When a series of dramatic events brings a strange man to her door, Mary emerges from the comfortable isolation that she knows to follow her dreams in Boston. Those desires do not come without sacrifice and hard choices. When her past comes back to haunt her, Mary must decide whether there is room for both her aspirations and her heart—or if she must surrender one to have the other.

    It’s hard, but with Elyse, I’m playing for keeps.

    What Emma discovers is that she hates surprises. When her life is turned upside down and she is suddenly seeing people in a new light, she decides to embrace this opportunity to take a walk on the wild side.Declan loves playing hockey for a living. Who wouldn't? Life as the captain of the professional hockey team, the Milwaukee Manes, is very organized and he likes knowing his main concern is putting the puck in the net. That is until his best friend's sister decides to shake up his life with rules of her own. Before he even knows what is happening, he has completely fallen under Emma's spell.Everything was good... right up until it wasn't. When Declan's best friend finds out about his relationship with Emma, and a ghost from Emma's past resurfaces, the trust they had built with one another shatters around them. Trust has a way of bringing people together just as it has a way of ripping them apart. Will Milwaukee's favorite hockey player find his way back to the one woman who has ever meant more to him than a rubber puck?

    He did it three years in a row (only two others have scored 50 since) before being unceremoniously stripped of his captaincy and traded out of town, and he did it for a promising team that was nonetheless largely stuck at the bottom of the standings. So why isn't his number 22 hanging from the rafters of the Leafs' rink and his name as revered in Leafs lore as Gilmour, Sundin and Clark?You could blame it on a team that lost far more than it won. You could blame Harold Ballard and his erratic ownership. You could blame the fans, the media...Rick Vaive doesn't blame anybody. Sometimes, life just doesn't go your way. He'd know. Growing up in a household plagued by alcoholism, the gifted young hockey player took shelter in the company of his grandmother and a blind and severely disabled uncle. Rick learned quickly that there are more valuable things in life than hockey. Even after his promising coaching career stopped dead when it ran into Don Cherry in Mississauga--one of the worst seasons in Ontario junior hockey history--he still doesn't point fingers. Life is too sweet for regrets, but learning that lesson can be one hell of a ride.

    Tessa Rutledge, once an Olympic champion figure skater, returns as a coach, encountering her first love -- and heartbreak -- and testing her ability to forgive. Alpine skier Kyle Armstrong has made a mistake that could cost her Olympic gold and any hope of reconciling with the man she loves. Biathlete Rikki Lodge is just happy to be at the Games, until she meets a hockey player who demands that she puts everything on the line.Let The Games begin!- - - - -ReviewsMcLinn "wins gold with this sparkling romance! The Games is your ticket behind the cameras and inside the hearts of the winter Olympics." -- Carla Neggers, New York Times bestselling author "Fast-paced, vivid and true-to-life ... captures the personal drama and compelling stories of the greatest sports event on earth. It's a gold-medal winner any fan of the Games will love." -- Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist"The Games accurately portrays the emotional roller coaster an athlete rides . . . The pride, excitement, disappointment, relationships, doubt, relief, joy and all of the pressures . . . all come to a head at the Olympic Games." -- Michael Weiss, U.S. Olympic figure skater "If the aim of The Games is to give readers a vicarious Olympic experience that is lively, entertaining, and emotionally satisfying, it hit its mark dead center." -- Romance Reviews Today More sports romance from Patricia McLinn: HoopsThe Surprise PrincessRodeo NightsWhere Love Lives

    

    As one of the greatest NHL players of all time, he reflects on his 2005-06 rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. From a Canadian phenom dubbed "the next Gretzky" to an 18-year-old carrying the burden of a struggling franchise, he talks candidly about the intense pressure he was under, the surreal experience of lacing up alongside his childhood idol Mario Lemieux and the truth about his rivalry with Alex Ovechkin. Sidney Crosby, with the help of his family, coaches and former teammates, gives listeners an all-access pass to one of the most scrutinized and tumultuous rookie seasons in the history of professional hockey. Hosted by Pittsburgh native and Penguins fan Joe Manganiello.

    As oil prices continue to plummet, the economic outlook grows bleaker by the day. Political changes have ushered in an era of uncertainty. And, as though mirroring the city’s fortunes, the Edmonton Oilers continue to struggle on the ice, offering little solace or escape to the city’s long-suffering hockey fans. But on June 26, 2015, hope was reborn in Edmonton. With the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers selected Connor McDavid, a once-in-a-generation talent who, at only eighteen years old, was already being compared to the Great One who had preceded him twenty-five years earlier. Sparked by the arrival of McDavid, the construction of a new state-of-the-art hockey arena, and the development of a revitalized downtown core, a new sensibility began to emerge in Edmonton. Sensing an opportunity, the city started to rebuild and rebrand itself in search of a new future. Through exclusive access, uplifting anecdotes, and colourful interviews, The McDavid Effect traces the renewal of not just a hockey team, but of an entire city. Reflecting the multitude of viewpoints that make up Edmonton—from Connor himself to construction crews at work on the downtown development to business executives directing the new shape of the Albertan capital—The McDavid Effect paints a portrait of the city as it is being reimagined, captures the near-religious reverence people have for sports, and shows how the people of Edmonton are coming to hope again.

    It's become more expensive, more exclusive, and effectively off-limits to huge swaths of the potential sports-loving population. Youth registration numbers are stagnant; efforts to appeal to new Canadians are often grim at best; the game, increasingly, does not resemble the country of which it's for so long been an integral part. These signs worried Sean Fitz-Gerald. As a lifelong hockey fan and father of a young mixed-race son falling headlong in love with the game, he wanted to get to the roots of these issues. His entry point: a season with the Peterborough Petes, a storied OHL team far from its former glory in a once-emblematic Canadian city that is finding itself on the wrong side of the country's changing demographics. Fitz-Gerald profiles the players, coaches and front office staff, a mix of world-class talents with NHL aspirations and Peterborough natives happy with more modest dreams. Through their experiences, their widely varied motivations and expectations, we get a rich, colourful understanding of who ends up playing hockey in Canada and why. Fitz-Gerald interweaves the action of the season with portraits of public figures who've shaped and been shaped by the game: authors who captured its spirit, politicians who exploited it, and broadcasters who try to embody and sell it. He finds his way into community meetings full of angry season ticket holders, as well as into sterile boardrooms full of the sport's institutional brain trust, unable to break away from the inertia of tradition and hopelessly at war with itself. Before the Lights Go Out is a moving, funny, yet unsettling picture of a sport at a crossroads. Fitz-Gerald's warm but rigorous journalistic approach reads, in the end, like a letter to a troubled friend: it's not too late to save hockey in this country, but who has the will to do it?

    Meet Philadelphia Flyer Wayne Simmonds and Paralympian gold medalist Greg Westlake, who wouldn’t be at the top of their sport without the never-ending support of their families and communities. See how they’re giving back to show young hockey hopefuls that anything is possible. Read about players like Ben Fanelli, who overcame catastrophic injury to keep playing the game he loved and is using his story as a platform to help others, or the renowned Canadian neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Tator, who is leading the charge to protect athletes from the dangers of brain trauma and concussion. From hockey commentators Andi Petrillo and Harnarayan Singh, who broke down barriers to be on air, to Karina Potvin, the youth hockey coach welcoming Syrian boys and girls to Canada by introducing them to our national pastime, these are the stories of everyday hockey heroes—those who defy the odds, advocate for inclusion, and champion the next generation of hockey. From small-town rinks to big city arenas across the country, this collection celebrates everyone who loves our great game. Heartwarming and entertaining, Everyday Hockey Heroes is a must-read for every hockey fan.

    Will Rising had dragged himself from humble beginnings to his own small tailoring business in Gloucester - and on the way he'd fallen violently in love with Florence, refined, delicate, and wanting something better for her children. March was the eldest girl, the least loved, the plain, unattractive one who, as the family grew, became more and more the household drudge. But March, a strange, intelligent, unhappy child, had inherited some of her mother's dreams. March Rising was determined to break out of the round of poverty and hard work, to find wealth, and love, and happiness.

    Sukie O’Leary has survived breast cancer, a career change and a whole town of nosy neighbors...But can she survive the searing attraction for the local hockey hero who’s owned her heart since childhood? Does she have the strength to survive the one night of passion they’ve promised each other without getting burned? Or should she listen to the whispers of her knowing heart– and take a chance on love.

    Going through a public divorce with two young children doesn’t make him an eligible bachelor even if he is making seven figures as a professional hockey player. Somehow, he wins the affection of Amanda Brown, an Ice Princess with red hair, a disarming smile, and a warmth that immediately draws him in and makes him feel safe.But his ex isn’t going to make things easy for him when she finds out - even though it was her indiscretions that led to their divorce in the first place.Three months into it and she can leave at any time. He may be serious about her but they aren’t serious - yet. And if Rita gets her way, Amanda will walk out of his life and never look back.

    Now she’s back to make amends with Jamie Babcock, the only man she’s ever loved, but he isn’t willing to forgive and forget. Heartbroken, Jamie refuses to reopen old wounds—no matter how much he still loves her. At some point, he’s got to draw the line.But Katie realizes she’s got the biggest battle of her life on the line—one she can’t win without Jamie by her side. In the game of love, all bets are off. Katie’s Dropping her Gloves to fight for both the life she craves and the man she loves. But is Jamie too proud to end the standoff so he can finally have the one he truly wants?HOME ICETough-as-nails Portland Storm head coach Mattias Bergstrom is hard on his players, molding them into heroes on the ice. He’d never let them see his warm, soft side—something he saves only for his younger sister, who has special needs. But when a hockey event brings a sexy, single mother and her four rambunctious daughters into his life, that icy exterior quickly melts away for her youngest, who reminds him of his dear sister.Paige Calhoun has her hands full with four teenage daughters who are beyond boy crazy. Throw crushes on hockey players into the mix, and they’re almost too much to handle. But when Paige meets the Storm’s all-business but irresistible coach, she finds herself as smitten as her girls, and Mattias couldn’t be happier. With a Home Ice advantage, Mattias lets his icy exterior melt away to prove to Paige how hot they can be together.MISTLETOE MISCONDUCTEveryone deserves a second chance.As general manager of the Portland Storm, Jim Sutter knows this all too well. And he’s in the perfect position to grant second chances like he’s Santa Claus—even if he never gives himself one. When his friends take matters into their own hands, Jim might just get the holiday surprise of a lifetime.Elaine Sutter is finally ready to forgive her ex-husband for his past transgressions and find a future with him again. So when she discovers his online dating profile, she sets up a secret meeting with the only man she’s really ever loved. Her only goal this holiday season is to stuff Jim’s stocking with a Santa-sized dose of forgiveness and a sleigh full of love. After all, a bit of mistletoe could wipe out all of Jim’s previous misconduct and pave the way for a little fun under that holiday sprig.LOSING AN EDGETired of being the second-best Babcock, Levi “501” Babcock is ready to outshine his older brother. Outranking his brother proves harder than he imagined—until he meets a sinfully sexy gold-medal-winning figure skater. She might be the prize he’s been searching for all along.Bubbly and spirited Cadence Johnson is determined to escape the shackles of her former partner. Moving to Portland gives her the fresh start she’s craved, but the last thing she can afford is a distraction like Levi Babcock.When Cadence’s past comes back to threaten her and her life is on the line, Levi might be the safety net she never realized she needed. But will Levi still care about Losing an Edge to his biggest rival, or can he finally step out of his brother’s shadow to become the hero in his own game?GAME BREAKERHe’s becoming a Game Breaker on the ice.With the playoffs right around the corner, Nate “Ghost” Golston is focused on only one thing—getting the Portland Storm to the Finals so he can finally hoist the Cup. But when opposing teams’ fans start getting under his skin, he can’t ignore the ridicule that’s suddenly all over the Internet. With each degrading word slung over the boards, he strains to keep his focus on the ice. Now, everything he’s worked for is in jeopardy.She’s facing off with the Game Makers.Stunning sports reporter and aspiring filmmaker Anne Dennison is determined to use her smarts to get ahead in a male-dominated career. Producing a behind-the-scenes web series brings Anne up close and personal with skilled, sexy Nate. Sparks fly, putting her plans in danger. For Anne to succeed, she has to capitalize on Nate’s struggles.Wanting to be together, they know they must bend for each other before one of them breaks. If they can’t, it’s Game Over.

    But when she’s passed over at tryouts for being a girl, she’ll do anything to make her dream a reality…even disguising herself as her twin brother. With her amazing skills on the ice, Alice is sure she’ll fit in easily. That is, until she starts falling for one of her teammates…Hayden Tremblay, star of the Falcons, can’t keep himself out of the penalty box. Constantly living in the shadow of his older brother, Hayden’s losing his passion for hockey. But when he gets shown up on the ice by the Falcons’ new rookie, Hayden’s determined to teach the kid a thing or two. Little does he guess that “Al’s” surprises on the ice are just the beginning...