A month before eighth grade begins, Alice realizes she is going to have to face something she's been afraid of forever. Everybody, she knows, is afraid of something: elevators, dogs, planes, spiders... but her fear is worse. It's going to bring absolute disaster to the rest of her summer, maybe to the rest of her life. The truth is she's afraid of deep water! It's a hot August, and everyone in Alice's gang goes to Mark Stedmeister's swimming pool almost every day. Alice sits at the shallow end. She plays badminton. She makes excuses, and keeps her problem secret.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Pamela, Alice's two best friends, tackle problems of their own, and are more or less successful. Life is changing for everyone but Alice.
Bravery begins in little ways, with small steps. That's what Alice finally discovers. And after she faces this particular fear, she knows she can summon the courage to face other fears as well.
As in her previous adventures, Alice tackles some of the big problems of growing up with humor and enterprise and learns once again that a brother, a father, and friends can offer amazing amounts of help. Views: 1 151
Living above her father's workshop, Rain secretly designs stained glass but when she is discovered she must go to the strange new land of Magharna. Bandits roam the lonely roads and when Rain is ambushed she knows that she cannot win the fight. That is until a boy with a falcon saves her and an adventure of a lifetime begins. Views: 1 151
How do you know when something’s real? In the steamy fourth installment of an eBook original serial from the New York Times bestselling author of Ruined and Addicted, a devastating betrayal unravels a fierce yet tender connection.
My name is Aria Winston. I’ve fought desperately to escape the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas. Now I’m on my own, in control of my own life and my own destiny . . . just the way I like it. Until Sebastian Caine changes everything.
Aria has learned to play Sebastian’s game. She’s given him control, taken it back, and let him push her farther than she ever imagined she could go. But when Sebastian’s past comes to light, Aria receives a glimpse behind the facade—a revelation that disturbs her even as it makes her feel closer to this simmering, complicated man. Finally she comes to understand the real reason why Sebastian feels the need to dominate everything in his path. But Aria has a tortured history, too. And together they’re a dangerous combination. Now she’s the one pushing Sebastian to the breaking point . . . and if one of them burns up, they’ll both go down together.
Play Me is an erotic serial intended for mature audiences. Aria and Sebastian’s story concludes in Play Me: Right. Views: 1 151
When Penny Lane started The Lonely Hearts Club, the goal was simple: to show that girls didn’t need to define themselves by how guys look at them, and didn’t have to value boyfriends over everything else. Penny thought she’d be an outcast for life…but then the club became far more popular than she ever imagined it would be.
But what happens when the girl who never thought she’d date a good guy suddenly finds herself dating a great one? She doesn’t need a boyfriend… but she wants it to work out with this particular boyfriend. And he wants it to work out with her.
Only, things keep getting in the way. Feelings keep getting hurt. Words keep getting misunderstood.
Penny Lane worked hard to declare her independence. Now she needs to figure out what to do with it — and how to balance what she wants with what everyone else wants. In We Can Work It Out, Elizabeth Eulberg returns to the world of her first novel, The Lonely Hearts Club, and gets to the heart of how hard relationships can be… and why they are sometimes worth all the drama and comedy they create. Views: 1 151
When Tryfan, son of Bracken and Rebecca, returns to the sacred Burrows of Uffington, he finds dreadful signs of death and destruction. For out of the chilly North have swarmed the grikes, a fanatical tribe of warrior moles bent on destroying all believers in the powers of the Stone.
Tryfan’s duty is clear – to muster and protect the few remaining Stone followers from the evil that seems certain to engulf them. With only a frail and timid mole named Spindle for company, he sets off on an epic journey… But can he save his friends? Views: 1 150
The final book in the Ava Delaney series.
When Ava first saved Carl from a vampire, she had no idea what would happen next. Thrust into a world of magic, secrets, and betrayal, she’s barely managed to survive. All of the choices she’s made have led her deeper into trouble, and now, a year later, it’s time to grab some control again.
Her enemies are making allies while Ava’s struggling to keep her friends. But even as the larger battles are fought, there’s another enemy creeping underneath, ready to plant distractions and take advantage of the aftermath.
The dark days are coming, quicker than expected. It’s time for Ava to prove herself for the last time, but her final deal will prove the most costly. Views: 1 150
Rebecca Robbins is a woman on a mission---to sell the roller rink she inherited from her mother and get back to Chicago. Fast. However, when she discovers the dead body of the town’s handyman headfirst in a rink toilet, potential buyers are scared off. Now Rebecca is stuck in a small town where her former neighbors think she doesn’t belong, living with her scarily frisky grandfather, Pop, and relying on a police department that’s better at gardening than solving crimes.
Eager to move forward with her life, Rebecca begins investigating the murder herself, reluctantly accepting help from Pop and his extensive social network, which includes a handsome veterinarian and a former circus camel named Elwood. Nevertheless, someone isn’t happy she’s looking into the case, and their threats will have her questioning whether playing sleuth was such a good idea after all.
Joelle Charbonneau’s debut is a sheer delight---a laugh-out-loud mystery with plenty of heart. Views: 1 150
Nancy suspects that sabotage in a chain of West Coast shops selling imported art objects is connected with the theft of a valuable Eskimo sculpture. Views: 1 150
Devon Delaney cannot believe she's lying again. But the thing is, she couldn't help it. Her new boyfriend, Luke, is talking to his (gorgeous) ex-girlfriend, Bailey Barelli, every single day in mock trial. Devon couldn't just stand by and let him find out that she'd never dated anyone else before. Could she? Oopsie. Too late now.
To show how totally unaffected she is by Bailey's obvious Luke hang-up, Devon invents a fake ex-boyfriend of her own: Greg. Fab! What could go wrong? But it isn't long before Devon finds herself in the middle of another supergigantic lie. Can Devon come clean in time to keep the guy? Or will she lose everything due to another lie? Views: 1 150
Possession was never this much fun
Trust me or die…That’s the choice Morgan Kingsley, exorcist, is given by the gorgeous rogue demon who’s gotten inside her. The truth is, Morgan has dozens of reasons not to trust anyone, from the violence that torched her house and killed her father to a love life that’s left her questioning her relationship with her erstwhile boyfriend, Brian. But Lugh, a king among demons, won’t take no for an answer. He’s prying into her body, her mind, even her sex life. And he’s just pulled Morgan into a power struggle that could have devastating consequences for both the human and demon worlds.
But Morgan still has a job to do: investigating the highly bizarre possession of the son of a wealthy Philadelphia couple. That hunt leads Morgan into a realm of sexual depravity, then a terrifying kidnapping.… Now a woman who makes her living prying demons from their hosts finds her day job colliding with the night: a darkness that is attracting demons of the damnedest sort, including the one who’s about to demand his ultimate due.… Views: 1 149
This short story follows Franklin, a time traveler with limited abilities: He can only travel into the past within his own lifetime. And then a girl shows up in his life. She claims to have met a future version of himself, and that the machine she invented will help him to go anywhere in the past or the future without limitations. When Heather shows Franklin the machine, she ensures him that they will change the world together and make it a better place. But Franklin can't help but feel a little ominous about it all...
PLEASE NOTE: This short story is a part of the larger collection of short stories by Beth Revis, entitled THE FUTURE COLLECTION. Views: 1 149
At her new school, Mira discovers she has a very unusual teacher - a teacher who turns into a real-life dragon when she eats crisps! This comes in very handy when the class run into trouble on a school trip to the seaside... Views: 1 149
THE DARK MIRROR is the first book in Juliet Marillier's Bridei Chronicles.
Bridei is a young nobleman fostered at the home of Broichan, one of the most powerful druids in the land. His earliest memories are not of hearth and kin but of this dark stranger who while not unkind is mysterious in his ways. The tasks that he sets Bridei appear to have one goal-to make him a vessel for some distant purpose. What that purpose is Bridei cannot fathom but he trusts the man and is content to learn all he can about the ways of the world.
But something happens that will change Bridei's world forever...and possibly wreck all of Broichan's plans. For Bridei finds a child on their doorstep on a bitter MidWinter Eve, a child seemingly abandoned by the fairie folk. It is uncommonly bad luck to have truck with the Fair Folk and all counsel the babe's death. But Bridei sees an old and precious magic at work here and heedless of the danger fights to save the child. Broichan relents but is wary.
The two grow up together and as Bridei comes to manhood he sees the shy girl Tuala blossom into a beautiful woman. Broichan sees the same process and feels only danger...for Tuala could be a key part in Bridei's future...or could spell his doom. Views: 1 149
A meth dealer. A prostitute. A serial killer.
Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear.
Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class. But then Mandel recruits a fierce new competitor who also happens to be Flick’s old flame. They’ve been told only one of them will make it out of the Mandel Academy. Will they find a way to save each other—or will the school destroy them both? Views: 1 149
