Hoping to erase her unhappy old life, Hazel jumps in her beat-up old car and speeds away. When she pulls up to the Evening and Morning Star Trailer Park, where nothing turns into even more of nothing, she decides it just might be the new life she's looking for. At the centre of this new life is King, a motorcycle-riding, hard-drinking, guitar-playing kind of guy. Hazel loves him to death. He spends his days fixing cars, while Hazel spends hers working at the town's thrift shop. Evenings they spend with Spiney and Sissy, playing cards or drinking at Old Joe's. It's a clear kind of life, pure as water in the old quarry. As Hazel settles into the trailer park, she begins to settle into her new life too. She covers the trailer's yard with wildflowers. She makes new friends, like Egbert (Egg), who helps her create elaborate tableaux in the thrift-shop window. She may even learn how to cook. But when King's repeated brushes with the law bring him a spell in jail, things begin, slowly and surely, to unravel. Maybe Hazel hasn't outrun herself after all, maybe year-round Christmas lights and thrift-shop glamour can't outshine honesty, and maybe Hazel can't make her world perfect by willing it so. Fun and sad and true, King feels like a slumber party: just you and your best friend in sleeping bags whispering through the long night. And when you wake up in the morning, you'll blink, shake your head, and for a second, just a second, the world will seem like a more magical place.
New Orleans PI Neal Rafferty is out to avenge the murder of an old flame in this mystery from the national-bestselling author of The Last Madam. A phone call at midnight. A cocktail lounge on New Orleans’s West Bank. A young woman who wants to photograph prostitutes and re-create Bellocq’s famous Storyville portraits. And murder. These are the threads that lead private eye Neal Rafferty into a labyrinth of danger in the Crescent City . . . where crime is always hot, spicy, and full-flavored with suspense. The phone call is from his old girlfriend Jackie Silva. A loan shark named Bubba Brevna is threatening to collect from Jackie the traditional way . . . with pain. He’s already moved into her establishment—the Emerald Lizard—with a bouncer called Godzilla, some call girls, and a set of muscular twins with one brain between them who are running “chicken drop” contests on the dance floor. What Rafferty can’t foresee is that, within days, the Emerald Lizard will be torched and Jackie Silva will be dead; soon, the young photographer will be missing. Rafferty begins a dark journey of guilt, grief, and revenge amid the stink of corruption that will send him into the deadly shadows of narrow streets and twisted hearts.
From the best-selling author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White, a daring reimagining of one of the most tumultuous moments in our nation’s past Stephen L. Carter’s thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial . . . Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman with a degree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firm that has undertaken Lincoln’s defense, and the iron-strong conviction, learned from her late mother, that “whatever limitations society might place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply to her.” And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms of every stratum of Washington society: working side by side with a white clerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, including the president himself. But when Lincoln’s lead counsel is found brutally murdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged into a treacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the divided government. Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of post–Civil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense. This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
They are my harvest, and I will reap them all. Returning to Guthrie, Oklahoma, for the funeral of his mysterious and beloved aunt Sue, Adam Binder once again finds himself in the path of deadly magic when a dark druid begins to prey on members of Adam’s family. It all seems linked to the death of Adam’s father many years ago—a man who may have somehow survived as a warlock. Watched by the police, separated from the man who may be the love of his life, compelled to seek the truth about his connection to the druid, Adam learns more about his family and its troubled history than he ever bargained for, and finally comes face-to-face with the warlock he has vowed to stop. Meanwhile, beyond the Veil of the mortal world, Argent the Queen of Swords and Vic the Reaper undertake a dangerous journey to a secret meeting of the Council of Races . . . where the sea elves are calling for the destruction of humanity.
When I learned my husband married me to keep his trust fund, I served him divorce papers. Doing the deed on top of those papers probably wasn’t a good idea. From Marie Johnston comes a second chance romance. I was content being the girl from the trailer park who grew up to be a quiet librarian. My idea of excitement was when King Oil hosted an open house and invited my workplace. Aiden King would be there, and he’d probably look better than he did when we were kids. A girl could dream—his looks and money made sure of it. I didn’t expect him to remember me, much less ask me out. And keep dating me. He proposed and we married. I tried to be happy but he was distant and always gone for work. Then I learned the millions of reasons why he married me. In order to keep his trust fund, he needed a wife. I was nothing but an easy target. So I served him divorce papers. Only he won’t sign them, and I can’t figure out why. He cares more about his family’s company than me. I can’t believe I’m the woman he’d have chosen if he wasn’t rushed. But one night, he breaks and reveals why he’s not signing those papers, and his explanation is fast…and hot…and explosive. And right on top of those papers. I want to believe a simple girl like me could land a wealthy, handsome guy like him, but he fooled me once already. And I can’t go back to a cold husband who won’t make me a priority. King's Queen is a standalone novel in the Oil Kings series. For readers who also like Ann Mayburn, Carly Phillips, Carrie Ann Ryan, Cat Johnson, Catherine Cowles, Chelle Bliss, Cherise Sinclair, Cheyenne McCray, Claudia Burgoa, Debra Holt, Devney Perry, Diana Palmer, Esther E. Schmidt, Genevieve Turner, Helen Hardt, Jane Henry, Janet Dailey, Jeanne St. James, Jenna Jacob, Jennifer Ryan, Julia Sykes, Kennedy Fox, Kim Loraine, Lani Lynn Vale, Lauren Blakely, Lauren Landish, Laylah Roberts, Lexi Blake, Linda Lael Miller, Lindsay McKenna, Lorelei James, Lori Wilde, Maisy Yates, Max Monroe, Melissa Foster, Nicole Snow, Renee Rose, Samantha Madisen, Shayla Black, Sophie Oak, Stephanie Rowe, Susan Stoker, Vi Keeland, Vivian Arend, Willa Nash, Willow Winters, Zoe York, Erin Wright, Laramie Briscoe, Kylie Gilmore, Kait Nolan, Tracy Alvarez, Lili Valente, Vanessa Vale, Tawdra Kandle, Colleen Hoover, Maya Banks, Penelope Sky, Kendall Ryan, Kennedy Fox, Chelle Bliss, Sarina Bowen, Penelope Ward, Marie Force, Melissa Foster, Kristen Proby, Devney Perry, Susan Stoker, Tessa Bailey, Jana Aston, Sally Thorne, Christina Lauren, Elle Kennedy, Julia Kent, Sylvia Day, K.A. Linde, Jessica Hawkins, Rachel VanDyken, Jodi Ellen Malpas, L.J. Shen, Natasha Madison, Emily Henry, Corrine Michaels, and Kylie Scott. romance books, contemporary romance, small town, best friends, cowboy romance, western romance, marriage and family, series starter, first in series, romance series, romance saga, romantic family saga, bestseller romance, steamy, sexy, heartwarming, heart-warming, family, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, captivating romance, emotional, healing, hot, hot romance, forbidden love, second chance romance, loyalty, swoon, funny romance, modern romance, forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, family business, strong female lead, strong heroine, top romance reads, best seller, romance novels, love story, angst, American western, unrequited love, adult romance, mature romance, rodeo, heartbreak, breakup, strong woman, contemporary women, full length, steamy, angsty, first love, romance series, series, mistaken country westerns, marriage on the brink, divorce, Montana, farming and ranching romance.
Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Winner,The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves--and each other--while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. Perfect for fans of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down. "Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The New York Public Library “Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” —BookRiot.com Dill isn't the most popular kid at his rural Tennessee high school. After his father fell from grace in a public scandal that reverberated throughout their small town, Dill became a target. Fortunately, his two fellow misfits and best friends, Travis and Lydia, have his back. But as they begin their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. His only escapes are music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core. Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past. “A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it’s as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking.” —PasteMagazine.com “A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it.” —Mashable.com “I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another.”—New York Times
Their second chance at love may end before it begins. King Moncrief was born to a life of privilege and wealth—and walked away. From his life, and from the woman he loved. He answered the call to serve, first as a cop, then as a security specialist for JCL Securities. Protection is in his blood, but it can’t keep him warm at night. Not when dreams of what could have been, what will never be, leave him cold to the core. Charlotte Alexander lost the two most important things in her life just out of high school: her childhood sweetheart and her only chance at having a family of her own. Now her energy is poured into the charity she founded, Creating Families, helping babies and their mothers find a better life. But something isn’t right at CF, and when Charlotte is targeted by a killer, there’s only one place she can turn. Back to the past. To the man who walked away. The man she denied but never forgot. * Don’t miss the whole Southern Nights: Enigma series: Come For Me (Book 1) Deceive Me (Book 2) Destroy Me (Book 3) Deny Me (Book 4) Desire Me (Book 5) And see where it all began with the original Southern Nights: Teach Me (Book 1) Trust Me (Book 2) Take Me (A Southern Nights Standalone)
