine Jeanjean and published by Celine Jeanjean. This book was released on with total page 1582 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Five full-length steampunk fantasy novels in one boxset. Come dive into five richly imagined worlds full of fascinating characters and rollicking adventure. The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean The tropical city of Damsport clings to its independence from the vast and powerful neighbouring empire by only a few tenuous alliances. As a dreadlocked pickpocket and thief, Rory is mostly oblivious to the political stage, currently too busy blackmailing an assassin into training her to sword fight. That is, until the assassin is targeted by a plot to bring down Damsport, and Rory finds herself in the crosshairs along with him. It’ll take every bit of cunning she possesses if she’s to not only stop the plot but survive it. The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker An enforcer wanted dead for crimes she didn’t commit. An assassin wanted dead for crimes he did commit. Normally, they would be enemies, but they both seek the same thing: exoneration. Free-Wrench by Joseph R Lallo Beyond the islands of Caldera the world is a vicious place. A terrible calamity has poisoned the land. Those too ruthless or stubborn to die have crafted steam-powered mechanical wonders and taken to the sky. Yet somewhere in that wretched land there is a cure for a dire disease. With the eccentric crew of an airship called The Wind Breaker, Nita Graus means to find that cure, whatever the price. Third Daughter by Susan Kaye Quinn Being Third Daughter of the Queen means Aniri is free to love her fencing instructor--until a marriage proposal from a barbarian prince forces her to choose between preventing a war and breaking her heart. Dragon Airways by Brian Rathbone Dragons harbor mysteries and secrets revealed only to those most worthy. When a boy who can sense ancient magic becomes valuable to both sides of the war, enemies close in. Fleeing those sent to capture him, Emmet and his sister Riette board Dragon Airways. Not knowing friend from foe, they must rely on even those who might betray them. In a thrilling journey spanning land and sea, brother and sister come to know the true measure of Emmet's abilities along with the real value of love, friendship, and sacrifice. Keywords: Free Fantasy Books, Fantasy Omnibus, Top Rated Books, Omnibus Bundle, Free Box Set, Fantasy Box Set, Epic Fantasy Books Free, Omnibus Set, Free Fantasy Books, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy Bundle, Boxed Set, Fantasy Omnibus Collection, Best Rated Omnibus, Epic Free, Free Steampunk Books, Best Rated Steampunk Books, Fantasy female lead, Fantasy female character, Fantasy Box Sets, Free Series Box Sets Fantasy, Free to read and download, Fantasy action adventure, quirky characters, banter, snarky fantasy, fantasy humor, Strong female lead, Free fantasy steampunk, free book, free novel, free books to read and download, free fantasy, free novel, snappy banter, funny fantasy, fantasy with strong female lead, magic, original world-building, free full length fantasy, humorous fantasy books for free, free fantasy, free books to download, free to read and download.

Download or read book Steampunk Style Jewelry written by Jean Campbell and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn how to create one-of-kind pieces that marry romance, technology, and attitude—including a Time Travelers Necklace, Gearrings, and more. This how-to jewelry-making book features the work of an array of invited jewelry designers influenced by the growing Steampunk trend. In Steampunk circles, jewelry-makers are often master metalsmiths who combine found objects with fine metals to create elaborate pieces. In Steampunk Style Jewelry, the projects focus on “no fire” techniques—like simple stringing, wirework, hammering, stamping, gluing, stitching, and off-loom beadwork—so that even a beginner can create pieces in the style. Each project provides a complete materials and tools list, step-by-step instructions, and clear illustrations. This book offers a broad overview of a growing design trend that is part of the literary, industrial design, fashion, and popular culture scene. Readers will learn about the art movement through the many photographic sidebars that explore the many aspects of the trend.

Download or read book Steampunk Specs written by Christopher Barzak and published by AudioText. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of unabridged, spectacular steampunk speculations includes several classics of the genre. These tales will sweep you away with their amazing automata, daring dirigibles, grinding gears, and scintillating steam as days long gone are infused with tech. In “Smoke City,” by Christopher Barzak, a woman comes to terms with the loss of her family to the child labor mills of the city. A doctor tries to cope with a strange plague terrorizing the citizens of London in Jeffrey Ford’s “Dr. Lash Remembers.” In “Machine Maid,” by Margo Lanagan, a sexually repressed wife gets revenge on her husband through a robot maid. Friedrich Engels strives to spread class revolution as a labor organizer for factory cyborg matchstick girls in Arbeitskraft, by Nick Mamatas. In “Ninety Thousand Horses,” by Sean McMullen, an acclaimed mathematician, with a murky past, is forced to spy for an industrialist prior to becoming Britain’s foremost rocket expert during World War II. An orphan boy builds an automaton, in an aging scientist’s laboratory, that becomes more than an idle companion in Cherie Priest’s “Tanglefoot (A Clockwork Century Story).” In “Clockwork Fairies,” by Cat Rambo, an English aristocrat courts a woman who would rather spend her time in a laboratory than at high society balls. At Chicago’s Columbian Exposition, in 1893, an Algerian bodyguard crosses paths with a disoriented naked man in Chris Roberson’s “Edison’s Frankenstein.”. In “A Serpent in the Gears,” by Margaret Ronald, a dirigible journeys to an isolated land and discovers people and animals merged with machine parts. Radio Jones finds a way to listen in on the Naked Brains, who rule the world, while Rudy the Red fights against the oppressors in “Zeppelin City,” by Michael Swanwick& Eileen Gunn.

Download or read book Steampunk d written by Jean Rabe and published by Astra Publishing House. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Steampunk can be defined as a subgenre of science fiction that is typically set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian setting, where steam power is prevalent. Consider the slogan: "What the past would look like if the future had come along earlier." The stories in this all-original anthology explore alternate timelines and have been set all over the world, running the gamut from science fiction to mystery to horror to a melding of these genres.

Download or read book London Steampunk The Blue Blood Conspiracy Complete Series Boxed Set written by Bec McMaster and published by Bec McMaster. This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page 2029 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Standing between London and a deadly plot against the throne, are the dangerous spies and femme fatales that form the Company of Rogues... that's if they don't kill each other first. MISSION: IMPROPER Entire families have gone missing in the East End. When Caleb Byrnes receives an invitation to join the Company of Rogues as an undercover agent pledged to protect the crown, he jumps at the chance to find out who, or what is behind the disappearances. Hunting criminals is what the darkly driven blue blood does best, and though he prefers to work alone, the opportunity is too good to resist. The problem? He's partnered with Ingrid Miller, the fiery and passionate verwulfen woman who won a private bet against him a year ago. Byrnes has a score to settle, but one stolen kiss and suddenly the killer is not the only thing Byrnes is interested in hunting. THE MECH WHO LOVED ME Blue bloods are dying from a mysterious disease, which should be impossible. Ava suspects there's more to the case than meets the eye. There’s just one catch—she’s ordered to partner with the sexy mech, Kincaid, who's a constant thorn in her side. Kincaid thinks the only good blue blood is a dead one. He's also the very last man she would ever give her heart to… which makes him the perfect candidate for an affair. The only rule? It ends when the case does. But when an attempt on her life proves Ava might be onto something, the only one who can protect her is Kincaid. Suddenly the greatest risk is not to their hearts, but whether they can survive a diabolical plot that threatens to destroy every blue blood in London—including Ava. YOU ONLY LOVE TWICE First rule of espionage: don't ever fall in love with your target. Five years ago, Gemma Townsend learned the hard way what happens when you break this rule. Love is a weakness she can never afford again. When offered a chance at redemption, the seductive spy is determined to complete her assigned task: to track down a dangerous assassin known as the Chameleon. But as her investigation leads Gemma into a trap, she's rescued by a shadowy figure she thought was dead—Obsidian, the double agent who once stole her heart. Can Gemma ever trust her heart again? Or is history doomed to repeat itself? Because it soon becomes clear the Chameleon might be closer than they realize... and this time Gemma is in the line of fire. TO CATCH A ROGUE An impossible heist. A thief and a rogue. But will she steal his heart, instead? The Company of Rogues finally knows the identity of the mastermind behind a plot against the queen—and when he kidnaps one of theirs, the Rogues plan a daring rescue mission that will lead them into the heart of the bloodthirsty Crimson Court. It's a job for a master thief, and there's nothing Charlie Todd likes more than a challenge. To pull off the impossible, Charlie needs a crew, including the only thief who's ever been able to outfox him. He broke her heart. But now she must risk it all to save his life... DUKES ARE FOREVER A compromising situation forced him into marriage. But has his wife been working for the enemy all along? The Duke of Malloryn can trust no one, and when incriminating photographs surface—of an enemy agent stealing a kiss from his wife—he is forced to question just why his wife, Adele, trapped him into marriage. Is she an innocent pawn caught up in a madman's games, or is she a double agent working against him? The only way to discover the truth is to seduce her himself... FROM LONDON, WITH LOVE With London finally at peace, there is only one threat remaining to the stability of the monarchy…. The queen is without an heir. Queen Alexandra is done with marriage, but as always, the Duke of Malloryn has a plan. With Malloryn insisting upon an heir for the realm, Alexandra reluctantly agrees to accept a husband. But who? With Europe’s most eligible bachelors in London to attend her exhibition, she finds herself pining for the only man who has never betrayed her. The only man she wants. And the one man she cannot have. James Bond meets Dracula... Join USA Today bestselling author, Bec McMaster, on a thrilling ride through a steam-fuelled London in this complete series boxset. Download this sexy paranormal romance series filled with explosive secrets, diabolical devices and breathtaking romance today! The Blue Blood Conspiracy London Steampunk series: —Gaslamp Fantasy Romance —Historical Romance —Steampunk Romance —Fantasy Romance —Paranormal Romance —Vampire Romance —shifter romance —paranormal romance box set —complete box set

Download or read book Tough Prospect A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure written by Laura Strickland and published by The Wild Rose Press Inc. This book was released on 2018-12-10 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mitch Carter's a hard man. He's clawed his way up from Buffalo's gutter through a combination of ruthlessness and stark loyalty to become the King of Prospect Avenue. But when he sees lovely Tessa Verdun, a crack appears in his tough veneer. He wants her for his wife even if making it happen requires coercion, dirty dealing, and a touch of blackmail. Mitch is the last man Tessa would choose to wed, but he's forced her into marriage, even though she's ready to give her heart to another man. Now he tries to win her with lavish gifts and watches her with veiled passion in his eyes. But when everyone else turns against Tessa, it's Mitch who's there offering strength. And when vying factions in the city place Tessa in danger, it's Mitch for whom she longs, though loving such a man is certainly a tough prospect.