Book picks similar to
The Human Thing by Kathleen H. Nelson


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The Escort Collection


Leigh James - 2017
    When billionaire mogul James Preston hires an escort as a date for his brother’s wedding, he knows he’s taking a risk. One thing he won’t be taking? The escort’s clothes off. He just wants a date—not a girlfriend. Not a relationship. No strings. No ties. No games. No sex. He has his reasons. He lost someone he loved, and isn’t interested in trying again. Too many opportunities for mistakes or worse, heartbreak. Audrey Reynolds became a high-end escort to keep her brother in his expensive group home. James Preston is the client of her dreams—he’s offering to pay her more money for two weeks than she’s ever made before. But James is... difficult. He’s gorgeous, troubled and all too human for Audrey's business-like tastes. Determined to complete her assignment and collect the money, Audrey tries to play by James’s rules. But before she knows what's happening, he's rewriting the contract. When Audrey ends up in James’s bed, he realizes that she’s everything he’s wanted… and everything he’s been running from. Escorting the Actress He was my party-boy billionaire stepbrother... Now he's my disinherited, sexy escort? FML! Kyle: She was my geeky, brace-faced stepsister. Now she's a stunning Hollywood actress. And she just became a client at the upscale escort agency where I work. Things might finally be looking up. Lowell: I had a PR disaster on my hands. I needed a pretend boyfriend--so I called the escort service. But then stepbrother bad boy showed up. Now I'm all sorts of screwed. Or wishing I was. Wait--I take that back! I take it back! Kyle: My powerful father will do anything to keep me away from Lowell, including dangling my fortune in front of me. But I just might be more interested in what my sexy ex-stepsister has to offer. That is, if I can convince her to give it to me. Escorting the Player Win or Lose... Winning is important but this is championship quarterback Chase Layne's last chance for glory. All he wants for his final season is to win the Superbowl. But dreams of ending his career on a high will be sacked if his soon to be ex-wife has her way. She and her new boyfriend have plans to ruin Chase in a media smear, stealing everything he's worked to achieve. He just has to show the press he's still in control and on top of his game, in business and his private life. It's How You Play the Game... Avery Banks knows all about being played. Life has done that to her for years now and she's tired of being the loser. All she needs is a big score...a job paying enough money to allow her stop turning tricks for good and to get her sister into rehab. Then it happens! She gets the dream job pretending to be a star football player's girlfriend. All she has to do is make him look good, help him keep up his All American Boy image for the next few weeks. Easy, right? Except her sister sees an even bigger payoff: Blackmailing Chase. As Chase and Avery play offense to everyone trying to bring them down, Avery must also face the hard truth: she's made the ultimate rookie mistake...falling in love with a client. Escorting the Groom TO HAVE AND TO HOLD… Ruthless technology billionaire Lucas Ford has run out of time. The rules of his trust make it clear: be married by thirty-five and stay married for one year. Otherwise, bye-bye inheritance—and the family fortune will be inherited by his sister, who might very well blow it on Botox and funding her sorority alma mater.

The Piranha Solution


John Triptych - 2017
    Private industry is now pushing the limits of human exploration and colonization. NASA has changed its mandate into a regulatory agency that oversees all US-based corporations and individuals involved in interplanetary expansion. Stilicho Jones always has his hands full while working as a personal troubleshooter for eccentric trillionaire Errol Flux and his numerous cutting edge space projects. When a mysterious and potentially deadly situation threatens the colonies on Mars, Stilicho must team up with a feisty NASA special agent in a race against time to avert a looming catastrophe that would end any hope of a permanent settlement on the Red Planet.

In the Dismal Swamp


Patrick Balester - 2008
    He is quickly disappointed when a dead body turns up floating in the Great Dismal Swamp. And this is not just any dead body. Ashley Myrtle was the wife of a prominent local politician. Greg soon discovers that Ashley, an apparent drowning victim, may have been murdered. Unfortunately, no one wants to believe him. The mayor, the woman's husband, an old boyfriend and even her coworkers seem eager to rule her death an accidental drowning. With help from a reluctant FBI agent, Greg follows a trail of small town secrets and lies to discover what really happened on that cold spring day. Refusing to give up, he discovers a vital clue deep in the swamp that leads to the killer. But justice won't be served until he can prove it was a case of murder.

In Times Like These: eBook Boxed Set: Books 1-3


Nathan Van Coops - 2016
    Race along on his adventures through past and future in the series reviewers have called, "Fresh," "Brilliant," and "Easily the coolest time travel adventure I've ever read." In Times Like These Accidental time traveler Benjamin Travers and his friends have ended up in the 1980s, and they’re not alone—there are other time travelers, and some of them are turning up dead. To find their way home from the past, they’ll first need to master space and time—and survive a deadly future. The Chronothon Ben Travers is a rookie time traveler who only wants time with the new girl he's fallen for. But when he's duped into competing in an adrenaline-fueled adventure race through time, he'll need to win more than just his girl's heart if he hopes to survive. The Day After Never Ben Travers has learned the value of sacrifice, but even after surviving his adventures thorough time, getting back to his normal life is proving more difficult than he ever imagined. Haunted by a version of himself that he thought was dead, he'll need to solve the mystery of his own disappearance to stop another dangerous threat to the people he loves. Find out more about how to be a time traveler at www.nathanvancoops.com.

A Spacetime Tale


J. Benjamin - 2019
    Kiara Lacroix has become one of Earth’s foremost exobiology experts. Her research brings her to the attention of the Global Space Federation, which has a top-secret mission for her: an advanced alien civilization has been discovered in the depths of an icy planet five light-years from Earth, and Kiara is expected to join the crew making first contact.Kiara has her hesitations, but as usual her scientific curiosity gets the better of her. She and her crew will be using experimental technology which establishes long-distance contact via a dream-reality beamed through a wormhole: the spacetime sequence. It’s even riskier than it sounds.Of course, Kiara’s not the only one with hesitations about the GSF’s actions. And some of those people have the resources—and the access to GSF’s classified mission information—to do something about them.A Spacetime Tale is high-concept hard science fiction at its finest.

Blue Moon Investigations: Boxed Set Part 2


Steve Higgs - 2019
     They say everyone has a skeleton in their closet, but why are so many of them coming to life? Tempest and Amanda work at the only paranormal detective agency in the book and business is booming. This second box set gives you over 1000 pages of pulse-pounding hilarious paranormal mayhem as they get themselves into yet more hot water solving cases no one else would be dumb enough to take. Dead Pirates of Cawsand – A ghost ship has been spotted off the coast of a quiet Cornish village where gold coins were recently found. Now skeletal pirates are wandering the streets, hiding in the mist to strike fear into the local community because they want their gold back. But they didn’t count on England’s best paranormal P.I. turning up. His well-earned break soon goes sideways as murder, kidnap, and ghost hunters ruin his vacation and threaten more than just his life. In the Doodoo with Voodoo – A client cursed by a voodoo priest is the start of a case that will push Amanda to her very limits. With Tempest away in Cornwall, Amanda has no back up, but she wants to do this for herself even though the priest is a scary character. However, when BFF Patience goes missing, it’s a race against time to solve the case before someone dies and she is about to find out just how badly she underestimated her suspect. The Witches of East Malling – There’s a storm brewing. It’s late Autumn in England, but the wet weather is hiding a dark crime – witches using lighting to kill! Hired to investigate, Tempest soon becomes a target himself when he comes face to face with a witch and she knows who and what he is. Is he closing in on the coven, or are they closing in on him? The deadly conclusion with leave you breathless. Crop Circles, Cows, and Crazy Aliens – Aliens? Really? There are lights in the sky, crop circles in the fields and the cows are producing glowing milk. It’s Amanda’s case, and seems a simple one until the first body shows up. Suddenly she has a mystery person leaving her clues, an internet star trying to help her investigation and conspiracy nuts raining from the sky. Is this the first wave of an alien invasion, or something far worse? Whispers in the Rigging – His dad reported stories of a ghost in the old Royal Dockyard, but that’s not why Tempest is going undercover. He’s there because his dad was found unconscious in a dumpster when he tried to poke around. Now Tempest must find out what is going on, but all too soon he realises there’s something beneath the dockyard that is much worse than ghosts. The paranormal? It’s all nonsense, but proving might just get them killed.

Archaea


Dain White - 2011
    Captain Dak Smith saw in her something special, an opportunity to burn for the far horizon as an independent, free from the gloms that hold known space in thrall – but he had to get her running first.Armed with a standard-issue captain's eyebrow and an infectious grin, Captain Smith and his hand-picked crew embark on an adventure through deep space filled with scoundrels, pirates, and some incredibly unfortunate peace-loving rocks that happened to be at the wrong place, at the worst time.

Repulse: Europe at War 2062-2064


Chris James - 2016
    The climactic engagement of this war, Operation Repulse, took place from August 2063 to February 2064, and was the most significant clash of arms on European soil in four hundred years.

Acheron Rising: A Federation Chronicles Novella


Ken Lozito - 2020
    Commander Elias Browning's military career was over, or so he thought.When a secret research colony is discovered by a ruthless enemy, Elias must take command of a small battlegroup.Outclassed and outgunned, Elias must find a way to stop a superior enemy fleet from enslaving his people, but how can he succeed where every other star union in the galaxy has failed?Acheron Rising is a military science fiction novella that introduces the Federation Chronicles universe by Ken Lozito.

The Newman Resident


Charles Swift - 2014
    Dr. Newman is at the leading edge of creating the perfect educational environment for children, and all he requires is a hefty tuition—and your child at the age of six months.Christopher Carson is one of the “Newman Residents” who live at the Newman Home year-round. His parents, Richard and Carol, both Manhattan attorneys, may disagree about the specifics, but each wants what’s best for their son. For Richard, this means bringing Christopher, now six years old, home for one last summer vacation before the visits become brief and infrequent.Carol agrees with the staff: Christopher should stay at the school. And Christopher is confused, not sure where his real home is anymore. But Richard would like for their house to be Christopher’s home, at least for one summer.As Richard and Christopher spend more time together they become closer. Not long into Christopher’s visit, Richard begins to suspect that the Newman Home’s methods for developing their children into future leaders are too experimental, if not outright dangerous. His suspicions are confirmed when a secretive support group of Newman parents reaches out to him about their frightening experiences with the school.Richard’s investigations into the Newman Home quickly spiral out of control; he has underestimated the extent of the school’s power and connections—and Dr. Newman’s incessant drive to achieve a new level of success for the students. But what Dr. Newman underestimates may be even more powerful: one father’s determination to fight for his son against the odds.What follows in The Newman Resident is a whirlwind battle between a devoted father and an education system more terrifyingly powerful than he ever could have imagined. It’s a battle that forces him to confront how some will cross any line in order to create the “perfect” child.

All I Want for Christmas


Diane Greenwood Muir - 2016
    Polly and Henry have moved their family into the Bell House, as unfinished as it might be. Their first big event is a company Christmas party and it causes more than a little stress for Polly, but it's nothing her family can't handle. There are a few surprises and your job is to not reveal any of them after you read it - not in reviews, not in comments. But the joy of family and friends during the holidays is what makes Christmas and New Year's celebrations special and those spent in Bellingwood are no different. Happy Holidays!

First Strike


Scott Moon - 2020
    It's a choice.The United Galactic Government is mired in a decade-long war for control of a key planet. Weakened by overextension and political intrigue, they could lose everything.When a child of privilege gives up everything to enlist and fight for what is right, he learns what it means to become part of a team. He encounters refugees, aliens he never expected to empathize with, and the loss of comrades. In the end he must develop the courage to stand up, not only to aliens and governments, but his own family.

Three Incidents at Foster Manor


P.T. Phronk - 2019
    An apocalyptic storm. Whispering voices in the air. She was right to fear the worst-case scenario. Amy Burnett has been buried in her work as a security expert. She likes it that way—her dark past can’t invade her thoughts as long as she stays holed up in her office. So why the heck has she ended up at a gothic mansion’s doorstep in the middle of the night? It’s because Craig Foster summoned her there. Amy’s company built the sealed chamber in his basement, for any worrisome worst-case scenario, but now the safe room has presented a scenario of its own: Craig’s daughter is trapped inside. It should be a quick fix. After all, what’s the worst thing that can happen when a stranger arrives at a remote mansion on a stormy night? An impossible mystery? A haunting? A visit from the lurking strangers in the woods? Surely not all three—that would require extraordinarily bad luck. Unfortunately, Amy’s been short on luck lately. Three Incidents at Foster Manor will keep you guessing until the end with a twist-filled, fast-paced, genre-blending mix of mystery, ghost story, thriller, and cosmic horror that will chill you to the core. This is a standalone story, but also acts as a sequel to P.T. Phronk's previous mystery, The Arborist. "Full of interesting characters, twists and scares, it will keep you off-balance all the way to the end!" —Franny "I'm always down some ghostly fun but then the fun dial twisted and wow." —Amazon Reviewer "If you like reading stories somewhat reminiscent of The Twilight Zone this is for you." —Alanna Patterson

The Watchman: Preventing the Apocalypse One Bullet at a Time


Arthur Bradley - 2020
    Loved it!"★★★ A clever mash of X-files, Tombstone, and Dresden Files! ★★★In 1885, President Grover Cleveland commissioned a special group of agents to investigate paranormal activities plaguing the nation. Unwilling to accept failure, he granted each the authority to operate outside the law. His directive was simple. No rules. No excuses. Just get it done.Remy Kincaid and his cynical steed, Fable, head to the town of Wharton, Texas, to investigate the disappearance of several young children. As clues lead them from a decrepit old house to an abandoned silver mine, they soon learn that an ancient evil is trying to release itself upon the world.★★★ If you enjoyed The Survivalist Series, you'll love The Watchman! ★★★

Return from the Portal: A time travel story


John Gschwend - 2018
     Sam believes she will soon have to adjust from the slow-paced, farm life of East Arkansas to follow her track scholarship to the University of Arkansas. Her life now is laid-back and predictable just the way she wants it. However, that will soon change as she goes for a morning run down a familiar, rural road and stops for a brief rest at an old, abandoned farm. There at that lonely, isolated place, so peaceful, so familiar, Sam has an experience that will change the course of her life. What will she do and where will she turn as she discovers she is not who or what she thought and this world is not the only one? Are they even her choices to make when a strange, dimension portal proves time travel and other worlds are real? Return from the Portal is the sequel to the time travel novel Portal to the Forgotten. In that story Luke, a reclusive Arkansas Constable, while searching for a missing girl, discovers a time travel portal in the Ozark Mountains that opens to another dimension. He and a reporter are pulled into that world and find it is almost impossible to get back. Return from the Portal is a stand alone novel, but would be better enjoyed by first reading Portal to the Forgotten. Visit John Gschwend at Johngschwend.com to see more of his stories.