They are heroes in the eyes of boys and girls and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that positively represents their community.”The public loves a good scandal. Seeing someone fall from the pinnacle of success makes a great headline. No one knows that better than I do. What started out as a promising career in college football, spiraled into scandal and shame. But being a hero is easier said then done. Especially when there are those who expected to see the great Brody Madden fail. I craved nothing except being the best—willing to do anything to prove them wrong. But I went too far, and I tried too hard, and it broke me.“At the time of going to print, Jordan Elliott was unavailable for comment.” I met Brody Madden in my senior year of college. An Australian native on an international scholarship, I was the female soccer sensation with stars in her eyes and no room for a hotshot wide receiver with a chip on his shoulder.But a heart bursting with ambition and a driving fire to succeed isn’t made of stone. I became his strength, his obsession, and the greatest love of his life. Only I wasn’t there when he needed me most.This is a story about love and a game that takes everything. Where the path to glory is paved with sacrifice. Where pressure makes you, or breaks you, and triumph is born in the ashes of failure. Where two people’s end game will change everything.

    He only pretended to be until my real date showed up.To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.Before he left, he slipped me a ticket to a hockey game a few blocks away, in case things didn’t work out on my actual date.I tossed the ticket into my purse and went about trying to enjoy the man I was supposed to meet.But my real blind date and I had no connection.So on my way home, I decided to take a chance and stop by the game.When I arrived, the seat next to me was empty.Disappointed again, I decided to leave at the end of the period.Just before the buzzer, one of the teams scored, and the entire arena went crazy.A player’s face flashed up on the Jumbotron. He was wearing a helmet, but I froze when he smiled.You guessed it: Dimples.Apparently, my fake blind date hadn’t invited me to watch hockey with him, he’d invited me to watch him play.And so began my adventure with Max Yearwood.He was everything I needed at the time—fun, sexy, up for anything, and only around for a few months since he’d signed with a new team three-thousand miles away.Max proposed we spend the summer helping me forget my ex. It sounded like a good plan. Things couldn’t get too serious when we had an expiration date. Right? Though, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.

    As long as the non-offending team maintains possession, the referee allows play to continue and signals a delayed penalty by raising his arm.I’m Evan Mason, an NHL hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks. I spend my nights roughing up two hundred pound defensemen and, at times, spend more time in the penalty box than I do on the ice.That’s my job. One night changed everything I thought I once knew about my life on, and off, the ice. A girl. A brutally beaten girl left to die in an alley.I don’t know why or how but something made me stay that night after taking her to the hospital. I didn’t know her, nor did I have an obligation to stay but something inside of me rooted me there telling me I should stay. Saving a life is worth something. At least I thought so. And I wouldn’t have been me if I just simply left her there. Any man who put his heart and soul into a game of hockey couldn’t just walk away when someone needed them. She had no one else right now. The same guy who saw determination where there was desire, now saw hope where there was once despair.I couldn’t leave. That wouldn’t be me. No, not a man that put all he had into something some called just a game. I couldn’t walk away from her holding onto life, weak and powerless to something she had no control over.So I stayed. In a room full of family members praying for their loved ones to pull through, I prayed for a girl I didn’t know and had never met before, to have a beating heart. While others’ sorrows turned to grieving pain, I sat waiting on the words of the unknown.No bond is stronger than the ones you’ll bleed for.

    Very nearly. Not quite. Three years later, Jess has managed to make everyone believe she's better. Over it. Because she is....Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.Unfortunately, until Jess proves she's back to normal activities, her parents won't discuss college. So, she lands a summer internship and strikes a deal with hockey jock, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000. She gets a fake boyfriend and a social life. Jess has no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money. She also never expects to fall in love. But Gray’s amazingly hot, holds her hand all the time, and makes her forget that he’s simply doing his job. It’s like having a real boyfriend....Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.Gray Porter is hiding secrets of his own. About Jess Jordan. About why he’s driven to protect her, why he won't cash her checks, or deny her anything she asks.

    Blending in is something Blue has longed for her entire life. Living in a dorm with a set of new friends is just what she needed to escape her stale life back home. For the first time, she’s seen for her talent and not her name or looks.Cheer is her number one priority, considering a full-ride scholarship landed her at a prestigious university, and she intends to take advantage of it. A true beauty inside and out, Blue’s heart has always pumped competitive blood. Until one night changes her forever…the beauty is gone, and all she has left are nasty, ugly memories. The man who saved her has a story of his own, with ninety percent of his body scarred. What happens when the Beauty falls for the Beast?

    The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase... he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil. I tried to stay away. I couldn’t. Then, the team started losing. Women started dying. And everything in my world broke apart.

    Hockey’s in my blood, and not to sound full of myself, but I’m good at it... really good. The draft is within my reach — it’s mine to take — but that’s not the only reason people know my name. They know me because of my way with women. They know the score, and I aim to please. I just tend to stay away from repeat performances. In other words, I don’t do relationships beyond my family and friends. I’m happy with life. However, I should warn you that my story and how I see it playing out is about to change due to a certain redhead on campus.She’s beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking.She’s my game changer.***He’s trouble from the moment I see him. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but from the moment I meet his gaze, I’m his. It’s a scary feeling.I’ve never trusted anyone outside my aunt and uncle — and even that took months. I didn’t have it easy growing up. My mom was usually strung out, and she didn’t give me a second thought. Drugs and the men who paid her were more important to her. It was horrible, but I’m stronger today. Because of my past, security is what I need most. Money assures me that I can take care of myself today, tomorrow, and next month. I don’t want to ever be hungry or go without again, so I work hard for every penny.Oh, by the way, I’m Claire Anderson. I’m a hard-studying sophomore at the University of Bellevue, dancer for the school dance team, and a burlesque dancer at a club, but that’s my secret.You may think you know how our story ends, but you have no clue. It’s not easy falling in love… or living happily ever after. At first it may seem so, but when is anything worth having ever won without a fight?Especially when you’re boarded by love.

    With flashy cars and enough media attention to put the Royal Family to shame, I’m the definition of Most Eligible Bachelor. I've never met a man who doesn't want to be me or a woman who doesn't want to tame me. Until I meet Camila. From the moment I lay eyes on her, I know I have to have her. She wants to keep me at arm's length.I want her naked in my bed. She thinks our worlds are too different.All I want her to think about is screaming my name. She says I’m bad news. I have three weeks to prove her wrong.

    From the outside, her life seems charmed. She has a handsome, long-term boyfriend and a budding journalism career at a popular Chicago newspaper. But in reality, her relationship is going nowhere, and she’s quickly losing motivation for what she once believed was her dream job. When her boyfriend dumps her unceremoniously, Kate loses all hope of finding love.With no living family and few friends, Kate confides in her boss. Trusting that the hungry, ace reporter is buried somewhere deep inside, he gives Kate the opportunity to jumpstart her career. The assignment: to interview the famously reclusive R.J. Lawson, a wealthy tech genius who disappeared years ago but recently reemerged as a Napa Valley vintner. The week takes an unexpected turn, however, when Lawson refuses to divulge any information. Desperate for a lead, Kate turns to Jamie, a vineyard hand who shows her the romance of wine country—and stirs her aching heart. But his connection to Lawson is ambiguous, and when Jamie disappears before the end of the week, Kate is left to investigate another story: the truth behind the man who stole her heart.USA TODAY bestselling author Renée Carlino explored love and heartbreak in her beautifully written debut Sweet Thing, and her newest novel does not disappoint. For fans of Colleen Hoover, K.A. Tucker, and Katja Millay, Nowhere But Here is a stirring and satisfying romance that you won’t want to put down.

    She also has no filter.”“He’s no southern gentlemen.”“I had one last season to prove my worth.”“I’d never seen a game.”“He told me he was a player.”“She told me she was a lesbian.”“But you fell in love with me anyway.”“Yeah, baby, I totally did.”

    Hot shot. MVP.I've been called it all.I was the real deal, baby.The diamond was my battlefield.Women were the victory celebration.My "Lucky" streak was a given.On and off the field.Then I slept with the wrong woman,And she cursed me.Literally.Turned my game upside-down,In the ballpark...and bedroom.Now my team is paying the price.My last hope is Cali Jones,A smart and sexy physician assistant.Her Midas touch may fix my swing,Repair my equipment.But will it be enough to cure my hard luck?

    She sets out for Winston University, promising herself that she will remain focused on her first and only love – astronomy. But all it takes is cocky sophomore Brax Jenkins and an accidental collision with a football, to throw her entire year off course. A quick-tempered Southie who escaped the inner city streets of Boston to pitch for Winston, Brax is known to play way more fields than just the baseball diamond. So, when his name is drawn to take part in his fraternity’s hazing dare, Brax eagerly accepts the mission to take Olivia’s virginity. But he doesn’t plan on falling hard for the sweet and sassy Texas girl who sees right through his bad-boy persona. As Olivia and Brax battle their feelings for each other, echoes of the past year begin to surface. A boy who once turned Olivia’s whole world upside down reappears, and “harmless” pranks wreak havoc. Pretty soon the aspiring astronomer is on the verge of revealing her most difficult, heartbreaking secret. All the while, Brax must wrestle with the irrevocable dare, and Olivia struggles against all logic as she does the one thing only a stupid girl would do: fall in love.

    And don’t read this book if you don’t like sassy, strong-willed, fiercely independent heroines who use phrases like “bossy asshole” as a term of endearment. You have been warned.*“Tattooed package of sin.” That’s how Savannah Ryan would describe her new boss, Declan Whitmore, the deliciously tatted and pierced fighter who holds the top spot in Boston’s newest underground fighting organization. She’d also describe him as bossy, arrogant, and—depending on what he does to piss her off that particular day—an asshole.It’s that aloof attitude, along with Savannah’s witty comebacks and tight little body that land her on his radar. Unfortunately for her, Declan is relentless when he sets his sights on someone, both in and out of the ring. Unfortunately for him, this recently reformed bad girl is trying to go straight after heading down a dangerous path. She’s not going to make this easy for him. In fact, she’s going to make it—and him—very, very hard.Declan’s not worried, though. He’ll have Savannah come hell or high water, because if there’s one word he’d use to describe her, it’s “MINE.”Genre: New Adult, ContemporaryAges: 18+

    I've been running away from the memories that haunt me for so long that depression has become my only comfort. I was content in the darkness...until Wes Michals offered to be my light.I didn't know that time wasn't my ally -- that every second that ticked past was one step closer to the end of something that was beginning to mean the end of myself. He tried to warn me. He promised me all he was able to offer--each moment as it came--but it would never be enough.Sometimes when you think it's the end, it's only the beginning. Wes thought he could save me, but in giving me everything, he ruined me. Because after one kiss, one touch, I couldn't--I wouldn't ever be the same.And from that moment on, his heartbeat became my own.

    But how does she stop being one of the guys and learn to find the right one? Finding herself won't be easy, finding love will be even harder. Meeting Jay opens Asia's eyes to the possibility of love and unbelievable sex but can his country club world accept the woman more comfortable in torn jeans and flip flops? Or will she find the love she yearns for in the tattooed arms of her first love, a pro skater who has come back into her life? With the possibility of new love or closure from a painful first love, finding her path is riddled with uncertainty and discoveries but before she can follow her heart she must first set it free.**Not recommended for younger readers due to sexual content, recreational use of marijuana and language.**