Sil lost his grandfather and a bit of himself. The directionless 40 something is cleaning his grandfather's home when he stumbles upon something wildly out of character for his grandfather; a ring. The ring is mesmerizing and Sil finds out that is so much more than a simple piece of jewelry.A prequel to the Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mysteries. Frannie and Larry Shoemaker have busy jobs, two teenagers, and plenty of other demands on their time and sanity. Larry's sister and brother-in-law pester them to try camping for relaxation--time to sit back, enjoy nature, and catch up on naps. After all, what could go wrong? Join Frannie as "RV there yet?" becomes "RV crazy?" and she learns that going back to nature doesn't necessarily mean a simpler life.

The planet Zarmina is an object of scientific research with its curious life forms and vast planetary ocean. But when amateurs from Earth arrive looking for fun and entertainment, the situation turns volatile.Contamination Event is the first in a collection of related hard science fiction short stories detailing the wonders and perils of the cosmos.The twenty-third century is a golden age for humanity. A period known as the Troubles - two hundred years of war, famine, and destructive climate change - are behind us. With enough food, energy, and medicine for everyone and robots performing most of the hard labor, individuals are free to pursue their own interests.Technology has advanced. Human beings, using a technique that allows us to fold space, have embarked on an exploration of the nearest star systems. It is an exciting and dangerous proposition, one that attracts the bravest and most curious minds.Two astronauts sent from Earth during the Troubles to scout out Proxima Centauri suddenly arrive to find that everyone has forgotten about them. One hundred years have passed since their departure. After a period of mental recovery, they, too, join in this remarkable endeavor.Contamination Event is a collection of related hard science fiction short stories detailing the wonders and perils of the cosmos.

David Browning is a sixteen year old college sophomore. He is a typical teenager, except for being a genius. When he discovers the truth about his father, he is filled with different emotions; mostly anger and fear.In the city of Crastgale several murders have taken place late at night. Two nightwatchmen, an idealistic young man and a pessimistic dwarf, search through the twisting alleyways and streets of one of the busiest and mean districts in the city. As they get closer to catching the murderer they soon realize they may not be able to handle the situation on their own.

"Every character has a tale, a history all their own. Each plays a part in the story of the gems, a role however large or small, for good or evil. This is the story of Sevra, most decidedly evil - though she was not always this way." Learn the tragic tale of Sevra, the main antagonist of The Witch's Catalyst. This book can be read before or after reading the Risen Lands series.Destiny's Gem is a novella prequel to book one of the Risen Lands series, The Witch's Catalyst. Learn the tale of Sevra, how she came to inherit her powers and the necklace which will one day unleash a calamity upon the land of Luskir. "Every character has a tale, a history all their own. Each plays a part in the story of the gems, a role however large or small, for good or evil. This is the story of Sevra, most decidedly evil - though she was not always this way." This book can be read prior to the main series, or after without detracting from either story.

Lucas Thorn wasn’t born a cheater. All it took was a single moment—say, a certain disastrous incident on the night before his wedding—and boom. Reputation destroyed forever and always. So now he owns it. He has a lady friend for every night of the week (except Sundays—God’s day and all), and his rules are simple: No commitments. No exceptions. But a certain smart-mouthed, strawberry blonde vixen is about to blow that all to hell. Avery Black has never forgiven Lucas for cheating on her sister. And suddenly being forced to work with him is pretty much a nightmare on steroids. Of course, it does afford her the opportunity to make his life as difficult as possible. But no good revenge scheme comes without payback. Because he didn’t become the Lucas Thorn without learning a few things about women. Now Avery’s lust for vengeance has turned into, well, lust. And if Lucas stops cheating, it’s definitely not because he’s falling in love…

*A CLASSIC FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THINGS THEY CARRIED * In this wildly funny, brilliantly inventive novel, Tim O'Brien has created the ultimate character for our times. Thomas Chippering, a 6'6" professor of linguistics, is a man torn between two obsessions: the desperate need to win back his former wife, the faithless Lorna Sue, and a craving to test his erotic charms on every woman he meets. But there are complications, including Lorna Sue's brother, Herbie, with whom she has an all-too-close relationship, and the considerable charms of Chippering's new love, the attractive, and of course already married, Mrs. Robert Kooshof, who may at last satisfy Chippering's longing for intimacy. In Tomcat in Love, Tim O'Brien takes on the battle of the sexes with astonishing results. By turns hilarious, outrageous, romantic, and deeply moving, this is one of the most talked about novels in years: a novel for this and every age. From the Trade Paperback edition. **Amazon.com Review To date, Tim O'Brien's novels have all shared common traits: his heroes hail from the Midwest, usually Minnesota; Vietnam figures prominently; and the stories he tells, though invested with mordant wit, are usually pretty grim. So an O'Brien fan coming to Tomcat in Love on the heels of his earlier novels can be forgiven for occasionally checking the name on the cover (and the photo on the dust jacket) just to be sure this is, indeed, the same Tim O'Brien who wrote Going After Cacciato, The Things They Carried, If I Die in a Combat Zone, and In the Lake of the Woods. In Tomcat in Love O'Brien introduces us to a very different hero: "In summary, then, my circumstances were these. Something over forty-nine years of age. Recently divorced. Pursued. Prone to late-night weeping. Betrayed not once but threefold: by the girl of my dreams, by her Pilate of a brother, and by a Tampa real-estate tycoon whose name I have vowed never again to utter." Thomas H. Chippering, professor of linguistics, war hero, and sex magnet--in his own mind, at least, has recently lost his childhood sweetheart and wife of 20 years to another man, the Tampa magnate, and Lorna Sue's desertion has clearly unhinged him. He has taken to flying down to Tampa from Minnesota on weekends to spy on his ex-wife and plot revenge against her, the tycoon, and Lorna Sue's brother, Herbie, whom he blames for destroying his marriage. Thomas, Lorna Sue, and Herbie go back a long way together, bound equally by ties of love, guilt, and suspicion. Dating from the afternoon young Herbie nailed an even younger Lorna Sue's hand to a makeshift cross, Thomas has occupied a kind of emotional no man's land between the two: "In my bleakest moods, when black gets blackest, I think of it as a high perversion: Herbie coveted his own sister. Which is a fact. The stone truth. He was in love with her. More generously, I will sometimes concede that it was not sexual love, or not entirely, and that Herbie was driven by the obsessions of a penitent, a torturer turned savior. Partly, too, I am quite certain that Herbie secretly associated me with his own guilt. I was present at the beginning. My backyard, my plywood, my green paint." Chippering takes his revenge to hilarious lengths, starting with a purple leather bra and panties stuffed beneath the seat of the tycoon's car and escalating from there. But even as he attempts to wreak havoc in his ex-wife's life, he succeeds in laying ruin to his own. His self-proclaimed irresistibility to women gets him in hot water with both his female students and his administration; his obsession with Lorna Sue threatens his budding romance with Mrs. Robert Kooshof, a woman who loves him as his wife never did--and, oh yes, there's that little matter of the squad of Green Berets he crossed many years before in Vietnam who may or may not be hunting him down. Once you get over the shock of this new, funny Tim O'Brien, traces of the writer you thought you knew begin to surface. Chippering might be a pompous, overbearing windbag, but you can't trust him any more than you did any of O'Brien's other earthier, equally unreliable narrators. In one breath, he tells us, "I must in good conscience point out that women find me attractive beyond words. And who on earth could blame them?" In the next he describes himself as resembling "a clean-shaven version of our sixteenth president." Half the fun of reading Tomcat in Love is trying to sort out just how much of what Thomas H. Chippering tells us is true. Stellar writing, a brilliant cast of characters, and a sly, surprising story that breaks your heart one minute and tickles your funny bone the next all make Tim O'Brien's first foray into the comic novel a resounding success. --Alix Wilber From Publishers Weekly All of O'Brien's previous six novels, except perhaps The Nuclear Age, have a Vietnam War experience at their core. Men (and women) at war?and warring with war's aftermath?are themes that have sustained O'Brien's gifted narrative rushes and his beautiful prose, garnering him high praise, including a National Book Award (for Going After Cacciato). After the mixed reception of In the Lake of the Woods, O'Brien said he would stop writing fiction for a while. His return here will be welcomed by his many fans, but he is not in top form. The "Tomcat" of the title is one Thomas Chippering, a 6'6" professor of linguistics whose wife has left him for "a tycoon in Tampa." Chippering narrates his woes, his scheme for revenge, the background to what he insists is his deep love for the departed Lorna Sue, all the while pursuing nubile coeds and the wife of a convicted tax felon. Although the book is being positioned as a comedy, Chippering is a most obnoxious companion, so terribly self-deluded, self-absorbed and self-satisfied, so pedantic and boorish, so convinced of his own charms that the unfolding drama of his pursuit of revenge becomes discomfiting. We want to root for his ex-wife, but through the Chippering "song of myself" we don't hear her, or know her. The Vietnam experience here, what there is of it, is ludicrously, and even disrespectfully, invoked by Chippering, who will remind those who attempt to resist his advances that he is a war hero. Although O'Brien is on interesting ground laying out Chippering's childhood crush on Lorna Sue in 1950s Minnesota, the book careens toward an unconvincing portrait of madness that is irritatingly flippant and shrill. BOMC and QPB alternates. Agent, Lynn Nesbit; editor, John Sterling. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Sylvia Day, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Crossfire novels, comes Razor’s Edge, a novella of the Shadow Stalkers—where hearts are laid bare, where desire is a risk, and where love is born from the most intimate secrets… It wasn’t her fault he was strung out from wanting her… It was a cool night in Carmel but for Deputy US Marshal Jack Killigrew, thoughts of Rachel were generating a lot of heat and sweat. But having her could never be more than a fantasy. She was his best friend’s widow. He promised to look after her should anything happen. And there’s no way Jack could betray the memory of his buddy by making moves on the guy’s wife—no matter how long he’s desired her. Rachel’s marriage had been perfect. So had her husband. But fate had a different plan. Now Rachel’s a single mother, resilient and independent. It’s time for her to move on and let a new man into her life. Jack’s been there for her in the past but now she needs him in a different way. All Rachel has to do in convince him that it’s right, that it’s the best thing for both of them, and that it’s about time…

Eight centuries ago the first Knight of the Word was commissioned to combat the demonic evil of the Void. Now that daunting legacy has passed to John Ross--along with powerful magic and the knowledge that his actions are all that stand between a living hell and humanity's future. Then, after decades of service to the Word, an unspeakable act of violence shatters John Ross's weary faith. Haunted by guilt, he turns his back on his dread gift, settling down to build a normal life, untroubled by demons and nightmares. But a fallen Knight makes a tempting prize for the Void, which could bend the Knight's magic to its own evil ends. And once the demons on Ross's trail track him to Seattle, neither he nor anyone close to him will be safe. His only hope is Nest Freemark, a college student who wields an extraordinary magic all her own. Five years earlier, Ross had aided Nest when the future of humanity rested upon her choice between Word and Void. Now Nest must return the favor. She must restore Ross's faith, or his life--and hers--will be forfeit . . .

The Seven Cities Rebellion has been crushed. Sha'ik is dead. One last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y'Ghatan and under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortress makes the battle-weary Malaz 14th Army uneasy. For it was here that the Empire's greatest champion Dassem Ultor was slain and a tide of Malazan blood spilled. A place of foreboding, its smell is of death. But elsewhere, agents of a far greater conflict have made their opening moves. The Crippled God has been granted a place in the pantheon, a schism threatens and sides must be chosen. Whatever each god decides, the ground-rules have changed, irrevocably, terrifyingly and the first blood spilled will be in the mortal world. A world in which a host of characters, familiar and new, including Heboric Ghost Hands, the possessed Apsalar, Cutter, once a thief now a killer, the warrior Karsa Orlong and the two ancient wanderers Icarium and Mappo, each searching for such a fate as they might fashion with their own hands, guided by their own will. If only the gods would leave them alone. But now that knives have been unsheathed, the gods are disinclined to be kind. There shall be war, war in the heavens.And the prize? Nothing less than existence itself... Here is the stunning new chapter in Steven Erikson magnificent 'Malazan Book of the Fallen' - hailed an epic of the imagination and acknowledged as a fantasy classic in the making.

A Curvy Girl and Dragon Shifter Romance She’s stolen a soul… and his heart. Ky Puru is the best chance anyone has to get the soul of the Golden Dragon Wyvern back. Nothing will stand in his way - not demons, not witches, not even the king of hell himself. There’s only one problem. Jada, the thief, is a succubus...and his true mate. Jada needs to get away from her coven and find a life she can call her own. If it involves baked goods instead of blood, that would be great. But, that's not going to happen, and this sexy dragon warrior that wants to claim her as his mate is the reason why. Neither Ky nor Jada ever thought they would have a true mate, and they may not get that chance when an evil foe attacks and will do everything he can to make sure no dragon ever gets to find their fated mate or fall in love. This dragon alpha and his curvy succubus mate will have go to hell and back, literally, for their chance at their own happy ever after. Here's a free preview of chapter one for you! Too many demons in the kitchen spoils the soup. Or in this case donuts. A batch of carbtastic sugary bombs of delicious-ness sizzled away in the fryer, while Jada dreamed of all the decadent toppings she would put on them. Chocolate frosting, check. Maple cream, check. Rainbow sprinkles. Ew, gross. Toffee chunks. Yep. Caramel drizzle, double check. Some B positive, AB neg, or how about some good ol' O universal? Hells to the no. That’s what Leon wanted. It was what he always wanted. But, not only for himself. For her too. Her father shouldn’t be in the kitchen of the sum-mer rental harassing her anyway. He didn’t even like sugar or cooking or kitchens. He didn’t like anything but sex and blood. The scent of vanilla and cinnamon wafted through the air and smelled almost as good as the humans Jada waiting in the great room. The rest of her coven was already playing with their prey. Seducing and taunting, testing and tast-ing, picking out the right one to satisfy their darkest urges. The men and women Leon had lured to the ocean-side mansion were wanting and willing. A night of sexual carousing with the most sensual summer resi-dents of the Cape was enough to tempt these unsus-pecting humans to their doom. That and Leon’s hyp-notic incubus allure. Jada smelled their growing arousal already. Its dark, rich, deliciousness sang to her core. Her heart jumped, racing to catch up with the oth-ers. A pulsing beat pushed between her legs. Her mouth watered. She wanted to sink her teeth into… a donut. Pure chocolate glaze running down her throat, hot and sweet. She’d take the sugar high over blood lust all day, every day, twice on Sundays. It was the little lies she told herself that got her through the days and long, long nights. “Jada, why do you waste your time on these hu-man treats when there are so many delicious humans to be our treats?” God damn it. A few more minutes and the most perfect batch of her yumtastic feast would be ready. “Go away, Leon.” He propped himself against the kitchen island and crossed his arms. “Now, now, is that any way to talk to your maker?” As if he cared how she spoke to him. He only cared that her absence from the nightly orgies was sowing discontent amongst the coven. He could take his fatherly disapproval and shove it up his donut hole. “I’m not going to your Bacchanalia. Not tonight, not ever again. I’m done with human blood.” “Yes, yes. You say that every few years.” He cracked his knuckles one by one.

ONCE A VIKING.... He swore he'd travel the earth to find his little boy. But Viking warrior Thorfinn Haraldsson never counted on traveling through time--and he's more than a little surprised to find himself in modern day Baghdad in the midst of a Navy SEAL operation. Luckily, the SEALs include his cousin, who takes him Stateside. And there, at a bar, he stumbles on a woman with an eerie resemblance to his cheating wife... ... ALWAYS A HERO For almost five years, single mom Lydia Denton has mourned the loss of her Navy SEAL husband. Then she meets a man who looks a lot like her lost love. Despite Thorfinn's ridiculous accusations that she's taken his son, Lydia finds it impossible to ignore the steamy chemistry between them. And as she gets to know this handsome Viking, she can't help but wonder whether two souls, separated by time, have found their way back to each other...

From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes SMART TASS, a new Romantic Comedy. He’s the hot quarterback all the girls want. She’s the smart girl he loves to pick on. And now that they’re all grown up, things are about to get geekin’ ugly… My name is Tass. I’m smart, I’m driven, and I am determined not to let prankster Hunter Johnson continue raining on my parade. When we were little, he’d pull my hair and call me names. When we were teenagers, he’d throw food and tease me for being a flat-chested virgin. But now that we’ve ended up at the same college, he’s out of his hot head if he thinks he can keep messing with my life. It’s like he’s fixated on me or something. Well, guess what, Mr. Amazefootball? I’m not that geeky little girl anymore and you do not screw with a smart woman. So what’s my plan? It’s definitely wild, and he’s about to find out…

Lovely young Carla Ponce, a resident of Peru, invites Nancy, Bess and George to visit her and solve a mystery that promises to lead to a fabulous treasure. A clue is carved on an intriguing wooden plaque belonging to Carla’s family. When a notorious gang headed by El Gato steals the priceless relic, Nancy quickly recovers the old plaque. Through clever deductions, perseverance, and dangerous adventures, Nancy and her friends help to capture a ring of vicious smugglers and make an astounding archaeological discovery. This book is the original text. A revised text does not exist.

Le jour de ses noces, Juliana St. John apprend que son fiancé est déjà marié. Heureusement, elle retrouve son amour d’enfance, Elliot McBride, tout juste rentré des Indes, qui lui propose de l’épouser et de s’installer dans sa propriété écossaise. Juliana accepte sur un coup de tête, mais elle déchante à la vue de la bâtisse délabrée qu’elle va devoir entretenir, aidée d’une poignée de serviteurs. Il y a pire : Elliot n’est plus le même. Son comportement étrange inquiète Juliana. Prête à le soutenir de son mieux, elle va vite se rendre compte que son mari lui cache bien des secrets...

Kaylin Neya is a Hawk, part of the elite force tasked with keeping the City of Elantra safe. Her past is dark, her magic uncontrolled and her allies unpredictable. And nothing has prepared her for what is coming, when the charlatans on Elani Street suddenly grow powerful, the Oracles are thrown into an uproar and the skies rain blood. The powerful of Elantra believe that the mysterious markings on Kaylin's skin hold the answer, and they are not averse to using her - however they have to - in order to discover what it is. Something is coming, breaking through the barriers between the worlds. But is it a threat that Kaylin needs to defend her city against - or has she been chosen for another reason entirely?

For fans of Beautiful Creatures and Wicked Lovely, *New York Times* Bestselling author Nancy Werlin delivers a captivating novel of friendship and trust, where the past determines the future and a generations-old curse requires the ultimate sacrifice. Phoebe is drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new girl at school. Soon the two become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory’s magnetic older brother, Ryland, arrives. Ryland has an immediate hold on Phoebe — but it turns into something dangerous, as she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself. Soon Phoebe discovers the shocking, fantastical truth about Ryland and Mallory, and about an age-old debt she’s meant to pay. Will she be strong enough to save herself from the curse?

A rescued beagle and his boy owner seek love and understanding for their troubled small town in this holiday companion to the Newbery Medal–winning Shiloh, from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Christmas is coming and Marty and his rescued pup Shiloh are sure glad about that—for their town is sure low on love and understanding and they hope that the joy of the holiday will bring with it the generosity of spirit that’s so lacking. It’s been a year since Marty Preston rescued Shiloh from Judd Travers and his cruel ways, and since then, Marty and Shiloh have been inseparable. Anywhere Marty goes, the beagle’s at his side, and Marty couldn’t be happier about that. Even Judd has been working to improve his reputation. But just as townsfolk grow more accepting of Judd, a fire in the woods destroys many homes, including Judd’s, and Judd’s newly formed reputation. Doubt, blame, and anger spread faster than the flames—flames that are fanned by the new minister, who seems fonder of fire and brimstone than love and mercy. And why are his daughters so skittish around him? And what’s happened to Judd’s dogs? With Christmas right around the corner, Marty has a lot of questions, and how they’re answered might just take a Christmas miracle. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s fourth book in the Newbery Award–winning Shiloh series—following Shiloh, Shiloh Season, and Saving Shiloh—is full of heart-thudding suspense, as well as comfort and joy.

Princess. Captive. Gladiator. Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar. When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle. Now, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. She never gets the chance. Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival. Now Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.

The Zero is a groundbreaking novel, a darkly comic snapshot of our times that is already being compared to the works of Franz Kafka and Joseph Heller. From its opening pages—when hero cop Brian Remy wakes up to find he's shot himself in the head—novelist Jess Walter takes us on a harrowing tour of a city and a country shuddering through the aftershocks of a devastating terrorist attack. As the smoke slowly clears, Remy finds that his memory is skipping, lurching between moments of lucidity and days when he doesn't seem to be living his own life at all. The landscape around him is at once fractured and oddly familiar: a world dominated by a Machiavellian mayor known as "The Boss," and peopled by gawking celebrities, anguished policemen peddling First Responder cereal, and pink real estate divas hyping the spoils of tragedy. Remy himself has a new girlfriend he doesn't know, a son who pretends he's dead, and an unsettling new job chasing a trail of paper scraps for a shadowy intelligence agency known as the Department of Documentation. Whether that trail will lead Remy to an elusive terror cell—or send him circling back to himself—is only one of the questions posed by this provocative yet deeply human novel. From a novelist of astounding talent, The Zero is an extraordinary story of how our trials become our transgressions, of how we forgive ourselves and whether or not we should.

It’s the end of summer. Just before I start senior year with my two best friends in the whole world. Dustin and Emily are everything to me. We’ve been inseparable since middle school, and when we’re together, nothing can go wrong. But things aren’t always what they seem. Em’s turned into a drunken mess who parties too much. Dustin and I have hooked up a few times—and now he’s ready to take our relationship to the next level. Yet I’m not sure I want things to change. I’m scared if I take it any further with Dustin, our friendship will be ruined forever. Then there’s Ryan. The new guy. He’s hot. He flirts way too much. And Em has totally set her sights on him. So when my best friend betrays me in the worst possible way, guess who’s there to help me pick up the pieces of my broken heart? Ryan. But he’s so confusing. Annoying. Sweet. Sexy. I want to trust him, yet he makes it so hard. What I really want is for everything to go back to the way it was before. Before I found out that best friends make the worst kind of enemies.

After consolidating his gains against the enemy English, King Robert the Bruce of Scotland sends his best soldiers to fortify the lawless borders. These legendary warriors of the Highland Guard let nothing come before king and country—except the calling of their heart. Of all Bruce’s elite warriors, Robert “Raider” Boyd is the most formidable. A true patriot whose bare hands are a deadly weapon, Robbie is the fierce enforcer of the Guard, and his hatred of the English has been honed to a razor-sharp edge. But vengeance proves bittersweet when his enemy’s beautiful sister falls into his hands and he finds himself fighting temptation—a battle he badly wants to lose. Lady Rosalin Clifford barely recognizes the rebel prisoner she saved from execution six years ago. Though her girlish ideals for fairness have matured into a passion for justice, Rosalin believes she betrayed her brother when she helped this dangerous man escape.  Now her traitorous act has come back to haunt her. But she can’t deny the longing this tormented warrior ignites in her, or deny the passion that turns sworn enemies into lovers. Is the gentle love of a true English Rose enough to free Scotland’s most brutal warrior from a path of vengeance—before it’s too late?