the stories : novels . artwork . movies . book-list . clear
{ novels ~ the hudson series, 2000-2001 }
Book One:
Rain (2000)
from back cover:
RAIN ALREADY KNOWS HOW HARD LIFE CAN BE. BUT SHE IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER A SHATTERING SECRET FROM THE PAST THAT WILL CHANGE HER FUTURE FOREVER....
Growing up in the ghettos of Washington, D.C., the cards are stacked against a hardworking dreamer like Rain Arnold. Rain has fought to be the best daughter she can: she studies hard and gets good grades; she helps her mother cook and clean. And unlike her defiant younger sister, she avoids the dangers of the city streets as if her life depends on it...and it does. But Rain can't suppress the feeling that she has never truly fit in, that she is a stranger in her own world.
Then one fateful night, Rain overhears something she shouldn't: a heartbreaking revelation from the past, a long-buried secret that is about to change her life in ways she never could have imagined. In the blink of an eye, everything Rain has ever known -- the family she has loved and the familiar place she has called home is left behind, and Rain is sent to live with total strangers, the wealthy Hudson family. But just as she did not belong to the troubled world she was raised in, Rain is also out of place in this realm of luxury and privilege. With nowhere to turn, Rain finds an escape in the theater, inside the walls of an exclusive private school. But will it be enough to fulfill her heart's deepest wish -- and give her a place to call home?
Book Two:
Lightning Strikes (2000)
from back cover:
RAIN HAS SEARCHED FOR A PLACE TO CALL HOME. BUT THERE'S NOWHERE TO HIDE WHEN THE NIGHT SKY LIGHTS UP WITH TERROR....
Torn from the embrace of her poor but loving family, Rain Arnold now lives surrounded by opulent riches but feels more like an outsider than ever before. Her heart's true passion -- the theater -- may prove to be her salvation, as she embarks on a journey to unmask a legacy of long-buried family secrets.
Enrolled in one of England's most prestigious drama schools, Rain is sent to London to live with her great-aunt, Lenora, of the renowned Endfield family. Their estate is breathtakingly austere, filled with antiques and a long, storied history. But something isn't right. Rain hears footsteps at night, and the high-pitched laughter of a little girl. She sees strange lights in rooms that are supposed to be closed off. And everything about the place -- the air, the silence, even the somber household staff -- is as cold and soulless as a museum. Behind the icy sheen of wealth and privilege lies something unspeakable. Something that could turn Rain's most precious dreams into an inescapable nightmare....
Book Three:
Eye of the Storm (2000)
from back cover:
In the wake of a terrible loss, Rain is left alone to bear the Hudson family secrets -- as dark and forbidding as storm clouds on the horizon...
After the death of her beloved Grandmother Hudson, Rain found herself caught in a battle for the vast Hudson family wealth. Marked to inherit millions, Rain faced the fury of her unaccepting mother, her manipulative stepfather, and her cold, vicious Aunt Victoria. But no amount of money can keep Rain's world from crashing down when sudden tragedy strikes.
Left helpless after a devastating blow, Rain sinks into despair as her precious dreams are washed away?dreams that cannot be bought with the Hudson fortune. Her only hope for rebuilding her life rests in trusting a stranger who has come into her world -- a man whose generosity and kindness does not appear to come with strings attached, much to Rain's amazement. But just as she opens her heart to a promising new future, her past comes back to haunt her -- and Rain is pulled into a furious whirlpool of bitterness and heartache.
Book Four:
The End of the Rainbow (2001)
from back cover:
WAS THE HUDSON FAMILY DESTINED TO LIVE IN THE SHADOWS OF THE PAST? OR WOULD LUCK SHINE ON THE NEWEST GENERATION? THE ANSWER LIES AT... THE END OF THE RAINBOW
Rain's precious daughter, Summer, is about to turn sixteen. Her future lies wide open before her and she carries her mother's wise advice close to her heart: life is hardship, but above all, life is hope. Like all girls her age, Summer dreams of growing up and making her own life, of falling in love and finding her soul mate.
But a devastating tragedy will force Summer to stare into the cold eyes of adulthood long before she is ready. She will learn very quickly about hardship -- but what of hope? Is she as strong as her courageous mother? Or will she crumble?
All her life, Summer has lived on the Virginia estate where the Hudson family's secrets have lurked among the shadows for generations. Now it is time for Summer to discover secrets of her own. Some she will keep. Some she will share. Some will force her to flee the only place she has ever called home. And some will haunt her for the rest of her life....
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