For almost five years, Alex has had one obsession. Her name is Elynn. Alex Hanas couldn't believe that after so many years as a widower, his father was getting remarried. To make matters worse, the American gold digger had a kid-a daughter named Elynn. After months of avoiding it, Alex goes to brunch with every intention of giving his father's new family the deep freeze. But he can't pull it off with Elynn's anxious green-grey eyes locked on him. That was the day his life changed. Four years later, Alex is as close to Elynn as a stepbrother can be. But that's not enough for him. He wants more...and he's done waiting.
From USA TODAY Bestselling author, Lexy Timms, comes a spin off from the Hades’ Spawn MC series – Beating the Biker. Saks’ Story Anthony Parks, AKA Saks, straddles two worlds and neither one is very reputable. By day, he’s a motorcycle mechanic and Road Captain of the Hades’ Spawn, a none-too-squeaky-clean motorcycle club. By night, he’s the scion of an organized crime family who wants him to join the family business full time. Recent events with the Spawn MC have soured his community reputation, and while certain women like bad boys that’s not the kind Saks is looking for. Add in pressure from his family to marry, and Saks is faced with an impossible situation. His wise-guy uncle proposes an arranged marriage between Saks and the daughter of a don from another crime family. When he meets a mysterious blonde who shows him love at first sight is possible, he knows he can never accept his uncle’s proposal. Now he has to figure out a way to tell Uncle Vits without getting excommunicated from the family or putting the Spawn in the crosshairs of a powerful crime organization. Now if only he could find the woman who stole his heart. Christina’s story Christina Marie Serafina decided a long time ago that her loving but paternalistic family wasn’t going to determine the course of her life. She has no desire to get mixed up in any of the illegal businesses her family owns. She’s earned a Masters in Business and Communications on her own dime, and just landed her dream job as Director of Marketing for an up and coming business. Marriage and a family aren’t in her game plan right now. When her grandfather announces that he’s arranged a marriage for her with a good Italian man, Christina goes ballistic. She’s marrying a man of her own choosing, not some member from another crime family. Urged by her sister to at least check the guy out, she goes to his family’s bar to confirm her suspicions. Except she meets a handsome biker that knows exactly how to send her body into overdrive. Realizing the hunky man is the one her grandfather wants her to marry sends her into flight mode, even though he haunts her dreams. Can Saks convince the woman of his dreams to look past his family connections and take a chance on a lowly motorcycle mechanic? And if he does, can he look past hers?
He'll do anything to keep her safe and to make her his. Sinclair “Sin” Alpha is a bad man. A hitman, he’s hired to take care of some local gangster when he first sees Ainsley. It only takes one look, and he knows that she’s it for him. He had grown tired of his life, but one look at the small girl, and he knows he's found his purpose -To protect his girl. A person at the restaurant tries to skip out without paying, and he’s there to step in. Gang guy tries to hit on her, and he's there warning him to keep his hands to himself. Sin wants to spend his life making sure that Ainsley is taken care of and that nothing bad ever touches her and he's not going to let anything or anyone, stop him. *Warning! This book alpha is over-the-top, head over heels in love with his girl. If you're looking for a steamy insta-love story, then this book is for you!
"You will find my story is a lot like pie, a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It's bitter. It's messy. It's got some sweetness, too. Sometimes the ingredients get added in the wrong order, but it has substance, it will warm your insides, and even though it isn't perfect, it still turns out okay in the end." When journalist Beth M. Howard's young husband dies suddenly, she packs up the RV he left behind and hits the American highways. At every stop along the way—whether filming a documentary or handing out free slices on the streets of Los Angeles—Beth uses pie as a way to find purpose. Howard eventually returns to her Iowa roots and creates the perfect synergy between two of America's greatest icons—pie and the American Gothic House, the little farmhouse immortalized in Grant Wood's famous painting, where she now lives and runs the Pitchfork Pie Stand. Making Piece powerfully shows how one courageous woman triumphs over tragedy. This beautifully written memoir is, ultimately, about hope. It's about the journey of healing and recovery, of facing fears, finding meaning in life again, and moving forward with purpose and, eventually, joy. It's about the nourishment of the heart and soul that comes from the simple act of giving to others, like baking a homemade pie and sharing it with someone whose pain is even greater than your own. And it tells of the role of fate, second chances and the strength found in community.
Based on a Navy SEAL's inspiring graduation speech, this #1 New York Times bestseller of powerful life lessons "should be read by every leader in America" (Wall Street Journal). If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university's slogan, "What starts here changes the world," he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better. Admiral McRaven's original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life's darkest moments. "Powerful." --USA Today "Full of captivating personal anecdotes from inside the national security vault." --Washington Post "Superb, smart, and succinct." --Forbes
The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly “Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, Severance. "A stunning, audacious book with a fresh take on both office politics and what the apocalypse might bring." —Michael Schaub, NPR.org “A satirical spin on the end times-- kind of like The Office meets The Leftovers.” --Estelle Tang, Elle NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: NPR * The New Yorker ("Books We Loved") * Elle * Marie Claire * Amazon Editors * The Paris Review (Staff Favorites) * Refinery29 * Bustle * Buzzfeed * BookPage * Bookish * Mental Floss * Chicago Review of Books * HuffPost * Electric Literature * A.V. Club * Jezebel * Vulture * Literary Hub * Flavorwire Winner of the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award * Winner of the Kirkus Prize for Fiction * Winner of the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award * Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel * A New York Times Notable Book of 2018 * An Indie Next Selection Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine. With the recent passing of her Chinese immigrant parents, she’s had her fill of uncertainty. She’s content just to carry on: She goes to work, troubleshoots the teen-targeted Gemstone Bible, watches movies in a Greenpoint basement with her boyfriend. So Candace barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps New York. Then Shen Fever spreads. Families flee. Companies cease operations. The subways screech to a halt. Her bosses enlist her as part of a dwindling skeleton crew with a big end-date payoff. Soon entirely alone, still unfevered, she photographs the eerie, abandoned city as the anonymous blogger NY Ghost. Candace won’t be able to make it on her own forever, though. Enter a group of survivors, led by the power-hungry IT tech Bob. They’re traveling to a place called the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers? A send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines, and missed opportunities of contemporary life, Ling Ma’s Severance is a moving family story, a quirky coming-of-adulthood tale, and a hilarious, deadpan satire. Most important, it’s a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive.
A child is missing. The words chill Detective Mike Ryan and bring to mind memories of his own tragedy. He'll dedicate every resource he has until the girl Sicily is found, safe…and alive. His investigation hits a snag with Sicily's aunt and guardian, Beth Greenway. Beth's cool demeanor is at odds with the situation, making him suspicious. She's definitely hiding something. But the more time he spends with her, the less he believes that something is about the missing niece. And with all that contact, Mike sees Beth's vulnerabilities. Suddenly, he wants to protect her, even while he wants to know her secrets. As the search hits one roadblock after another, Mike's dedication intensifies. He needs to bring Sicily home for Beth…but also for the future he wants with them.
When she discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her, Sydney, a 22-year-old college student, must decide what to do next, especially when she becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor Ridge.
Marie had been in love with her boss ever since the first week she’d started working for him. But he was engaged. Off limits. And then he wasn’t! How had it happened that she was in the Caribbean – with Phillip!? He was supposed to be here with his new bride but Lillian was married to someone else and…Okay, Marie wasn’t sure what was going on.
