Love Lives by Carol Dyhouse

Love Lives by Carol DyhouseEnter for a chance to win one of 15 copies of "Love Lives: From Cinderella to Frozen" by social historian Carol Dyhouse - the story of how women's lives, loves, and dreams have been re-shaped since 1950, the year of Walt Disney's Cinderella and a time when teenage girls dreamed of marriage, Mr Right, and happy endings...

The book illuminates how women's expectations and emotional landscapes have shifted, asking bold questions about how women's lives have been transformed since 1950.

How have women's changing life experiences been mirrored in new expectations about marriage, intimacy, and family life?

How have new forms of independence through education and work, and greater control over childbearing, altered women's life ambitions?

And were feminists right to believe that sexual equality would improve relationships between men and women?

Woman Evolve by Sarah Jakes Roberts

Woman Evolve by Sarah Jakes RobertsSarah Jakes Roberts, with life-lessons she’s learned and new insights from the story of Eve, shows you how the disappointments and even mistakes of your past can be used today to help you become the woman God intended.

Who would imagine being friends with Eve—the woman who’s been held solely responsible for the fall of humanity (and cramps) for thousands of years? Certainly not Sarah Jakes Roberts. That is, not until Sarah discovered she is more like Eve than she cares to admit.

Everyone faces trials, and everyone will mess up. But failure should not be the focus. Your focus should not be on who you were but rather the pursuit of who you can become. In Woman Evolve, Sarah helps you to understand that your purpose in life does not change; it evolves.

Making her mistake in the Garden of Eden, Eve became the first woman to deal with rebuilding her life in the aftermath of her past. Eve knew better, but she didn’t do better. With scriptural lessons and Sarah as your guide, you discover and work through


past issues and questions that haunt you,
seeing yourself as God sees you and trusting Him with who you really are,
how to come out of darkness and pursue a real relationship with God,
why it’s important to truly care for yourself,
setting in motion the beautiful seed that God planted in you, and
running to become who you were meant to be!
Your fears and insecurities may have changed how you viewed God, others, and yourself, but in Woman Evolve, you can breakthrough and use past mistakes to revolutionize your life. Like Eve, you don’t have to live your future defined by your past.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles

News of the World by Paulette JilesIn the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.

In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence.

In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.

Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act “civilized.” Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.

Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember—strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become—in the eyes of the law—a kidnapper himself.

Hummingbird Lane by Carolyn Brown

Hummingbird Lane by Carolyn BrownThe healing powers of art and friendship work together in this inspiring and heartwarming novel by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.

Ever since childhood, Emma Merrill and Sophia Mason were bound by a passion for painting. Like all young best friends, they promised to never lose touch. But the girls came from different worlds, and their paths diverged when Emma went to an elite college and Sophie worked her way through state school.

After a decade they’ve reconnected, both in a time of need. Emma has been struggling with depression since her college years, and she’s lost herself under the suffocating influence of her controlling and manipulative mother. Sophie, under pressure to prepare for an upcoming gallery show, whisks the fragile Emma away to a small artists’ colony in south Texas. It’s a raw and beautiful landscape where wildflowers bloom—and perhaps Emma can bloom there, too. In the company of such nurturing and creative strangers—especially Josh Corlen, the openhearted manager of the commune—Emma allows herself to breathe again.

For Sophie and Emma, it’s the perfect place for reflection and to finally share the secret burdens each has carried. Most of all it’s a chance to rediscover their true selves and to make good on the old promise that their friendship would last forever.

The Last Goodbye by Fiona Lucas

The Last Goodbye by Fiona LucasPoignant, hopeful, and full of emotional power, an unforgettable story in the vein of P.S. I Love You about two people learning to love again after great loss, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Josie Silver.

How can you move on if you can’t let go?

Spencer was the love of Anna’s life: her husband, her best friend, her rock. She thought their love would last forever.

But three years ago, Spencer was tragically killed in an accident and Anna’s world was shattered. How can she ever move on, when she’s lost her soulmate?

On New Year’s Eve Anna calls Spencer’s phone number, just to hear his old voicemail greeting. But to her shock, someone answers…

Brody has inherited Spencer’s old number and is the first person who truly understands what Anna’s going through. As her and Brody’s phone calls become lengthier and more frequent, they begin opening up to each other—and slowly rediscover how to smile, how to laugh, even how to hope.

But Brody hasn’t been entirely honest with Anna. Will his secret threaten everything, just as it seems she might find the courage to love again?

And Now I Spill the Family Secrets by Margaret Kimball

And Now I Spill the Family Secrets by Margaret KimballEnter for a chance to win 1 of 10 copies of AND NOW I SPILL THE FAMILY SECRETS by Margaret Kimball, the illustrated memoir that Booklist calls: "An astonishing, loving, resonant chronicle of the hard and necessary work to make sense of the consciousness in ourselves and in our families.”

Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams

Hairpin Bridge by Taylor AdamsEnter for a chance to win 100 Advance Reader's Editions of Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams, critically acclaimed author of No Exit!

Three months ago, Lena Nguyen’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge sixty miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version.

But Lena isn’t buying it.

Now she’s come to that very bridge, driving her dead twin’s car and armed with a cassette recorder, determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister’s body.

Corporal Raymond Raycevic has agreed to meet Lena at the scene. He is sympathetic, forthright, and professional. But his story doesn’t seem to add up. For one thing, he stopped Cambry for speeding a full hour before she supposedly leapt to her death. Then there are the sixteen attempted 911 calls from her cell phone, made in what was unfortunately a dead zone.

But perhaps most troubling of all, the state trooper is referred to by name in Cambry’s final enigmatic text to her sister: Please Forgive Me. I couldn’t live with it. Hopefully you can, Officer Raycevic.

Lena will do anything to uncover the truth. But as her twin’s final hours come into focus, Lena’s search turns into a harrowing, tooth-and-nail fight for her own survival—one that will test everything she thought she knew about her sister and herself...

Lovesickness by Junji Ito

Lovesickness by Junji ItoEnter to win one of ten copies of the hardcover manga, Lovesickness: Junji Ito Short Stories.

An innocent love becomes a bloody hell in another superb collection by master of horror Junji Ito.

Ryusuke returns to the town he once lived in because rumors are swirling about girls killing themselves after encountering a bewitchingly handsome young man. Harboring his own secret from time spent in this town, Ryusuke attempts to capture the beautiful boy and close the case, but…

Starting with the strikingly bloody “Lovesickness,” this volume collects ten stories showcasing horror master Junji Ito in peak form, including “The Strange Hikizuri Siblings” and “The Rib Woman.”

Forever in Cape May by Jennifer Probst

Forever in Cape May by Jennifer ProbstWhat happens when friends become lovers? Not what a wedding planner plans in a novel of unexpected romance by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

Taylor Sunshine and Pierce Powers vowed to keep things platonic. They already have the best of each other: loyalty, friendship, and trust. Why ruin the perfect relationship? That kind of forever love isn’t in the picture anyway for a restless, aspiring artist like Taylor. Her sights are set beyond the horizon of Cape May and Sunshine Bridal.

The oceanfront hometown is part of Pierce’s heart—just like Taylor is. And it breaks at the thought of her leaving. As her closest friend since high school, he supports her desires, even if she must follow them away from Cape May. But when their defenses are down, all it takes is one impulsive, vulnerable night to change all the rules.

From old friends to overnight lovers, they make a new pact: explore a summer fling, no strings attached. But as the nights heat up and their connection grows deeper, hard choices must be faced. As summer nears its end, will Taylor and Pierce fulfill their individual dreams? Or are new dreams just beginning to come true?

Running from Moloka`i by Jill P. Anderson

Running from Moloka`i by Jill P. AndersonWhat would you bet on? The most divisive law in Hawaiian history … or a barefoot girl in love?

Hawaii, 1884. In a fading kingdom, Hawaiians are aching. They have already lost so much. And now, decimated by foreign diseases to which they have no immunity, the native population is close to collapse. Mele Bennett is a half-Hawaiian girl longing for a moment that will define her. She wants a shiny moment! Like when a firebrand is hurled over a cliff and lights up the night sky! But shiny is for keiki, little children.

Instead, Mele will be defined by a deadly disease burning through the islands and a law pitting Hawaiians like her mother against foreigners like her father. Mele’s white physician father upholds the law by signing papers exiling to Moloka`i those with the deadly disease of leprosy—even as her Hawaiian mother secretly defies the law by helping some who are hiding. How does a family survive when they are the sea divided? Hurting over a foreign-made law that separates Hawaiians from their sick loved ones, the islands are a hotbed of conflict
.
Mele underestimates the forces around her: the power of greed and the tenacity of hatred; the lifelong secret of Keahi, the boy she has loved since childhood; and the heart of her father. She underestimates the power of love, too.

As the disease crumbles their fragile world, Mele, Keahi, and her family will be unfathomably tested--hollowed out and forged anew in moments both life-taking and life-giving in the most painful and conflicted period of Hawaiian history.
Mele is not coming-of-age; she is coming into her mana, her power.
[Hint: Bet on the barefoot girl in love.]

Ouch by Pug Grumble

Ouch by Pug GrumbleFelicia sharpens doorknobs. Sylvester likes ice cream headaches. Natalie attracts injury. Ouch is the hysterical new novel by Pug Grumble. What’s it like? Imagine if Stephen King and Neil Gaiman were riding a narcoleptic porcupine to a fight club. It’s like that, but with sprinkles.

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie FraserEnter for a chance to win a paperback copy of THE BOOKSHOP OF SECOND CHANCES by Jackie Fraser!

A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly handsome bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut, perfect for readers of Evvie Drake Starts Over.

Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She's been let go from her office job with no notice--and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn't know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs.

Jackpot by Michael Mechanic

Jackpot by Michael MechanicWhat is it actually like to be blessed with riches in an era of plagues, political rancor, and near-Dickensian economic differences? How mind-boggling are the opportunities and access, how problematic the downsides? Does the experience differ depending on whether the money is earned or unearned, where it comes from, and whether you are male or female, white or black? Finally, how does our collective lust for affluence, and our stubborn belief in social mobility, explain how we got to the point where forty percent of Americans have literally no wealth at all?

These are all questions that Jackpot sets out to explore. The result of deep reporting and dozens of interviews with fortunate citizens—company founders and executives, superstar coders, investors, inheritors, lottery winners, lobbyists, lawmakers, academics, sports agents, wealth and philanthropy professionals, concierges, luxury realtors, Bentley dealers, and even a woman who trains billionaires’ nannies in physical combat, Jackpot is a compassionate, character-rich, perversely humorous, and ultimately troubling journey into the American wealth fantasy and where it has taken us.

The Devil's Pawn by Oliver Pötzsch

The Devil's Pawn by Oliver PötzschA showman’s fate is in the hands of the devil in an enthralling novel inspired by the Faust legend from the bestselling author of the Hangman’s Daughter series.

Rome, 1518. The church is tarnished by greed. Peasants are rebelling. Tumultuous times demand drastic recourse—before the devil gets his due.

Johann Faust is a renowned magician, astrologer, and chiromancer traveling through Germany with his successful troupe: the orphaned juggler Greta and his loyal companion Karl. The avaricious Pope Leo X now requires Johann’s services to replenish the papacy’s drained coffers through alchemy. But the devil, with whom a regretful Johann once agreed to an unholy trade for fame, wants something else. Racked with paralyzing seizures, Johann fears that his debt is nearer to being settled.

In France, Johann hopes for answers from an eminent new friend who could hold the key to his torment, body, and soul. For the celebrated artist, inventor, and anatomist Leonard da Vinci is suffering from the same accursed malady. Time is not on his side either.

Now they all must outrun the devil, and the more human threats of the papal henchmen, before Johann is dragged straight to hell—along with everyone he holds dear.