The Player Next Door


Book Description

From the international bestselling author of The Simple Wild and Ten Tiny Breaths comes a new second-chance, hate-to-love romance. Scarlet Reed has returned to Polson Falls, convinced that twelve years away is long enough to shed her humiliating childhood identity as the town harlot's daughter. With a teaching job secured and an adorable fixer-upper to call home, things in her life are finally looking up. That is, until she finds out that Shane Beckett lives next door. Shane Beckett, the handsome and charismatic high school star quarterback who smashed her heart. The lying, cheating player who was supposed to be long gone, living the pro football dream and fooling women into thinking he's Prince Charming. Shane Beckett, who is as attractive as ever and flashing his dimples at her as if he has done no wrong. Scarlet makes it abundantly clear that old wounds have not been forgotten. Neighbors they may be, but friends they most certainly are not. She won't allow herself to fall for the single father and firefighter again, no matter how many apologies he offers, how many times he rushes to her aid, or how hard he makes her heart pound. But as she spends more time with him, she begins to fear that maybe she's wrong. Maybe Shane has changed. And maybe this time she's the one playing herself-out of a chance at true happiness.




The Player Next Door


Book Description

NBA star Mike Giamaria won’t risk his career by playing with love. Ever. But when his cute, quirky, brainiac of a new neighbor falls off her death trap of a roof into his arms, Mike knows he’s caught a heap of trouble... Trouble sums up Tori's life. Despite her academic success, no one believes she can take care of herself—not her family, not her ex-boyfriend. She's determined to live her life on her own terms, and if that includes a hot summer fling with the super-sexy athlete next door, so much the better. With Tori around, Mike can’t keep his mind on basketball. He wants...more. And to his horror, not just more time on the court. But when he puts the game ahead of the girl, he’ll have to hit the biggest shot of his life to win her back.




The Grumpy Player Next Door


Book Description

I, Tillie Jean Rock, am not in love with my brother's teammate. Sure, he might have those biceps and that "I am the grouchiest of grouchy bears" smolder, and he might shovel snow off his driveway next door wearing nothing but boxer shorts and rubber boots, and he might be running a side business feeding all the stray goats in town, but studliness is only skin-deep. And I might flirt with him every chance I get, but I swear it's only to annoy my brother. And him. Because Max Cole? Under all of those glorious muscles and chiseled cheekbones and searing glares beats the heart of a heartless devil. I could no sooner fall in love with a guy who treats me like a kid, and judges me at every opportunity, and sets an army of garden gnomes loose on my yard, than I could fall in love with my grandfather's pet parrot. But I can definitely annoy him. I can one hundred percent get on board with annoying him. That's what you do when you don't like your neighbor, right? But you know what they say about love and hate... It's a very thin line. Especially when the real reason I'm not in love with Max Cole-that he's incapable of love-might not be true at all. The Grumpy Player Next door is a fun-filled enemies-to-lovers romcom featuring a ray of sunshine on a mission, an athlete who's only grouchy around her, and an epic prank gone wrong. It stands alone and comes complete with small-town shenanigans, a goat who's not nearly as wise as his name suggests, and proof that sometimes, love is the best kind of vengeance.




The Hero Next Door


Book Description

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes another middle-grade short-story collection--this one focused on exploring acts of bravery--featuring some of the best own-voices children's authors, including R. J. Palacio (Wonder), Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), Linda Sue Park (A Long Walk to Water), and many more. Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes teach martial arts. Others talk to ghosts. A few are inventors or soccer players. They're also sisters, neighbors, and friends. Because heroes come in many shapes and sizes. But they all have one thing in common: they make the world a better place. Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this vibrant anthology features thirteen acclaimed authors whose powerful and diverse voices show how small acts of kindness can save the day. So pay attention, because a hero could be right beside you. Or maybe the hero is you. AUTHORS INCLUDE: William Alexander, Joseph Bruchac, Lamar Giles, Mike Jung, Hena Khan, Juana Medina, Ellen Oh, R. J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park and Anna Dobbin, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Ronald L. Smith, Rita Williams-Garcia, and short-story contest winner Suma Subramaniam “As with the two previous anthologies from We Need Diverse Books, this collection admirably succeeds in making available to all readers a wider and more representative range of American voices and protagonists.” —The Washington Post




My Life Next Door


Book Description

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself? A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over. "A summer romance with depth." —The Boston Sunday Globe "Fitzpatrick's excellent first novel movingly captures the intensity of first love." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "An almost perfect summer romance." —Kirkus Reviews "On par with authors such as Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti." —SLJ




Before We Were Strangers


Book Description

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M




The Player


Book Description

I'm naturally gifted on the field and between the sheets. With flashy cars and enough media attention to put the Royal Family to shame, I’m the definition of Most Eligible Bachelor. Every man wants to be me and every woman wants to tame me. Until Camila. The moment I lay eyes on her, I know I have to have her. She wants to keep me at arm's length. I want her naked in my bed. She thinks our worlds are too different. All I want her to think about is screaming my name. She says I’m bad news. I have three weeks to prove her wrong.




Bottoms Up


Book Description

From the moment I met him, I knew he was trouble. He was reckless, cocky, and everything I shouldn't want. I had a life all figured out, and Tucker Moore was not a part of the plan. But somehow I slipped. One moment I had it all under control. The next I was spiraling around him, begging him for whatever he would give me. But as quickly as I fell for him, it all crumbled around us. Because everything I thought I knew was far from the truth. There was only one way to fix what we had done. So I turned my world Bottoms Up.




Beyond Melting


Book Description

Amber I had my two rules. Rule One-Never sleep with the same man twice. Rule Two-Never mix business and pleasure. I play hard, and I work even harder-just to forget. When the new client at work turns out to be the guy who gave me the earth-shattering O, I try with all my might to forget about our tryst. Working with him is testing my will, especially when he is trying to jeopardize everything I've worked for. He is beyond frustrating, yet I can't seem to forget about his hands on my body and the insatiable need we had for one another. The more time we spend together, the more my will is stretched. But if I bend, I'm breaking my own rules. The rules that keep me going and keep me safe. Logan I play hard. I don't work. Why would I when my family is one of the richest in the country? But after all this time, I'm forced to work for the family and by the way they treat me, I want to jeopardize the deal they've got me working on. But if I do that, I'm hurting her. I'm backed into a corner, either way I play. But it's no longer a game. My nonchalance is testing the sassy-mouthed beauty I'm hitched with. But she sees me differently, and I'm transfixed by her. I need to break her rules because if I have to look across at her for another day without touching her, I could implode.




Daring the Player


Book Description

She's nothing but trouble and he can't resist. Raised by a pro football legend, Miami Thunder wide receiver Rep Grissom has a career most would envy. A toxic marriage with a party girl almost put him on the sidelines, but now he keeps his head down and makes the moves on the field that leave younger players in his dust. Now all he has to do is maintain the status quo and he's guaranteed a lucrative new contract at an age when most guys are retiring.Lola Corbin is used to leaving all the big boys in her rearview mirror. The lead singer in the worlds biggest rock band she fills up arenas and closes down the clubs but with the group on the brink of breaking apart her future is uncertain. Years spent on the road has left her with nothing at home except platinum records on the walls, an empty fridge, and a cold bed. For the first time, she's looking for something and someone beyond the spotlight. When Lola's first night in her condo ends with Rep breaking up a fight he realizes that temptation has moved in next door. Lola doesn't usually go for the strong and serious types, but the more she sees of her neighbor, the more she wants. When a thank you dinner turns into dancing and a hot tryst in the back of the club their attraction cannot be denied. But when Lola-induced trouble results in a front-page-career-ending spectacle the player must decide if he's going to be as daring with his heart as he is on the field.