Set in the sensual richness of India, Shobhan Bantwal's gripping new novel asks: Where can a woman turn when her life's greatest blessing is seen as a curse? It's a girl! For most young couples, news of their unborn child's gender brings joyful anticipation. Not so for Isha Tilak and her husband, Nikhil. They already have a beloved daughter, but Nikhil's parents, hard-wired to favor male children above all, coldly reject little Priya at every turn. Vain and selfish, they see female grandchildren as burdens, and would just as soon never meet the one growing in Isha's belly. Even the obstetrician agrees, going so far as to suggest the unthinkable, throwing Nikhil into a rage--and changing Isha's life forever. . . When Nikhil is discovered brutally murdered, Isha is convinced it had something to do with his reaction to the doctor's hideous "solution" to their problem. Alone, grief-stricken, and relentlessly oppressed by in-laws who believe her baby is a bad omen, Isha sets out on her own. Born into a privileged class, Isha doesn't know the first thing about fending for herself, but to protect her precious daughters, she will learn. And she will cling to the hope given to her by a strange old mystic: that her baby will arrive on the auspicious night of Kojagari Purnima, the full harvest moon, and be a gift from Lakshmi, the goddess of well-being. Isha and her girls will need all the blessings they can get, for the greatest danger of all lies ahead. . . Praise for Shobhan Bantwal and The Dowry Bride "Splendidly depicts passion, brutality, and cultures in conflict." --Dorothy Garlock "Vivid, rich. . .expertly portrays a young woman caught between love and duty, hope and despair." --Anjali Banerjee

Sophie Lancaster, a 20-year-old aspiring artist, feels trapped in her small town life. When her father hires Jack, a rugged landscaper, to renovate their backyard, Sophie finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. Despite their age difference and her father's disapproval, a passionate romance blooms. As Sophie and Jack's relationship deepens, they must navigate the challenges of keeping their love a secret. Their stolen moments in the unlikeliest of places fuel Sophie's artistic inspiration, but also intensify the risk of discovery. When Sophie's ex-boyfriend Ethan becomes dangerously jealous, Jack steps in to protect her. Can true love overcome societal expectations and family obligations? As Sophie pursues her dreams of art school in New York City, she must decide if her future lies with Jack or in a world beyond their small town. With tensions rising and dangers lurking, Sophie and Jack's love will be tested in ways they never imagined. Grab a towel and dive into this forbidden romance today!

Three people's lives intersect in a tumultuous yet redeeming way that none of them could have ever predicted. Jenny is a young professional from the South with an upbringing she wants to forget. She meets Roshan, an Indian immigrant who has moved to the United States with his mother, Esha, to escape family ghosts. With strong cultural tradition, Esha has devoted her entire life to her only child, both for his own good and for her personal protection from a painful past. Roshan understands his role as his mother's refuge, and from an early age, he commits himself to caring for her. But when Jenny and Roshan embark on a forbidden, intercultural relationship, all three get tangled into an inseparable web-betrayal, violence, and shame-leaving them forced to make choices about love and family they never wanted to make while finding peace where they never expected to look.

As the blood settles into the snow, Rebaa's life will never be the same again. Lost, alone and damingly burdened with her murdered lover's Forbidden offspring, Rebaa must learn to survive in a freezing and hostile world. Hunted by a murderous chieftain, a man hell-bent on possessing her mysterious powers for his own, Rebaa calls upon all of her cunning and extraordinary gifts to evade capture. Facing relentless danger, Rebaa must attempt to reach the one place that surely promises salvation; she can only hope that her ancestral home is the haven she needs it to be... But can any haven truly exist for one who bears...The Forbidden?

Describes Prudence Crandall's violently-resisted attempts to educate African-American girls in Connecticut in the 1830's.

Enjoy this spicy, suspenseful bedtime story from New York Times bestselling author Shayla Black What will she surrender to him for his protection? I’m Vanessa. Someone has broken into my place…but taken nothing. I’m terrified. And alone. My work crush appears unexpectedly and offers to keep me safe. At what price? We have a past Rush doesn’t remember… So I offer him a night he won’t forget. But he already knows everything about me—my ambitions, habits, and forbidden desires. And that’s not the only secret he’s been keeping… **Seduced by the Spy is a sexy bedtime story, designed so you can start in the evening and complete before you turn out the lights. All Forbidden Confessions: Protectors are connected, but can be read as a standalone. Each is a HOT, romantic story with strong language, sexy times, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after!**

God's Little Daughters examines a set of letters written by Chinese Catholic women from a small village in Manchuria to their French missionary, "Father Lin," or Dominique Maurice Pourquié, who in 1870 had returned to France in poor health after spending twenty-three years at the local mission of the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (MEP). The letters were from three sisters of the Du family, who had taken religious vows and committed themselves to a life of contemplation and worship that allowed them rare privacy and the opportunity to learn to read and write. Inspired by a close reading of the letters, Ji Li explores how French Catholic missionaries of the MEP translated and disseminated their Christian message in northeast China from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries, and how these converts interpreted and transformed their Catholic faith to articulate an awareness of self. The interplay of religious experience, rhetorical skill, and gender relations revealed in the letters allow us to reconstruct the neglected voices of Catholic women in rural China.