For high-school senior Celeste Watkins, every day is a brutal test of bravery. And Celeste is scared. Alienated because she’s too smart, her speech too affected, her social skills too far outside the norm, she seems to have no choice but to retreat into isolation. But college could set her free, right? If she can make it through this grueling senior year, then maybe. If she can just find that one person to throw her a lifeline, then maybe, just maybe. Justin Milano, a college sophomore with his own set of quirks, could be that person to pull her from a world of solitude. To rescue her—that is, if she’ll let him. Together, they may work. Together, they may save each other. And together they may also save another couple—two people Celeste knows are absolutely, positively flat-out in love. Whether you were charmed by Celeste in Flat-Out Love or are meeting her for the first time, this book is a joyous celebration of differences, about battling private wars that rage in our heads and in our hearts, and—very much so— this is a story about first love.

Claire Nevin identifies herself in many ways: Irish immigrant, apprentice healer, and most importantly, sister. When her troubled sibling sends her an unexpected package by rail, the gift and the man who delivers it threaten to redefine Claire's life once again. Fighting to hold on to all she's built, will she lose what matters most?

It’s a year after their assignment at the RamJack where they first confessed their feelings for each other and Valenti and O’Brian have been sharing an exclusive and white-hot relationship when Valenti suddenly pulls away. Understandably upset, O’Brian is determined to find out why his partner/lover is giving him the cold shoulder on Christmas, even if it means handcuffing Valenti to the bed to get the truth out of him!

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby comes a new story in her Fusion series… Chase MacKenzie is not the man for Maura Jenkins. A self-proclaimed life-long bachelor, and unapologetic about his distaste for monogamy, a woman would have to be a masochist to want to fall into Chase’s bed. And Maura is no masochist. Chase has one strict rule: no strings attached. Which is fine with Maura because she doesn’t even really like Chase. He’s arrogant, cocky, and let’s not forget bossy. But when he aims that crooked grin at her, she goes weak in the knees. Not that she has any intentions of falling for his charms. Definitely not. Well, maybe just once… Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.

Thrill Ride! One-day admission: $15 Summer job: Pros: Living on my own (plus roommates) Rides are free (but avoid the roller coasters—too scary!) Super-hot coworker . . . Cons: Periodic homesickness Dressing like Gretel for job in fairyland gift shop Super-hot coworker . . . and boyfriend back home. Too thrilling!

Restless and alone on Christmas Eve, Niki decides it’s time to scratch the itch and heads into a nearby town for some action. Once there, it isn’t sex she finds, but a fight instead, that is until tall, dark and handsome intervenes.Dean recognizes the stunning but surly Cougar for what she is the minute she gets close. Now it’s up to him to show her just how far a night of passion can go."Cute story. Perfect for a lunch hour!"Restless and alone on Christmas Eve, Niki decides it’s time to scratch the itch and heads into a nearby town for some action. Once there, it isn’t sex she finds, but a fight instead, that is until tall, dark and handsome intervenes…Dean recognizes the stunning but surly Cougar for what she is the minute she gets close. Now it’s up to him to show her just how far a night of passion can go.

An affair to remember! Camille Arraby has a simple M.O. Have a great time, leave before the messy part. So when she meets Matt Jenkins, she intends to enjoy every moment...while this fling lasts. Sure, the connection is intense and exciting. And yes, Matt is probably the one guy who could convince her to stay. But she's not ready to do that yet. Weeks after she's moved on, however, she discovers an irresistible reason to return to Matt: she's pregnant. Suddenly, no longer is he the guy she had a wonderful, but temporary, time with - he's her baby's daddy. And that means they've got a future to work out...immediately

The newest book in Karen Chance's New York Times bestselling vampire series! Being a time traveler is a bitch, just ask Cassie Palmer. As the Pythia, or chief seer for the supernatural world, she's got responsibilities and powers — including the ability to travel through time — she still doesn't fully understand. Cassie is on what should have been a quick mission to rescue the near immortal mage John Pritkin, a friend lost in time. But nothing is ever simple where Cassie is concerned. For one thing, her friend isn't lost, his soul is, and she must hunt for it through the ages in different versions of himself. For another, Cassis is stuck traveling with Pritkin's father, the only one who can reverse Pritkin's curse . . . and an irascible demon who is high on Cassie's list of least-favorite people. And third, the guardians of the time-line don't want anyone mucking about with it — even a Pythia like Cassie — and especially not when she's dragging a powerful demon along! What's a poor Pythia to do? Well, if that Pythia is Cassie Palmer, it's to carry on anyway. And in between flitting about through time, to also stop the return of an ancient and very vengeful god. And to find out the startling truth about her parents. And to sort out a few things with her charming, evasive and completely maddening vampire lover. And you thought your week was packed!

An astonishing dispatch from inside the belly of bipolar disorder, reflecting major new insights When Marya Hornbacher published her first book, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, she did not yet have the piece of shattering knowledge that would finally make sense of the chaos of her life. At age twenty-four, Hornbacher was diagnosed with Type I rapid-cycle bipolar, the most severe form of bipolar disorder. In Madness, in her trademark wry and utterly self-revealing voice, Hornbacher tells her new story. Through scenes of astonishing visceral and emotional power, she takes us inside her own desperate attempts to counteract violently careening mood swings by self-starvation, substance abuse, numbing sex, and self-mutilation. How Hornbacher fights her way up from a madness that all but destroys her, and what it is like to live in a difficult and sometimes beautiful life and marriage -- where bipolar always beckons -- is at the center of this brave and heart-stopping memoir. Madness delivers the revelation that Hornbacher is not alone: millions of people in America today are struggling with a variety of disorders that may disguise their bipolar disease. And Hornbacher's fiercely self-aware portrait of her own bipolar as early as age four will powerfully change, too, the current debate on whether bipolar in children actually exists. Ten years after Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, this storm of a memoir will revolutionize our understanding of bipolar disorder.

The aliens crash-landed on Earth eleven years ago. And now, sixteen-year-old Victoria Hale feeds them. With her emotions. Victoria is an EVE - an Emotion Vesicle Engraft - and one of few humans who are genetically capable of producing emotions for the Gutters to feed on. She's doing it for the money - her sister Alisa needs a good doctor, and fast. But what she didn't count on was being sent to the world's first desegregated high school for Gutters and humans. She didn't count on the paparazzi, the protestors, or the insane Gutter politics and government secrets. She didn't count on the crimson-eyed Gutter prince with an intriguing heart of cold iron, either. She especially didn't count on murder. But it's counting on her.

Maggie O'Brien is thrilled when she lands a starring role on the Digital Vampire Network's hottest soap opera, As the Vampire Turns. Doesn't hurt that her leading man is Don Orlando de Corazon, the greatest lover in the vampire world! But who is Don Orlando really? Nobody knows, not even Don Orlando. As the couple sets out in search of his mysterious past, "home for the holidays" takes on a new meaning when the recently-turned vamp discovers his own Christmas miracle.

Mary-Lynnette, 17, loves to watch the stars from her Oregon backyard. Then one day, she thinks she's witnessed a murder through her telescope. She's wrong: it's only three vampire sisters burying their mysteriously-killed aunt. The sisters, Rowan, Kestral, and Jade ran away from their enclave home to live the lives of regular teenagers. However, when their brother Ash is sent to bring the girls back, he falls in love with Mary-Lynnette. But will she accept him because of his lurid vampire past and can a now-repentant Ash convince Mary-Lynnette to let him atone for his former sins and be his soulmate?

Eighteen-year-old Nessa knows what it’s like to be an endangered species. Grown up in a dying world where nine out of ten babies are born male, she survives by trusting no one. When Marlin, the nineteen-year-old gunslinger, kills her captor, Nessa decides this handsome stranger might be her meal ticket. What she doesn’t realize is love is still possible in their decimated world.Eighteen-year-old Nessa knows what it’s like to be an endangered species. Grown up in a dying world where nine out of ten babies are born male, she survives by trusting no one. When Marlin, the nineteen-year-old gunslinger with the sky-blue eyes, kills the man who has been keeping her enslaved, Nessa decides this handsome stranger might be her meal ticket. What she doesn’t realize is love is still possible, even in their decimated world. When Nessa discovers she’s pregnant with Marlin’s child, her difficult life now teeters on a knife’s edge. Can she bear to bring a child into their shattered world? Better yet, can Marlin keep them safe from those that hunt Nessa?A companion story to The Breeders, this prequel novelette (34 pages or 10,000 words) explores the origins of two important characters and gives a deeper look into their background. It contains minor spoilers to the novel and is intended for mature teens and adults.

Sometimes, it feels so damn good to be bad … **From New York Times and #1 International bestselling author J. Kenner, the first in an all new series of fast-paced, provocative novels centering around the ambitious, wealthy, and powerful men who work in the glamorous and exciting world of the Stark International conglomerate … and the sexy and passionate women who bring them to their knees.** Photographer Wyatt Royce’s career is on the verge of exploding. All he needs is one perfect model to be the centerpiece of his sexy, controversial show. Find her, and Wyatt is sure to have a winner. Then Kelsey Draper walks in. Stunning. Vibrant. And far too fragile for a project like this. Wyatt should know—after all, he remembers only too well why their relationship ended all those years ago. Determined to break free from her good girl persona, Kelsey wants spice. Adventure. And she’s certain that Wyatt is just the man to help. But when Wyatt agrees to give her the job only if he has complete control—on camera and in his bed—Kelsey can’t help but wonder if she’s in too deep. Because how can a good girl like her ever be enough for a man like Wyatt?