It is a classic love story—with some modern twists.Janet Rossi is very smart and unusually attractive, an aide to the governor of Massachusetts, but she suffers from an illness that makes her, as she puts it, “not exactly a good long-term investment.” Jake Entwhistle is a few years older, a carpenter and portrait painter, smart and good-looking too, but with a shadow over his romantic history. After meeting by accident—literally—when Janet backs into Jake’s antique truck, they begin a love affair marked by courage, humor, a deep and erotic intimacy . . . and modern complications.Working with the basic architecture of the love story genre, Merullo—a former carpenter known for his novels about family life—breaks new ground with a fresh look at modern romance, taking liberties with the classic design, adding original lines of friendship, spirituality, and laughter, and, of course, probing the mystery of love.

    But the endless journey across the frontier was proving a heartbreaking test of courage and endurance for Faith Beal. All she had to sustain her was her steadfast belief in a loving God--and the guiding hand of a stranger who truly seemed heaven-sent. Connell McClain was her selfless guardian as their wagon train slowly made its way west. And as they shared the dangers of the trail--and the closeness of a covered wagon--Faith felt the first tender stirrings of love for this roughhewn yet caring man. But would the secrets that seemed to haunt him threaten their growing feelings for one another?

    He's gorgeous, he's funny - and he's very keen. Just what a girl needs to put some sparkle in her life. Heavens, he's practically perfect! Greg likes Miranda a lot. She's young, she's pretty, and she never talks about babies. Of course he hasn't told her everything about himself - even the sweetest girls can be a bit funny about a man who's just left his newly pregnant wife. But there's no way she's going to find out - or is there?Luckily for Miranda men are like buses - you don't see any for ages then three come along at once. She just needs to catch the right one...

    Jake just can't resist a damsel in distress, and Amy certainly doesn't mind Jake's charming sincerity.Then suddenly the job-stealing chicken disappears and Amy is suspected of foul play. Amy and Jake search for clues to prove her innocence. But will Jake be able to prove to Amy that love, too, is a mystery worth solving?

    Chance meetings between its cast of inimitably odd individuals—Ruby, the betting-shop cashier; violently disturbed (and disturbing) Vincent; Samantha, the would-be cabaret singer; and Little Buttercup, the never-quite-made-it greyhound—result in the unlikeliest of couples. There’s always the risk that it could all be disastrous as characters try—or don’t try—to make winning combinations. But as Ruby, the story’s soft-centered heroine, observes: “Losing, that’s the whole point of the gamble.”Dazzling, gritty, and surprising, Reversed Forecast is the uniquely entertaining first novel by Nicola Barker, previously shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and winner of the Hawthornden Prize and IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. “Beautifully rendered—well written, clear and revelatory.” —The Times (London) “A capital fairy tale.” —The Guardian “A strange and wonderful novel.” —The Sunday Times (London) “An imaginative lowlife tale, told with acuteness and verve.” —The Literary Review Nicola Barker’s eight previous novels include Darkmans (short-listed for the 2007 Man Booker and Ondaatje prizes, and winner of the Hawthornden Prize), Wide Open (winner of the 2000 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award), and Clear (long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2004). She has also written two prize-winning collections of short stories, and her work has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in East London.

    Everyone just loves Lily, and Leo can't help but notice that beneath that oh-so-sensible exterior is a passionate woman longing to break free. Leo finds Lily irresistible, trouble is, she might be filching millions of dollars from the Kimballs' overfilled coffers.Lily Rigby knew from the start that Leo Friday wasn't just another accountant sent to balance the Kimball family books. First, there were all those attractive muscles, a sure sign he did more in his spare time than crunch numbers. Then there were all those pesky questions about her personal life. But when he took her in his arms and gave her the most pulse-pounding kiss of her life, Lily was almost ready to put her suspicions aside. He couldn't be on to her—could he?

    Henry's faithful, he adores her madly, and he's great fun to sleep with. So who needs the additional heartache?But even armed with powerful knowledge and a new resolve, Izzy starts to feel that familiar itch ... and it's all because of Nick. He's a vet for goodness sake -- confident, handsome and compassionate -- if a bit rough around the edges. After teasing her about Henry's unusual looks and questioning her most recent choice in men, Nick then has the gall to turn halfway charming. But he doesn't stop at halfway, and though she already has a best friend, Izzy realizes it doesn't preclude her from having a perfect match, too.

    He'd made love to Eva Tremont in his mind countless times, but now he was determined to marry her. And he had a secret weapon to persuade her....Griffin's proposal was outrageous; it was shocking; it was...tempting. The man she'd kept at arm's length for so long promised to make her baby dreams a reality, to give her unimaginable pleasure. But would marrying Griffin be too high a price to pay?

    Glamorous jet-setter Robin Lear gets a crash course in Reality 101 when her father demotes her from her cushy job in the family business. And thanks to a sexy contractor, her scrap-metal love life is about to undergo some major renovations.

    But they were so wrong....And Audra was in the mood to prove it. How? By takingtheir dare. The challenge? To seduce the very next manthrough the club door--regardless of who he was...What the classy chick at the bar saw in his suspect wasanybody's guess. But undercover cop Jesse Martinezwould make it his business to find out. Because no guy--unless he was dead from the neck down--would missthe chance to investigate the curvy brunette, too....

    Her decision to appear as a witness in a bribery trial had placed her in peril so great, Shane had been assigned to protect her. He wanted her to be guilty -- he'd be safe then -- but he knew she wasn't, and he found her innocence irresistible. Faith had no business loving a fierce, dangerous heartbreaker, but she needed to know how it felt to have a man want her as much as Shane did. Lonely, haunted by demons, he'd spent too much time on the dark side, undercover in a world of betrayal. Faith was his shot at sanctuary, his anchor in a an unseen storm that threatened to overwhelm them both. But Shane had always lived in shadows, unwilling to share the risks that came with his job. Could Faith make him see that their two hearts shared one destiny, that he was the end of her rainbow -- and she'd dare anything to have him?

    Devastation rocks her very existence when handsome Nick Stiles walks out on her, leaving her to put the shattered pieces of her life back together again. Months later, out of the blue, Nick reappears and is in for the shock of his life A love that once was so pure is plagued by heartbreak, deceit, and betrayal. Will Summer and Nick find true love again?

    One thing she doesn’t know is how to be a mother. So when a cruel twist of fate claims her sister’s life and leaves Raina with custody of her six-year-old niece, Zoe, Raina can think of only one place to turn. Zoe’s father has to be out there somewhere, and she intends to find him. When sexy sports agent Spencer Davis is confronted by the feisty beauty, he is torn. He does not believe he is the father of Raina’s niece. Yet he is reluctant to let the beguiling chef slip away. Soon he and Raina are engaged in a passionate liaison that is both unwise and inevitable. With Zoe’s parentage still in question, Spencer knows their relationship may be short-lived. But his longing for Raina is quickly outweighing his judgment, and he is willing to risk everything on the chance that they might be meant for each other …

    

    Yet when irresistible redhead Rosie Harrison drops into his life and disrupts his peace, Joshua's desires begin to change. Can he convince her to hang around long enough to meet him under the mistletoe? Snowbound Bride by Shirley JumpA Christmas Eve blizzard leaves Marietta stranded in an airport with Reed Hartstone, the only man to ever break her heart. Perhaps rekindling the past may actually be their perfect Christmas present. Their Christmas Vows by Margaret McDonaghFrazer McIntosh knows exactly what he wants for Christmas--Callie Grogan. Despite his reputation as a fun-loving Romeo, Frazer is serious about his beautiful colleague. Serious enough to love her forever, if only she'll agree to be his Christmas bride....