When her character is put to the test, she saves a life and in the process earns the gratitude of Aiden, the charming new café owner in town. Sparks fly, but can Sonia overcome her own doubts and at the same time save the youth choir’s Christmas Eve performance? Travel to the beautiful Canadian Rockies for a sweet story and a good latte to find out…! In the heart of the snow-covered Canadian Rockies lies the small town of Evergreen Valley. Sonia and her sister Yvette have grown up in the quaint little town which neighbours a popular ski resort. Every Christmas they carry on their childhood traditions of sledding, baking and spending quality time with their mother and grandma. This year tragedy nearly strikes the sleepy town, but is luckily averted do to the quick actions of one of the girls. When Sonia meets Aiden, she is determined to avoid entangling herself in another relationship, but fate has other ideas. As she helps him with his struggling café, he helps her to confront her fears of abandonment. Soon she finds herself thrust into taking over as the church’s Youth Chorus director, but can she do the job and pull off the best Christmas Eve recital the town has ever seen? Cozy up with this heartwarming holiday read to find out! AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is an cozy contemporary stand-alone short story with a HEA ending! Story is a clean romance with no offensive language.

    A divorce has left her feeling more like Scrooge than Santa. But will the handsome, charismatic Nathan be able to change her mind? He may be just the present she needs this year.

    The second stunted by her sister's shadow. The youngest propelled by desperation. Gwen is the oldest of four children in the Aaldenberg family, and the one who seems to have it all. She's also most desperate to escape. Betta, having nursed their dying grandpa for the past three years, is anxious for Gwen to go, so she can finally have reins to the family business. And Esmerelda, viciously determined to follow in Gwen's footsteps, vies for popularity as a freshman in high school, only to learn she must sell her soul, reputation, and most prized possession for acceptance. When Gwen's fiancé moves to town, Gwen does her best to resign herself to a local life, while Betta struggles for meaning without the store. In order to carve out a place for herself, Betta must decide to what lengths she'll go in order to become her own person, and Gwen must decide what's more important: her sister or her future. Can this family pull through their disappointment, jealousy, and regret? Or will they cling so tightly to their desires that it ruins them?

    It’s always been easy for him to make up his mind and stick with it. It’s why he works a lot, why he doesn’t need to make time for a girlfriend, and why he recently decided to move across the country for a new job. His brothers and sister are happily settled, and now that all eyes have turned on him, he needs a change. He does not need a relationship, and moving to Colorado lets him breathe. What he didn’t see coming was Kat, the much-too-young-for-him employee at his new restaurant. Kat Perry doesn’t have a family. She doesn’t even really have friends, but that’s by her choice. Her new manager, Dylan, has all the things that she should avoid; the muscles, the eyes, the smile and the kind of white-knight syndrome that she doesn’t know what the frick to do with. Dylan should be easy enough to disregard since she’s managed to hold people at arm’s length her whole life, especially when a relationship is the very last thing she wants. But she can’t ignore him, not when he befriends her, and definitely not when they tap into combustible chemistry that threatens to burn down everything around them. So instead of fighting it, they come to an agreement- just friends with a bunch of benefits on the side. Easy, right? Not exactly. Especially when the heart gets involved. **This is the first standalone book in a spin-off series from the Three Little Words series. Dylan is featured as a secondary character in the previous series, but it's not necessary to read them first. This book is 70k words long with a mild/medium heat level.**

    . . His eyes were heart stopping, his hands possessive and fierce, touching me as if I belonged to him. We met by accident. My blind date never showed up and this muscled god was all alone. It was the perfect one night stand; no names, no expectations, just unbridled lust. Until a stranger barges in with a gun and everything changes. My night of passion quickly turns into a bad dream I can't escape. To my surprise, the man I had just been kissing, the guy I was about to let have me anyway he pleased, had done the unthinkable... He killed the guy. He tells me everything will be alright, and for a second I believe him. Except he won't call the police, taking me against my will instead. This man claims he's protecting me, he claims he won't let anyone hurt me. But I don't know if he's the good guy or the bad guy. What I saw scares me, and what I know makes me question everything about him. I want to hate him for what he's doing, but I don't. I'm falling in love with a killer. What the hell is wrong with me?

    -On the day you got the keys to your dream shop, you came across the most gorgeous man. The only problem? He’s with the town's mean princess.-That gorgeous guy hit on you, so you insulted him.-A few days passed, and you bumped into that gorgeous guy again. This time, he was persistent.-You continued to insult him, only for him to inform you that the mean girl was not his girlfriend, but his cousin.-So you apologized, and he kept trying to take you on a date. The problem now? He's not in town for long.-Still, you gave in and got all dressed up to go on a date…except he never showed, and everyone knows he stood you up.Now, two years later, he comes back, and he’s changed. But one thing is clear: he still wants you. And worst of all, he acts as if nothing ever happened…

    Ashleigh, Chaz’s daughter, is new to ranch life. Can she survive the results of her bad judgement and make a home with her father’s new in-laws?On Christmas Eve, Hank accepts the job of ranch foreman over the mountains in the Gallatin Canyon, Montana. But something dark is happening at the Ghost Mountain Ranch, where the past is reaching out in dangerous ways to haunt the living.Hank’s story launches the Ghost Mountain Ranch series by Jan Scarbrough.

    Ryan grew up hot. And his perfect kiss just saved my life.Teasing eyes. Tempting lips. Muscles that could stop traffic.No wonder he’s a soap opera star.My voluptuous curves melted against his hard abs, and the next thing I knew, I was pregnant.My little brother’s gonna murder him, but only if he finds out.I’ve never been good at keeping secrets, and Ryan’s doing all he can to pry this new one out of me.What happens if I tell?The only thing worse than losing my family would be losing him.Has love always been a four letter word?

    Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? I don’t see how things could get any worse.”When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

    What if you find him—and he doesn’t remember you? In her captivating new novel, Susan Shapiro explores the perils of revisiting past passion. Lila Penn leaves Wisconsin for graduate school in the big city, where she falls for her professor Daniel Wildman. Decades after their tangled link, she arranges a tête-à-tête in downtown Manhattan. But the shocking encounter blindsides Lila, causing her to question her memory—and sanity. Switching between Greenwich Village and Tel Aviv, the saga unravels the sexual secret that’s haunted Daniel and Lila for thirty years.“Frank, darkly funny, entertaining...”—New York Times Book Review“A promiscuously readable guilty pleasure...”—Elle Magazine“Funny and original, with a soulfulness beneath the humor.”—Ian Frazier“Sly, candid, disarming...”—Pam Houston“Shapiro’s voice is so passionate and honest,it’s bewitching.”—Erica Jong“Irresistible energy, winning humor... breathtakingly frank honesty.”—Philip Lopate“Unputdownable.”—Gael GreenePublisher’s Weekly, October 2015:In raw and elegant prose, Shapiro (Five Men Who Broke My Heart) sensitively examines the subject of the one who got away—and what happens when you try to revisit an old romance. When brash, naive graduate student Lila Lerner arrives in New York City from Baraboo, Wisc., she immediately falls for her poetry professor, Daniel Wildman, who is 20 years her senior. As the tale opens, a now-happily married Lila attends the book signing of her former love, and is appalled when he doesn't seem to recognize her. But is his forgetfulness real, or simply a defense mechanism? Shapiro then leads the reader into the past, skillfully illustrating why Daniel's reaction is so upsetting to Lila and even leads her to think that her own memory is faulty. The author deftly toggles through decades, opening in 2010 and often moving to the early '80s, and from New York City to Israel, telling the story from Daniel's point of view as well as Lila's—lending empathy to a character who could have been the stereotypical older man taking advantage of a younger woman. Shapiro's witty, flawed characters leap off the page, showing the before, during, and after of a love affair. Library Journal, October 15, 2015: Lila Penn came to New York City from Wisconsin in 1980 as an idealistic young student in a graduate writing program. She fell in love with the city and with her professor and mentor, Daniel Wildman, but their relationship ended abruptly when he left for Tel Aviv. Professor Wildman turned out to be more indecisive than wild, and Lila was very young. Now, 30 years later, both are happily married to other people. But is there still a spark between the former student and her much older professor? Forward to 2010: Wildman has just won a Pulitzer Prize for his writing. Lila nervously decides to go to his reading and book signing, but it doesn't go well. Could it be that her former love doesn't even remember her? This wistful story of love and poetry is told from the viewpoints of both characters, then and now. Shapiro (Overexposed) is especially clever in her portrayal of the petty dramas and rivalries of creative writing programs. VERDICT This wry look back at a complicated and doomed romance is a sophisticated and witty novel about academia and New York publishing.—Leslie Patterson, Rehoboth, MA

    As the owner of a candy shop in historic Biltmore Village and a well respected member of the Preservation Society, she was happy with her place in the world. Until a friend of a friend comments on one of her Facebook posts and they begin to talk. Nick charms her in a way that throws her off guard. Though the two have never met, they rely on their own form of companionship to get through the stresses of their day. For Alexis, part of this stress involves a jerk named Evan Monroe — an out of state guy trying to build a shopping center in her precious historic village. Something she will fight to see stopped. Evan is a dealmaker. He has helped develop real estate projects all over the country. But none has ever been as difficult as the one he’s trying to get off the ground in Asheville, NC. Who would have imagined that a young woman who owns a candy shop would be his biggest obstacle yet? There’s no doubt about the fact that Alexis is tough and sometimes Evan feels like battling her is going to do him in. Thankfully he has found companionship in a fun and friendly lady named Lexi. Sure, their relationship hasn’t extended beyond chatting online but, even so, there’s something about her that just calms him and helps him to feel a little less lonely. As the battle between Evan and Alexis rages on, they discover that they have more in common than the land over which they are fighting. What will happen when they realize that friend and foe are actually one and the same? Will the battle to win a piece of land destroy the bond between two lonely hearts? And, in the process, obliterate the chances for a happy future together?

    After a night of steamy passion, Sarah never expects to keep Santino in her life. Until she learns she's carrying his child! Despite Santino Orlando’s playboy lifestyle, he’s a smart business man and always keeps his eye on what he wants. Including Sarah, the smart and beautiful woman who captured his attention the moment they met. When Sarah contacts him after their special night together, he learns his life will never be the same. Will a surprise child give their relationship a chance to grow? Can Santino be anything more then Sarah's baby daddy? Note: This book contains very steamy BWWM scenes featuring a sexy alpha male billionaire. Mature readers only!

    

    A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams. Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t. When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer. But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality. A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

    She doesn’t believe in marriage, and she’s learned to only count on herself. At her Uncle Walter’s insistence, and a little emotional blackmail, she returns to Misty Harbor Cottages to help him for one last summer in a place that's really the only home she’s ever known. Cole Zamora has worked at Misty Harbor for more than half of his twenty-three years, and imagined someday owning the place. He met Jenna when they were ten-years-old, and his young heart fell hard for her, relishing every summer she came back. That is, until two years ago, when she broke his heart and never returned. Uncle Walter proposes a challenge between the two, with the winner becoming the new owner of Misty Harbor. Now, there’s a real chance Cole could lose his heart and his home. Jenna isn’t sure which worries her more—a summer of rivalry or romance? One Last Summer is a 100-page novella in the clean & wholesome romance category.