"[Belladonna's Kiss] explores deception to its fullest, with manipulation, scheming, courage, wit, and survival." 5-star review from Reader's Favorite Belladonna--deadly, beautiful, and Renaissance Florence's best-kept secret. They hide in plain sight, disguised as nuns. But the Belladonna don't spend their days praying. Instead, Florence's elite female assassins scale walls and poison their enemies--wealthy men who abuse their wives. Until a shocking death throws Florence into chaos. Lorenzo de' Medici is dead. Florence is in chaos. Can an assassin bring peace to a warring city? Serena Fortuna has enough problems on her hands. Her best friend disappeared six months ago. The head of the Belladonna won't answer her questions. And now she's going undercover in the Medici Palace, home to Europe's richest and most ruthless family. When a groom named Matteo throws a wrench in Serena's plans, she has to scramble to stay ahead of her enemies. Enter the fast-paced world of the Belladonna in Book 1 of the Belladonna's Kiss Trilogy.

Who is Belladonna? In New York City, she's known only as the mysterious masked woman who presides over the most exclusive, opulent club of the times. In Virginia's blue-blood countryside, she's known as the Contessa, the elusive heiress who flaunts convention and shuns human contact. But then there are a wretched few who remember her from "The Club" and knew her as a fresh-faced innocent whom they desired...and misled...and left to the sadistic devices of a nobleman who robbed her of her youth, her dignity, and, ultimately her heart. As Belladonna's story, told by one of her faithful manservants, slowly unfolds, we learn the horrifying truth behind Belladonna's masks and her insatiable desire for vengeance. It is a truth that involves betrayal, murder, depravity -- a truth so chilling that it will pit brother against brother, father against son, and will force Belladonna to ultimately confront the one man who can ultimately either destroy her, or set her free.

When nothing is as it seems, the truth may be the deadliest poison of all. A CHARMING BUT WILD ARTIST ran off with her heart. HER STRONG, STEADY FIANCÉ appears to be keeping secrets. ARRESTED IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, her fiancé is imprisoned on false charges. To free him Cass must journey to Florence, a city haunted by rumors, secret soirees, clandestine meetings, and home to the eerily stunning leader of the Order of the Eternal Rose, the Belladonna herself. Cass can prove Luca's innocence, but can she trust her heart to lead her to the truth? DANGEROUS, SEDUCTIVE AND ALLURING this edge-of-your-seat romantic thriller will leave readers wondering not only whom Cass will choose—Luca or Falco—but whether or not all three of them will survive. This breathtaking sequel to Venom is perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, Anna Godbersen's The Luxe, Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty and Cecily Von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl.

"Bronwyn "BitsyWyn" Walen hasn't set eyes on the red dirt of Magnolia Creek, Alabama, for fourteen years--not since her mama died. But with her brother, Patrick, imprisoned for the murder of her childhood best friend, and her eccentric father, Jackson, at his wits' end while her eleven-year-old niece, Byrd, runs wild, Bronwyn finds herself once again surrounded by ancient magnolia trees and the troubled family she left behind. She becomes immersed in a whirlwind of mystery and magic as she tries to figure out what really happened that fateful night her friend died. And as her bond with Byrd deepens, Bronwyn must face the demons of her past in order to unravel her family's uncertain future."--

Six months rent free and all I had to do was water my brother’s plants, grab his mail, and take care of Mookie, the pitbull? Sign me up. He didn’t mention Harrison Peck though. Or that he’ll be sleeping on the couch while I’m there. Tall, dark, and tattooed. Lead singer of the local grunge band on the brink of stardom. A player in every sense of the word. Kissing the bad boy wasn’t in my plans but as midnight nears, I realize how quickly plans can change.

Winner of 2018 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation From the author of the highly acclaimed Trieste, a fierce novel about history, memory, and illness Andreas Ban, a psychologist who no longer psychologizes, a writer who no longer writes, lives alone in a coastal town in Croatia. His body is failing him. He sifts through the remnants of his life—his research, books, medical records, photographs—remembering old lovers and friends, the tragedies of WWII, the breakup of Yugoslavia. Ban’s memories of Belgrade (which he thought he had left behind) and of Amsterdam (a different world and life) alternate with meditations on hole-ridden time (ebbing away through its perforations), on his measly pension, on growing old and fragile, on the intelligence of rats and the agelessness of lobsters, on deadly nightshade. He tries to push the past away, "to land on a little island of time in which tomorrow does not exist, in which yesterday is buried.” Drndic´ leafs through the horrors of history with a cold unflinching wit. “The past is riddled with holes,” she writes. “Souvenirs can’t help here.” And they don't.

“L.M. Jorden has done it again… Humor abounds. At the same time, dark undercurrents of the social and political situation in 1935 are recognized. The combination is successful." - Richard Nochimson, author BELLADONNA Bitter Conduct, a 1935 Mystery Voyage Inspired by a true story An Italian opera star spouts strange verses and collapses during the final act of Romeo and Juliet. Dr. Josephine Reva is in the audience and rushes to render aid. She believes the soprano was poisoned by Belladonna, a plant with deadly black berries, but her botanical expertise tells her there’s more. Meanwhile, the Chief Detective uncovers fascist plots to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Could these events spark another World War? Josephine enlists her friends to follow the opera stars and investigate on the high seas. Who's the killer aboard the luxurious SS Rex? A shocking surreal artist, an avant-garde fashionista, a cardinal and priest carrying the relics of an American saint, a mysterious Mussolini official, a British lord, a Nazi doctor, or any of the narcissistic opera divas and dons? Also along is a handsome paramour—is romance on the horizon for Josephine, if she can survive the trip? Josephine must hurry to solve these Belladonna crimes with deeper roots, before the ship docks in Fascist Italy and it's too late.