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Illuminated by Rachel Song


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Ashes


Gail Haris - 2021
    Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes Worlds project. Featuring Collins from Combust. All that remains are ashes…Fighting fires is in his blood. It’s more than a job—it’s part of who Carter Collins is. Everything was going according to plan until one fateful night. With only his brothers at the Sunnyville Fire Department and his grandmother to answer to, Collins is content with life the way it is. His heart of ash isn’t capable of being in a relationship—but then she comes along. Natalia Vasquez took a position at the Sunnyville Hospital to leave her old life behind with hopes to escape the permeant ache in her chest. When a fire her destroys her apartment, a strikingly handsome firefighter comes to her rescue.With no choice but to move again, Natalia isn’t thrilled to find that the heroic ass is her new neighbor.She is determined to find herself. He longs for peace from his inner demons.Will the tension burning between them be enough to rekindle the ashes that smolder inside of them?

Sexton Brothers Box Set


Jeannine Colette - 2020
    Fall in love with the Suit. Hide away with the Artist. Feel your heart race with these sexy brothers, and the kick ass heroines they fall in-love with, all in one fabulous boxset! AUSTIN “Tell me a secret,” I ask. “I’m falling for you.” Austin Sexton is a bad-boy media mogul and heir to the Sexton Empire. On the outside, he’s a whiskey-slinging bachelor with the world on a string. Problem is, strings break easily. Deep within lies a war hero who refuses accolades. He buries his pain with his vices, and against my better judgment, I’ve become one of them. No matter how hard I try to push him away, his secrets draw me in. This man, who appears careless, has passion. If I were looking for someone in my life, I could see myself falling for a guy like him. Good thing love is the last thing I’m looking for. BRYCE “Truth or dare?” “I’ll take your dare.” “Kiss me.” I don’t believe in Prince Charming, but when I met a handsome stranger on a rooftop his words intrigued me and his dares left nothing but temptation. Then I learned the truth. His name is Bryce Sexton. Media mogul, workaholic and a heart of stone. He’s broody AF and yet every woman in San Francisco wants him. So why won’t he leave me alone? Wherever I go, he’s there, trying to force his way into my world. What he doesn’t know is I already have a man in my life. A tiny redhead who loves Legos and Superheroes. With every push, Bryce pulls me in further. Our pasts are laced with betrayal. Our futures are unpredictable. Our chemistry is explosive. With each dare I uncover a truth, but he's exactly what I don’t need right now. So why did I have to go and kiss him? TANNER We’re two strangers on a train, knowing whatever we decide in the next moment might dictate our fate for the rest of our lives. “A kiss was all I needed.” “Looks like you got what you wished for.” “Yes. About that…” My plan: find a finely dressed businessman, have a one-night stand, and forget about my failed relationship. Like a bad joke, my ex walks into the bar. That’s when a gorgeous man wearing street clothes, messy hair, and the sexiest smile I’ve ever seen lays a kiss on me. It’s meant to rile up my ex but leaves me breathless and wanting more instead. Then he’s gone. So, I do what any rational person would. I chase after him onto the subway and embark on a wild night in New York City with a complete stranger. No matter how much I fight it, this mysterious man painted his soul onto my skin. If it’s not meant to be, why can’t I forget about him?

Intimations


Zadie Smith - 2020
    This is not any of those—the year isn’t half-way done. What I’ve tried to do is organize some of the feelings and thoughts that events, so far, have provoked in me, in those scraps of time the year itself has allowed. These are above all personal essays: small by definition, short by necessity.”Crafted with the sharp intelligence, wit and style that have won Zadie Smith millions of fans, and suffused with a profound intimacy and tenderness in response to these unprecedented times, Intimations is a vital work of art, a gesture of connection and an act of love—an essential book in extraordinary times.

Kind of Hindu


Mindy Kaling - 2020
    So apart from a tolerance for spicy foods and an appreciation for Ravi Shankar, Mindy isn’t all that Hindu. Her daughter’s Jewish godfather—TV and film’s B.J. Novak—prompts her to reconsider her religious beliefs and ask herself: How Indian do I want my daughter to be?From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Read or listen to them in a single setting. Either way, they’re pitch-perfect.

My Dear Cold-Blooded King


LifeLight - 2017
    But, one fateful day would change the course of her her life, when faced with a deadly challenge against dangerous royal assassins. Now, with the eyes of the dreaded Blood King upon her, her life of simplicity would now become a tangled web of secrecy, deceit, and desire.

Jessica Beam is a Hot Mess


Kirsty Greenwood - 2015
    Except maybe her posh long-lost grandmother Matilda...But life isn't going well for Matilda either. The acclaimed etiquette books she wrote in her youth are no longer selling, her mortgage repayments are enormous and now her disheveled granddaughter has turned up out of the blue and she is not at all what Matilda hoped she'd be...In an attempt to get a new book deal and make some much needed money, Jess and Matilda decide to use Matilda's old etiquette guides and teach messy, modern Jess how to become the ultimate demure lady. The true test of their project will be to capture the heart of the sexy, notorious playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda's guides still work.Transforming Jess from trashy to tasteful will be no easy feat, and when Leo starts falling for Jess's newfound charms, what started out as a way to make some cash suddenly becomes a whole lot more complicated ...**THIS BOOK WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE THE VINTAGE GUIDE TO LOVE AND ROMANCE/LESSONS IN LOVE AND ROMANCE**Laugh your socks off with this hilarious feel-good chick lit read! It's packed with laugh out loud feel good moments, swoony, sexy romance, and truly unforgettable characters ! If you like funny romance books by Sophie Kinsella, Christina Lauren or Sophie Ranald, then you'll LOVE this hilarious laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from bestselling romance author Kirsty Greenwood.

Devils and Saints


Jean-Baptiste Andrea
    To the incredulity of the passers-by, he refuses their offers to play in concert halls, or at prestigious gatherings. He is waiting for someone, he tells them.Joseph was just sixteen when he was sent to a religious boarding school in the Pyrenees: les Confins, a dumping ground for waifs, strays, and other abandoned souls. His days were filled with routine and drudgery, and he thought longingly of the solace he found through music in his former life.Joe dreams constantly of escape, but it seems impossible. That is, until a chance encounter with the orphanage's benefactor leads him to Rose, and a plan begins to form...Humorous even in its darkest moments, Devils and Saints tells a daring tale of camaraderie, love, and good triumphing over evil.

Lie With Me


Philippe Besson - 2017
    We drive at high speed along back roads, through woods, vineyards, and oat fields. The bike smells like gasoline and makes a lot of noise, and sometimes I’m frightened when the wheels slip on the gravel on the dirt road, but the only thing that matters is that I’m holding on to him, that I’m holding on to him outside.Just outside a hotel in Bordeaux, Philippe chances upon a young man who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back at the relationship he’s never forgotten, a hidden affair with a gorgeous boy named Thomas during their last year of high school. Without ever acknowledging they know each other in the halls, they steal time to meet in secret, carrying on a passionate, world-altering affair.Dazzlingly rendered in English by Ringwald in her first-ever translation, Besson’s powerfully moving coming-of-age story captures the eroticism and tenderness of first love—and the heartbreaking passage of time.

Everything I Know About Love


Dolly Alderton - 2018
    In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, finding a job, getting drunk, getting dumped, realizing that Ivan from the corner shop might just be the only reliable man in her life, and that absolutely no one can ever compare to her best girlfriends. Everything I Know About Love is about bad dates, good friends and—above all else— realizing that you are enough.Glittering with wit and insight, heart and humor, Dolly Alderton’s unforgettable debut weaves together personal stories, satirical observations, a series of lists, recipes, and other vignettes that will strike a chord of recognition with women of every age—making you want to pick up the phone and tell your best friends all about it. Like Bridget Jones’ Diary but all true, Everything I Know About Love is about the struggles of early adulthood in all its terrifying and hopeful uncertainty.

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto – by the creator of 'I May Destroy You'


Michaela Coel
    With insight and wit, it lays bare her journey to reclaiming her creativity and power, inviting readers to reflect on theirs.Advocating for ‘misfits’ everywhere, this timely, necessary book is a rousing and bold case against fitting in.

Get It While You Can


Nick Jaina - 2015
    No matter how many albums he’s released or tours he’s led, he still can’t shake the feeling that he has failed at life. So the critically acclaimed, endlessly heartbroken singer-songwriter checks himself into a ten-day silent retreat. As those silent days unfold, Jaina attempts to rewire his own brain in a burst of unpredictable digressions and unsent love letters, musings on the miracles of science and the fallen heroes of popular music. Get It While You Can is a late-night ode to the pursuit of sanity.

When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back: Carl's Book


Naja Marie Aidt - 2017
    When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back chronicles the few first years after receiving that devastating phone call. It is at once a sober account of life after losing a child and an exploration of the language of poetry, loss, and love.Intensely moving and quietly devastating, When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back explores what is it to be a family, what it is to love and lose, and what it is to treasure life in spite of death's indomitable resolve.

Parachutes


Kelly Yang - 2020
    Claire Wang never thought she’d be one of them, until her parents pluck her from her privileged life in Shanghai and enroll her at a high school in California. Suddenly she finds herself living in a stranger’s house, with no one to tell her what to do for the first time in her life. She soon embraces her newfound freedom, especially when the hottest and most eligible parachute, Jay, asks her out.Dani De La Cruz, Claire’s new host sister, couldn’t be less thrilled that her mom rented out a room to Claire. An academic and debate-team star, Dani is determined to earn her way into Yale, even if it means competing with privileged kids who are buying their way to the top. When her debate coach starts working with her privately, Dani’s game plan veers unexpectedly off course.Desperately trying to avoid each other under the same roof, Dani and Claire find themselves on a collision course, intertwining in deeper and more complicated ways, as they grapple with life-altering experiences. Award-winning author Kelly Yang weaves together an unforgettable modern immigrant story about love, trauma, family, corruption, and the power of speaking out.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland


Jim DeFede - 2002
    airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill. As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill.

Helios:Femina (Helios:Femina, #1-29)


Michelle Phan
    Technology has destroyed the landscape and the citizens of the world now bow to a singular government. Elemental magic and ancient alchemy have been unearthed and rediscovered.