Etoile Adderson has settled into a comfortable chapter in her life: one of work, romance, and motherhood. She believes she has everything she could possibly want. But her tumultuous past is never far away. New challenges and old fears threaten to destroy Etoile. Will her new life be enough to make her happy?

Rock stars, butlers, billionaires, and cops... they all deserve love and fatherhood. Sweet guys become fathers in these three feel-good novels with three happy endings and three adorable newborn babies. Pregnant Rock Star Omega Johnny Omega's career will be over if the fans find out he's pregnant. He's resigned to being a single father. But Johnny's alpha bodyguard might share his sweet secret. Second Chance With the Unforgettable Alpha Know-it-all omega butler Higgins has just one weakness: the hot alpha rock star he used to work for. Higgins has forgotten all about him. Maybe. Until that rock star shows up at his front door. Omega's Baby With the Alpha Cop Edwin's muscular body and nonstop sassy comebacks hide his lonely heart. He's resigned to being a devoted father to his special-needs son and getting his jollies out by speeding around in a borrowed Lamborghini. But one traffic stop with one caring alpha cop can change everything. Love and Fatherhood is a 140,000-word collection of cute babies, snarky mothers-in-law, a capuchin monkey, and lots of laughter and love. No shifters, no cheating, no violence.

Nik was out of Higgins's league, until he fell into his arms. Nik was too sizzling hot. Too unattainable. Being Nik's butler made Higgins’s head spin. Higgins is over Nik, mostly. Higgins never turns on the radio. He covers his ears if anyone talks about alpha rock stars. And he never, ever sifts through those memories. He doesn’t need that kind of roller coaster. Until the roller coaster pulls up at Higgins's front gate. Nik still has the muscles, the blue eyes, the guitar case, and the goatee. But something’s different. Nik shouldn't have loved his bandmate. Or he shouldn't have loved anybody. That's even better. Nik will crash at Omegaverse for a while. It's not supposed to last. But Higgins wakes up with morning sickness. Nik is too dangerous, too unpredictable, too alpha. Higgins will have to be a single father. Unless Higgins can find another chance with the red-hot alpha who still makes his head spin. Second Chance With the Unforgettable Alpha is a feel-good non-shifter mpreg romance between a nerdy manny and a reforming bad boy rock star. It's full of alpha strength, omega sass, outdoor showers, innovative uses of the Jeopardy! theme song, an adorable baby, and a big HEA for two fathers in love.

Well over half of the world's Muslim population lives in Asia. Over the centuries, a rich constellation of Muslim cultures developed there and the region is currently home to some of the most dynamic and important developments in contemporary Islam. Despite this, the internal dynamics of Muslim societies in Asia do not often receive commensurate attention in international Islamic Studies scholarship. This volume brings together the work of an interdisciplinary group of scholars discussing various aspects of the complex relationships between the Muslim communities of South and Southeast Asia. With their respective contributions covering points and patterns of interaction from the medieval to the contemporary periods, they attempt to map new trajectories for understanding the ways in which these two crucial areas have developed in relation to each other, as well as in the broader contexts of both world history and the current age of globalization.

**INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE MONTH** **GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY** **FINANCIAL TIMES 'BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2022' PICK** 'Incredibly moving.' - Guardian 'Entertaining.' - Telegraph 'Most books about pop stars focus on the way we turn average human beings into demi-gods. In writing a book about how they have to turn back into humans Nick Duerden has done both us and them a service.' - David Hepworth 'Funny, poignant and often inspirational.' - Mat Osman The desire for adulation is a light that never goes out. We live in a culture obsessed by the notion of fame - the heedless pursuit of it; the almost obligatory subsequent fallout. But what's it like to actually achieve it, and what happens when fame abruptly passes, and shifts, as it does, onto someone else? This is the point at which pop stars are at their most heroic, because they don't give up. They keep on striving, keep making music, and refuse simply to ebb away. Some sustain themselves on the nostalgia circuit, others continue to beaver away in the studio, no longer Abbey Road, perhaps, so much as the garden shed. But all of them, in their own individual ways, still dare to dream. Exit Stage Left features tales of drug addiction, bankruptcy, depression and divorce, but also of optimism, a genuine love of the craft, humility and hope. This is a candid, laugh-out-loud and occasionally shocking look at what happens when the brightest stars fall back down to earth. 'Exit Stage Left is the book I've long wanted to read about the PTSD-like after-effects of pop stardom - and Nick Duerden is the perfect writer for the job. The pop star's bittersweet lot is represented with flair and empathy.' - Pete Paphides, author of Broken Greek 'Exit Stage Left is a funny and poignant book, drawing on Duerden's considerable experience as a journalist and interviewer . . . he understands what motivates this strange bunch of people.' - Andy Miller, Spectator 'Fame is the brightest candle, but in this brilliant collection of interviews, Nick Duerden answers the question: what does a candle do after it's burned out?' - David Quantick 'Duerden finds fascinating layers of humanity, pathos, humour and wisdom in equal measure. A brilliant book, for artists and fans alike.' - Frank Turner Featuring brand new interviews with the likes of: Bob Geldof, Shaun Ryder, Robbie Williams, Roisin Murphy, Stewart Copeland, Billy Bragg, Wendy James, Alex Kapranos, Joan Armatrading, Leo Sayer, Gary Lightbody, Lisa Maffia, Tim Booth, Bill Drummond, Rufus Wainwright, David Gray, and Justin Hawkins.

An archaeologist and a treasure hunter make an unlikely--and steamy-- pair in this action-packed space opera romance from Anna Hackett. Dr. Eos Rai has spent a lifetime dedicated to her mother's dream of finding the long-lost Mona Lisa. When Eos uncovers tantalizing evidence of Star's End—the last known location of the masterpiece—she's shocked when her employer, the Galactic Institute of Historic Preservation, refuses to back her expedition. Left with no choice, Eos must trust the most notorious treasure hunter in the galaxy, a man she finds infuriating, annoying and far too tempting. Dathan Phoenix can sniff out relics at a stellar mile. With his brothers by his side, he takes the adventures that suit him and refuses to become a lazy, bitter failure like their father. When the gorgeous Eos Rai comes looking to hire him, he knows she's trouble, but he's lured into a hunt that turns into a wild and dangerous adventure. As Eos and Dathan are pushed to their limits, they discover treasure isn't the only thing they're drawn to…but how will their desire survive when Dathan demands the Mona Lisa as his payment?