And just like that I decided I was done; done with the ugliness of the world and done existing amongst people who only pretended to love me the way I deserve to be loved. No longer held down by the weight of my life, I find freedom from the monsters that plague my own mind. No longer held down by the abuse of my spouse, I find freedom from the monster in my bed. Finding inner strength I didn't know I had, to break free from the shackles that have kept me prisoner to my own life, I made the decision to get away and let go of the toxicity drowning me day to day. Doing my best to navigate through life as a newly single mom, I keep my head down and work hard to keep my daughter safe as we start our new life tucked away in a small town. I would have never expected to find happiness in three men who love my daughter like their own, but I should have known that I could never truly find contentment in life as long as my ex is still alive and breathing. He finds us and now none of us are safe. WARNING: Life as She Knows it is a reverse harem romance. Meaning the FMC is in a relationship with three or more men. This is the first book of the Learning to Love Again series and does result in a cliffhanger. This book features dark themes, potential triggers, foul language and sexual scenes so it may not be suitable for everyone. This book is recommended for readers eighteen years of age or older.
I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald's still would be open. High school sophomore Miranda's disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, like "one marble hits another." The result is catastrophic. How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun? As August turns dark and wintery in northeastern Pennsylvania, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. Told in a year's worth of journal entries, this heart-pounding story chronicles Miranda's struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. An extraordinary series debut Susan Beth Pfeffer has written several companion novels to Life As We Knew It, including The Dead and the Gone, This World We Live In, and The Shade of the Moon.
Karen Schwind brings us Caroline McKee, a girl on the cusp of womanhood who is determined to right the wrongs former friends did to her. She gets her chance when Billy Taylor, a veteran of the Great War, returns to Greensboro and opens a newspaper in the spring of 1919. Together they dig into the lives of townspeople until Caroline discovers a secret that lays bare the sorrow and shame of people she "s known all her life. Publishing a front-page story of betrayal and tragedy, Caroline learns a lesson that only her devout Christian father could teach--about love, loyalty and letting go. Schwind has crafted Sa memorable setting that feels historically authentic and Sportrays Caroline McKee's longing for an idealized childhood . . . in tender, nostalgic language that captures the reader "s imagination until the last unexpected turn of this amazing story."Her Life as She Knew It is a beautiful and heartfelt Southern story about the ways in which the past we hide from ourselves emerges no matter what we do to stop it. Debut novelist Karen Schwind takes us deep into the thoughts and feelings of a young woman in 1919 who deals with betrayal on several fronts. Crafting a memorable setting that feels historically authentic, Schwind portrays Caroline McKee's longing for an idealized childhood, as well as her response to betrayal, in tender, nostalgic ways. Schwind knows this world/this memorable time in America's history, she understands why we need to keep secrets from ourselves, and she shares it all in her lyrical language."-Julie L. Cannon, author of Truelove & Homegrown Tomatoes
A teenage girl wonders if she's inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut. Seventeen-year-old Chloe had a plan: work hard, get good grades, and attend a top-tier college. But after she collapses during cross-country practice and is told that she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste. Eight months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, all she wants to do now is grab her surfboard and hit the waves--which is strange, because she wasn't interested in surfing before her transplant. (It doesn't hurt that her instructor, Kai, is seriously good-looking.) And that's not all that's strange. There's also the vivid recurring nightmare about crashing a motorcycle in a tunnel and memories of people and places she doesn't recognize. Is there something wrong with her head now, too, or is there another explanation for what she's experiencing? As she searches for answers, and as her attraction to Kai intensifies, what she learns will lead her to question everything she thought she knew--about life, death, love, identity, and the true nature of reality.
In 1981, a young woman faced death as she lay on the floor of a small boat in the South China Sea fleeing the life she once knew in Vietnam. In 2008, her teenage daughter lay fighting for her life after being brutally raped and abandoned while returning books at a library near Tampa, Florida. The attack in front of the Bloomingdale library left Queena with a traumatic brain injury, sentenced to a life unable to walk, see, or speak. As Vanna Nguyen lovingly poured herself into caring for her now severely disabled daughter, she also battled with reliving her own Vietnam War survival story. And she must decide, can she forgive the attacker whose unforgivable decision changed both their lives as they knew them forever? In The Life She Once Knew, Vanna candidly chronicles the deeply spiritual and emotionally powerful journeys of these two strong women as they fight for their lives and their futures decades apart.
Catching a killer is dangerous—especially if he lives next door From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes an exquisitely chilling tale of a young suburban wife with a history of psychological instability whose fears about her new neighbor could lead them both to murder . . . Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace. But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either. Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college, when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate? The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face to face with Matthew in a dark parking lot, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she’s really on to him. And that this is the beginning of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape. . .
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A life-changing guide to finding your direction—and your passion—in a world of seemingly limitless options “For those who want to find their passion . . . a step-by-step guide for restructuring one’s life so that it has meaning, direction, and joy.”—Ellen Kreidman, author of Light His Fire and Light Her Fire If you suspect there could be more to life than what you’re getting, if you always knew you could do anything—if you only knew what it was—this extraordinary book is about to prove you right. No matter what your age, no matter how “unattainable” your dreams, you can create and live a life you love. I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was reveals how you can recapture “long lost” goals, overcome the blocks that inhibit your success, decide what you want to be, and live your dreams forever. You will learn: • What to do if you never chose to be what you are. • How to get off the fast track—and on to the right track. • First aid techniques for paralyzing chronic negativity. • How to regroup when you've lost your big dream. • To stop waiting for luck—and start creating it. A life without direction is a life without passion. I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was guides you not to another unsatisfying job but to a richly rewarding career rooted in your heart’s desire.
“Five Stars! The tale immediately drew me in, into the town, into the intriguing mystery, and into the people. A real treat to read." ~Deb, Amazon Hall of Fame Top 100 Reviewer Laurel Falls, N.C., 1985: My life was saved by a murder. At the time, of course, I didn’t understand that. I just knew I was having the best year of my life. Given all the terrible things that happened, I should be ashamed to say it, but that year was a blessing for me. It all started with a wave. Della Kincaid and her dog, Jake, driving by, staring at the For Sale sign in front of Daddy’s store. Before long, she’d bought it. She explained she was done with being a crime reporter in Washington, D.C., tired of all the violence. So she packed up and moved to our small town of Laurel Falls, N.C. She told everybody it looked like heaven to her—ancient mountains brimming with tall trees and songbirds, peace and quiet. Until she found the body. Our lazy old sheriff called it a suicide. No way. Della agreed. So we teamed up and traipsed all over the mountains of North Carolina to find what did happen. Along the way, we sure met some interesting characters—both good and bad. We made a plan, and we worked it hard to find that killer before we became the next victims. ~Abit Bradshaw “TERRIFIC SERIES! The characters are awesome. I can't stop reading. I don't want these books to end!” You'll enjoy this suspenseful story because who doesn't dream of second chances? If you love Elly Griffiths, Sue Grafton, and Cheryl Bradshaw (no relation to Abit Bradshaw that we know of), you're sure to enjoy the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series. Get it now—for the rich natural setting, colorful characters, and suspenseful investigations. A Life for a Life is the first novel in the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series by award-winning author Lynda McDaniel. Interview with Lynda McDaniel Q: What makes the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Series so special? A: In addition to the suspense of a good mystery, each book includes people and stories from the years I spent on my "back to the land" farm in Appalachia. You'll meet a cantankerous laundromat owner who was just as weird as she's portrayed, a gentle giant of a beekeeper with an abiding love for his family, and Cleva Hall, who's based on a woman who taught me how to put food by. But especially Abit Bradshaw, one of the amateur sleuths along with Della Kincaid, a former journalist. Abit started in a supporting role, but I listened to my readers and gave him a starring role in the rest of the series. This book and the next two—The Roads to Damascus and Welcome the Little Children—are coming-of-age stories for Abit. Q: Why should readers give these books a try? A: Readers who prefer suspense without over-the-top violence will enjoy this series. I write in the British style, where the dastardly deed is done off stage; (similar in that way to cozy mysteries). I don't like mounting body bags, but I do enjoy the chase for justice. In addition to the crimes, readers will find vivid mountain settings, colorful characters, sharp wit, good food, and a touch of romance. Q: In what order were the books written? A Life for a Life The Roads to Damascus Welcome the Little Children Murder Ballad Blues Deep in the Forest Up the Creek Unwrapped After Dusk Waiting for You (free prequel) What readers are saying: "EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. Lynda McDaniel has the gift of putting the reader right there in her stories with characters that grab ahold of your heart strings and take you into their world page after page." ~L. Judd "REMINDS ME OF To Kill a Mockingbird. You are a treasure of a writer." ~J. M. Grayson "THIS WAS MY FIRST BOOK BY LYNDA McDANIEL, WON'T BE MY LAST. Love a book that can hold my interest to the point I don't want it to end." ~M. Ballard "McDANIEL DELIVERS A PAIR OF UNFORGETTABLE CRIME-SOLVING CHARACTERS. She lured me into her story and kept me there." ~Virginia McCullough, award-winning author of Amber Light.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter, from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Let Me Tell You What I Mean Richly textured with memories from her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion is an intensely personal and moving account of her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness and growing old. As she reflects on her daughter’s life and on her role as a parent, Didion grapples with the candid questions that all parents face, and contemplates her age, something she finds hard to acknowledge, much less accept. Blue Nights—the long, light evening hours that signal the summer solstice, “the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning”—like The Year of Magical Thinking before it, is an iconic book of incisive and electric honesty, haunting and profound.
