Friends with benefits was never the plan… Melanie Jacobs is in trouble. With three jobs—including running her ranch—and dwindling funds, she’s exhausted. Not to mention desperately trying to hide a secret. Unfortunately, her best friend Colton Freeze knows all too well that’s something is going on, and he won’t give up until he knows exactly what he needs to fix. Then Colton learns the truth—that Melanie’s future happiness rests in the fickle hands of fate, and her chances for having a family are shrinking with every passing day. Her only comfort is Colton, but when a heated argument between them turns into an even hotter kiss, the boundaries of their friendship are erased, leaving only a scorching-hot hunger for more. Every kiss—every touch—is a stolen pleasure. But will their new friends-with-sexy-benefits arrangement bring them closer together, or destroy everything they once shared? Views: 12
Academic Exercises is the first collection of shorter work by master novelist K.J Parker, and it is a stunner. Weighing in at over 500 pages, this generous volume gathers together thirteen highly distinctive stories, essays, and novellas, including the recent World Fantasy Award-winner, “Let Maps to Others”. The result is a significant publishing event, a book that belongs on the shelf of every serious reader of imaginative fiction. Views: 12
How could one teenage boy's life elicit other kids' first experiences—even after he dies? Nine interconnected stories from nine top YA writers. Kev's the first kid their age to die. And now, even though he's dead, he's not really gone. Even now his choices are touching the people he left behind. Ellen Hopkins reveals what two altar boys (and one altar girl) might get up to at the cemetery. Rita Williams-Garcia follows one aimless teen as he finds a new life in his new job—at the mortuary. Will Weaver turns a lens on Kevin's sister as she collects his surprising effects—and makes good use of them. Here, in nine stories, we meet people who didn't know Kevin, friends from his childhood, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, all dealing with the fallout of his death. Being a teenager is a time for all kinds of firsts—first jobs, first loves, first good-byes, firsts that break your heart and awaken your soul. It's an initiation of sorts, and it can be brutal.... Views: 12
Murder. History. Mayhem.Recently divorced, Ethan Hudson is looking for something to occupy his time and, encouraged by his daughter to get out more, he decides to sign up for a local evening history class to improve his knowledge of Lancashire's past. Hoping to meet new people, little does Ethan know that this course will change his life forever...This is no ordinary history class. Instead, Ethan and his classmates are introduced to a series of mysterious murder cases that occurred over the last century within the county. At first they seem unrelated, but soon Ethan's inquisitive and suspicious mind, fed on crime novels and detective shows, begins to see a pattern connecting the murders. But how could a series of murders dating back to 1911 have anything to do with the present day? And can Ethan solve the mystery before it is too late? Views: 12
She's got to solve this murder. The soccer team's schedule depends on it.So, who pulled the trigger of the nail gun that killed construction tycoon Arthur Cavanagh? His widow, who'd sworn to kill him if he ever cheated on her? His hostile teenage son, who felt neglected by his father? His foreman, who'd regularly fought with his boss? The angry environmentalists, protesting his latest development? Or the blond mystery woman who'd been seen with him the night of his death?Lainie Lovett needs to find the culprit before the bumbling local police charge her with the murder. They're determined to pin it on her after she was caught snooping around the crime scene. All she wanted was information on behalf of the victim's wife, her friend Patty. After all, getting Patty off the suspect list was a friend's duty—not to mention that if Patty were charged, the Colonielles might lose her for an entire season.Lainie has three passions in life: her nearly-adult children, her... Views: 12
For the past five years, Natalya Stravinsky has dreamed of two things: to rejoin the South Toms River werewolf pack and to be reunited with Thorn Grantham. Fate may have brought the pack back into her life, but unless she journeys to Russia to save Thorn, the love she’s found may be lost again. For a stubborn werewolf like Natalya, no distance is too far, no magic spell too complex to master, because one way or another she will find a way to have everything she has ever wanted. Views: 12
A Picasso painting, worth a hundred million dollars, disappears en route from Chicago to New Hampshire. Literally—en route. The painting goes missing while the truck is moving. The painting is there, then it's not. It's gone, but it can't be. Kendra Jean Valentine, underwriting agent for the policy, is on the hook. She scrapes together enough to hire two women to work the case. Westen Hughes owns a failing pet shop. With creditors phoning daily, she jumps at the chance to earn a bundle of easy money, even though the offer comes from her old nemesis KJ Valentine, who stole everything in high school: head cheerleader, homecoming queen and the star quarterback. KJ pairs her with Westen's total opposite: Phoebe Smith, a snake-loving, underwear-hating, tuba player with more baggage than Logan Airport. Ten percent of a hundred million is...well, it's a lot so Smith and Westen join forces on a rollercoaster ride to find one of the world's most valuable paintings. Views: 12
It's a scholarly conference at Oxford and the subject is "The Lingering Effects of the King Arthur Tales on Life in Elizabethan England," but two participants don't fit in. Dotsy Lamb, PhD candidate from Virginia, has inadvertently invited a couple of New Agers from Glastonbury. Their agenda is to prove to these arrogant academics that King Arthur and Guinevere were real people. As a big surprise, Bram Fitzwaring plans to produce their royal bones.
Fitzwaring doesn't show up for his scheduled address because he's still in his room. Dead. An insulin-dependent diabetic, Fitzwaring appears to have died from hypoglycemia. But Dotsy, also diabetic, says his symptoms prior to his demise do not spell hypoglycemia. They spell murder.
**About the Author
Maria Hudgins is the author of five Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries and two archaeology mysteries, Scorpion House and The Man on the Istanbul Train. A former oceanography and earth science teacher, she lives in Hampton, VA. Views: 12
