The 1960–70s image, bolstered by Tom Wolfe and Big Wednesday, was one of mild outlaws―tanned boys refusing to grow up, spending their days drinking beer and smoking joints on the beach in between mindless hours in the water.But in the 1980s, as surf brands morphed into multibillion-dollar companies, the derelict portrait began to harm business. The external surf image became Kelly Slater and Laird Hamilton, beacons of health, vitality, bravery, and clean-living.Internally, though, surfing had moved on from booze and weed to its heart’s true home, its soul’s twin flame: cocaine. The rise of cocaine in American popular culture as the choice of rich, white elites was matched, then quadrupled, within surf culture. The parties got wilder, the nights stretched longer, the stories became more ridiculously unbelievable. And there has been no stopping, no dip in passion.It is a forbidden love, and few, if any, outside the surf world know about this particular rhapsody. Drug use is kept very well-hidden, even from insiders, but evidence of its psychosis rears its head from time to time in the form of overdoses, bar fights, surf contests, murders, and cover-ups.Cocaine + Surfing draws back the curtain on a hopped-up, sometimes-sexy, sometimes-deadly relationship and uses cocaine as the vehicle to expose and explain the utterly absurd surf industry to outsiders.

     I kissed my employee. I didn’t know she was my employee at the time. The next day she walks into my office and I'm shocked. She has stumbled on evidence of an embezzlement scheme going on right under my nose. It's my first day on the job, and it’s not going well. I panic and tell her to mind her own business and stick to work that’s meant for her. So she quits. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I need her help to figure out who is doing the skimming. It means I’ve got to do something I never do and beg her to come back and help me. Problem is, anytime we’re in the same room I can’t focus on anything but making this woman mine. And if feelings get involved? Yeah right. I'm Bryson Stafford and I don't let feelings get involved. But Tessa has shown she’s the exception to every rule. Filthy Boss is a safe standalone with no cliffhanger, and a guaranteed HEA.

    She is there to avenge the mistreatment of her best friend, Zara. Simon begs for mercy, claiming he has no knowledge of anyone called Zara. What has happened to Zara to create such an extreme reaction from her best friend?Kiss My Name follows the lives of several characters from childhood in the 1980s to adult life in the twenty first century. As several of them gather in Blackpool, for a Stag Do and a Hen Do, mayhem ensues. Has Simon cheated on his wife to be and will he make it to the church at all?

     Free BONUS Inside! Whether you approve or disapprove, globalization is an inescapable feature of the modern world. Trade between nations and continents is now commonplace, and this exchange of goods is inevitably accompanied by the exchange of ideas and cultures. This is not, as you might expect, a new phenomenon. A series of trade routes which were first established almost two thousand years ago provided one of the first examples of intercontinental trade. Although these overland routes between Europe and Asia were not generally given a name during the period when they were in use, a nineteenth German writer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, used the name by which they have become famous; he called them the Seidenstrasse (the Silk Road). Of course, it wasn’t just silk that was traded on these routes—many other commodities traveled in both directions. For more than one thousand years, the Silk Road (or rather roads; there were actually several routes) provided the main trading link between east and west, which also enabled an exchange of philosophy, art, culture, and religion. It wasn’t until new maritime trade routes were established in the fifteenth century that the Silk Road finally began to decline in importance. It is difficult to overestimate the impact the Silk Road had on the development of civilization in both Europe and Asia. Without this trade route, the civilization of both continents would almost certainly have developed very differently. This is the story of the Silk Road. Discover a plethora of topics such as The Han Dynasty The War of the Heavenly Horses The Silk Trade A Route for New Ideas Marco Polo The Decline of the Silk Road And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on the Silk Road, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

    But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

    Fierce. Relentless.Everything I do I do for my family name.Now they’re giving me another task—take the bride my father chooses for me. They call it business. I call it revenge. Only one empire with mafia ties can rule.I’ll use her as a pawn. Break her down. She’s already damaged from the life she’s led. But then something happens.She rises from the ashes…and learns how to break me too.**A hero with an out-of-control possessive streak and the woman forced to be his bride. The claws come out, but the surrender is so sweet… DAMAGED BRIDE is a novella-length romance and first in the Blood Empire Series. Happily Ever After? You’ll have to take a chance.**

    Spending three decades in love with a wonderful but unattainable man is pretty high up on her list of missteps, as is a long line of unsuccessful love affairs accompanied by a seemingly endless supply of delicious cocktails.When the young bride flees—taking with her a family heirloom and leaving behind six hundred bewildered guests—her mother offers Margo fifty grand to retrieve her spoiled brat of a daughter and the invaluable property she stole. So, together with the bride’s jilted and justifiably crabby fiancé, Margo sets out in a borrowed 1955 red MG on a cross-country chase. Along the way, none of what she discovers will be quite what she expected. But it might be exactly what she’s been seeking all along.From acclaimed humor writer Jane Lotter comes this madcap, laugh-out-loud adventure, The Bette Davis Club. Revised edition: This edition of The Bette Davis Club includes editorial revisions.

    But that's exactly what she finds when she returns from being out of town. Worse, the bear has been deliberately trapped by the shop's owner, Will Parker.Will is starting a new life in the town of Reindeer Ridge. His shop, The Big Bear, sells novelty items while also providing guests the chance to see a live bear kept humanely upstairs. Unfortunately, the shop owner across the way seems to be determined to have his shop closed down.But Annaliese soon begins to realize that Will isn’t the bad guy she wants to make him out to be. As their feelings for each other start to grow, they both begin to realize the importance of compromise.This book was previously included in the December 2020 anthology, Small-Town Christmas. The rest of the series was not part of that anthology.The Reindeer Ridge series is a sweet, clean contemporary Christmas series filled with swoon-worthy heroes and a small-town setting.

    It is then that Annabel's best friend, fashion designer Lilly Clayton, sets herself on a mission to draw Annabel out of her shell. In an attempt to persuade Annabel to keep an open mind on dating, Lilly takes Annabel for a stunning makeover, but after Annabel passes on a date with a dashing entrepreneur, Lilly decides that more drastic measures are needed. Lilly invites Annabel to see a palm reader who gives Annabel a lucky charm that is supposed to help her find true love.A few weeks later, during her trip to Paris, Annabel meets a handsome Parisian, and as the two embark on a whirlwind romance, she starts to believe in the power of the talisman the palm reader has given her. But what Annabel doesn't know is that Lilly is hiding a secret that could unravel her faith in her newly found luck in love.

    Even with his trusted buddy Hondo at his side, medical discharge feels like just another test he didn’t study for—what the hell is civilian life anyway? A friend sends him to Montana to heal and the Brotherhood Protectors give him a place, and a purpose. No one taught her to stay over the safety net…Ex-CIA asset, Wanda Aiken is working overtime to keep her grandfather’s Merry Circus afloat. Coming back had never been a part of the plan, but she’s burnt on operations and family is family. When a series of accidents threaten to sideline the whole operation, she’s torn between going old school, and throwing in the towel.No one taught them how to not go it alone…Sent to protect Wanda, Brick’s not prepared for the stubborn, infuriating woman determined to do it her way. All he needs is one foot to get in the center ring. Fortunately Hondo has four paws and Wanda’s charmed by him.

    Don't call me anything else, because I won't respond. And if you think you can get away with whimpering ‘Matt’ while I have you tied to the bed, about to devour you, it'll end up being your loss.Men like me don't talk about feelings. We just don't.What men like me do is pound. I pound the asphalt with my running shoes on morning runs. I pound a punching bag in the gym until my knuckles bleed. And when I need a release, I find a beautiful woman sprawled out on her bed, eagerly waiting for my cock, and pound her into oblivion. Yeah, that's me. I don't have feelings, and I don't do love.At least I didn't, until the night Ella walked into my office looking like a disgusting junkie to interview for a position for The Onyx Club.She was like no one I'd ever met before. She was timid, reserved, and quite plain with her mousy brown hair and dirty clothes. Ella also had a dark and haunted gleam in her eye. A secret, a past she was desperate to conceal.And when she called me ‘Matt’ it didn't seem to bother me.She came into my life and turned it upside down. The only question is, can I screw her out of my system, or will my filthy desire for her keep her by my side?

    The Cornish Confetti Agency is heading to Tuscany!Why not join Lexie as she co-ordinates Isla and Nico’s wedding in gorgeous Florence?

     Life is sweet for Joanna until the day she gets a call from a lawyer in Greece that knocks her for six. Her father, whom she has never met, has died. Her late mother was always reticent to discuss a vacation romance she had over two decades ago on a tiny Greek island called Skiathos, and Joanna - a hopeless romantic at heart - has always tried to fill in the blanks. According to the lawyer, her father has left her an inheritance. The condition? Joanna must travel to the island to see it for herself...

    Only on successful completion of the journey to a prescribed route, will the car be hers…’Home-loving Laurie thinks she’s happy – she has a safe, reliable boyfriend and working in her local library is what she thought she always wanted. That is until she inherits a vintage Ferrari from her eccentric Uncle Miles and the conditions of the inheritance are far from simple. To keep the car Laurie will have to drive across Europe with the gorgeous but unreliable Cameron Matthews as her guide… and Cam’s motives for helping are not all that altruistic.Cam isn’t particularly thrilled about escorting his late pal Miles’ dull mouse of a niece on this wild goose chase but all he has to do is get Laurie safely to Italy and he’s sure the Ferrari is his.But Uncle Miles had a few tricks up his sleeve and the route he’s planned takes Cam and Laurie on a road trip they’ll never forget. From sampling the delights of the Loire Valley to the breathtaking beauty of Lake Garda, this is one journey that has more twists and turns than either of them could ever have imagined…

    But events don't go as planned. And when a girl is in possession of a crumpled bridesmaid dress - and can't go home - New York (for the very first time) seems like an excellent idea. Angela's new friend Jenny Lopez gives Angela a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps, and a makeover. Who hasn't dreamed of starting afresh with a sassy New York wardrobe, a new haircut and a trip to the make-up counter? Before she knows it, the new Angela is getting over her broken heart by having dinner with two different boys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her fabulous new blog. But it's one thing telling readers all about your romantic dilemmas. It's another trying to figure them out for yourself! Warm, funny and unputdownable, I Heart New York is an unforgettable debut.