After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn't quite fit the princess mold.All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America's reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness--searching for clues that Grace is her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo's hidden treasures with cute actor Hank Chen, and maybe...finally finding a sense of belonging.But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn't so kind. Rika knows she's setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don't happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away?

    One of the most talented high school basketball players her hometown had ever seen. Bound for something far bigger beyond the city limits of Fair Grove, Missouri. But Chelsea’s world changed when an accident on the court ended her days as an athlete. She struggles with the idea of no longer being a star—and has no real idea what life might hold for her next.Once, he was a small-town celebrity. One of the most talented hockey players his hometown had ever seen. Bound for something far bigger beyond the city limits of Baudette, Minnesota. When an unexpected tragedy took his head out of the game, Clint was forced to hang up his skates. He swore he’d never put himself in a position to be hurt again, building walls around his heart.When their paths cross one summer at a Minnesota lake resort, Chelsea and Clint are immediately drawn to one another. But wounds of the heart cut the deepest, and take the longest to heal. Will an unexpected romance end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

    This is Jaden pretending not to notice. . . .Jaden McEntyre and Parker Whalen are a wrong fit from the start. Jaden is driven and focused, Harvard Med School within reach. Parker has a past-a reputation-and the rumors about his mysterious habits abound. So there's no reason why, when they're assigned to work together on a project in English, they should discover they have anything in common, or even like each other, and they definitely shouldn't be falling in love.As they bond over Edith Wharton's tragic novella, Ethan Frome, the "bad boy" vibe Parker plays begins to dissipate. Soon, Jaden finds herself shedding her own "good girl" image: sneaking around to be with him, confiding in him, and ultimately falling hard for this leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving loner who plays into the rebel stereotype.Still, Jaden can't shake the feeling that there's more to Parker than he's letting on. He's hiding something from her, and discovering the truth means reconciling the Parker she's grown to love with the person he really is. Because it's possible that his life inside the classroom-everything Jaden knows-is one massive lie.

     Aspiring author, Amy Mitchell, used to believe in romance and happily ever after. That was, until her husband cheated on her. Now, she just writes about it. When she takes on a part-time job as a babysitter to the daughter of a deliciously handsome, but self-entitled single dad; the last thing she expected was to fall for him. For Sam Whitford, life ended the day his wife left him and their young daughter because of a lost inheritance. Sick of the consequences of being a billionaire’s heir, he bites the bullet and moves away to the small town of Willow Oaks. But when Sam learns that his domineering mother is coming to town, he knows that it will only be a matter of time before she meddles in his love life again; so he convinces Amy to be his pretend girlfriend. Tensions rise as Amy and Sam spend time together, but so do their feelings for each other. And the longer they spend entangled in their fictitious relationship, the harder it becomes for them to know what’s real and what’s not. Will Amy and Sam get the Happily Ever-After they both deserve?

    Never mind the fact that he's one of the most popular guys at school—she’s positive Bryant Bailey is only trying to appease his own conscience after pretty much destroying her life. But when Bryant doesn't back down and insists on having some sort of bizarre friendship with her, his magic works, and her walls slowly start to crumble. He's not her type. She's never been into guys like Bryant, but then again, she's never really known anyone quite as stubborn, or caring, or who can get her to confess stuff she wouldn't even tell her best friend. “This is a Cinderella retelling unlike any you’ve ever read. Get ready to laugh and cry along with Indy as she discovers who she is and what she’s worth.” – Tristi Pinkston, author of Take My Advice

    And so a pact is formed: they'll both try to make something happen with their respective crushes and document the experiences in a shared notebook.While Reid struggles with the moral dilemma of adopting a dog to win over someone's heart, Riley tries to make progress with Ted Callahan, who she's been obsessed with forever-His floppy hair! His undeniable intelligence! But suddenly cute guys are popping up everywhere. How did she never notice them before?! With their love lives going from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye, Riley and Reid realize the results of their pact may be more than they bargained for.

    After all, everyone in town knows about the mysterious happenings at the mansion on the hill—including the sudden disappearance of the Baldwin’s eldest son, Tate. The former football star and Golden Boy of Wellhollow Springs became a hermit at the age of sixteen, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Rumors abound as to why, with whisperings about a strange illness that has caused deformity…turned him into a real-life monster. Bellamy wants to dismiss these rumors as gossip, but when she’s told that if she takes the job she must promise to never, ever visit the 3rd floor of the mansion, she begins to wonder if there really is some dark truth being hidden there.Tate’s condition may not be the only secret being kept at Baldwin House. There are gaps in the family’s financial history that don’t add up, and surprising connections with unscrupulous characters. At night there are strange noises, unexplained cold drafts, and the electricity cuts out. And then there are the rose petals on the staircase. The rose petals that no one but Bellamy seems to be able to see. The rose petals that form a trail leading right up to the 3rd floor, past the portrait of a handsome young man, and down a dark hallway where she promised she would never, ever go…As Bellamy works to unravel the mysteries of Baldwin House and uncover the truth about Tate, she realizes that she is in way over her head, in more ways than one. Can her bravery and determination help to right the wrongs of the past and free the young man whose story has captured her heart?

    Working part-time at the local high school, she becomes enmeshed in a fifty-year-old unsolved mystery where nothing is as it seems. Who is the boy no one else can see? And what do you do when you fall in love with a ghost? This volatile and mismatched romance is doomed from its start, as Maggie struggles to hold on to yet another life destined to be taken from her. Secret love and hushed affections are constantly threatened by outside forces resulting in a terrifying race to stay alive.'Slow Dance in Purgatory' captures the heart-ache of a love story where there can be no happy ending...

    Seventeen-year-old local native Lacey has one rule: never fall for the summer boys. She’s been there, done that, regretted it for a solid year. No one is going to change her mind, not even tall, blond, and handsome Landon Tillman. Landon’s not looking for a summer fling. Still nursing a broken heart months after his girlfriend dumped him, he’s content to travel the country with his family and create videos for their wildly popular internet travel channel. When well-meaning family members try to push Lacey and Landon together, the duo decides to fake a romance so they can enjoy their summer in peace. After all, what could go wrong? True, they’ll have to spend a lot of time together to make the relationship look believable. They might even have to share a kiss or two for the sake of credibility. And sure, it’s possible lines will blur and fake feelings might morph into something real… But that’s just a chance they’re going to have to take.

    With no other options, Liv is forced to transfer to the nearest public school, Northland, where she'll have to convince their coach she deserves a spot on the softball team, all while facing both her ex and the teammates of the girl she punched... Every. Single. Day. Enter Grey, the injured star quarterback with amazing hair and a foolproof plan: if Liv joins the football team as his temporary replacement, he'll make sure she gets a spot on the softball team in the Spring. But it will take more than the perfect spiral for Liv to find acceptance in Northland's halls, and behind that charming smile, Grey may not be so perfect after all.With well-drawn characters and a charming quarterback love interest who's got brains as well as brawn, Throw Like a Girl will have readers swooning from the very first page.

    She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more.When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

    An accidental meeting at a time when I least expect it, sparking an instant connection that neither of us could deny. Mavick has what it takes to ruin me... to shatter my heart into a million pieces and never look back. She’s a distraction. I’m supposed to be focused on my comeback, but when I meet Kinsley there’s no denying my attraction to her. I could remind myself how important it is to remove anything that consumes my time. I could look the other way and deny how my body reacts to her. But something tells me I’m not in control when it comes to this girl. This is the extended full version of the short story, Tap Out, which was showcased in the Pick Your Passion collection.

    Linc didn't. As captain of his swim team, he was expected to win the big relay to carry his swim team to the state championship for the first time in decades. Linc didn’t. Society expected him to walk past her. He couldn’t. She expected him to see through her.She expected him to make her into a joke.She expected him to be cruel.Expectations are a funny thing …

    So when a girl at her new high school nearly succumbs to the wiles of a notorious cad, Mary starts compiling the Scoundrel Survival Guide, a rundown of literary types to be avoided at all costs.Unfortunately, Mary is better at dishing out advice than taking it—and the number one bad boy on her list is terribly debonair. As her best intentions go up in flames, Mary discovers life doesn’t follow the same rules as fiction. If she wants a happy ending IRL, she’ll have to write it herself.

    She thinks he’s the biggest jerk in school and he thinks she's too high on her horse to even be worth a second glance. When the two of them are near one another, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. They can hardly endure speaking, let alone dating. But when Layla unknowingly sends Tyler a smack-down text meant for the girl sending naked photos to her then-boyfriend, Adam, Tyler has no idea it’s Layla and decides to play along. After all, Tyler cannot resist messing with the pissed off girl firing off texts about junk pictures, cheating, and girl code. As the fallout from Adam’s scandalous texts plays out in front of the entire school, Tyler and Layla secretly continue to text each other using fake names. But as days and weeks pass, things take a turn for the serious between them, and suddenly, their texts mean more. Maybe it's time to come clean about who they are and risk taking the relationship from texts to dates, then kissing, and maybe more. They say there's a thin line between love and hate. Can reality live up to the fantasy, or will Layla and Tyler be forever offsides?