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CrossReads Short Takes

The Gambit Queen

(The Magdalen Cycle Book 3)

by Scott R. Rezer

The Leper’s last heir;

a kingdom all but lost…

With the loss of Jherusalem three years before, only Tyre under Conrad de Montferrat remains to stand against the tide of Islam. Even though the dispossessed king lays siege to Muslim held Acre, calls begin to spread for new leadership centered around the young princess, Isabella d’Anjou, the Leper King’s last heir, whom they wish to force into a new marriage against her will. But things are never as they seem, especially in the Kingdom of Jherusalem. As the master of Sion sets his long-awaited plans into motion, Isabella must rely on a small group of allies—her husband Humphrey, and their friend Ernoul, along with the Magdalen and her daughter Salome—to fight the hidden enemies of the embattled kingdom, even as the knights of a new crusade march to war against Salehdin under Richard the Lionheart and his nephew Henri de Champagne. But what sacrifices must Isabella make for the sake of the kingdom—and can they trust the secretive Salome to help defeat the sinister Order of Sion at last before the kingdom ends up under its control… or will she betray them all to Amalric de Lusignan?

Sunflowers and Suspicions

(Pine Springs)

by Karen Malley

A Deception Revealed …

When Julie Wagner’s identical twin Jade goes missing, Julie travels to New York intent on pretending to be her sister so she can unravel the truth. There, she meets the the only person who has ever been able to tell them apart. Together, can she and her sister’s neighbor unravel a shady restaurant owner’s mysteries and find Jade?

A Fractured Family Healed …

Matt Callahan has lived across the hall from Jade Wagner for a year, but never understood the pain behind her eyes. When her sister appears in his apartment building, he is amazed at the differences he sees in the twins. As he helps Julie find her twin, he discovers that she just might be the answer to helping his own fractured family