Carlos Ninguna is seventeen. His father is a snake-handler and Carlos is his apprentice. When a man who may or may not be on the FBI's Most Wanted List moves into the apartment above them, Carlos is faced with a whole tangle of complicated decisions.Anthony Doerr is one of the country's most honored young story writers. His short stories have appeared in the Atlantic, McSweeney's, the Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story, where "The Snake Handler" originally appeared. His most recent collection, Memory Wall, won the 2010 Story Prize.

    A lonely, troubled nurse. What will she risk to save him?Grace Ward's sterile existence is thrown into chaos when a baby is abandoned in her ER. From the moment an unknown couple thrusts the unconscious infant into Grace's arms, her life will never be the same.The baby's identity is shrouded in secrecy. Grace names him Johnny, and even with an experienced staff treating him, his life hangs in the balance. As Grace grows more attached to him, major events threaten their bond and his life. A deadly infection sweeps through the hospital, Johnny's mysterious origins come to light, and Grace's personal life grows increasingly complex. When Johnny's prognosis creates an ideological chasm that leaves the hospital staff on opposing sides, Grace refuses to bow to the mounting pressure that could destroy her career and even her life. Her vow to protect Johnny at all costs is the beginning of a journey to heal the scars of her past and create the safe and loving future they both deserve.Arms of Grace is a finalist in consideration for production by Wind Dancer Films, a silver medalist in the Readers' Favorites Book Awards, and also a recipient of the B.R.A.G. Medallion

    Raised by a narcissistic single mother, Charity’s only sense of a loving home comes from childhood summers spent with Gramps and Grandma. But piercing her fondest memories is her sharpest grief—the death of her beloved grandmother, when Charity stopped believing in the magical healing power of the weeping willow that still casts a shadow on their property.Now that Charity has returned, she’s full of longing and regret, until she befriends her neighbor Dalton Reynolds, who has come to Gaslamp Island carrying his own heartache. As other exiles arrive—a great uncle harboring secrets, a teenage runaway—Charity begins to reconsider what makes a family. When her own estranged mother shows up in crisis, Charity is challenged to search her heart for forgiveness. But forgiving herself may require a little magic from the last place she’d expect to find it.

    Friction, resentment and old jealousies make life in their house doubly challenging, as Katie struggles to cope with a rebellious teenager and Michelle longs for the man she has left behind.After a devastating betrayal Laurie Forbes is trying to rebuild her relationship with Elliot Russell, when she is plunged into a whirlwind of passion that threatens to tear them apart completely.Top journalist, Tom Chambers, the man Michelle left behind, faces the greatest challenge of his career when highly classified documents fall into his hands. Realizing how explosive the material is, Tom calls upon Elliot Russell to help with the investigation, and very quickly they are caught up in the deadly efforts to stop them going to print.The Hornbeam Tree is a fast-moving, funny, passionate and heartbreaking story that travels the dizzying highs and lows of love, the scandalous manoeuvrings of greed and power and ultimately the unbreakable bond between a single mother and her teenage daughter.

    Second families must go into hiding or be arrested. There is even a finder's fee for those who turn in their own. Ten-year-old Mary's father, a poor farmer, abandons Mary, her nearly-blind mother, and six brothers and sisters in the hills of the Wasatch Mountains to live in a shallow dugout not much better than a cave. Close to starving, the family is rescued by a nearby polygamist. As the much older man's intentions become more threatening, Mary finds it harder and harder to resist his proposal of marriage. Her family and friends, even her own mother, turn away from her. During the six-year period, from Mary's childhood to a forced marriage at sixteen, Mary must first survive, and then choose her fate. This is the story of survival, love, and compassion in a sometimes heartless existence. It is also the story of Mary's deep conflict with the Church's teachings on plural marriage, and with her father, who has abandoned them. Based on a true story."...filled with rich description that makes its early 20th-century setting and people come alive." -The Salt Lake Tribune"...an emotionally wrenching narrative out of U.S. history."-Kirkus Reviews

    Facebook-worthy baby? Tick. Bikini-body six weeks after giving birth? Um … not so much.Fashion PR exec Ally Bloom got her happy ending. Okay, her marriage might be showing the odd crack, her battleaxe mother-in-law might have come to stay, and she might not be the yummy mummy she'd imagined, but it's nothing a decent night's sleep and a firm commitment to a no-carb diet won't fix.But when Ally returns to work and finds she'll be reporting to a 22-year-old airhead, she decides to turn her back on life as a professional fashionista and embrace her inner earth mama instead.So it's out with the Louboutins and champagne and in with the sensible flats and coffee mornings with the Mummy Mafia. From attending her first grown-up dinner party only to discover that placenta is top of the menu to controlling her monster crush on local playgroup hottie Cameron, Ally must find her feet in the brave new world of the stay-at-home mum.

    But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been the one taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again.But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant and hopeful portrait about womanhood, love, and the challenges of family life.

    Ever since then Jensen has been running from her past. But when Jensen's beloved father is diagnosed with a brain tumor, she returns to her childhood home and the memories of her old life came flooding back- as do the people she's tried to escape.Set against the steamy background of a New England summer, filled with the intensity of first love, and framed by an unforgettable father-daughter relationship, Night Blindness is about risk and redemption, and the ways we are hunted down by what we try to escape.

    Now, twenty years later, the past comes calling and delivers life-changing news: her mother and sister have passed away, leaving Hannah the guardian of her fifteen-year-old niece. Returning home to bitter memories and devastating secrets, Hannah must overcome her painful past to pave a future with her niece, the last best chance at a family for both of them. She begins to create a new, happier life with her niece and rekindles a relationship with Grady Steadman, one of the few people she's ever called a friend. But she can't forget what she cannot forgive, or lay to rest those ghosts that will not die. Will love and trust--and the truth--give her the strength to stand her ground and fight for what she deserves?

    It isn’t the pain of him not being there—loneliness is manageable. The worst thing is not knowing why.When Justin walks out on Alice on their honeymoon, with no explanation apart from a cryptic note, Alice is left alone and bewildered, her life in pieces.Then she meets Evelyn, a visitor to the gallery where she works. It’s a seemingly chance encounter, but Alice gradually learns that Evelyn has motives, and a heartbreaking story, of her own. And that story has haunting parallels with Alice’s life.As Alice delves into the mystery of why Justin left her, the questions are obvious. But the answers may lie in the most unlikely of places…

    Comfy chair, check. Box of tissues, check. You Me Everything is everything you need for a moving, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately joyous read." --Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Map of the HeartSet in the French countryside on an idyllic summer vacation, a delicious, tender novel about finding joy and love even in the most unexpected places.Jess and her ten-year-old son William set off to spend the summer at Ch�teau de Roussignol, deep in the rich, sunlit hills of the Dordogne. There, Jess's ex-boyfriend--and William's father--Adam, runs a beautiful hotel in a restored castle. Lush gardens, a gorgeous pool, delectable French food, and a seemingly never-ending wine list--what's not to like? Jess is bowled over by what Adam has accomplished, but she's in France for a much more urgent reason: to make Adam fall in love with his own son.But Adam has other ideas, and another girlfriend--and he doesn't seem inclined to change the habits of a lifetime just because Jess and William have appeared on the scene. Jess isn't surprised, but William--who has quickly come to idolize his father--wants nothing more than to spend time with him. But Jess can't allow Adam to let their son down--because she is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody--especially William--must discover.By turns heartwrenching and hopeful, You Me Everything is a novel about one woman's fierce determination to grab hold of the family she has and never let go, and a romantic story as heady as a crisp Sancerre on a summer day.

    For Sam, years of infertility, followed by an unthinkable tragedy, have left her despairing of ever having a child. Money is tight, and IVF is expensive. Sam’s only hope may be to ask her sister to be a surrogate. Alex will do anything for Sam, but when the sisters embark upon an unorthodox route to surrogacy, jealousy, guilt, and legal complications soon follow.As the limits of sisterly devotion are tested, the family’s hidden wounds and secret addictions come to light, shaking the foundation of their marriages and their lives.An emotional story of a woman’s struggle with infertility and a riveting book about the complexities of family, Across the Street makes an excellent selection for book clubs.

    During the annual pilgrimage to his hometown, he finds something sweeter than cookies behind the counter at the bakery — Tally's back in town, and his response to her makes it clear the only flaw in his heart is that it's still full of her.AND OTHERS CHANGE FOR THE WORSETally Castle knew twelve years ago she wasn't good enough for Westard's golden boy. While Ben made a success of himself out in the real world, she made an even bigger mess of her life. The one good part of limping home was that he hadn't been around to witness her walk of shame. Now the only man she's ever wanted is back, assaulting her brittle defenses with goofy smiles and serious kisses.CAN SEVEN DAYS CHANGE HEARTACHE TO HAPPILY EVER AFTER?To protect her heart, Tally must remind herself his presence is only temporary. To heal both their hearts, Ben must convince her a week is only the beginning of their second chance.

    And apart from being outstandingly good at paintball, no one would ever know that in a past life she was an undercover spy and has been trained to kill a man with her bare hands. Not even her husband, and certainly not the other mums at the school gate.But beneath the school runs and bake sales, Vicky had never quite said goodbye to the past. So, when a newcomer on the PTA sets alarms bells ringing and MI5 comes calling, she’s determined to prove that despite her expanding waistline and love of pink gin, she’s still every bit the cold-eyed special operative.When the assignment gets uncomfortably close to home, Vicky must decide if she has got what the job takes after all, and if home is really where her heart is…

    Renowned for style, glamour and sophistication, Cavalley’s creates the most luxurious millinery in the world. Talented and beautiful, Violet Cavalley has poured her heart and soul into building her multi-million-pound business and raising her three adored children. But behind the Cavalley family’s gilded façade lies a streak of darkness. Darkness that now threatens to destroy them all...