A fascinating look at the changing role of wives in modern America After a half century of battling for gender equality, women have been freed from the necessity of securing a husband for economic stability, sexual fulfillment, or procreation. Marriage is a choice, and increasingly women (and men) are opting out. Yet despite these changes, the cultural power of marriage has burgeoned. What was once an obligation has become an exclusive club into which heterosexual women with the right amount of self-discipline may win entry. The newly exalted professionalized wife is no longer reliant on her husband’s status or money; instead she can wield her own power provided she can successfully manage the business of being a wife. Wife, Inc. tells a fiercely contemporary story revealing that today’s wives do not labor in kitchens or even homes. Instead, the work of wifedom occurs in online dating sites, on reality television, in social media, and on the campaign trail. Dating, marital commitment, and married life have been reconfigured. No longer the stuff of marriage vows, these realms are now controlled by brand management and marketability. To prosper, women must appear confident, empowered, and sexually savvy. Guiding readers through the stages of the “wife-cycle,” Suzanne Leonard follows women as they date, prepare to wed, and toil as wives, using examples from popular television, film, and literature, as well as mass market news, women’s magazines, new media, and advice culture. The first major study to focus on this new definition of “working wives,” Wife, Inc. reveals how marriage occupies a newly professionalized role in the lives of American women. Being a wife is a business that takes a lot more than a vow to maintain—this book tells that story.

A retelling of the traditional Japanese tale about a poor sail maker who gains a beautiful but mysterious wife skilled at weaving magical sails.

Freddie stepped in to raise her cousin’s son, Ben, when she was killed in an accident. Then one day the crown prince of the kingdom of Quamar appears at her front door claiming he’s Ben’s uncle! The prince mistakes Freddie for her cousin, who had a reputation for being with countless men, and tries to forcibly take Ben from her. Freddie refuses to be bullied, though, so she gives the prince a new proposal…

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE INSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER USA Today bestseller Edgar + ITW Thriller Award nominee for Best First Novel “Think: Dexter but sexier.”—theSkimm “A dark and irresistible debut.”—People “Will shock even the savviest suspense readers.”—Real Simple Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting... Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

ONE PASSIONATE NIGHT… Once they'd shared an unforgettable encounter, but Ciara Caldwell had disappeared into the night, leaving Bryce Ashland with no clue to her identity. He still remembered his mystery woman's face, but now Bryce was a bachelor dad who didn't have time for any female—except his baby girl. ONE FAMILY-TO-BE? Then Ciara unexpectedly landed on his doorstep as his daughter's new nanny, and the fortress around the brooding widower's hardened heart broke wide open. Ciara was the stand-in mother Bryce had dreamed of for baby Carolina—but Ciara's skill as caregiver wasn't all he wanted from her. He ached to share her bed again…and again. But could he risk his heart—with everything to lose, but so much to gain?

Nash Rayburn was shaken to his boots when Hayley Albright showed up on his ranch declaring herself his temporary wife for hire. Although he hadn't seen her in years, he still remembered how Hayley stoked his passion and riled his temper—and how his life might have been different if he hadn't been forced to give her up to marry another…. The single dad knew that Hayley regarded him as an enemy, but despite her seeming indifference, he felt her melting every time he touched her. And he knew he'd do almost anything to win her trust and claim her as his own once and for all!