AD 454. Three years after the Roman victory over Attila the Hun at Catalaunum, Arria Felix and Garic the Frank are married and enjoying life on Garic’s farm in northern Gaul (France). Their happy life is interrupted when a cryptic message arrives from Arria’s father, the esteemed Senator Felix, calling them to Rome. At Arria’s insistence, but against Garic’s better judgment, they leave at once. On their arrival at Villa Solis, they are confronted with a brutal murder and a dangerous mission. The fate of a profound and sacred object—Christ’s Crown of Thorns—rests in their hands. They must carry the holy relic to the safety of Constantinople, away from a corrupt emperor and old enemies determined to steal it for their own gain. But a greater force arises against them—a secret cult who will commit any atrocity to capture the Crown. All the while, the gruesome murder and the conspiracy behind it haunt Arria’s thoughts. Arria and Garic’s marital bonds are tested but forged as they partner together to fulfill one of history’s most challenging missions, The Quest for the Crown of Thorns.

This is the story of a Roman soldier ordered to perform a duty that will change his life forever. Marcel is directed to find a form of torture for a man on trial who calls himself a king. So he conceives the idea of a crown made of thorns. Though this pleases his commander, as Marcel places the crown on the prisoners head, he unexpectedly suffers his own sudden torture when a thorn pierces his finger. In pain and bloody agony, he looks into the eyes of Jesus yet sees only love. How can love come from such a vicious act? In his quest to learn all he can about this man, Marcel encounters many people, some devoted followers of Jesus and some who mock and detest him. He also experiences his own miracles. One person who will help him on his journey to understand this king is his loving wife Delicia. She will both challenge and comfort him as he struggles with the many questions he strives to answer. Yet in the end, he will have to make a life or death decision.

Nick Renna, a reclusive professor of History and embittered lapsed-Catholic, bears a simmering resentment toward the God he believes abandoned him years earlier. Now, bound by a deathbed promise to the former lover who left him to become a Dominican nun, Nick must continue her search for the lost Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ—a relic of extraordinary spiritual and physical power. Beginning at a small college campus in New Hampshire, Nick's quest takes him from the sophisticated environs of Geneva, to the Secret Vatican Archives in Rome, and eventually to the Pyrenees of northern Spain, where unspeakable evil confronts unlimited love. But as Nick gets closer to the Crown, powerful forces want this artifact for its potential power. What happens if someone puts on the Crown of Thorns?

A fascinating biography of Bulgaria's tragic monarch, Boris III, based on private correspondence and extensive interviews with members of the Bulgarian royal family. The son of King Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Boris became king after the first World War. Noted for defying Hitler wishes for Bulgaria's Jews, the popular king died mysteriously in 1943 after a stormy meeting with Hitler.

“Carson joins the ranks of writers like Kristin Cashore, Megan Whalen Turner, and Tamora Pierce as one of YA’s best writers of high fantasy.”—Locus Magazine The second book in Rae Carson’s award-winning and New York Times–bestselling trilogy! Betrayal, love, and untold power fuel the heroic adventure of a seventeen-year-old princess turned warrior-queen. Fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Kendare Blake and Sarah J. Maas will be riveted. She does not know what awaits her at the enemy’s gate. Elisa led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as queen should be secure. But it isn’t. Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one remains uncertain. To conquer the power she bears, Elisa must journey from the hidden catacombs beneath her own city to treacherous seas and a long-forgotten island. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man with whom—despite everything—she is falling in love. If she’s lucky, she’ll return. But there will be a cost. Don’t miss The Empire of Dreams, Rae Carson’s action-packed return to the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns!

Highly regarded and best-selling literary writer and teacher, Joseph Pearce presents a stimulating and vivid biography of the world's most revered writer that is sure to be controversial. Unabashedly provocative, with scholarship, insight and keen observation, Pearce strives to separate historical fact from fiction about the beloved Bard. Shakespeare is not only one of the greatest figures in human history, he is also one of the most controversial and one of the most elusive. He is famous and yet almost unknown. Who was he? What were his beliefs? Can we really understand his plays and his poetry if we don't know the man who wrote them? These are some of the questions that are asked and answered in this gripping and engaging study of the world's greatest ever poet. The Quest for Shakespeare claims that books about the Bard have got him totally wrong. They misread the man and misread the work. The true Shakespeare has eluded the grasp of the critics. Dealing with the facts of Shakespeare's life and times, Pearce's quest leads to the inescapable conclusion that Shakespeare was a believing Catholic living in very anti-Catholic times. Many of his friends and family were persecuted, and even executed, for their Catholic faith. And yet he seems to have avoided any notable persecution himself. How did he do this? How did he respond to the persecution of his friends and family? What did he say about the dreadful and intolerant times in which he found himself? The Quest for Shakespeare answers these questions in ways that will enlighten and astonish those who love Shakespeare's work, and that will shock and outrage many of his critics. This book is full of surprises for beginner and expert alike.