A poignant tale of two hearts valiantly fighting to stay true and find love. Sawyer Morgan has a secret. Revealing his true feelings to his family has the potential to devastate, so he keeps the burden firmly on his own shoulders. When he moves back to Torey Hope to help with the family business, Sawyer’s hidden truth becomes too much to bear. Luke Hamilton has a past overflowing with emotional and physical scars. A promise to his dying mother prevents him from seeking the love and acceptance he longs for. Taking a job in Torey Hope brings Luke face-to-face with desires he thought long extinguished. Secrets, lies, hatred, and fear threaten to destroy their lives. But love has the power to overcome and lay claim to victory. Will Sawyer succeed in proving to Luke some connections are worth fighting for? *Sawyer is a steamy M/M romance. Readers sensitive to references of an abusive past, hate crimes, and derogatory words should take note.* This story has been revised and polished since its original publication.

From USA TODAY Bestselling Author Laura Scott The fosters - separated by tragedy but reunited by love. Can he put his mistakes behind him? After escaping a horrible foster home thirteen years ago, Sawyer Murphy has made a new life for himself, working as a cop in Chattanooga Tennessee. But the truth of the night he and his foster siblings escaped the fire, haunts him. He's never told anyone his secret, one he is determined to take to his grave. When he rescues Naomi Palmer from the men who'd kidnapped her, he risks his career, and his life to help her find the men responsible. Naomi is determined to find her half-sister Kate, who disappeared from Dalton, Georgia without a trace. Even when danger followers her every move, Naomi refuses to lose hope. Sawyer's determination to find the men responsible is a blessing, and she soon loses her heart to the solitary cop. Can she convinced Sawyer to forgive himself long enough to accept her heart? -- Read what others are saying about USA Today Bestselling Author Laura Scott: “Scott delivers distinctive characters, an appealing small-town setting, and a hint of romance. This cozy is perfect for animal lovers."--Publishers Weekly review of Dogged by Death "An entertaining cast of characters makes for a kickoff sure to please dog lovers." --Kirkus review for Dogged by Death “A suspense filled emotional ride!” Barbara Britton Bestselling author of the Tribes of Israel Series “Only Ms. Scott could take tragedy and abuse and turn it into a beautiful uplifting story.” Olivia Rae Bestselling Author of the Sword and Cross series. Read the entire Smoky Mountain Secrets series in order: Hailey’s Haven Sawyer’s Secret Darby’s Decision Cooper’s Choice Trent’s Trust Jayme’s Journey Caitlyn’s Christmas Topics: Christian suspense romance, suspense, thriller, Christian thriller, contemporary suspense romance, clean and wholesome romance, foster family romance, foster kids, family centered romance, Laura Scott books, Laura Scott romantic suspense books, smoky mountain romance, small town romance, emotional romance, redemption romance, finding faith romance, faith journey, finding faith, USA today Bestselling author, USA Today, rescue romance, learning to trust again, strong women romance, park ranger, police officer, damsel in distress, doctor, hospital, strong men of faith, protector, faith redeemed, firefighters. Readers of Laura Scott’s books enjoyed books by: Lynette Eason, Irene Hannon, Susan Sleeman, Susan May Warren, Hallee Bridgeman, Christy Barritt, Diann Mills, Dee Henderson, Elizabeth Goddard, Terri Blackstock, Lisa Harris, Rachel Dylan, Dani Pettrey, Colleen Coble, Edie James, Terri Reed, Shirlee McCoy, Lenora Worth, Heather Woodhaven, Dana Mentink

Volume VI (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland Ever since civilized man has had a literature he has apparently sought to make selections from it and thus put his favorite passages together in a compact and convenient form. Certain it is, at least, that to the Greeks, masters in all great arts, we owe this habit. They made such collections and named them, after their pleasant imaginative fashion, a gathering of flowers, or what we, borrowing their word, call an anthology. So to those austere souls who regard anthologies as a labor-saving contrivance for the benefit of persons who like a smattering of knowledge and are never really learned, we can at least plead in mitigation that we have high and ancient authority for the practise. In any event no amount of scholarly deprecation has been able to turn mankind or that portion of mankind which reads books from the agreeable habit of making volumes of selections and finding in them much pleasure, as well as improvement in taste and knowledge. With the spread of education and with the great increase of literature among all civilized nations, more especially since the invention of printing and its vast multiplication of books, the making of volumes of selections comprizing what is best in one's own or in many literatures is no longer a mere matter of taste or convenience as with the Greeks, but has become something little short of a necessity in this world of many workers, comparatively few scholars, and still fewer intelligent men of leisure. Anthologies have been multiplied like all other books, and in the main they have done much good and no harm. The man who thinks he is a scholar or highly educated because he is familiar with what is collected in a well-chosen anthology, of course, errs grievously. Such familiarity no more makes one a master of literature than a perusal of a dictionary makes the reader a master of style. But as the latter pursuit can hardly fail to enlarge a man's vocabulary, so the former adds to his knowledge, increases his stock of ideas, liberalizes his mind and opens to him new sources of enjoyment. The Greek habit was to bring together selections of verse, passages of especial merit, epigrams and short poems. In the main their example has been followed. From their days down to the "Elegant Extracts in Verse" of our grandmothers and grandfathers, and thence on to our own time with its admirable "Golden Treasury" and "Oxford Handbook of Verse," there has been no end to the making of poetical anthologies and apparently no diminution in the public appetite for them. Poetry indeed lends itself to selection. Much of the best poetry of the world is contained in short poems, complete in themselves, and capable of transference bodily to a volume of selections. There are very few poets of whose quality and genius a fair idea can not be given by a few judicious selections. A large body of noble and beautiful poetry, of verse which is "a joy forever," can also be given in a very small compass. And the mechanical attribute of size, it must be remembered, is very important in making a successful anthology, for an essential quality of a volume of selections is that it should be easily portable, that it should be a book which can be slipt into the pocket and readily carried about in any wanderings whether near or remote. An anthology which is stored in one or more huge and heavy volumes is practically valueless except to those who have neither books nor access to a public library, or who think that a stately tome printed on calendered paper and "profusely illustrated" is an ornament to a center-table in a parlor rarely used except on solemn or official occasions. I have mentioned these advantages of verse for the purposes of an anthology in order to show the difficulties which must be encountered in making a prose selection. Very little prose is in small parcels which can be transferred entire, and therefore with the very important attribute of completeness, to a volume of selections. From most of the great prose writers it is necessary to take extracts, and the chosen passage is broken off from what comes before and after. The fame of a great prose writer as a rule rests on a book, and really to know him the book must be read and not merely passages from it. Extracts give no very satisfactory idea of "Paradise Lost" or "The Divine Comedy," and the same is true of extracts from a history or a novel. It is possible by spreading prose selections through a series of small volumes to overcome the mechanical difficulty and thus make the selections in form what they ought above all things to be—companions and not books of reference or table decorations. But the spiritual or literary problem is not so easily overcome. What prose to take and where to take it are by no means easy questions to solve. Yet they are well worth solving, so far as patient effort can do it, for in this period of easy printing it is desirable to put in convenient form before those who read examples of the masters which will draw us back from the perishing chatter of the moment to the literature which is the highest work of civilization and which is at once noble and lasting. Upon that theory this collection has been formed. It is an attempt to give examples from all periods and languages of Western civilization of what is best and most memorable in their prose literature. That the result is not a complete exhibition of the time and the literatures covered by the selections no one is better aware than the editors. Inexorable conditions of space make a certain degree of incompleteness inevitable when he who is gathering flowers traverses so vast a garden, and is obliged to confine the results of his labors within such narrow bounds. The editors are also fully conscious that, like all other similar collections, this one too will give rise to the familiar criticism and questionings as to why such a passage was omitted and such another inserted; why this writer was chosen and that other passed by. In literature we all have our favorites, and even the most catholic of us has also his dislikes if not his pet aversions. I will frankly confess that there are authors represented in these volumes whose writings I should avoid, just as there are certain towns and cities of the world to which, having once visited them, I would never willingly return, for the simple reason that I would not voluntarily subject myself to seeing or reading what I dislike or, which is worse, what bores and fatigues me. But no editor of an anthology must seek to impose upon others his own tastes and opinions. He must at the outset remember and never afterward forget that so far as possible his work must be free from the personal equation. He must recognize that some authors who may be mute or dull to him have a place in literature, past or present, sufficiently assured to entitle them to a place among selections which are intended above all things else to be representative. To those who wonder why some favorite bit of their own was omitted while something else for which they do not care at all has found a place I can only say that the editors, having supprest their own personal preferences, have proceeded on certain general principles which seem to be essential in making any selection either of verse or prose which shall possess broader and more enduring qualities than that of being a mere exhibition of the editor's personal taste. To illustrate my meaning: Emerson's "Parnassus" is extremely interesting as an exposition of the tastes and preferences of a remarkable man of great and original genius. As an anthology it is a failure, for it is of awkward size, is ill arranged and contains selections made without system, and which in many cases baffle all attempts to explain their appearance. On the other hand, Mr. Palgrave, neither a very remarkable man nor a great and original genius, gave us in the first "Golden Treasury" a collection which has no interest whatever as reflecting the tastes of the editor, but which is quite perfect in its kind. Barring the disproportionate amount of Wordsworth which includes some of his worst things—and which, be it said in passing, was due to Mr. Palgrave's giving way at that point to his personal enthusiasm—the "Golden Treasury" in form, in scope, and in arrangement, as well as in almost unerring taste, is the best model of what an anthology should be which is to be found in any language.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Tom Sawyer's Comrade by Mark Twain is a timeless literary masterpiece that takes readers on a captivating journey through the heartland of America. With its rich character development, vivid storytelling, and incisive social commentary, the book explores themes of freedom, friendship, and the complexities of moral conscience in the backdrop of the Mississippi River. Key Aspects of the Book: Picaresque Adventure: The book follows the escapades of Huckleberry Finn, a young boy seeking freedom and adventure. Twain's vivid descriptions of their journey along the Mississippi River immerse readers in a world of rafting, encounters with colorful characters, and thrilling exploits, creating a sense of excitement and exploration.Social Critique: Twain uses the narrative to expose the flaws and hypocrisies of society during the era of slavery and racial prejudice. Through the character of Jim, an escaped slave, the book offers a scathing critique of the institution of slavery and challenges readers to confront their own beliefs and biases.Coming-of-Age and Moral Growth: The novel explores Huckleberry Finn's coming-of-age as he grapples with questions of morality, societal expectations, and the influence of his conscience. Readers witness his transformation and moral growth as he learns to question conventional wisdom and make choices based on his own sense of right and wrong. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Tom Sawyer's Comrade, Mark Twain, a master storyteller and keen observer of American society, presents a compelling narrative that captures the spirit of a bygone era. Through the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain weaves a tale that is at once exciting, thought-provoking, and socially relevant. The book's enduring popularity stems from its exploration of timeless themes and its ability to entertain, challenge, and inspire readers of all ages. Twain's insightful storytelling and social commentary continue to make this novel a beloved classic in American literature.