[Druckfrisch] 27. Januar 2011

Wie immer tut sich gegen Ende des Monats auf dem deutschen Buchmarkt nicht mehr so viel, daher noch ein paar Nachzügler sowie einige interessante englische Historicals.

Antonia Michaelis: Der Märchenerzähler (Originalausgabe)
Geliebter Mörder? Atemlos spannend – ein Meisterwerk von Antonia Michaelis Abel Tannatek ist ein Außenseiter, ein Schulschwänzer und Drogendealer. Wider besseres Wissen verliebt Anna sich rettungslos in ihn. Denn es gibt noch einen anderen Abel: den sanften, traurigen Jungen, der für seine Schwester sorgt und der ein Märchen erzählt, das Anna tief berührt. Doch die Grenzen zwischen Realität und Fantasie verschwimmen. Was, wenn das Märchen gar kein Märchen ist, sondern grausame Wirklichkeit? Was, wenn Annas schlimmste Befürchtungen wahr werden?

Ally Condie: Cassia & Ky 01 – Die Auswahl (OT: Matched)
Stell dir vor, du lebst in einer Welt, die ein absolut sicheres Leben garantiert. Doch dafür musst du dich den Gesetzen des Systems beugen: den Menschen lieben, der für dich bestimmt wird. Was würdest du tun? Für die wahre Liebe dein Leben riskieren? Für die 17-jährige Cassia ist heute der wichtigste Tag ihres Leben: Sie erfährt, wen sie mit 21 heiraten wird. Doch das Ergebnis überrascht alle: Xander, Cassias bester Freund, ist als ihr Partner vom System ausgewählt worden. Als jedoch, offenbar wegen eines technischen Defekts, das Bild eines anderen Jungen auf dem feierlich überreichten Microchip auftaucht, wird Cassia misstrauisch. Kann das System wirklich entscheiden, wen sie lieben soll?

Laura Lee Guhrke: Abandoned at the Altar 02 – Scandal of the Year
From their very first meeting, Julia knew that Aidan Carr, the oh-so-proper Duke of Trathen, had a bit of the devil in him, a devil who secretly yearned for what he could not have, a devil who harbored a desire for her. So when she needed to be caught in a compromising situation, Aidan was the answer to her prayers.
Aidan is supposed to be looking for a bride, yet his scandalous liaison with Julia is all he can think about. Hot, erotic memories of kissing her skin, falling into her bed, pulling her naked body on top of his own continue to torment and tempt him. What is it about this brazen seductress that he finds so hard to resist? And how can he stop himself from falling into her bed a second time?

Elizabeth Hoyt: Maiden Lane 02 – Notorious Pleasures
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn’t bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect – and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire – desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero’s wedding nears, and Griffin’s enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

Delilah Marvelle: Scandal 02 – Once Upon a Scandal
Lady Victoria Jane Emerson left behind her girlish notions of romance when Jonathan deserted her without a backward glance. Now the time has come when she must finally choose a husband, and she has vowed to marry someone who will never break her heart.
Jonathan Pierce Thatcher, Viscount Remington, has returned home, free of all his family’s debts. Only to discover that by some miracle he has been chosen to vie for the hand of his beloved Victoria. To convince his only love to once again believe in the magic of love and the promise of desire will be his greatest challenge yet. And one he cannot fail!

Eloisa James: When Beauty Tamed the Beast
Miss Linnet Berry Thrynne is a Beauty … Naturally, she’s betrothed to a Beast.
Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, lives in a castle in Wales where, it is rumored, his bad temper flays everyone he crosses. And rumor also has it that a wound has left the earl immune to the charms of any woman.
Linnet is not just any woman.
She is more than merely lovely: her wit and charm brought a prince to his knees. She estimates the earl will fall madly in love—in just two weeks.
Yet Linnet has no idea of the danger posed to her own heart by a man who may never love her in return.
If she decides to be very wicked indeed … what price will she pay for taming his wild heart?

Courtney Milan: Unveiled
Ash Turner has waited a lifetime to seek revenge on the man who ruined his family—and now the time for justice has arrived. At Parford Manor, he intends to take his place as the rightful heir to the dukedom and settle an old score with the current duke once and for all. But instead he finds himself drawn to a tempting beauty who has the power to undo all his dreams of vengeance….
Lady Margaret knows she should despise the man who’s stolen her fortune and her father’s legacy—the man she’s been ordered to spy on in the guise of a nurse. Yet the more she learns about the new duke, the less she can resist his smoldering appeal. Soon Margaret and Ash find themselves torn between old loyalties—and the tantalizing promise of passion…

Victoria Alexander: The Perfect Mistress
Widowed Julia, Lady Winterset, has inherited a book—a very shocking book—that every gentleman in London seems to want. For a charismatic businessman, it’s a chance to build an empire. For a dashing novelist, it could guarantee fame. But to a proud, domineering earl, it means everything…
Harrison Landingham, Earl of Mountdale, can’t let the obstinate Julia release the shameless memoir that could ruin his family’s name. But the only way to stop her may be equally sordid—if far more pleasurable. For his rivals are intent on seducing the captivating woman to acquire the book. And Harrison isn’t the sort to back away from a competition with the stakes this high. Now the winner will claim both the scandalous memoirs and the heart of their lovely owner…

Cara Elliott: Circle of Sin 03 – To Tempt a Rake
Kate Woodbridge has spent most of her life sailing to exotic ports around the globe, acquiring an expertise in botany, along with a few less ladylike skills. So when a deathbed promise to her parents brings her to London to seek reconciliation with her grandfather, the imperious Duke of Cluyne, she feels like a fish out of water. Her outspoken views and fiery temper tend to set off sparks in Society-especially with the rakish Conte of Como.
A devil-may-care rogue, Marco finds the alluring and mysterious Kate a tempting target for his flirtations. But when murder strikes at the duke’s country house party he begins to suspect that she’s hiding a dark secret. He has his own clandestine reasons for offering to help her prove her innocence . . . And so begins a journey of dangerous deception that leads from England to the glittering ballrooms of Vienna, where Marco and Kate must duel with a deadly villain . . . and their own explosive attraction.

Amanda Scott: Highland Master
When eighteen-year-old Lady Catriona Mackintosh discovers a wounded man in the forest near her Highland home, little does she know that he has sworn a sacred oath to kill her father and other members of the powerful Highland confederation known as Clan Chattan. Nor does she realize that she has met her soul mate. Independent, competent, intelligent, fiercely proud of her heritage, determined always to live near her own family, and known to her family as the „wee wildcat“ because of her quick temper, Catriona is the daughter of a Highland chieftain and granddaughter of the even more powerful Chief (or Captain) of Clan Chattan. But her life changes forever when she persuades Sir Finlagh Cameron to return with her to her home to recover from his wounds.
Sir Finlagh „Fin“ Cameron is on a mission for the heir to Scotland’s throne, who has sent him to the Highlands to persuade the Chief of Clan Chattan to arrange a secret meeting for him with two other great lords (the Lord of the Isles and the Lord of the North). Until Fin meets Catriona, however, he has no idea that her father was the Clan Chattan war leader who led them in the battle that wiped out many of Clan Cameron’s best warriors, including Fin’s own father. The sole survivor of that battle, Fin accepted a bequest of vengeance from his dying father, providing him with a dilemma to face as he begins to fall in love with Catriona. He is not the only one enticed by her charms, either. There are two other contenders, one of whom is his own master, the heir to Scotland’s throne. With royal mischief afoot, if Catriona and Fin are ever to find happiness, they must first avoid disaster that could change Scotland’s history, and find ways to be open and honest with each other.