Leaving a trail of broken hearts scattered across the islands, surf instructor Colby Taylor, aka Breaker, is running full speed away from her selfish actions years earlier. Hiding in the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, the last thing she expects to encounter is Elizabeth Collins, a stuffy, judgmental college professor forced down her own escape path. Elizabeth is uncharacteristically drawn to the mysterious surfer but can't picture herself having a vacation fling, or any other relationship with the enigamatic Breaker. Set in the backdrop of Maui, one of Hawaii's most beautiful islands, both women must overcome their doubts and apprehensions to discover the true beauty of life—each other.
A. L. Graziadei's Icebreaker is an irresistible YA debut about two hockey players fighting to be the best—and the romance that catches them by surprise along the way. Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it. This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.
This is not a book about one thing. It's not a 250-page dissertation on leadership, teams or motivation. Instead, it's an agenda for building organizations that can flourish in a world of diminished hopes, relentless change and ferocious competition. This is not a book about doing better. It's not a manual for people who want to tinker at the margins. Instead, it's an impassioned plea to reinvent management as we know it—to rethink the fundamental assumptions we have about capitalism, organizational life, and the meaning of work. Leaders today confront a world where the unprecedented is the norm. Wherever one looks, one sees the exceptional and the extraordinary: Business newspapers decrying the state of capitalism. Once-innovative companies struggling to save off senescence. Next gen employees shunning blue chips for social start-ups. Corporate miscreants getting pilloried in the blogosphere. Entry barriers tumbling in what were once oligopolistic strongholds. Hundred year-old business models being rendered irrelevant overnight. Newbie organizations crowdsourcing their most creative work. National governments lurching towards bankruptcy. Investors angrily confronting greedy CEOs and complacent boards. Newly omnipotent customers eagerly wielding their power. Social media dramatically transforming the way human beings connect, learn and collaborate. Obviously, there are lots of things that matter now. But in a world of fractured certainties and battered trust, some things matter more than others. While the challenges facing organizations are limitless; leadership bandwidth isn't. That's why you have to be clear about what really matters now. What are the fundamental, make-or-break issues that will determine whether your organization thrives or dives in the years ahead? Hamel identifies five issues are that are paramount: values, innovation, adaptability, passion and ideology. In doing so he presents an essential agenda for leaders everywhere who are eager to... move from defense to offense reverse the tide of commoditization defeat bureaucracy astonish their customers foster extraordinary contribution capture the moral high ground outrun change build a company that's truly fit for the future Concise and to the point, the book will inspire you to rethink your business, your company and how you lead.
Model Breakers: Breaking Through Stereotypes and Embracing Your Authenticity explores the intersection of self-awareness, identity, and minority stories. Charlene Wang invites us to change the limiting beliefs we impose on ourselves and break through the stereotypes that can keep us from achieving our dreams. Through the experiences of numerous Model Breakers, this book will help you to take risks and turn disadvantages into powerful tools. This book is for anyone who strives to fearlessly discover, accept and share their story with the world. If you are looking for some inspiration to surpass stumbling blocks in your personal and professional journey, this book is a must-read. Learn how to break through stereotypes and become a Model Breaker!
What would you do if the woman sitting across from you at the negotiating table is the same woman you shared a bed with twelve years earlier? That’s exactly the situation when Adrienne Phillips enters the offices of Foster McKenzie. Sloan Merchant, the opposing attorney, is a rising star in the world of corporate law with one of the premier companies in the world. Adrienne has never forgotten the thrill of desire in Sloan’s eyes, the sound of her name whispered in the dark, the rising crescendo of the pleasure of her touch, and the heartbreaking loss when it was over. Sloan has the world at her feet and any woman at her fingertips so why does she dream of her college fling? And what in the hell is she going to do now with her sitting across the negotiating table in one of the biggest deals of her life?
For fans of HBO’s The Gilded Age, explore the dark side of the alluring world of America’s 19th century elite in this gripping series of riveting mysteries… As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder darkens a glittering affair at their summer home, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the cream of the crop can curdle one’s blood . . . Newport, Rhode Island, August 1895: She may be a less well-heeled relation, but as second cousin to millionaire patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, twenty-one-year-old Emma Cross is on the guest list for a grand ball at the Breakers, the Vanderbilts’ summer home. She also has a job to do—report on the event for the society page of the Newport Observer. But Emma observes much more than glitz and gaiety when she witnesses a murder. The victim is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who plunges off a balcony faster than falling stock prices. Emma’s black sheep brother Brady is found in Cornelius’s bedroom passed out next to a bottle of bourbon and stolen plans for a new railroad line. Brady has barely come to before the police have arrested him for the murder. But Emma is sure someone is trying to railroad her brother and resolves to find the real killer at any cost . . . “Sorry to see the conclusion of Downton Abbey? Well, here is a morsel to get you through a long afternoon. Brew some Earl Grey and settle down with a scone with this one.” —Washington Independent Review of Books
Deciding when to work on a relationship and when to walk away is a skill that can prevent us wasting months and even years of our lives on partners that will never make us truly happy. Once we have learned to identify the deal breaker in a relationship we can empower ourselves to action, and then change and improve our lives. Whereas books like 'He's Just Not That Into You' explored relationship troubles in black and white, 'Deal Breakers' covers all the shades of grey that lie in between - all those areas where relationships can hit an impasse. Some deal breakers are easy to identify - one partner wants marriage, the other doesn't - yet many are more subtle and difficult to pinpoint. Dr Bethany Marshall is a relationships expert. She has identified specific male archetypes and the traits that frustrate and infuriate their partners. Here, for the first time in book form, is advice that can help any woman who is trying too hard to make her relationship work.
Welcome to the world of the Ice Breakers…A world full of cold case mysteries and red-hot romances. Frozen In Ice (Book One) Delilah “Lila” Darrow doesn’t belong in the world of the rich and famous, but for one night, she’s going to wear the fanciest dress she can find and pretend that she does. Her plan—get close to reclusive billionaire Archer Radcliffe and find out…is he a murderer? Delilah is part of a group of crime solvers called the Ice Breakers—an online team made up of individuals who have the goal of solving cold cases. Archer Radcliffe will be the latest target in her quest. Except…Archer turns the tables on her. He sees through her lies. Tries to seduce her. And, he also swears his innocence. Falling For The Ice Queen (Book Two) Memphis Camden isn’t a nice guy. A former bounty hunter, Memphis now has a deadly new target…a serial killer. Memphis has been tracking the guy for months, and he may just have found the way to drag the monster into the light. In order to accomplish his mission, he’s going to need help from an unlikely ally… Eliza Robinson doesn’t talk about her past. She tried going to the cops—long ago—but they never caught the man responsible for her abduction. But Memphis is hunting for the man who once turned Eliza’s world into a nightmare. Memphis wants her help because she is the only one who ever escaped from the monster. What Memphis doesn’t know…is that the monster has been stalking Eliza ever since she fled from him… Ice Cold Saint (Book Three) Saint is in the family business…the business of hunting killers and closing unsolved cases. He knows his reputation—most people think he is a monster. But it takes a guy like him to get the job done. And his latest job? Well, that job has him tracking down a suspected Black Widow…the beautiful and ever-so-seductive Alice Shephard. A woman who is linked to the disappearance of three men. Whispers and scandal follow her every step, but Alice doesn’t seem to care. Is she responsible for the disappearances—and possible deaths—of three ex-lovers? Saint will find out. If she’s guilty, he’ll personally lock her away, just as he has done on case after case before.
