Other books that might interest you

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  The Mapmaker's Daughter - A Novel

  Katherine Nouri Hughes

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  A novel of the Venetian girl who became the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire—perfect for fans of Netflix’s Magnificent Century.   The Ottoman Empire was at the height of its power during the sixteenth century when Cecilia Baffo Veniero was kidnapped from her Venetian birthplace and chosen to be the wife of Selim II, successor to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She would be known as Nurbanu.  The Mapmaker’s Daughter vividly imagines the confession of Nurbanu as she lies on her sickbed narrating the spectacular story of her rise to the pinnacle of imperial power, determined to understand how her extraordinary destiny was shaped. With unflinching candor, Nurbanu reviews the desires and motives that have both propelled and harmed her, as she considers her role as a devoted yet manipulative mother, helping to orchestrate her son’s succession to the throne. Serving as the appointed enforcer of one of the empire’s most crucial and shocking laws, Nurbanu confronts the consequences of her loves and her choices—right up to one last shattering revelation.

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  Affections - A Novel

  Rodrigo Hasbun

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  Inspired by real events, Affections is the story of the eccentric, fascinating Ertl clan, headed by the egocentric and extraordinary Hans, once the cameraman for the Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. Shortly after the end of World War II, Hans and his family flee to Bolivia to start over. There, the ever-restless Hans decides to embark on an expedition in search of the fabled lost Inca city of Paitití, enlisting two of his daughters to join him on his outlandish quest into the depths of the Amazon, with disastrous consequences.Set against the backdrop of the both optimistic and violent 1950s and 1960s, Affections traces the Ertls's slow and inevitable breakdown through the various erratic trajectories of each family member: Hans's undertakings of colossal, foolhardy projects and his subsequent spectacular failures; his daughter Monika, heir to his adventurous spirit, who joins the Bolivian Marxist guerrillas and becomes known as "Che Guevara’s avenger"; and his wife and two younger sisters left to pick up the pieces in their wake. In this short but powerful work, Hasbún weaves a masterfully layered tale of how a family's voyage of discovery ends up eroding the affections that once held it together.

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  Our Simple Gifts - Civil War...

  Owen Parry

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  A Union officer struggles homeward through a Christmas Eve snowstorm, haunted by loss and doubtful of the future. Paroled from a brutal prison camp, a young southern soldier yearns to find the one person he loves most in the world -- and worries over the devastation rumored to have reached his family's mountain. An immigrant private plans a startling Christmas surprise for his comrades. And a newly freed slave must choose between the desire for revenge and his longing to be a better man than his master . . .From northern colliery towns to ruined Old South plantations and the divided loyalties of the Appalachian Mountains, Owen Parry casts his storyteller's spell with a collection of unforgettable tales celebrating the enduring spirit of Christmas. Moving from darkness toward the light in the grand tradition of holiday tales, these stories are bound to become classics of the American yuletide season. Whether whispering an old-fashioned Christmas ghost story or reminding us that not all who suffered war's losses wore uniforms, the author always leads us back to the joyous beauty -- the miracle -- of Christmas. Moving and heartfelt, Our Simple Gifts revives the tradition of Christmas tales for grown-ups.As quietly as snow falls on holly, these Civil War Christmas tales will insist on being read again, year after year.

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  Grand Central - Original Stories...

  Karen White, Jenna Blum, Sarah...

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  A war bride awaits the arrival of her GI husband at the platform... A Holocaust survivor works at the Oyster Bar, where a customer reminds him of his late mother... A Hollywood hopeful anticipates her first screen test and a chance at stardom in the Kissing Room... On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City's Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell. Now, ten bestselling authors inspired by this iconic landmark have created their own stories, set on the same day, just after the end of World War II, in a time of hope, uncertainty, change, and renewal.

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  The Witches of Riegersburg

  Julie Anne Stratton

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  For the fans of The DaVinci Code—with three generations of extraordinary women keeping alive the ancient Goddess faith. 
  "Whenever you are of need, come to Me when the moon is full and I, Hecate, Queen of all witches, will guide you, my daughter, to your heart's desire." 
  In 1665, Baroness Elisabeth von Galler is faced with the frenzy of the witch trials raging through Europe. Her son-in-law acquires dispensation from the Kaiser to hold trials in Riegerburg. As the "Faith-Keeper" of an ancient Goddess-worshipping community, can she save her loved ones from certain death and her faith from disappearing? 
  In 1938, Hitler takes over Austria, and Katarina Lilienthal fears for the lives of her Jewish husband and daughter. Armed with the secret Book of Shadows, her legacy passed down from Baroness von Galler, and her intuition will she be able to save her family before the horror begins? 
  Seventy years later, Sarah Lilienthal inherits her beloved Oma's secret book. Katarina's deathbed wish is for Sarah to travel to Austria—the place Sarah's grandparents barely escaped with their lives on the verge of WWII—and make amends with Oma's estranged family. Sarah is cast on a quest to find her true self and the origins of the book by traveling to Riegersburg, where the Book of Shadows' journey began.

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  The Magic Quirt - Golden Age...

  L. Ron Hubbard

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  When it comes to boiling up a pot of coffee or stirring up a pot of stew, Old Laramie's about as good a man as you're going to find. But other than cooking three squares a day for the cowpunchers over at the Lazy G ranch, Laramie's not good for much.But Laramie's luck—and life—are about to take an amazing turn. Quite by accident, he somehow manages to save a family of Mexicans from bandits, and as a token of their gratitude they give him The Magic Quirt—a horsewhip that he's told will turn him into a new man.The transformation is indeed magical. Suddenly Laramie is performing feats of ingenuity and courage that would make even the Lone Ranger proud. But magic is a funny thing—and as Laramie's about to discover, sometimes it's all an illusion.Also includes the western adventures, Vengeance Is Mine!, the story of a young man who sets out to avenge his father's death only to commit an act beyond redemption; and Stacked Bullets, in which a game of chance is fixed, a whole town is cheated, and nothing but a stack of bullets can make things right.

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