Sometimes love is right in front of you Emma Chambers wasn't supposed to be spending July Fourth rescuing a handsome stranger and the holiday festival. New to town Doug "Sparks" Turner has an important job to do, yet it's Emma who's feeling the heat. No way the roving fireworks designer is the man she's been waiting for, right? Helping Emma makes Sparks long to name this his permanent home. Too bad Emma isn't staying, especially given the life-changing secret she's discovered. What Sparks is hiding could also keep him from earning Emma's trust. Unless he can make her see that he's a man worth taking a chance on.

Raised in a strict household, sixteen-year-old Courtland Murphy never had a date. But that was before the guy of her every dream—basketball star Allen Benson—asked her out. She's gone from never-been-kissed to dating the hottest guy in school. And now her new boyfriend is pressuring her to prove she loves him—by having sex. But as a member of her community's Worth-the-Wait club, Courtland made a vow to stay a virgin. Now everyone—from friends to family to fellow club members—gives her different advice, from "do it!" to "you made a pledge, girl!" It would be so easy for Courtland to go all the way with Allen, but sometimes his charming personality leaves her wondering. Who knew being in love could be so confusing?

She might be too big to sit on Santa’s lap, but Adele still has a couple of Christmas wishes. First, a night in Porter’s bed. The alpha cowboy is the king of one-night stands, so it shouldn’t be too much to ask. Follow it up with a White Christmas in Texas? She’ll have gotten everything she wants. Porter doesn’t believe in asking for what he wants, but he’s got a couple of problems. He believes in riding it down and roping it up. If he gets Adele in his bed, he’s not planning to let her go. But there’s his reputation to overcome, and her stubbornness to boot. It might just take a holiday miracle to convince her to stay all year. Sexy cowboy Porter knows Adele is much younger, but that doesn't stop the dominant man from claiming his woman this Christmas...with bondage, submission, spanking, all while the Elf on the Shelf is watching!

In this practical book, Dr. Peter Benson, a leading authority on childhood and adolescence, describes a simple yet powerful plan for awakening the spark that lives inside each and every young person. Sparks—when illuminated and nurtured—give young people joy, energy, and direction. They have the power to change a young person’s life from one of “surviving” to “thriving.” Grounded in new research with thousands of teenagers and parents, Sparks offers a step-by-step approach to helping teenagers discover their unique gifts, and works for all families, no matter their economic status, parenting situation, or ethnic background.

Combining biography with regional and national history, Dan T. Carter chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of George Wallace, a populist who abandoned his ideals to become a national symbol of racism, and later begged for forgiveness. In The Politics of Rage, Carter argues persuasively that the four-time Alabama governor and four-time presidential candidate helped to establish the conservative political movement that put Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1980 and gave Newt Gingrich and the Republicans control of Congress in 1994. In this second edition, Carter updates Wallace’s story with a look at the politician’s death and the nation’s reaction to it and gives a summary of his own sense of the legacy of “the most important loser in twentieth-century American politics.”

After helping clear a colony of vicious parasites, Seb Zodo has come back from his most recent mission with more questions than answers. How did the grubs find their way to Carstic in the first place? Does it have anything to do with Moses? Could the leader of The Shadow Order be that callous in his pursuit of wealth? To find out the truth Seb has to defy his obligation to The Shadow Order and go A.W.O.L. In a galaxy where Moses holds great power, Seb has just made himself a fugitive. A fugitive with a large bounty on his head ...

An informative, entertaining, and beautifully illustrated look at the beloved firefly For centuries, the beauty of fireflies has evoked wonder and delight. Yet for most of us, fireflies remain shrouded in mystery: How do fireflies make their light? What are they saying with their flashing? And what do fireflies look for in a mate? In Silent Sparks, noted biologist and firefly expert Sara Lewis dives into the fascinating world of fireflies and reveals the most up-to-date discoveries about these beloved insects. From the meadows of New England and the hills of the Great Smoky Mountains, to the rivers of Japan and mangrove forests of Malaysia, this beautifully illustrated and accessible book uncovers the remarkable, dramatic stories of birth, courtship, romance, sex, deceit, poison, and death among fireflies. The nearly two thousand species of fireflies worldwide have evolved in different ways—and while most mate through the aerial language of blinking lights, not all do. Lewis introduces us to fireflies that don't light up at all, relying on wind-borne perfumes to find mates, and we encounter glow-worm fireflies, whose plump, wingless females never fly. We go behind the scenes to meet inquisitive scientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding fireflies, and we learn about various modern threats including light pollution and habitat destruction. In the last section of the book, Lewis provides a field guide for North American fireflies, enabling us to identify them in our own backyards and neighborhoods. This concise, handy guide includes distinguishing features, habits, and range maps for the most commonly encountered fireflies, as well as a gear list. A passionate exploration of one of the world's most charismatic and admired insects, Silent Sparks will inspire us to reconnect with the natural world.