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?

    But when I end up in lockdown with my insanely hot billionaire boss, I start to think maybe I can make the best of a bad situation... Heartbreak is never easy. Even breaking up with someone you were never really meant to be with can be painful.I thought Dennis and I would end up married one day.But instead he dumps me at a sushi restaurant.I try to stay positive, and appreciate the ups of being newly single. But then this whole stupid pandemic comes along, and more than anything I hate spending so much time on my own.I'm getting restless, when one day I strike up an interesting conversation with my boss.He's a hot tech industry billionaire, who I find out is recently single as well since the start of the pandemic. After a few days texting back and forth, the two of us come up with a tantalizing arrangement to help us survive through lockdown... Soon my wildest dreams have all come true. I'm making love with my boss in the lap of his luxurious penthouse, and living a life of grandeur unlike anything I've ever imagined for myself. Only I'm about to find, emotions can get in the way of even the sweetest affairs.And now I'm wondering whether these new feelings I'm experiencing can possibly survive through the end of the pandemic...

    When Dr. Cole Larkin’s eyes found mine, that night in the small exam room, I had no idea that the walls I’d built to protect my heart, would come crumbling down. He was a craving I should never fulfill. But when the temptation is too much to handle…Succumbing to it… might be the only way they can withstand the pressure...

    She doesn’t want to talk about it. She doesn’t want a fuss. But one day she meets Nick and everything changes.Out of the most difficult of situations, Nick and Jade’s friendship grows into something both of them never knew they needed.Jade used to be sure that she was better off alone. But could it be that together, with Nick by her side, she can start to feel something like happy again?

    The 25 poems from Pasternak's masterpiece Doctor Zhivago are followed by a masterful critique of their function in the novel and their value as poetry.

    Ella Bella, would you fetch the music box? asks Madame Rosa. Then we can have some dancing at our party. As the music begins playing, little Ella Bella is magically transported into the enchanting, festive world of The Nutcracker ballet. There, she meets the beautiful Clara and her wooden Nutcracker doll. Together, Ella and Clara must fight off the evil Mouse King so they can break the evil spell that has transformed a handsome prince into the Nutcracker doll. When the spell is broken and the prince comes to life, he leads Clara and Ella to a magic forest where they dance to the music of the famous Nutcracker ballet. On the last page of this beautifully illustrated story, young readers learn about the origins of The Nutcracker ballet, its music written in 1892 by the composer Piotr Tchaikovsky for Russia's famous Imperial Ballet.

    When the sun drops low in the sky, they start home. Buildings grow dimmer. People are rushing. As nature's lights go out, one by one, city's lights turn on, revealing brilliant Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Christmas displays in streets, homes, and stores. A stunning picture book that's sure to be a winter holiday classic by Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz.

    Indeed, fifty-two nannies have run screaming from the house. But when the elegant and bespectacled fifty-third nanny, undaunted by Minerva’s tirades, appears on the scene to crown her young charge "the Unruly Queen," tutu-clad Minerva is thrilled — until she hears the details of the position. E. S. Redmond’s brisk, bouncy rhymes and vibrant, delightfully detailed artwork portray Minerva’s unyielding awfulness and Nanny’s unshakable calm with comedic flair, prompting even the most unmanageable youngsters to be careful what they wish for.

    This small volume contains four compelling stories of displacement, love and death taken from Strange Pilgrims (1993): 'Bon Voyage, Mr President', 'Sleeping Beauty and the Airplane', 'I Only Came to Use the Phone' and 'Light Is Like Water'.

    They cruise down highway number 4 on their way to Shapeville, but they see an abandoned number along the way. Is it a 6? Is it a 9? And what's it doing on the side of the road? Once the trio reach Shapeville, there's another problem: a flood washed away all of the squares. Max and his brothers show the town that putting together two triangles will bring their shapes back together, and then they follow the residents on a trip to Count Town, where they put the missing number back in its place in the countdown to a rocket's blastoff.

    The day after the renowned festival's closing ceremony, Genevieve is invited to visit the newly-refurbished Hotel Paradise. Genevieve knows the hotel well – in fact, her past life there has haunted her for over a decade... Twelve years earlier, two travellers have met in Paris. Genevieve dreams of becoming a famous songwriter, while Paul is determined to be a professional photographer. Full of optimism, they hitch south to the Riviera where they answer an advertisement for live-in help at the Hotel Paradise, located on an island just off the French coast. There the young couple are seduced by the tranquility and magical beauty of the hotel and its setting. But the island has a darker side, with a history of bloodshed that fills Genevieve with foreboding. When a stranger arrives who threatens her future with Paul, Genevieve senses that events are about to spin out of control … Anglo-Irish actress Carol Drinkwater is still well-known for her award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. A popular and acclaimed author and film-maker as well, Carol has published twenty books for both the adult and young adult markets. She is currently at work on her twenty-first title. When she purchased a rundown property overlooking the Bay of Cannes in France, she discovered almost seventy 400-year-old olive trees. Along with her French husband, Michel, Carol reclaimed the land and began producing top-quality olive oil. Her series of memoirs recounting their experiences on the farm (The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest and Return to the Olive Farm) have become international bestsellers, and the related travel books,The Olive Route and The Olive Tree, inspired the five-part documentary film series, The Olive Route. Carol's first Kindle Single, The Girl in Room Fourteen, reached the number one position in the Singles charts in both the United States and the UK.

    Several enhancements to the already hot scenes were done to improve the overall reading and enjoyment to the story. Step into the world of street infotainment, check out the seriously revised Ghetto Girls. The sexiest Hip Hop story ever dwells between the pages of Ghetto Girls. It is a fast moving joint with a raw and gritty edge. Dripping with brutal honesty "Ghetto Girls" takes it in ruggedstride to the streets. While hanging with friends, a beautiful girl is abducted by thugs. Her uncle, a top music producer, does not cooperate with the police. He orders a hit on the alleged perpetrator. This act sets off another trail of killings, leading right to his doorstep. This is a tale of murder, jealousy and revenge going down lustfully in a ghetto near you. The streets belong to thugs. But are they real, or is it just staged by the authorities? Ghetto Girls examines teen life on the streets and teaches a lesson in resiliency. You're never too old to learn, or appreciate. You live by the sword... you die... This is revenge with a Hip Hop steez...

    Can she find love and safety in the arms of a male witch? WARNING: Although not about the primary characters in the series, this work contains spoilers for Scion's Avalon: House of Dracul Book 2. Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

    Two guilty secrets. A memory that won't stay buried ... When Charlotte and Will Grayson return to the seaside resort where they met as teenagers, they hope it'll help to heal the wounds in their marriage. But visiting the dilapidated holiday camp where their relationship began brings terrible memories back from the past. The man who'd once made their lives hell has come back to find them - only, the last time they saw him, they'd left him for dead on the beach. As the threats to their new life become more severe, Charlotte and Will discover that they were mistaken about what happened to Bruce Craven on that fateful night. And now he's returned to finish off what was started thirty years ago. Sometimes the past is best left alone Circle Of Lies Five powerful men. One desperate woman. A seaside town rocked to its core ... When Charlotte Grayson discovers a local author dead in her seaside guest house she’s determined to find out what drove such a successful man to take his life at the pinnacle of his career. After an old newspaper cutting is sent linking the writer to a powerful group of men in the town, Charlotte starts to suspect it wasn’t suicide. Joining forces with a local newspaper reporter, Charlotte soon finds that the sleepy resort conceals many dark secrets. As more bodies are found it seems the resort is at the mercy of a serial killer hellbent on taking revenge. But the truth lies closer to home and Charlotte must confront her own past first before she can remove her family from danger. How far would you go to protect your family’s darkest secret? Truth Be Told An evil man. A quest for revenge. A woman who will do anything to save her family. A truth that must be told ... Charlotte Grayson is caught up with something bigger and more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. What appeared to be a run-down seaside resort has become a living nightmare for her and her family. Now living under the threat of a violent reprisal, Charlotte discovers help where she least expected it. The seaside town has been at the mercy of a powerful group of men for several decades - but that's all about to end. As Charlotte fights to protect her daughter from a vile corruption, she must finally put to rest the demons of her past. This is one night in Morecambe that she'll never forget. In the final reckoning, the full truth must be told ... Buy the entire Morecambe Bay trilogy in one collection!

    I know he’s my brother’s best friend and I know he’s a little too old for me, but he’s the only thing in my life that makes me happy. Between assholes at school and my dwindling self-esteem, when an online friend suggests I try some pills to take the edge off I’m willing to try anything to stop the pain. But every day I feel like I’m falling further down the rabbit hole and I’m not sure even Gage can pull me back up.“I'm getting ahead of myself, but there's no falling slowly with someone you've known your entire life.” ~ GageMy feelings for Johnny were unexpected, but once I see them for what they are I can’t deny them. I know Adam might hate me for falling for his younger brother and I know Johnny’s been going through some things lately, but love can conquer anything, right?WARNING: if you’re already a reader of the Heathens Ink Series this goes without saying, but this story is full-on ugly cry and a HEA isn’t in the cards. For trigger warnings please see the first page.