Week of February 28, 2022
Reasons why I should not be drawn to Troy Serrano.
Number one: Heโs obnoxious.
Number two: He and I were enemies over a decade ago in high school.
Number three: Heโs my friendโs ex-boyfriend.
I could go on and on, really.
When my boss gives me an unwanted assignment and tells me it involves spending time with the grandson of one of our residentsโthe grandson turns out to beย Troy. Heโs now as successful as he is undeniably handsome.
Lucky me.ย Four hours a week of having to deal with his insufferable personality and unsolicited advice.
The only consolation is getting to stare at his annoyingly gorgeous face in between our many arguments.
Eventually, though, we slowly warm to each other and our outings become something I actually look forward to.
Whatโs happening to me?
Apparently, I misunderstood the assignment, because it certainly didnโt include thinking about Troy when I close my eyes at night, imagining what it would be like with himโjust once. All the while hating myself for fantasizing about a guy whoโs all wrong for me. A guy whose car I keyed back in the day. (Long story, but he deserved it.)
Thatโs all this isโa fantasy.
Well, until that one night at the bar.
The night Troy and I run into each other, and all of our pent-up frustration comes barreling out.
Still, I refuse to accept that it means anything.
Thereโs no way the guy Iโm supposed to hate is also the one I canโt live without.
โThe night was expected to bring tragedy.โย So begins one of the most highly-anticipated thrillers in recent years.
Itโs New Yearโs Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in New Jersey, four teenagers working late at the store are attacked. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again.
Fifteen years later, more teenage employees are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive.
In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre whoโs forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, whoโs convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller who must delve into the secrets of both nightsโstirring up memories of teen love and liesโto uncover the truth about murders on the night shift.
Twisty, poignant, and redemptive,ย The Night Shiftย is a story about the legacy of trauma and how the broken can come out on the other side, and it solidifies Finlay as one of the new leading voices in the world of thrillers.
#1ย New York Timesโbestselling author V. E. Schwab weaves a dark and original tale about the place where the world meets its shadow, and the young woman beckoned by both sides.ย The Secret Gardenย meetsย Crimson Peakย in this stand-alone novel perfect for readers of Holly Black and Neil Gaiman.
Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for Girls, and all she has of her past is her motherโs journalโwhich seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home; it doesnโt matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile, or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.
Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallantโbut not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.
Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
From #1ย New York Timesย bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.
Lahore, Pakistan. Then.
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.
Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.
Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbahโs health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncleโs liquor store while hiding the fact that sheโs applying to college so she can escape himโand Juniperโforever.
When Salโs attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worthโand what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.
From one of todayโs most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgivenessโone thatโs both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity.
Theย New York Timesย bestselling author of the โheartwarming, heartbreaking, and hard to put downโ (Laurie Frankel,ย New York Timesย bestselling author) modern classicย In Five Yearsย returns with a moving and unforgettable exploration of the powerful bond between mother and daughter set on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast.
When Katyโs mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasnโt just Katyโs mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katyโs father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.
But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her motherโs spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.
And then Carol appearsโin the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesnโt understand what is happening, or howโall she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.
Rebecca Serleโs next great love story is here, and this time itโs between a mother and a daughter. With her signature โheartbreaking, redemptive, and authenticโ (Jamie Ford,ย New York Timesย bestselling author) prose, Serle has crafted a transcendent novel about how we move on after loss, and how the people we love never truly leave us.
Right after the sudden death of her motherโher first and most devoted fanโand just before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta James falls apart on stage. The footage quickly goes viral and she stops playing, her career suddenly in jeopardyโthe kind of jeopardy her father, Conrad, has always predicted; the kind he warned her about when he urged her to make more practical choices with her life.
Months later, Gretaโstill heartbroken and very much adriftโreluctantly agrees to accompany Conrad on the Alaskan cruise her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. It could be their last chance to heal old wounds in the wake of shared loss. But the trip will also prove to be a voyage of discovery for them both, and for Ben Wilder, a charming historian, onboard to lecture aboutย The Call of the Wild, who is struggling with a major upheaval in his own life. As Greta works to build back her confidence and Ben confronts an uncertain future, they find themselves drawn to and relying on each other.
Itโs here in this unlikeliest of placesโat sea, far from the packed city venues where she usually plays and surrounded by the stunning scenery ofย AlaskaโGreta will finally confront the choices sheโs made, the heartbreak sheโs suffered, and the family hurts that run deep. In the end, sheโll have to decide what her path forward might look likeโand how to find her voice again.
Nine out of ten dentists agree, Mazey Eddings’s rom-comย A Brush with Loveย makes your smile brighter!*
*not scientifically proven
Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable. A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesnโt have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harperโs rules. So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be โjust friends.โ But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can’t risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.
Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.
In the follow-up toย It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey delivers another deliciously fun rom-com about a former player who accidentally falls for his best friend while trying to help her land a different manโฆ
King crab fisherman Foxย Thorntonย has a reputation as aย sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows heโs a guaranteed good timeโin bed and outโand thatโs exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. Sheโs immune to his charm and looks, but she seems to enjoy hisโฆ personality? And wants to beย friends? Bizarre. But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.
Now, Hannah’s in town for work, crashing in Foxโs spare bedroom. She knows heโs a notorious ladiesโ man, but theyโre definitelyย just friends. In fact, she’s nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westportโs resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworkerโs eyeโฆ yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wantsย himย instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can’t deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost.
Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now sheโs walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life andโฆ andโฆ man overboard! Heโs fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Foxย can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah heโs all in, she’ll choose him instead?
For the first timeย New York Timesย bestselling author Christopher Rice writes as C. Travis Rice. Under his new pen name, Rice offers tales of passion, intrigue, and steamy romance between men. The first novel, SAPPHIRE SUNSET, transports you to a beautiful luxury resort on the sparkling Southern California coast where strong-willed heroes release the shame that blocks their heart’s desires.
Logan Murdoch is a fighter, a survivor, and a provider. When he leaves a distinguished career in the Marine Corps to work security at a luxury beachfront resort, heโs got one objective: pay his fatherโs mounting medical bills. That means Connor Harcourt, the irresistibly handsome scion of the wealthy family that owns Sapphire Cove, is strictly off limits, despite his sassy swagger and beautiful blue eyes. Loganโs life is all about sacrifices; Connor is privilege personified. But temptation is a beast that demands to be fed, and a furtive kiss ignites instant passion, forcing Logan to slam the brakes. Hard.
Haunted by their frustrated attraction, the two men find themselves hurled back together when a headline-making scandal threatens to ruin the resort they both love. This time, thereโs no easy escape from the magnetic pull of their white hot desire. Will saving Sapphire Cove help forge the union they crave, or will it drive them apart once more?
Minor league player Stone Dumelin lost his younger brother when the Titansโ team plane went down. He never expected the phone call that followed.
After a shoulder injury put my NHL career on ice, I resigned myself to the fact Iโd never see my way out of the minor league again. As my career faded, my estranged brotherโs star shot into orbit as the first line left winger for the Pittsburgh Titans. But when the teamโs plane crashed returning home one night, his light was snuffed out, and I was given the opportunity of a lifetime.
Now Iโm in Pittsburgh, playing for the Titans, and face-to-face with my dead brotherโs ghost at every turn. His locker, his legacy, his persistent and annoyingly gorgeous attorney who wonโt stop contacting me about his estate, even though Iโve demanded she leave me alone.
Harlow Alston would be extremely appealing if she wasnโt so aggravating. Onlyโฆthatโs a complete lie. She pushes all the right buttons for me, and as much as I want her to quit pestering me about Brooksโs estate, I find myself intrigued by the fiery redhead who canโt take no for an answer. And the more I learn about Harlow, the more I find she might be the key to understanding who Brooks really was, and who I want to be.
Iโve got a second shot at a career I thought Iโd lost and the opportunity to build something real with Harlow, but can I find strength to move forward or will my past dictate my future?
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