Kirjahaku

A coming-of-age tale of life lessons, romance, and self-empowerment all wrapped in the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris. American au pair in Paris Ava Fodor learns three important life lessons in Paris AdieuHow to be comfortable in your own skinHow to fake it till you make it How to overcome sugar cravings forever and learn to eat like a ParisianThe first time Ava Fodor visits Paris as a nineteen-year old au pair, she has no idea who she is. Paris captivates Ava, introducing her to the type of woman she'd like to become. Her French boyfriend introduces her to the concept of being comfortable in her own skin. She's intrigued. If only she knew how...When she gets into Yale, she returns home, but four years later she's back for an encounter with a Frenchman that awakens her to womanhood. If only she could stay... Five years later, Ava returns to Paris as a singer/pianist. She meets Arnaud, a foreign correspondent, who captures her heart, but tortures her with long absences. While he's away, she throws herself into songwriting where she achieves an authenticity she doesn't feel onstage. With the help of Arnaud's childhood friend Pierre, Ava takes the reins of her own future. Armed with the lessons Paris has taught her, she bids adieu to Arnaud, Pierre and her very first love-the City of Light. But will the one man who truly understands her follow? Follow Ava Fodor's journey to self discovery and make it your own. (The Ava Series, Book 1)

"A romance and an interesting novel about a little-known French queen...a striking story of heartache and forbidden love, of women in the 15th century French court, who fought with passion and determination for what they wanted." -- Historical Novel SocietyIn July of 1497 Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, gives birth to a son. Within hours the child joins the five dead siblings who came before him.In the mournful weeks that follow, fifteen-year-old Nicole St. Sylvain meets Philippe de Bois, a young horse trainer breaking in one of the queen's stallions. The attraction between the two is immediate, but duty and honor bring their romance to an abrupt halt. They work together to heal the horse's infected hoof, then part ways.As the daughter of a wealthy but untitled merchant, Nicole exists in a precarious social position. Her family has money, she is the sole heir, but she is only noble on her dead mother's side. An arranged marriage to an established noble family will secure her future but dash any hope she has of a life with Philippe.When the queen's only living child falls ill, she remembers Nicole's skill as a healer. If Nicole's healing sense of touch can save the royal child, will the queen reward her with the greatest desire of her heart--marriage to her one true love?

When Anne of Brittany's father dies in 1488, the eleven-year-old beauty becomes Duchess of Brittany, her country's ruler. For the next three years, the orphaned, unmarried young duchess is relentlessly pursued by suitors while Brittany is invaded by France, its larger, more powerful neighbor. With no other way out, at age fourteen she agrees to marry King Charles VIII of France, in order to save her country. Better to be a queen than a prisoner... Unexpectedly, a passionate relationship ensues. Yet Charles cannot shake the bad habits he has brought into their marriage, and Anne cannot help him in his darkest area of struggle. Together, they introduce the wonders of the Italian Renaissance to France, building one of Europe's most glorious 15th-century courts at their royal residence in Amboise, in the heart of the Loire Valley. But year after year they fail to achieve the most important aim they must accomplish in order to secure the future of their kingdom. As they desperately attempt to make their shared dream come true, an unexpected twist of fate irrevocably changes the fortunes of both Anne and Charles. Anne & Charles is Book One of the Anne of Brittany Series, the tale of the only woman in history to be twice-crowned queen of France. Publishers Weekly says "comparable titles are Philippa Gregory's Plantagenet and Tudor Novels." (Booklife, April 23, 2018)

Who was Anne of Brittany? Raised to rule, she knew how to lead.France admired her but Brittany loved her, just as Louis did.Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is the love of King Louis XII of France's life. Too bad he's already married.While his annulment proceedings create Europe's most sensational scandal of 1498, Anne returns to Brittany to take back control of her duchy that her late husband, Charles VIII, King of France, had wrested from her.At age twenty-one, Anne is sovereign ruler of Brittany as well as Europe's most wealthy widow. But can she maintain Brittany's independence from France if she accepts Louis' offer to make her Queen of France once more?With Italian arrivals to the French court from Cesare Borgia to Niccol Machiavelli, Anne and Louis' story unfolds as the feudal era gives way to the dawn of the Renaissance. Their love for each other tested by conflicting duties to their respective countries, the two rulers struggle to navigate a collision course that will reshape the map of sixteenth-century Europe.Book Two of the Anne of Brittany Series, the gripping tale of a larger-than-life queen.

Manhattan businesswoman Kati Dunai lives a life of international glamour. Unfortunately, she's too busy to enjoy it. But when she visits Budapest to settle her father's estate, the city's leisurely culture speaks to Kati's soul. While luxuriating in her hotel's sensuous thermal baths, Kati is drawn to another foreigner: a Dutchman named Jan.As Jan shows Kati Budapest's unhurried pleasures, Kati introduces Jan to a slow pace of intimacy that fuels the fires of passion. Her insistence on keeping a physical distance creates space for true feelings to grow.But Kati must return to New York to her busy career as an international conference planner. Jan wishes to continue their relationship, but between the distance, a family tragedy, and a series of misunderstandings, the two find that their slow-burn romance may not survive outside their private Budapest cocoon. Can they make the necessary sacrifices to keep their love alive?

"A charming story that dog lovers and romance fans will enjoy."--Publishers Weekly When their friends take a cruise to Bermuda, strangers Hint Daniels and Jack Whitby are charged with looking after their dog. Then everything starts to go wrong . . . In the leafy New York suburb of Bronxville, Hint is supposed to hand Percy off to Jack on day five of the ten days their friends are away. But at the handoff, the dog ends up running away. Neither is willing to tell their friends the bad news that Percy is missing. Instead, they spend five frantic days desperately searching for the Schnoodle, with wildly different ideas on how to go about it. Between Jack's heavy-handed approach and Hint's otherworldly style, their personalities clash. Before long they're bickering furiously, even as romantic sparks fly. Will Percy show up before his owners do? And what surprising discovery will Hint and Jack make while looking for him?

"A compelling, entertaining, and deftly crafted read from first page to last."--Midwest Book ReviewWhen Ava Fodor returns to New York from Paris, she leaves behind her budding romance with Pierre and turns her attention to another man: her father, Zsolt Fodor. He's a penniless Hungarian poet transplanted to NewYork in the wake of the failed 1956 Hungarian uprising. Raised by her New England grandparents, Ava barely knows him. Dramatic, effusive, emotional, he's everything her grandmother warned her against. Yet his crazy conversation fascinates her. His chicken paprikash isn't bad either. Pierre's pull draws Ava back to France, to the medieval walled city of Carcassonne. There, his tender care of his ailing mother awakens Ava to something lacking in herself. Unless she finds it, she can't give him her heart. When her father has a heart attack, Ava is thrust into a caregiver role, looking after a man who never looked after her. She's terrible at it. So was her father, so he forgives her. But can she forgive him? Until she learns to love the man she has every reason to abandon in his hour of need, she can't move on. Only her father can show her the way. But will she let him? And if she can, will it be too late for Pierre and her?

The year is 1508. Louis XII, King of France, wants to stamp France's footprint upon Italy.Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, and ruler of neighboring realm Brittany, wants to produce a son and heir for Louis and to save the independence of Brittany from France.Louise of Savoy, the mother of the king's intended successor, the future Francis I, wants to see her son on the throne of France.All three have suffered the twisting of their fates by Anne de Beaujeu, the spider king's daughter, who ruled France from 1483-1491. Two shake off her shadow; one does not.One sees their dreams come true; two do not. But in this game of thrones, winners lose and losers win the greatest prize of all.Anne and Louis Forever Bound is the standalone fourth and final novel of the award-winning Anne of Brittany Series.

◆ Royalty ◆ Power ◆ Politics ◆ Love ◆ StruggleBestselling biographer and historian Sarah Gristwood, author of The Tudors in Love, calls this tale of early 16th-century Europe's most brilliant power broker "Compelling and wholly convincing-at once a vividly readable novel and a long-overdue presentation of Europe's unsung heroine to the broad audience she deserves."Margaret of Austria was the most significant political negotiator of early 16th-century Europe. About as Austrian as French fries are French, she was born in Brussels in 1480, raised in France, married and widowed in Spain, then married and widowed again in Savoy by age twenty-four.In 1506 Margaret's life turned upside down when her brother Philip of Burgundy unexpectedly died in Spain. With their mother Juana of Castile insane, four children, heirs to the Habsburg empire, were left behind in the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands.Margaret stepped in and took the reins.Appointed by her father, Maximilian I, Margaret became governor of the Netherlands, then widened her role to broker the 1508 Treaty of Cambrai where Europe's princes united against Venice.Ferdinand of Spain, Henry Tudor then Henry VIII of England, Louis XII of France, and Louise of Savoy for Francis I all came to Margaret's negotiation table. Under her deft diplomacy princes saw reason and wars were averted.Enjoying political power, Margaret avoided remarriage. Then Henry VIII's right-hand man Charles Brandon turned her world upside down.Margaret's court attracted Europe's brightest, including the young Anne Boleyn. Yet halfway through her rule Margaret was ousted by enemies. She won back her position with a comeback strategy as astute today as it was in 1517.Journey to the Renaissance with Margaret of Austria, who shot the fortunes of the House of Habsburg to the stars while setting a winning precedent for female rule in the Netherlands.