FROM POPULAR AUTHOR OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE SAMANTHA CAYTO Book nine in the Treaty Brides series Being a bride is a state of mind, not of body. Henry, Baron Roth, is laying siege to a Moorcondian duke who has proclaimed himself the new king of a separate country. Henry is tasked with the job of defeating the traitorous man and is prepared to wait as long as it takes, even if it means spending a boring winter in an increasingly hostile place. His luck turns when he discovers the duke's son hiding among a group of local nuns. The pretty boy could hold the secret to ending the confrontation without a slaughter on either side. Kellen has lived a life of indulgence, having no interest in politics and preferring to spend his time in pursuit of making wine. When his father comes under siege, a locked-out Kellen tries to escape past Henry's camp. Instead, he ends up in the man's imprisoning arms— a surprisingly comfortable place. His family loyalty is tested by an irresistible attraction. Henry settles in to entice Kellen to his side, but soon realizes that it is he who is being seduced. His duty is giving way to mounting desire. The more time they spend together, the less important the siege becomes. Forces beyond their control are testing Henry and Kellen, however, and the only way forward will have to be forged together.

In the page-turning tradition of Black Hawk Down, the definitive account of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai Mumbai, 2008. On the night of November 26, Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists attacked targets throughout the city, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of the world’s most exclusive luxury hotels. For sixty-eight hours, hundreds were held hostage as shots rang out and an enormous fire raged. When the smoke cleared, thirty-one people were dead and many more had been injured. Only the courageous actions of staff and guests—including Mallika Jagad, Bob Nichols, and Taj general manager Binny Kang—prevented a much higher death toll. With a deep understanding of the region and its politics and a narrative flair reminiscent of Midnight in Peking, journalists Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy vividly unfold the tragic events in a real-life thriller filled with suspense, tragedy, history, and heroism.

For young women in early South Asia, marriage was probably the most important event in their lives, as it largely determined their socioeconomic and religious future. Yet there has been little in the way of systematic examinations of the evidence on marriage customs among Buddhists of this time, and our understanding of the lives of early Buddhist women is still quite limited. This study uses ten stories from the Avadānaśataka, the collection of Buddhist narratives compiled from the second to fifth centuries CE, to examine the social landscape of early India. The author analyzes marital customs and the development of nuns’ hagiographies, while revealing regional variations of Buddhism in South Asia during this period.

A fascinating survey of the defining activity of warfare between rival power centers in the Middle Ages from the author of A Brief History of the Crusades. Great sieges changed the course of medieval history, yet siege warfare, the dominant military activity of the period, is rarely given the attention it deserves. Geoffrey Hindley’s highly readable new account of this vital but neglected aspect of medieval warfare looks at the subject from every angle. He traces the development of fortifications and siege equipment, explores the psychological dimension and considers the parts played by women and camp followers. He also shows siege tactics in action through a selection of vivid case studies of famous sieges taken from the history of medieval Europe and the Holy Land. His stimulating and accessible study will be fascinating reading for medieval specialists and for anyone who is interested in the history of warfare. “For those interested in a fuller understanding of medieval warfare, covering the years 500 to 1500 C.E., this book should be square one . . . the extremely readable results are recommended.” —Library Journal