A Kiss to Wake Me is a modern-day love story between Jamie and Cara. When the two first lock eyes in the high school cafeteria, “love at first sight” is no longer just a cliché to either of them. Their romance takes off at record speed but just as quickly crashes into a wall of disbelief when a figurative bomb is dropped into their lives, upending the world as they knew it: Cara is pregnant, even though she believed she was a virgin. When these unforeseen circumstances threaten the couple’s future together, everything comes into question. Is Jamie the father of her baby? Will he still love her and the baby if he’s not? How did Cara even get pregnant? How could she possibly cope without him and his family, whom she has grown to love and depend on? Will Jamie and Cara’s love endure the hardships thrust so harshly upon them? Fans of romantic first love and those who desire to see first love withstand seemingly insurmountable obstacles will enjoy this sweet yet intense novel. ---------- Three days before high school graduation, 18-year-old Cara mysteriously delivers a premature baby boy at home in her bathroom. The novel begins with her frantic 911 call and flashes back to unfold the beautiful and romantic first-love story between Cara and Jamie, the new tall and handsome student from California. They are two clever, level-headed teens who strive to do the right things but make one big mistake leading to dire consequences. Faith and morality hang in the balance between choices made and the tiny miracle baby they’ve all grown to love. The couple’s hope of a happily-ever-after is further at stake as the ensuing police investigation uncovers secrets, lies, and, finally, the answers they have all been holding their breaths to receive to move forward. A Kiss to Wake Me is told from alternating points of view through the eyes of Jamie and Cara. Fans of romantic first love who desire to see love withstand seemingly insurmountable obstacles will devour this sweet yet intense novel.

Stacy honestly thinks it is a good idea to chase down a lucrative job offer on the spur of the moment. Her bubble bursts quickly after she finds out on the spot that the job is already taken. Without a penny to her name, she makes a far-reaching decision to go hitchhiking. Mitch Havisham, a lawyer from Memphis, takes her along to Chicago. On the drive, he makes an indecent proposal and doesn't let up until she finally consents ...

Once upon a time… They called him the "Perfume Prince" but Philip Fairchild had never exactly seen himself as a storybook hero. But that was before he tracked down the three winners of the "most fragrant rose" contest and met their beautiful goddaughter, Aurora McBride. One look at Rorie's beautiful lips told Philip that he'd give his kingdom for a kiss—even if it meant trying to pass the three tests laid out by her godmothers. After all, if he succeeded, he'd be granted knowledge of the secret to their garden…and maybe even the hand of the prickly princess. Once Upon a Kiss Could they live happily ever after?

"Murphy's skillful storytelling and optimistic spirit give even the grimmest moments of her difficult life story levity in this hopeful, spunky sister to Angela's Ashes."- Publishers Weekly Maura Murphy's memoir of life in Ireland and beyond resonates with the people, places, and struggles of an almost forgotten generation. Born "chronically ugly and cross as a briar" into a poor, rural homestead in 1920s Ireland, Maura faced adversity from birth. She grew up in the bogs of the Irish countryside and left school at fourteen for Dublin, working in service there until her marriage to a hardworking but hard-drinking womanizer. Poverty stricken and hoping to find a better life for her five young children, she left Ireland with her family for 1950s Birmingham, England. But life doesn't always change when places do, and Maura's fear that she'd be "waked" at Doyles bar upon her death is funny but dead serious. Her voice is feisty and fearless, and she needed to be all those things to survive an extraordinary series of privations and abuses. And now, seventy-five and having survived her childhood, recovered from cancer, and left her marriage of fifty years, Maura has finally recorded the story of her life. Don't Wake Me at Doyles is the compelling account of a life set against by bad odds and worse luck: a memoir of survival and success in the face of the limits of class, education, nationality, religion, gender, and even health. A fearlessly honest writer, Maura invites us into her world, through her destructive marriage, and the birth of her nine children, and towards a life-or-death choice that would change her forever. Told with biting wit, Don't Wake Me at Doyles is a personal story of one woman's endurance, and the remarkable memoir of an ordinary woman's extraordinary life.

In verse reminiscent of the work of bestselling author Tom Robbins and contemporary poet Dan Featherston, Larry McAlister delivers an eclectic mixture of poems that capture the complexity and wild diversity of human emotion. From My Veins celebrates both the simple and the intricate facets of life through a bold and pleasing mixture of sound and rhythm, tone and imagery. From the ebbs and flows of love to the visceral satisfaction of conquering a childhood bully, and from ruminations on the emotional lives of inanimate objects to meditations on identity, McAlister's verse crystallizes human experience in all its complicated glory. Voice and movement also play within McAlister's poems, creating an intriguing blend as perfect as any symphony. This style moves throughout the collection to provide a seamless narrative of the human experience. Filled with vivid language and images, From My Veins is a masterful compendium of how the soul and the heart communicate in intricate harmony.

A New York Times Best Romance (So Far!) of 2024 “No one writes love stories with more heart, more swoons, and more sizzle” (Joanna Shupe, USA Today bestselling author) in this clever reimaging of Snow White, where a handsome businessman will do anything to win the heart of the only woman he cannot have. Solomon Weiss has little interest in power, but to repay the half-brother who raised him, he pursues money, influence, and now—a respectable wife. That is, until outcast Hannah Moses saves his life, and Sol finds himself helplessly drawn to the beautiful pawnshop owner. Forever tainted by her parents' crimes, Hannah sees only a villain when she looks in the mirror—no one a prince would choose. To survive, she must care for herself, even if that means illegally hunting down whatever her clients wish. So, no matter how fair or charming she finds Sol, he belongs to a world far too distant from her own. Only neither can resist their desires, and each meeting weakens Hannah’s resolve to stay away. But when Hannah discovers a shocking betrayal in Sol’s inner circle, can she convince him to trust her? Or will fear and doubt poison their love for good?

He was a very, very tall man, as beautiful as Apollo. Behind him was a yellow palace, I had heard from my grandfather since I was young that this was true, and he could not explain where it came from. During the Japanese invasion of China, during the war, a fortune-teller gave him to protect himself.