A Duke's Distraction


Book Description

He's looking for a duchess. She's looking for...well, anyone but him. Georgie Cleveland is well aware that true love exists. She may have even found it in the handsome young gentleman she's set her sights on. Unfortunately, her rival has the same designs on society's most sought-after poet. Now Georgie is forced to go to extremes to catch his eye. She could make him jealous, for example, by feigning interest in her sister's brother-in-law, the Duke of Roxborough. It is all for show, of course. Roxborough is far too dull for her tastes. So boring, so stodgy...yet, such a surprisingly passionate kisser. With Roxborough's new title comes more pressure than ever to marry. His mother has prospective wives lined up for him, all perfectly fitted for the role. Why then does he find himself saddled with the wide-eyed Georgie at every turn? He has no use for someone so frivolous, not with the responsibilities he has on his plate. He should help her find a husband to rid himself of her distractions, but that's easier said than done when it quickly becomes clear that her taste in husbands is abysmal. To make matters worse, she seems to have the oddest effect on him. The more she tells him how safe and predictable he is, the more he's tempted to kiss her senseless.




Distracting the Duke


Book Description

Devonshire, England, 1820 Determined to avoid the strife-filled marriage of his parents, Marcus, the Duke of Ulvercombe, wants an amenable, biddable wife, and has set his cap for a certain pretty miss. Unfortunately, her vastly opinionated, frustrating, and lamentably beautiful guardian, Lady Clara Tinniswood, keeps distracting him, tempting him to consider a far more tempestuous—and passionate—union. Recently widowed Lady Clara Tinniswood wants only to organize a quiet new life for herself, beyond the control of any man. But one shockingly unguarded moment while confronted by Marcus’s gloriously naked body catapults her headlong into a forbidden passion and threatens to undermine all her well-laid plans. Even if Marcus abandons his sweet ideal and surrenders to his growing desire for Clara, there's still one thing that could destroy their hopes forever... Each book in the Wayward in Wessex series is STANDALONE: * Distracting the Duke * Unmasking the Earl * Vanquishing the Viscount




The Duke of Distraction


Book Description

After witnessing how love embittered his uncle and broke his father, Felix Havers, Earl of Ware vows never to love. He conceals his emotions behind a wall of wit and charm, and is celebrated as the master of entertainments—parties, picnics, races. When his best friend’s wallflower sister needs to find a husband, he promises to make her the toast of London... without losing his heart. Miss Sarah Colton has given up on the pursuit of marriage. When her parents learn she intends to open a millinery shop, they give her an ultimatum: choose a husband or they’ll do it for her. She accepts Felix’s help, never imagining their scheme will ignite a mutual attraction neither of them dare indulge. But when tragedy strikes, can they heal each other or will the demons of Felix’s past consume them both?




The Devil Duke's Little Distraction


Book Description

Falling in love was never part of the bargain. Lady Sofia Cloverfield's family has disintegrated, and she finds herself on the streets to make her own way with only a few guineas and her wits with which to rely on to survive. Sofia uses her common sense and prays she can figure out how to turn her fate around. Exeter Trenton, the Devil Duke, is wealthy, handsome, and lonely. His position demands he take a wife, but he finds none to his liking. Then, quite by accident, his luck changes when his horses nearly trample a waif he mistakes for a child. He allows her to leave with his chastisement ringing in her ear but not before he finds she is no child. Once home, Trenton finds he can't get the little minx out of his mind. Telling himself he would be creating a better life for her, he devises a plan to bring her home for a brief distraction. The Duke initially intends to enjoy her attributes and teach her the thrills of being a woman with an attentive lover. One who engages in incomparable pleasures while remaining diligent in keeping her safe, but plans change, and before he can stop her, his little distraction has gotten under his skin and crawled into his heart. Now the Devil Duke can never let her go. Just as Sofia realizes Trenton is more dangerous than she ever suspected, her heart is engaged, and her life is at risk, forcing her to draw on every skill she has learned to save herself from a fate she had barely escaped several times before. The Duke's goals for Sofia may have changed, but not even the confident, masterful, and influential Duke can see into the future and know that someone else has a different ending planned for his Fia... a very different ending.




Infinite Distraction


Book Description

It is often argued that contemporary media homogenize our thoughts and actions, without us being fully aware of the restrictions they impose. But what if the problem is not that we are all synchronized to the same motions or moments, but rather dispersed into countless different emotional micro-experiences? What if the effect of so-called social media is to calibrate the interactive spectacle so that we never fully feel the same way as other potential allies at the same time? While one person is fuming about economic injustice or climate change denial, another is giggling at a cute cat video. And, two hours late, vice versa. The nebulous indignation which constitutes the very fuel of true social change can be redirected safely around the network, avoiding any dangerous surges of radical activity. In this short and provocative book, Dominic Pettman examines the deliberate deployment of what he calls 'hypermodulation,' as a key strategy encoded into the contemporary media environment. His account challenges the various narratives that portray social media as a sinister space of synchronized attention, in which we are busily clicking ourselves to death. This critical reflection on the unprecedented power of the Internet requires us to rethink the potential for infinite distraction that our latest technologies now allow.




A Devil of a Duke


Book Description

From a New York Times bestselling author comes a Regency romance featuring a decadent duke and a secretary with a secret. HE MAY BE A DEVIL He’s infamous, debaucherous, and known all over town for his complete disregard for scandal, and positively irresistible seductions. Gabriel St. James, Duke of Langford, is obscenely wealthy, jaw-droppingly handsome, and used to getting exactly what he wants. Until his attention is utterly captured by a woman who refuses to tell him her name, but can’t help surrendering to his touch… BUT SHE’S NO ANGEL EITHER… Amanda Waverly is living two lives—one respectable existence as secretary to an upstanding lady, and one far more dangerous battle of wits—and willpower—with the devilish Duke. Langford may be the most tempting man she’s ever met, but Amanda’s got her hands full trying to escape the world of high-society crime into which she was born. And if he figures out who she really is, their sizzling passion will suddenly boil over into a much higher stakes affair… “Rich with scandal and sensuality...Scintillating love scenes are plentiful in this page-turning tale, which is enhanced by a cast of memorable characters and smart, witty protagonists.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW, Best Books of Summer 2018 “Another passionate, adventurous, captivating romance from a grand mistress of the genre. Hunter combines a heated love story with a feminist vibe…Readers will find the pace never slows as they try and keep up with a bold thief and a devilish duke engaged in a subtle game of seduction.”—RT Book Reviews, TOP PICK




NEVER DECEIVE A DUKE


Book Description

Gareth Lloyd lives a life of quiet obscurity, toiling in the Docklands by day and living the life of a recluse by night. Fate has forced his return to London after many years abroad, and soon Gareth finds he can no longer repress the childhood horrors which haunt him-memories which worsen when he receives shocking news. The Duke of Warneham has died suspiciously and without an heir, save for a distant and long-forgotten cousin. Now Gareth must take on a burden he never wished for . . . and that includes the newly widowed duchess.




If I Only Had a Duke


Book Description

After four failed seasons and a disastrous jilting, Lady Dorothea Beaumont has had more than enough of her family’s scheming. She won’t domesticate a duke, entangle an earl, or vie for a viscount. She will quietly exit to her aunt’s Irish estate for a life of blissful freedom. Until an arrogant, sinfully handsome duke singles her out for a waltz, making Thea the most popular belle of the season. The duke ruined her plans and he’ll just have to fix them. Dalton, Duke of Osborne, is far too heartless for debutantes or marriage—he uses dalliances and public spectacle to distract from his real purpose: finding the man who destroyed his family. When his search leads to Ireland, the last thing he needs is the determined, achingly innocent Thea, who arrives in the dead of night demanding he escort her to her aunt. His foolish agreement may prove his undoing. The road to the Emerald Isle is fraught with unforeseen dangers, but the greatest peril of all might just be discovering that he has a heart...and he’s losing it to Thea.




Tourist Distractions


Book Description

In Tourist Distractions Youngmin Choe uses hallyu (Korean-wave) cinema as a lens to examine the relationships among tourism and travel, economics, politics, and history in contemporary East Asia. Focusing on films born of transnational collaboration and its networks, Choe shows how the integration of the tourist imaginary into hallyu cinema points to the region's evolving transnational politics and the ways Korea negotiates its colonial and Cold War past with East Asia's neoliberal present. Hallyu cinema's popularity has inspired scores of international tourists to visit hallyu movie sets, filming sites, and theme parks. This tourism helps ease regional political differences; reimagine South Korea's relationships with North Korea, China, and Japan; and blur the lines between history, memory, affect, and consumerism. It also provides distractions from state-sponsored narratives and forges new emotional and economic bonds that foster community and cooperation throughout East Asia. By attending to the tourist imaginary at work in hallyu cinema, Choe helps us to better understand the complexities, anxieties, and tensions of East Asia's new affective economy as well as Korea's shifting culture industry, its relation to its past, and its role in a rapidly changing region.




Taken by the Duke


Book Description

The steamy first book in The Pleasure Wars series by USA Today Bestselling Historical Romance Author Jess Michaels Amid all the lies and scandals that fuel Society’s gossip mill, one truth has stood out: House Rothcastle and House Windbury have always hated each other. Lady Ava Windbury prays the feud will someday end, to no avail. One dreadful night, her brother accidentally causes the death of Christian Rothcastle’s sister, a tragedy that leaves both men maimed. Consumed by grief, Christian makes a grim decision. He will kidnap Lady Ava so that her family will feel the pain of loss as keenly as he feels the loss of his own sister. But once he has Ava in his clutches, desire takes unexpected hold. Even more surprising, she willingly surrenders to his every sexual whim—after haggling over the terms of giving up her virginity. Too late, he realizes she is using her body for peace, not war. But just as their affair of revenge turns into an affair of the heart, the past rears its ugly head to take matters into its own hands… Length: Full Length Novel Heat Level: Naughty, naughty CW: Violent accident (on page), abuse (described) This book is the first book in The Pleasure Wars series.