In Lelia's Kiss, Laura Giannetti offers a new perspective on the way gender and marriage were portrayed, imagined, and critiqued on stage during the Italian Renaissance. Going beyond the traditional canon, Giannetti focuses her study on the social and cultural scripts found in a wide array of comedies of the period to reveal the relativity of sex and gender roles and their cultural construction in Renaissance society. Giannetti argues that the comedic dialogue and cross-dressing characters so prevalent in Italian Renaissance comedies played with the presuppositions of the day and engaged with contemporary social norms, expectations, and desires. Cross-dressing female characters reveal the relativity of sex and gender roles, and also present a vision of female empowerment. At the same time, cross-dressing male characters suggest a unique perception of the male life cycle that was more uncertain and contested than often assumed, and show more broadly how masculinity was also socially and culturally constructed. In discussing marriage, sexuality, and gender roles, the comedies deploy a social scripting that not only reflects and comments on the everyday life of the time, but also interacts with it with playful humor and revealing insight.

Detective Thomas Doyle has been living a lonely, compartmentalized life ever since the death of his life partner, Aiden. He vowed never to let anybody get close to him again -- the pain of losing a loved one is too much to bear. Despite his vow, Thomas is lonely, and has a number of one-night stands, sexual encounters with unnamed men he doesn’t care to remember. Then he meets Elias. Elias Byrne knows the pain of abuse and rejection intimately. Unable to escape the clutches of his older brother, Elias dreams of someone to love, and of being loved in return. He admires Thomas, but the detective never pays him any notice. In a desperate attempt to get closer to him, Elias steals his wallet, then gives it back the next day. Pretty soon, Thomas feels a strong attraction to the fiery, arrogant, younger man. Elias intrigues him, but he resists his growing feelings because he doesn’t want to get hurt again. When Thomas rescues Elias from his abusive brother, can he also rescue them both from the loneliness that threatens to consume them? Can Elias conquer the detective’s hardened heart and find the love he always longed for? Or will Thomas stubbornly refuse to give himself another chance at love?

How do you get over someone? Get under someone else. Or so an islander tells her. When Alana’s world shatters for the first time after a breakup, she’s desperate for a way out of her personal hell to survive. So she quits her job and the city and runs to a place often called paradise, Boracay Island. Little did she know it’s habagat season, and the island is raining with men and possibilities. Suddenly, she discovers there’s more to life than swimming in tears. And when a hot guy or two offers a new liquid shot at love and happiness? She takes it, bottoms up! Never mind the spills. If you like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love or are a fan of the Sex & the City series, then you will enjoy taking this journey with Alana as she learns to let go and live the best life in Boracay.

Mateo Taurasi and his family fled their island home when their people turned to sorcery. Mateo’s own magic is tame but it’s still banned in the Vaeringan Empire...and his family still use it every day in their cosy teahouse. The last thing they need is an Imperial barging in to catch them at it. Luckily, Jonas just wants to offer them a trade deal too good to resist. As hard as he tries, Mateo begins to find the cheerfully charming Jonas too good to resist, too. But an unfairly attractive Imperial is not Mateo’s only problem. Rumours of sorcery loose in the city mean trouble for the Taurasi. With Jonas caught up in the mess, Mateo must investigate. His family already lost their world once. Mateo can’t let them lose again. Not even if it costs him the man he really wishes he didn't have feelings for. c/w: explicit transm/m sex scenes

"Deep Waters" combines suspense and romance in a story where a mysterious Pacific Rim consultant and a burned-out female CEO become sparring partners on a fishing pier crammed with secrets, danger, and hidden treasures. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.