Emily Croy Barker Popular Books
Emily Croy Barker Biography & Facts
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic is a fantasy novel by Emily Croy Barker. The novel takes place in the 21st century and centers around a woman named Nora, who accidentally wanders into a magical land. The story involves themes such as magic, social commentary, and romance. The novel makes several references to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Plot summary Nora Fisher is an English teacher trying to earn her PhD in Literature when her boyfriend, Adam, breaks up with her. Nora must attend a wedding that weekend, but while she and her friends stay at a cabin she goes for a walk, carrying an old copy of Pride and Prejudice with her, and loses her way in the woods. She wanders into a graveyard and reads aloud a poem inscribed upon a tombstone. Upon leaving the graveyard, Nora discovers a garden and meets a woman named Ilissa, who invites Nora to her house and insists that Nora attend their party that night. Given a beautiful dress and a miraculous makeover, Nora meets a splendid company of people at the party that night, including Raclin, Ilissa's handsome son. Nora soon forgets about the wedding, and her teaching, and stays at Ilissa's house for an indefinite amount of time, attending parties nearly every night and going hunting with her new friends in the day. She also becomes engaged to Raclin. One day Nora strays from their hunting party and a team of men seize her. They report her to two men: Lord Luklren, and a magician named Aruendiel. They let her go, but Aruendiel warns Nora not to trust Ilissa and her people, a warning that Nora ignores. She marries Raclin and soon becomes pregnant, but one night she has an argument with Raclin because she suspects him of carrying on with other women. Raclin suddenly reveals himself to be a dragon and attacks her, and she falls down a flight of stairs. Ilissa and her people carry her to a bed, fearing that she has had a miscarriage. Nora sends a plea for help to Aruendiel by means of his token, a feather, and a tremendous gust of wind spirits Nora away from Ilissa's house. After flying for over an hour, Nora falls into a courtyard and the magician Aruendiel takes her into his castle and removes what is left of Raclin's child from her body, assuring her that the birth of such a child would have killed her. A woman named Mrs. Toristel takes care of Nora while the latter recovers. Aruendiel explains that Ilissa and her son and guests are Faitoren, magical creatures who cast illusions and specialize in manipulating people. The fancy clothes and beautiful appearances of their parties were illusions, and they had used Nora as a birth mother for Raclin's child, in an attempt to breed more of their species. Aruendiel also explains that they are currently speaking the Ors language, which Nora somehow picked up while under a variety of Ilissa's enchantments; she continues to understand Ors, even after Aruendiel removes Ilissa's spells. The castle lies in a place called the Uland, part of a larger territory called the Northlands. Neither Mrs. Toristel nor Aruendiel knows anything about the United States. Stuck in this alternate land with no technology, Nora gardens and cooks to earn her keep at Aruendiel's castle. Nora finds she still has her wedding ring, which will not come off her finger. Another magician, Hirizjahkinis, invites Aruendiel to Semr, the king's realm, and Aruendiel reluctantly takes Nora with him to keep an eye on her. At Semr they debate about whether to declare war on the Faitoren or cut a deal with them. Aruendiel, who severely distrusts the Faitoren, staunchly opposes King Abele's desire to maintain a peaceful alliance with them. Nora inexplicably finds her copy of Pride and Prejudice in the royal library, and eventually she begins to translate it into Ors so that Aruendiel can sample the literature of her world. While in Semr, Nora has an unpleasant encounter with Ilissa, and then finds out that most people assume that Nora is Aruendiel's mistress. Nora gradually finds out that Aruendiel once had a wife, but murdered her when she had an affair with another man. Aruendiel once also had an affair with Ilissa herself. Back in Uland, Nora expresses interest in learning magic, and Aruendiel challenges Nora by smashing a bowl and telling her to fix it with magic. When she finally manages to fix the bowl, Aruendiel begins to give, impatiently, a series of lessons in magic to Nora. He explains that whereas a wizard captures spirits and forces them to work for him, a magician depends upon his or her own connection with the elements in order to shape them as he or she desires. He refers to the elemental magic as “true magic” and distrusts the use of spirits and demons in wizardry. One day Aruendiel receives word that the magician Hirizjahkinis and Hirgus Ext, a wizard, have paid a visit to Ilissa's house. Ilissa claims to have taken the two as prisoners and sends Aruendiel a list of demands, including that he return Nora to the Faitoren. Aruendiel refuses the demands and attacks Ilissa himself, but Hirizjahkinis and Hirgus Ext escape without his help. Ilissa tried to trick them into lifting the magical boundaries around the Faitoren realm, or else hoped to force Aruendiel to lift the boundaries. Aruendiel then leaves to visit Lord Luklren in order to make sure that the magician Dorneng Hul is properly maintaining those boundaries. While he is gone, Nora fixes a series of items in the village in order to raise money to buy a new pair of boots, an act which Aruendiel, upon returning, condemns as petty and pretentious. Aruendiel turns Nora out of the house but eventually relents and lets her stay. Dorneng Hul visits Aruendiel's castle to discuss the problem of the Faitoren, and he attempts to remove the wedding ring on Nora's finger, with disastrous results that are only resolved when they place the ring back on her finger. They soon celebrate the Null Days, a sort of nihilistic winter solstice holiday, and Nora cannot shake a strange romantic attraction to Aruendiel. Ilissa tricks Dorneng Hul into releasing Ilissa from her magical barriers. Dorneng Hul, Hirizjahkinis, and Aruendiel set out to recapture Ilissa, leaving Nora and Mrs. Toristel behind. However, a few days after they leave, Hirizjahkinis returns to bring Nora with her, insisting that Aruendiel wants Nora's help. As soon as Nora leaves the safety of the castle, Hirizjahkinis turns out to be Ilissa in disguise, who kidnaps Nora and takes her to a barren, snowy landscape. There Ilissa and Raclin meet with Dorneng Hul, who has been working with Ilissa the entire time. They plan to kill Nora and enslave her spirit, forcing it to hold open a gateway between their world and Nora's world. Nora realizes that when she had read aloud the inscription on the tombstone, she had activated the power of an enslaved spirit in order to travel to this alternate, magical world; but the Faitoren cannot use that spirit, because an iron fence blocks the graveyard and the Faitoren.... Discover the Emily Croy Barker popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Emily Croy Barker books.
Best Seller Emily Croy Barker Books of 2024
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Once Upon A One-Night Stand
Zoey LockeAt first sight, there was electrifying chemistry.  So why not go for it? After all, Lynx Grove, the city's most eligible bachelor, wants to claim her, at least for th...
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A Christmas Carol
Charles DickensAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s Christmas Eve in Victorian England. While some families don’t know where their next meal will come from, Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his large hom...
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Assisting the Bosshole
Kristin MacQueenNo hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...
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Salvation
Meghan O'FlynnIf you like mouthy detectives, serial killers, and suspenseful mysteries that don't quit, this chilling and actionpacked hardboiled detective series has you covered! Try this ...
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The Icing on the Cake
Linda SeedShe’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble … Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a...
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank BaumAn Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...
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Finding Cinderella
Colleen Hoover#1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...
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Bewitching a Highlander
Roma CordonDefying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan DoyleAn Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...
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The Stoic Mind
Addy Osmani & GoLimitlesssDiscover the timeless wisdom of Stoicism in a modern context with "The Stoic Mind," an enlightening visual guide by Addy Osmani and GoLimitlesss. This rich exploration co...
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Whiskey Girl
Melissa BelleThey'll do anything for each other…except commit. Logan Wild isn’t just the hottest broncriding cowboy in Texas. He’s also my best friendwith benefits. And that’s all we’ll ev...
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The Honeymoon Homicide
J. R. Mathis & Susan MathisEnjoy this SmallTown Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple I'm Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest in a smalltown parish who never expected this . . . When I came...
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Pretty Little Lies
Ivy ThornFour years ago, Nicolo Marchetti took my innocence. But he left me with something else Nicolo almost took everything from me. My virginity, my reputation, and very nearly my future...
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Think and Grow Rich
Greg Habstritt & Napoleon HillThink and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...
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The Four Loves
C. S. LewisThe Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human loveaffection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candi...
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Becoming Lady Dalton
Carrie LomaxA dance of desire and deceit... In the glittering world of London's ton, Mrs. Viola Cartwright revels in her newfound freedom as a lady of leisureuntil a series of jewel theft...
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The Holy Bible - King James Version
King JamesHoly Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...
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Masters of Restraint
Ines JohnsonMy new boss is good at giving orders. But his latest demand is NSFW. Especially when his two business partners want in on our deal. My new boss My boss’s boss Their investor &#...
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Rogue Alpha
Kimber WhiteOne touch made her crave him. But the pull of fate could be the path to ruin. College student Laura Prince lands a plum internship deep in the Michigan wilderness. When she discove...
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Tempting the King
Jessa YorkAn escaped Mafia Queen, hiding from her past. A Mafia King who wants to claim her… Giselle They think I'm lostbut I know better. I can never be found. The path I've creat...
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The Cupcake Cottage
Jean OramNHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....
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Hot Off the Press
Lexy Timms"This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...
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Peace on Earth
Maia RossCrime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...
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Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove
Melody GraceCelebrate the holidays in Sweetbriar Cove with this festive romance collection, containing two sizzling smalltown holiday stories perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Sophie Kinsella...
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Awaken Me
Jenna JacobHe was more than a ghost haunting my dreams…he was real. By day, I’m Julianna Garrett …a prim, proper accountant. By night, I’m tormented by dreams of an alpha, ambereyed Adonis wh...
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Death at Hazel House
Betty Rowlands‘Riveting, can't put it down! I love this story… a wonderfully twisted tale of a crime that has more twists than I thought possible... fantastic.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ...
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Never Enough
Lexy TimmsBe good enough never is... Anthony Accardi is a man on a mission: make his father's watch company a success while bringing in millions of dollars. To do that, he needs an assi...
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
Ben LeightonThis ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...
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A Green Kind of Witch
Sierra CrossCinderella crossed with Mean Girls.   That's what Hazel's daily existence feels like. Born to a family of elegant yet shallow Beige Witches, seventeen y...
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His Own Heaven
Jennie KewWinner of the 2021 Passionate Plume Award for BDSM Romance Finalist in the 2021 Stiletto Contest for Contemporary Romance He taught her to trust, she taught him to love. Lucy Bar...
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Dracula
Bram StokerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...
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Get Lucky
Lila MonroeFall for the hot and hilarious romcom spin on 'The Hangover', perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry! What happens when you wake up in a hotel s...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Caught Up with the Captain
Kait NolanCan a retired naval commander and the love he left behind overcome a 34yearold secret to find their way to a second chance? Captain Mitchell Greyson is a man who believes in duty. ...
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Just Me
Lexy TimmsWe all need somewhere where we feel safe… After leaving her abusive husband, Katherine Marshall is out on her own for the first time. She's hopped from city to city to avoid t...
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A Bookshop to Die For
M.P. BlackDitching her fiancé at the altar, Alice Hartford bolts to her childhood hometown to reconnect with the last, happy remnant of her past: her mom's old bookstore. But the bookst...
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The Three Little Pigs
Mark LeskyClassic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...
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The Target
Lexy TimmsWhen you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...
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The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel HawthorneAn Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...
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Dark Psychology and Manipulation
Margaret MorrisonTHE MENTAL MANIPULATOR WILL NO LONGER KEEP SECRETS FROM YOU! Are you fed up with the wool being pulled over your eyes?Are you prepared to stand up to those who believe they can man...
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Always Yours
Claire RayeSome things are just meant to be... Ellen Somerville and Will McIntyre met by accident and under unusual circumstances. Getting sprayed by a skunk in a parking lot wouldn’t normall...
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Coffee Girl
Sophie SinclairMackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...
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You Are Kind
Michael GordonA little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...
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Law of Attraction
Jordan HollisHow to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...
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Dream Psychology
Sigmund FreudAn Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...
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Alpha
Sybil BartelBillionaire. Mercenary. Navy SEAL. The Teams trained me to be a killer. War taught me to be ruthless. Then an illfated mission proved I was human. Combat wounded, cut loose by the ...
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The Art of War
Sun TzuAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...
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Pride and Prejudice
Jane AustenAn Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...
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Saltwater Cove
Amelia AddlerSecond chances...and the secrets that sabotage them. At 48 years old, Margie Clifton never expected to be starting her life all over again. But when her brother gifts her a propert...
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All Fired Up
Kathryn ShayCaptain Jarek Zenko, a war veteran and firefighter, meets Lacey Roth at a bar one night. They don’t share their real identities, even when they retreat to a hotel. When they meet t...