Christina Forrester is starting over. After a financial scandal sent her ex-husband to prison, she's left raising her young son without any of the comforts of their old life. Budgets, coupons, lawn care—you name it, she's learning to do it all on her own. Well, almost on her own—she'd be lost without Gail Broughton, the kind widow across the street. But when Gail's son comes home, Christina's vow to never trust a man again is put to the test. Will Broughton left town because he was tired of being "that poor man" who lost his wife and unborn child in a tragic accident. But years have passed and, with his dad gone and his mom alone, it's time to go home. Only his mother's not alone. She's taken Christina under her wing, and the beautiful and determined single mother awakens something in Will he thought was buried forever. As Will and Christina are forced to spend more time together, feelings that are more than neighborly grow between them. And with Christmas coming and a child filling both houses with holiday cheer, it becomes nearly impossible not to embrace the joy—and the love—in their lives.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and a “rising star in the romance genre” (Entertainment Weekly) comes a dazzling novel about a spontaneous holiday vacation that turns into an unforgettable romance. Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality. Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour—until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling. Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day...or are they?

From the million copy internationally bestselling author, comes a thrilling, suspenseful tale that will leave you breathless. ‘An absolute belter of a novel’ ELIZABETH HAYNES ‘A sensational novel!’ GILLIAN MCALLISTER You come to SoulShrink to be healed. You don’t expect to die.

Create the Christmas romance of your dreams, scene by scene, twist by charmingly predictable twist—each choice is yours. Slip on your favorite Christmas sweater, cozy up to a crackling fire, sip some spiced eggnog, and prepare to experience the ultimate holiday love story. But instead of watching it on some cheesy cable channel, open this book and put yourself in the director’s chair. First, decide your heroine’s problem. Was she just fired from her big city business job? Avoiding going home for Christmas? Or did she just realize the man who proposed to her maybe isn't Mr. Right? Then it's time to meet the man--should your heroine end up with the big city business exec, the small town hunk or someone totally unexpected (but still hunky)? Each choice will take you down a totally different path that all somehow end up making for a perfect made-for-TV romance. Will your Christmas activity montage include baking cookies, walking through a holiday festival, or skating on a picturesque frozen lake? Will you choose to include a generically bearded old man who perhaps could maybe be Santa Claus? Choice by hilarious choice, you’ll make your way closer and closer to the big payoff--the picture perfect, most romantic final kiss ever. And when you’ve savored that last bit of snowy, romantic goodness, don’t be glum. Turn back to page one and start a new love story. With hundreds of possible stories the happily-ever-afters never stop happening. Praise for Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance “The choose-your-own-adventure-style parody features all the best tropes and treats of made-for-TV holiday specials.” —Chicago Reader “If you’re searching for the perfect gift for your Hallmark holiday film loving BFF (or just shopping for yourself, no shame), Riane Konc’s new book, Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance, is the present you’ve been waiting for.” —Bustle

“You remember Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun? Yeah, this really isn’t like those. It’s better” (San Francisco Chronicle). Most people want out of North Korea. Wendy Simmons wanted in. In My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth, Wendy shares a glimpse of North Korea as it’s never been seen before. Even though it’s the scariest place on Earth, somehow Wendy forgot to check her sense of humor at the border. But Wendy’s initial amusement and bewilderment soon turned to frustration and growing paranoia. Before long, she learned the essential conundrum of “tourism” in North Korea: Travel is truly a love affair. But, just like love, it’s a two-way street. And North Korea deprives you of all this. They want you to fall in love with the singular vision of the country they’re willing to show you and nothing more. Through poignant, laugh-out-loud essays and ninety-two never-before-published color photographs of North Korea, Wendy chronicles one of the strangest vacations ever. Along the way, she bares all while undergoing an inner journey as convoluted as the country itself. “Much of the humor and poignancy comes from the absurdity of a fun-loving free spirit taking a vacation that’s more rigidly scripted and controlled than a presidential motorcade . . . Simmons’ photos—including an eerie image of a classroom full of schoolgirls playing accordions—further illustrate the bizarre nature of a country that, whether for good or bad, has been carefully controlled for generations.” —San Francisco Chronicle “An irresistible read . . . A rare and fascinating look at the tourist’s North Korea in a work that is humorous, appalling, and very sad. A highly recommended and revealing glimpse into a secretive land.” —Library Journal

Soulful jazz singer Billie Holiday is remembered today for her unique sound, troubled personal history, and a catalogue that includes such resonant songs as “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child.” Holiday and her music were also strongly shaped by religion, often in surprising ways. Religion Around Billie Holiday examines the spiritual and religious forces that left their mark on the performer during her short but influential life. Mixing elements of biography with the history of race and American music, Tracy Fessenden explores the multiple religious influences on Holiday’s life and sound, including her time spent as a child in a Baltimore convent, the echoes of black Southern churches in the blues she encountered in brothels, the secular riffs on ancestral faith in the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance, and the Jewish songwriting culture of Tin Pan Alley. Fessenden looks at the vernacular devotions scholars call lived religion—the Catholicism of the streets, the Jewishness of the stage, the Pentecostalism of the roadhouse or the concert arena—alongside more formal religious articulations in institutions, doctrine, and ritual performance. Insightful and compelling, Fessenden’s study brings unexpected materials and archival voices to bear on the shaping of Billie Holiday’s exquisite craft and indelible persona. Religion Around Billie Holiday illuminates the power and durability of religion in the making of an American musical icon.

From the USA Today bestselling "master of witty banter" (Entertainment Weekly) comes a hilarious and heartwarming romance about a big city doctor who never expected to find the man of her dreams in the tiny town of Matchmaker Bay. Dr. Nora Walsh has just been dumped in spectacular fashion, making it the perfect time for a major life change. She figures taking over the medical practice in tiny Matchmaker Bay for a couple of years will help her get over her broken heart, and then she can head back to the big city. But when the first man she sees looks like a superhero god, she wonders if maybe there's something to small-town living after all. Jake Ramsey also has a broken heart -- one he never expects to heal. He doesn't need people anyway and is content hiding out in his secluded cottage on the beach. But after helping Nora with a medical emergency, he finds himself opening up to the witty, warmhearted doctor. Soon the local matchmakers are working overtime to pair them off, and Jake begins to wonder if his campaign to get Nora to stay is for the town or because he can't bear the thought of her leaving.

When a holiday-happy, workaholic do-gooder and a holiday-hating industrial mogul meet, can anything get them to admit their attraction? Lorne Foyle's employees call him The Grinch. His daughter Cassandra, sequestered in a dowdy high security Swiss finishing school, won't speak to him. The public, whipped up by a smear campaign created by a rival company, vocally deplore his distant relationship with his only child. Mothers in Boston are doing a novena. A Chicago group has a Bring Cassandra Home fund collecting her airfare. Will Lorne Foyle abandon his long-held abhorrence of the holiday? Let his employees wear holly in their lapels? Wear red and green at the same time? He can't. Lorne Foyle, 44, born into poverty, once a homeless child and now living in an East side brownstone mansion, self-made natural foods mogul, philanthropist...is afraid.Her employees call her an angel. Her clients would do anything for her. Hard-driving but gentle-handed, Mary Lynn Portman runs a hundred-bed shelter for battered women and their children. She routinely works hundred-hour weeks, sleeps on an air mattress in her office, and eats shelter kitchen leftovers. The cactus in her apartment has died of neglect.Will Mary Lynn Portman, 38, struggling to keep afloat a lifeline in a world increasingly hostile to her poverty-burdened clients, take time for herself before she collapses? She can't. Mary Lynn, struggling single-handedly to keep afloat a legacy she didn't want but fiercely loves...is afraid. What happens when these not-anywhere-near-alike people are brought together as they struggle to protect a lonely seventeen year-old girl, an eight year-old pickpocket at the top of his game, and their broken hearts? Buy your copy now of this feel-good story about love and loss, lousy cookies and superheated Santa costumes. A sequel is promised!

Passionate undercurrents sweep in and out of this eloquent novel about a love affair in a summer countryside in Italy and its inevitable end.

Logan Brady is dreading coming out to her family over the holidays. She’s just lost her job, her life is a mess, and the last thing she needs is to be at the center of her family’s passion for drama. Mick Finnegan survives on coffee, adrenaline, and one-night stands that don’t complicate her entrepreneurial lifestyle. She doesn’t have anyone she’s close to, so when an old college friend invites her to spend the holidays with his family, she jumps at the chance for a good old-fashioned Christmas. Logan and Mick are on the same hellish flight from DC to Kansas City, become stranded in Chicago overnight, and share the only available hotel room. Their chemistry is undeniable, and a fling seems like a fine idea, until Logan’s brother shows up, and they realize they’re going to be spending the entire holiday together. Being home for the holidays is complicated, and Logan and Mick are one food fight and a ride to jail away from learning to live without fear and love without limits.