Brooke

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

Running into an ex you haven't seen in nearly a decade is never a good time. Running into your ex while he's arresting you is humiliating. The handcuffs close around my fists at the same time he promises to hate me until he takes his last breath. I can't blame him. He pleaded for me not to walk away. He doesn't know leaving him broke my heart as much as it did his. It wasn't for me. Rather, it was for someone else.

When my ex-boyfriend puts a hit out on me, there's only one man I can run to for protection. Cristian Marchetti. The head of the Marchetti Mafia family. My best friend's father. My last resort. But Cristian's protection doesn't come for free. What he wants might cost me my life. He's the Mafia king, and I'm his sacrifice. And now, I must become his wife.

Hardworking Isabelle Cook has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village, is in trouble. Big trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest, grinchiest man of them all—Elias Stoneheart.

Macon is the oldest. Thirty-one. Ex-Marine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile. Army is twenty-eight. A single dad with the most beautiful green eyes. He has no idea who he is, if not a Jaeger brother. Iron will be in prison soon. You’d never think it to meet him. He’s a nice guy, actually. But he can’t stop reacting to everything. Dallas is the one I hate. Twenty-one, cruel, and selfish. He takes and then throws away whatever’s left. And Trace is mine. Or he was for about two seconds. No one can tame him for long. Not that I ever wanted to.

After putting her would-be-murderer behind bars, Claire Hartley is determined to get back to planning elaborate marriage proposals and exploring her undefined relationship with grumpy filmmaker Luke. If she could just kick her new sleepwalking habit, everything would be perfect. Unfortunately, perfect isn't in the cards for Claire when her archnemesis slaps her with a lawsuit, someone from her past comes knocking, and she becomes the target of mysterious threats that feel oddly familiar.

I’m wealthy, powerful, and able to get any woman I want. So why do I feel so empty inside? In search of a deeper me, I take a sabbatical from my privileged life. One year of backpacking around Europe: a new identity, no contacts, and no money. Not a bad plan, I think. Until I get there. A crowded hostel room, body odor, and beer bongs—there are no words for the fresh hell I’ve landed in. But amid the chaos, I meet my new roommate, Hayden Whitmore. She sleeps in the bed opposite me, and I openly admit to staring at her more than I sleep.

Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things. She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next.

Kendra is a messy-haired, pajama-pants-wearing ball of sass. The first thing she does is try to make friends with my random from the night before - giving her all sorts of bad ideas. I don’t date. I don’t use words like girlfriend, or I’ll text you later. F--k that. Relationships aren’t for me. I’ll give a woman a night she won’t forget, but once it’s over, I’m out. I keep people at a distance, and I have my reasons. But Kendra starts getting under my skin. And when my life crashes and burns - literally - Kendra is the only person on whom I can count.

Reasons I need to stop fantasizing about Linnea - One: She’s too young for me. Two: She’s my daughter’s nanny. I could stop there, couldn’t I? I’m already a cliché. The single dad who’s hot for the nanny. But it gets worse. Three: She’s my sister-in-law.