But for eleven-year-old Jason McAteer, growing up in the shadow of Liverpool FC, football became the dream. After signing with Bolton Wanderers at the age of twenty-one, the call to the international scene followed with the Republic of Ireland and, soon after, to his beloved Liverpool FC. The dream had become a reality. From his time with the Irish World Cup squad of 1994 to those tumultuous days in Saipan in 2002; on through his decision to leave Liverpool for Blackburn Rovers; his move to Sunderland, and the depression he fell into after finishing his professional career with Tranmere Rovers, Jason McAteer looks back with characteristic honesty and humour on his life - the jokes, the matches, and the personalities.This is the real Jason McAteer: a little bit bruised, a little bit battered. But still fighting.

    Not the hottest guy I’ve ever laid eyes on…I’m probably not the first runaway bride to get discovered hiding in the back of a stranger’s pickup truck. And Maverick should probably dump me on the side of the road and be on his way. Instead, he agrees to give me a ride across the country. I quickly learn that Maverick isn’t just a sexy football star. He’s also bossy as hell with a surprising sweet side.We’re supposed to stay in separate hotel rooms, not share nights fraught with sexual chemistry. We’re supposed to drive straight to Chicago, not veer off on romantic side trips.So when absolutely nothing goes according to plan, I tell myself that whatever happens on this temporary road trip will be just that—temporary. Nothing lasts forever.The last thing I need is to get attached to a bossy baller whose priority will always be football.But just when I think I’ve got everything under control…Maverick changes the play at the line.

    

    In the legendary manager's very first book, and in his own images and captions, Jose Mourinho charts the peaks and troughs of the opening fifteen years of what has been a stellar rise to the summit of the global game.Through more than 120 personally selected images (some of which are exclusive to the book), fans will relish an intimate and unmissable opportunity to understand and further appreciate this giant of the sport.

    To obtain more, it takes dedication and an unwavering determination to succeed. Solomon Frank is the poster child for making that happen. Rising from the hood of Inglewood, California, his dreams of becoming an A-list actor takes a work ethic and sacrifice that many people don’t have within them. Even amongst the ill wishes and lack of support from the people he loves and that mean the most to him, Solomon finds his way.Making it in the industry is tough but with hard work, he makes it, taking acting jobs just to make a name for himself. However, it pays off. He is able to be selective, where he can now demand what he wants and gets it. He develops a reputation as being a great actor, but also an uncouth jerk and he embraces it. There’s only one issue. He’s never been in love and it’s something he craves. But unlike his determination with obtaining honor in his career choice, he doesn’t have the same gusto when it comes to love. So, instead of looking for it, it’s dropped in his lap in the form of his new personal assistant, Divine Stewart.He is smitten from first sight, but he tries to remain professional and tough as nails, as his reputation indicates. She’s thirteen years his junior but something about her is calling out to him. The fight to maintain that professional relationship is more difficult than he anticipated, and Solomon finds himself at a crossroads. Will he blur the lines of personalism and professionalism in regard to how he really feels for Divine? Can he ease the reigns to develop something more with her without tarnishing his reputation in Hollywood? Or will he continue to suffer in silence, longing for the one thing in life he hasn’t obtained?

    She is now responsible for her brother as there’s only two of them left. After the shock is over, it is time to get on with her new responsibilities which comes with changes... including moving to the city to take up a job as a waitress in a mid-level hotel. An altogether daunting idea since she’s lived on a farm all her life. Tom Having grown up in a family of chefs, Tom is keen to keep the tradition going. His dream is to be like his grandfather who owns a chain of fine dining restaurants across the state. Quite the charmer but with no time for anything but to make a career for himself he has all the girls longing for him but does not seem to notice. None have managed to catch his fancy until the petite new girl known as Melissa comes to work at the hotel. At first, it is sheer pity for the quiet girl who appears lost amidst the rest that draws him to her. With time, however, he realizes what a sweet-natured person she is and begins to fall in love with her. Find out if the hunky sous chef manages to win the new girl. This is a Sweet, Steamy, Short Romance Story and part of the Chiltern Hotel Series, No Cliffhangers! If you love short and sweet romances with insta love, hot steamy sexy scenes, and happily ever afters, you will definitely enjoy this one. Get this book FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

    From childhood backyard cricket with mates and family, and net sessions with his dad that laid the foundations for his later success, Steve traces the influences and events that started him on his cricket journey.He takes us inside his quest to play cricket at the highest level, from formative club and grade games, to his first overseas experiences, and finally to state cricket and the Australian squad. It's a journey with both ups and downs, where valuable and lasting lessons were learned from the successes and, more importantly, the failures.And Steve compellingly describes the key moments that shaped him into the cricketer and leader he is today, from his definitive hundred at Centurion in South Africa, to the soul-searching and resolve that accompanied the Australian team's lowest point in the 2016 Hobart Test, to the epic 2017 series in India.The Journey is a revealing and fascinating insight into Steve Smith-the cricketer and the man.

    The ginger-haired lad who was plucked from Ayr United for just £300,000 in 1981 didn’t at first seem like he would fit the mould of a Liverpool Football Club player. Nicol made headlines for having ‘the biggest feet in football’ and by his own admission could sometimes act a bit daft. It wasn’t long before he fell victim to countless wind-ups from fellow Anfield Scots Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness. They made him wait at a motorway service station on a Sunday morning for a boot deal meeting that didn’t exist… they forced him out of a car to check faulty windscreen wipers then drove off and left him in the snow… when his teammates saw a teddy bear in his bag on an away trip abroad, the stick he got was merciless. But Nicol could take a joke and there was more to him than first met the eye. Brave, skilful and with a winner’s mentality, he was able to play any number of positions on the field. He could pass, head, tackle, read the game well and even had an eye for goal. His love of a packet or three of crisps didn’t seem to affect his appetite for success. He became a mainstay in the record-breaking Liverpool sides that steamrollered their way to trophy after trophy. From the teams of Paisley and Fagan to Dalglish, he played dream football with the likes of Rush, Barnes, Beardsley, Aldridge, Whelan and McMahon. He topped it off with a Player of the Year award and represented his country in a World Cup. It was laughter and glory all the way. Then he hit a brutal turning point in his life. It was hard to take. He drank too much. Kenny left. Souness arrived. He wore the captain’s armband and won an FA Cup… but it felt like the end. Stevie Nicol: 5 League Titles and a Packet of Crisps is the entertaining autobiography of a man who took the good, bad and ugly of his football life on the chin, shrugged it off and ended up having the last laugh.

     Throughout that journey, the Spanish journalists Lu Martín and Pol Ballús have been embedded with the club, reporting this inside account of how a phenomenal team was constructed: from the recruitment of Guardiola himself, to the backroom staff that provide the platform for his team and the superstar players that have set a new standard in British football. No other sportswriter has had this kind of access to Guardiola and his team during their three seasons in Manchester. The result is exclusive, in-depth interviews and profiles of every key figure at City, and the inside stories on the decisions that have shaped the team, including the defensive transformation that saw Guardiola change his goalkeeper and full-backs ahead of his record-breaking 100-point season of 2017-18; the dinner date with Sergio Agüero that changed the course of the City striker's career; and close-ups on every big game in the thrilling finale to the 2018-19 title race.

    Set against the dark backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, this luminous and infinitely inviting memoir traces the affecting stories of Rea and his hilarious and dynamic friends and teammates. Comprised primarily of ex-pats over the age of 35, Finn McCool's Football Club boasts a dynamic mix of idiosyncratic personalities. From Macca, the team's Scottish coach and a hard-drinking ex-professional player, to its outspoken South African landscape gardener/striker Benji, each character comes vibrantly to life in Rea's fresh and frank prose. Hilarious moments and poignant reflections shine with equal intensity throughout this multifarious work, which captures the individual experiences of the Finn's players in the wake of Katrina. A literary memoir, soccer story, and tale of survival and resolve, this work is an indefatigable tribute to a city and its residents who determined to play on after their lives were all but washed away.

    All he wants to hear is her voice.No one knows the value of family better than Breckin McDermott. He’s sure the pretty brunette he ran into at a Landon and Jerrica’s baby shower has a great family, since her brother is his coworker, and yet she seems sad and afraid. Once he learns of her past, he really wants to get to know her better.With her successful treatment for PTSD completed, Liella Fox needs a career. Still uncomfortable in crowds, she embarks on an unconventional livelihood that’s perfect for her. Everyone thinks her family is wonderful, but she knows most of them will be critical and judgmental, so she’ll be alone in this adventure. At least her older brother, Landon, and his wife, Jerrica, are supportive.At Landon’s suggestion, Breckin offers to help with Liella’s business plan. The idea of being alone with him makes her anxious and she’s reluctant to accept, but after his mother tells her Breckin’s story, her fears melt. Soon all she wants is to be near him. She’s trying to forge a new life, and she wants to share it with the tall, redhaired firefighter who makes her feel safe.That’s if she gets the chance. Before she can get a foot up in the business, a surly, bitter competitor begins to stalk and threaten her. The guy despises her a little too much, maybe even enough to get her out of the way.Forever.But Breckin’s a man who’s waited his whole life for a woman to love. If anyone thinks they’ll take her away from him, they’ve seriously underestimated his determination when his heart is on the line.

    Skylar Rae I’m getting by just fine on my own when the boy who stole my heart and ran away twelve years ago shows up in town again. He’s a big shot baseball player now, needing my help to rehab his knee. If he’d just lay off the flirting and the dimples he throws with each grin, I might be able to do my job. Good thing I’m not dumb enough to fall for him a second time.Max I promised my best friend I would never make a move on his little sister. I kept that promise—if you don’t count that one kiss senior year—but now that we’re adults and I’m moving back home, all bets are off. Skylar Rae isn’t the same person I knew twelve years ago and neither am I. It’ll take a lot more healing than I expected to see if she and I can cross that line again.

    Too bad she belonged to someone else.Or so I thought. She dropped the man hanging on her arm with one well-placed kick.Then she knocked me on my ass and stole my truck.Avery James doesn’t belong to anyone. She doesn’t back down. She doesn’t walk away.Even when she should.Chaos might as well be her middle name.From one disaster to the next, she’s a magnet for mayhem.Plus, she's too stubborn for her own good. Blindly charging head-first into a world she doesn't belong in.My world. Law, order, and everything in its place.But Avery? She makes me want to bend every rule I have. Even if I break under the strain.April Canavan’s Bent is a wild and emotionally charged contemporary romance written in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World project.

    Enchanted with effortlessly stylish bars and colourful buildings, this is a charismatic metropolis doused in the endless sun of southern Spain. The city is also home to two historic institutions of Spanish football - Real Betis and Sevilla - and when they go head-to-head to contest El Gran Derbi, the rest of Spain can only watch in awe. This is a pulsating and arresting experience which encapsulates the beautiful game in all its raw, spellbinding brilliance. Spanish football is more than Barcelona and Real Madrid. Much more. The city contrasts uptown Sevilla with downtown Betis. Los Rojiblancos pitted against Los Verdiblancos. Sevillistas and Beticos. Nothing can compare to this beautiful city and the crazy passion for football that it produces, either in Spain or Europe. Colin Millar - who made the city his home - charts the illustrious histories of football in the city and explores how both clubs represent a way of life for Sevillanos.

    The hot-as-hell footballer Veronica had crushed on in high school. And that he’d ask her out on a date... Veronica Damn Joel Marketis was hot! So why was he asking her out through a dating app? The super hot Patriots footballer didn’t exactly need a dating app to meet women. And if he was like all the rest of the men on those dating apps — players with no manners looking for quick sex — then she wasn't interested. Besides, she was just using the app to prove her point: dating apps have created a terrible hookup culture. But as the dates get hotter, the clothes come off and the sex gets heated, Veronica may just lose track of her goal…but is Joel as nice as he seems? Or is this just an act to promote the dating app. Joel Veronica. His high-school crush. A firecracker lawyer to be. A hot-as-hell woman. He hadn’t planned on meeting her through the app. He hadn’t planned on meeting anyone. He has his sexual needs taken care. Thank you very much. So why is he so attracted? Life of a sportsman with its highs and lows is bringing him down. He is done with one night stands and wants a real woman. Someone he can have a real conversation with. Veronica seems like that person. Except Veronica is nothing like he expected…and what she does to him between the sheets…ahh…. ***The Right Swipe is a standalone online dating romance novel, with plenty of steam, a guaranteed HEA and no cliffhanger ***