From 2015 WNBA MVP, 2016 Olympic gold medalist, and global ambassador to the Special Olympics Elena Delle Donne comes the second novel in a brand-new middle grade series with as much heart as there is game.When the basketball team is invited to have a service day at the school-affiliated after-school program, Elle falls in love with working with kids with special needs. So she begins to volunteer on two days a week when she doesn't have practice and makes new friends there. Now, Elle finds herself juggling her new passion, basketball obligations, and schoolwork. But when her grades start to slip, she's going to have to make a tough decision. Can Elle really do it all? Or will she find herself being pulled in too many directions? Views: 21
A titled rogue courts a prim and proper lady in this spirited Regency romance by the deservedly popular Balogh (No Man's Mistress, etc.). Kit Butler, Viscount Ravensburg, is no gentleman. He has long scandalized the ton of London with his antics, and the Honorable Miss Lauren Edgeworth, who is in the city after a painful jilting, is even more horrified than most by his behavior. As the novel begins, Kit forges a particularly scandalous plan. Looking to escape an arranged marriage, he embarks on a wager with his friends to woo and engage an unobjectionably correct lady in order to rid himself of his intended. Lauren is the perfect target, and Kit gets to work. Surprisingly, he comes to like her and confesses his dastardly wager; she, having decided that she wishes to be independent and unmarried, makes a proposal of her own: a summer filled with adventure in return for acting as Kit's fiancee. But when the summer is over, and the gorgeous, intelligent Lauren has quietly helped Kit to reconcile with his family as well as earned the respect of his friends and kin, will the smitten Kit be able to persuade Lauren to make their engagement a real one? Balogh outdoes herself with this romantic romp, crafting a truly seamless plot and peopling it with well-rounded, winning characters. Views: 21
ReviewCole Fennety has his eye on a very nice bike, a Kona Hardtail Stuff, to be precise. His parents really can't afford to buy it, and he knows that the only way that he'll own it is to find a job. Problem is, at 14 years of age, the prospects are somewhat limited. And, until he passes Sam's Shop, a combination hardware store and small engine repair shop owned by the notoriously crusty Sam Kerrigan, a paper route seems like the only option. Cole's job "interview" is quite unusual, but, after finding keel sticks, chain saws, and files, he finds, to his surprise that he is hired. "Working for old Sam Kerrigan wasn't going to be a happy experience, that was for sure," but Cole can make it work for a summer, if it means that he can earn enough to buy that Kona. Sam's Light is the chronicle of the summer that Cole spends in the hardware store with Sam. There's also life at home with a mom for whom television soaps seem more important than "real" life, Cole's annoying younger sister, a father with whom he has a remarkably good relationship, Rhonda Walker, a classmate who becomes his girlfriend, and adventures with Wayne, his best friend. Impulsive, manipulative, and at times, genuinely thoughtless, Wayne is a total jerk, although Cole can't help admiring his fearlessness. Truth to tell, as a reader, I loathed Wayne, and by the time the story ends, Cole is close to feeling the same way about him. And, much of that is due to the changes that take place as Cole spends time with Sam, who we learn is suffering from terminal cancer, and who, turns out to be one of those men that Grandpa describes as "good . . . and fair." Sam knows that time is running out for him, and he plans to retire at the end of summer. But, the retirement is from more than work, and, when Sam confides to Cole that he plans to choose the time to end his life, Cole makes the decision that "Sam Kerrigan wasn't going to die alone." Not many 14-year-olds could make that decision, but Cole becomes quite another person by the time Sam leaves this world. Cole's choice is an extraordinary one, but sometimes, people are given the opportunity to make such choices, and they are changed forever. Cole certainly is. I enjoyed Sam's Light in a way that I hadn't expected. In her "Acknowledgments," Valerie Sherrard, the author of Kate and the "Shelby Belgarden" mysteries, attests to the challenges of writing in the voice of a teenage boy, and, at first, I found Cole to be wise beyond his years, and to be honest, quite unlike most 14-year-old boys of my acquaintance. Nevertheless, Cole's voice became stronger and more credible as the story developed. But, it's not enough for me to enjoy Sam's Light; it has to appeal to Cole's contemporaries. And, I think that it will. It's not for the guy who wants an action story - really, a summer spent in a rural hardware story is no competition for a Tom Clancy-style thriller. But, I think that there are young men who will enjoy Cole's story, and I know that young women will, too. Highly Recommended. -Joanne Peters is a teacher-librarian at Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, MB."Hints near the conclusion of the story suggest that the third book in Dyer's trilogy will involve the Reformation and Inquisition. Readers will be waiting for it." (Prairie Fire Review of Books ) From the Inside FlapIn this sequel to Seeds of Time, Darrell and her friends discover a new route through time to Renaissance Italy, where Darrell meets a fiery young artist named Leonardo da Vinci. Views: 21
SUMMARY:
The bestselling author of Royal Bride and Silverbridge continues her successful foray into contemporary women's fiction with this deeply satisfying story of a man and a woman struggling to become a family for the sake of a little boy. Views: 21
Fantasy. 154808 words long. Views: 21
For rising young lawyer Cal Griffin, it's just another day in the Big City -- until the lights go off ... for good. Suddenly packs of pale crouched figures are stalking the darkened subways, monsters prowl Times Square, and the people all around Cal are ... changing. Similar weirdness is happening everywhere, from the dank, cold heart of a West Virginia coal mine to a remote lab in South Dakota -- where a team of government scientists has unwittingly invited something catastrophic into the world -- to the highest levels of power in Washington, D.C. And Cal Griffin is not the only one struggling to comprehend the surreal, devouring chaos surrounding him -- nor the only one who will be forced to accept a new role in this brave new world of nightmare and wonder. For the forces bled from the stilled machines are fueling a consciousness both newly born and ancient -- and more than one unlikely hero will be needed for the titanic battle between the darkness and the light.From Publishers WeeklyTelevision writer Zicree teams with fantasy and SF bestselling Hambly (Knight of the Demon Queen, numerous Star Wars and Star Trek novels) on a story straight out of the Hollywood mold for vintage sci-fi disaster films. A government experiment so secret even the president doesn't know about it produces strange energy flows that wreak havoc with the space-time continuum, resurrecting skeletal prairie wolves and disturbing ancient Indian burial grounds. Despite his misgivings, Dr. Fred Wishart continues the questionable experiments, only to blast the United States with a force so destructive all electricity and communications are knocked out nationwide. The bulk of the book concerns various characters' attempts to adjust to the chaos left in the wake of the catastrophe one made still more dangerous by the frightening mutations it produces in the population. Cal Griffin, a young New York City lawyer, finds his vibrant teenage sister turning into a near-translucent ghost of herself. Meanwhile, Cal's boss is transformed into a demonic, reptilian killer who stalks Cal as he tries to lead his sister and a hodgepodge of friends safely out of the city. Zicree's TV experience he's written for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Sliders, among others is obvious in the swift, episodic pacing; unfortunately, that doesn't give Hambly's usual gift for characterization much to work with. Like the pilot for a new television series, this effort promises much and delivers only hints of bigger things. (Dec. 4)Forecast: Before the World Trade Center attack, this would have been a natural candidate for screen adaptation. Chances are the public will now have less of a taste for fictional disasters set in New York City.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalWhen a top-secret government experiment goes wrong, a burst of energy nullifies the effects of technology and reawakens magical forces that transform some individuals into monsters with supernatural powers. To save his sister from a similar fate, New York lawyer Cal Griffin sets out on a difficult and dangerous trek across a devastated landscape in search of the cause of the transformation. Screenwriter Zicree collaborates with veteran sf and fantasy author Hambly (Knight of the Demon Queen) in this series opener that features a modern world suddenly infused with magic. Complex and unusual characters support a tale of personal heroism and self-sacrifice. A good choice for most fantasy collections. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 21
My name is Giovanni. The women I capture call me monstrous, demonic, and evil. But I’m an artist. Over the years, I've perfected my technique to uncover that spark of life in my subjects. The women I take need control. They all start as coal, unrefined and untainted. They need to be polished and carved into the diamonds they deserve to be. Sometimes they are too weak to withstand the pressure and heat, and turn out too flawed to even be worth gazing at. Lily isn't going to be any different than the others. She doesn't stand a chance. Views: 21
She can't outrun him... Isabel should have died the night we met. She has a gift for looking danger in the eye and coming out unscathed. She narrowly escaped DC with her life, and now she's on the run again. I'm hardly her guardian angel, but I'm determined to keep her safe. More, I refuse to give her up. She's under my skin, sparking more than a few latent memories. She's made me feel again. Showed me I'm human in ways I never knew possible. I'll find my way back to her, even if that means contending with the organization that has promised to keep her hidden. Except they have a different way of doing business than I'm accustomed to. Now I have to decide who I really am. Man or mercenary. Views: 21
It's all in the Cattitude... After Belle the cat switches bodies with a psychic on the run from a murderer, she wants her perfect cat body back instead of this furless human one. But she doesn’t count on falling in love with her former owner. Or that a CEO and a beauty queen want to use up her nine lives. Now is her chance to prove anything a human can do, a cat can do better. Views: 21
To read Curled in the Bed of Love is to feel the incessant tug between devotion and desire that can unmake even the closest couple. These eleven stories are set in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in true Left Coast style, Catherine Brady's characters are as resolute in evading middle-class conformity as they are in clinging to their illusions about love. And while they never shy from paying their dues, they can't help but wonder sometimes if their choices have at last accrued too high a cost. What lies in the bed of love, with women and men curled sometimes in repose, sometimes in a defensive knot, are failed dreams, reproofs, ambitions, and stubborn beliefs.Always, mortality threatens the lovers' embrace. In the title story, Jim and his HIV-positive partner contend with an illness that has fueled their love but also threatens to consume it. In some stories, an outsider exposes the frailty of a relationship. Claire, who's opted for a steady marriage in "The Loss of Green," is both stirred and repelled by the advances of her former mate Sam, a radical environmentalist with a predatory need to reassert his claim on her. And in "Behold the Handmaid of the Lord," Debbie, compelled to translate a brief affair with her cousin's fiancé into a profound transgression, comes clean on a sleazy national talk show.All of Brady's stories are gritty and unflinching in their gaze, yet lyrical and rich in the imagery of stasis and change--an empty house too long on the market, a pair of kayakers riding out a patch of rough sea, a greenhouse in which the orchid blooms only suggest the darting vitality of butterflies and birds. There is much to learn in these tales of flawed but good people working hard to hold their lives together.Review"How does she do it? Brady's range is dazzling. . . . Her stories, unflaggingly compassionate, delve into the complexities of identity and connection."—Toni Graham, author of The Daiquiri Girls"These compelling, intimate stories illumine the lives of people who are old enough to know themselves—their joys and weaknesses, their private passions—and who yet often surprise themselves when they discover what they cannot give up. A beautiful and poignant collection."—Lan Samantha Chang, author of Hunger: A Novella and Stories"An achingly lovely collection about the ache of love. Catherine Brady is a thrilling young fictional voice."—Robert Olen Butler, author of Mr. Spaceman"Brady's stories wrap all the old questions in new packaging: live, crisp prose and characters who genuinely seem to feel. The plots may be familiar, but the sensibility is refreshingly different."—Kirkus Reviews"It's rare for a writer to explore with such subtlety and respect the curious sumbiosis of the needy and the needed as Brady does."—Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books"Compelling and illuminating short stories that reveal private passions, the human tendency to cling to the familiar and the razor's edge on which so many relationships are balanced. Brady shows a broad range, while retaining a simple, yet strong and clear voice. She is a writer to watch."—San Jose Mercury News"Brady is a meticulous writer. Every word seems carefully chosen in order to trace the fine contours of her characters' subtle and complex desires. . . . The grace of Brady's writing is only enhanced by the dialogue between the characters. At times it is surprisingly snappy. Surprising, perhaps, because their internal lives are described with such care, their desires and inner struggles mapped so astutely."—Rebecca Tuch, Women's Review of BooksFrom the PublisherWinner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction Views: 21
