Winter Adventure

When Tennal—a rich socialite, inveterate flirt and walking disaster—is caught using his telepathic powers for illegal activities, the military decides to bind his mind to someone whose coercive powers are strong enough to control him. Enter Lieutenant Surit, the child of a disgraced general. Out of a desperate need to restore a pension to his other parent, Lieutenant Surit agrees to be bound to Tennal and keep him conscripted in the army, a task that seems impossible even for someone with Surit's ability to control minds.

Atlantica - the forgotten isle, the glittering gem in the cesspool of humanity's future. Anything you do inside your own home is allowed. It is a dog-eat-dog world of millionaires and billionaires. The rest of society beneath them live in ignorance. Those at the top have money, tools, people, assassins, and murderers. One such assassin was a rumor, a myth, a ghost in the night. The Red Countess, the lady Valentina Winters. A player among the elite has something Valentina wants, and she is willing to do most anything to get it.

Is Christmas magic real? Nick and Noelle are having a bad holiday. They're both single, lonely, and have no prospects for any bedroom fun. They live an ocean apart, but when both fall asleep and find themselves in a winter wonderland with only 2 hours to do whatever they want to a virtual stranger, they decide to really do whatever they want... to each other. They've never done anything like this before and the winter wonderland might not be real, but the dream sure feels like it is. This short story of about 8.400 words combines a fantasy dream world with real life.

From Lisa Ann Verge, RITA-nominated author of romantic, adventurous, historical novels "An absorbing, exciting romantic adventure!" --RT Book Reviews "Lisa Ann Verge breathes fresh life into the romance genre." -- Affaire de Coeur Struggling to survive on the streets of Paris, Genevieve agrees to a dangerous masquerade: She switches places with a King’s Girl, a young noblewoman about to be shipped to the colonies. It’s a risky venture with a high price—once overseas, Genny must marry a stranger....

Santa's surprise visit, a backroom deal, a rare map, and someone's been really, really bad. Five holidays tales, including an all-new Samantha Moon short story! "When Sam Met Santa" - When Santa Claus shows up at Samantha Moon's door, it's hardly the strangest thing that's ever happened to her. What happens next, however, is another story... Also included: "The Santa Call" - After accidentally forgetting his wife at home during a weekend getaway, ol’ St. Nick returns to discover she’s left him. At wit’s end, Santa turns to a radio talk show for some much needed love advice. But will ...

After 9/11 the US Government vowed that any similar attack on American soil would be thwarted, and the newly created Homeland Security knew that the only way to achieve this end was to have the very best intelligence. A group of elite officers from the police, the FBI and the CIA are recruited to form a special branch within the new organization, operating in deep cover, their contact with each other and with other agencies strictly compartmentalized.

Since a deadly virus and the violence that followed wiped out his parents and most of his community, Finn has lived alone on the rugged coast with only his loyal dog, Rowdy, for company. He has stayed alive for two winters—hunting and fishing and trading food, and keeping out of sight of the Wilders, an armed and dangerous gang that controls the north, led by a ruthless man named Ramage. But Finn’s isolation is shattered when a girl runs onto the beach. Rose is a Siley—an asylum seeker—and she has escaped from Ramage, who had enslaved her and her younger sister, Kas.

Herzlich Willkommen im zauberhaften Silberwald! Stell dir vor, du trittst in eine Welt, in der der Schnee glitzert wie Millionen kleiner Diamanten und der Winter In einem stillen Wispern die Geschichten längst vergangener Zeiten erzählt.In diesem magischen Reich lebt die mutige Hexe Dori zusammen mit ihrem treuen Gefährten, dem gemütlichen Bären Wilfried, und der abenteuerlustigen Katze Fleck.

Charlie Munroe had been a nobody all her life. And when she is found in the ditch, more dead than alive, she becomes a nobody once again. Seventeen-year-old Charlie was shunned at school. Trailer trash. Second-hand Charlie is what they called her. It was time for her to make a choice. She chooses to leave, to run away from it all and never look back. To chase a dream, and maybe find herself. When a motorcycle accident leaves her battered and unconscious, she becomes a nobody again. Left for dead in the ditch… like trash. Something no longer needed. Or wanted. Someone else’s problem. The...

A 23-year-old law student commits suicide in broad daylight in Moscow's Alexander Gardens. Fandorin is put on the case to find out what drove him to it, a case that deepens as he discovers that the young man was the son of a rich and influential factory owner. The story is enhanced by its authentic backdrop of 19th century Russia. After all, it's difficult to keep your mind on a case when the new Dostoyevsky novel has just hit the shops.

Jake Kyle needed to get away and never more so than now. The political quagmire that he’s help to bring to a boil is about to land on his doorstep. It was time to Retreat to Woodhaven. Under normal circumstances he’d be more than happy to take his critics on face to face and had done just that more than once over the years. And more than once he had been the one to walk away smiling. But this time in the midst of everything he’s embroiled in, he has other far more important things to take care of. People who need him in ways they never had before. Family who counted on him though ...

As a supernova burns brightly in the sky above a desolate Earth, something stirs in the affairs of men. It wants something they have, something untouchable, if it exists at all. Follow a bunch of renegades as they journey along parched prairies under a scorching sun and through dusty storms, testing friendships as they struggle to survive. Freedom comes at a cost, but to whom and why? Is someone or something watching over them, guiding their fates? If so, what is their purpose? Can the renegades see through the illusions and glimpse the hidden hand that pulls a veil over them to hide them ...

For twelve-year-old Nox Winters, the town of Evergreen isn’t home—it’s a tourist trap in middle-of-nowhere Maine for amateur cryptozoologists hoping to spot its infamous legend, a batlike creature known as the Evergreen Devil. But his twin brother, Noah, has been wasting away from an illness that has left medical professionals stumped, and the doctors here in Evergreen are his last hope. And Nox goes where Noah goes.

Change can be really hard sometimes. But we learned that it can also be a wonderful thing. I seriously enjoyed the changes we had to make to our group. Double date nights are awesome, and I really loved our core group gathering. I'm not going to fear changes anymore. I'm just going to roll with them and find the joy hidden inside. I'm excited to see what's in store for our group in Finland. I have a feeling I'm going to love it there. Norway was incredible and Finland is right next door. I'm really looking forward to seeing it through Barbara's plans this time. She always plans the best ...

THE MAUS TRAP A quiet winter vacation in the Alps. A romantic and secluded hotel. Only nine guests. A famous crime novelist who is being stalked. Three shots, one dead body—a new case for Penny Küfer. Each book in the series features a complete, standalone mystery—perfect to enjoy in any order.

‘The Dead are not alone. There is something in the mist and it talks to them.' In a remote clinic in 18th-century Italy, a lonely girl writes to her mother. She tells of pale English aristocrats and mysterious Russian nobles. She tells of intrigues and secrets, and strange faceless figures that rise from the sea. And she tells about the enigmatic Mrs Pond, who arrives with her husband and her physician. What she doesn’t tell her mother is the truth that everyone knows and no one says that the only people who come here do so to die.

Meet married couple Chris and Marty. At midlife, they unexpectedly find themselves weighing the responsibility of parenthood against the possibility of one more grand adventure. After securing care for their 12-year-old son, they set off to undertake one of the hardest challenges on the planet: Ski 570 miles from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole. With no guide or resupply. Riveting and inspiring, The Expedition is about the power of family and community, the adventurous spirit that dwells within us all, and breaking through to feel fully alive.

Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar My father, brother, and I are the Three Kings of legend. We bear the gifts that everyone buys. From electronics and toys to trees and candy, we control every single aspect of the trillion-dollar Christmas industry. Because for us – the holiday season is all about the cash. We’re rich, powerful, and love punishing anyone who tries to ruin our merry moneymaking. The only thing missing is a Mrs. Wiseman to give me children and ensure my family’s domination of the yuletide tradition continues long after I’m gone. My cunning best friend finds the perfect ...

For over a century, Logan Cade has been nothing more than a ghost—a cursed Guardian bound to the frozen peaks of Black Hollow, forced to wield the power of ice and endure an endless winter. But when Avery Monroe, a determined journalist, arrives to uncover the legend of the Frost Guardian, she shatters the fragile balance keeping Logan’s world intact. What begins as a search for truth quickly spirals into a fight for survival. Avery becomes entangled in a war centuries in the making, one where ancient forces clash, and elemental power threatens to consume everything in its path.

The Soviet plan to cut Finland in half failed spectacularly with the destruction of the 163rd and 44th Divisions at Suomassalmi and The Raate Road. Undeterred by the disaster, Soviet High Command crafted a new strategy to bisect Finland, targeting the crucial crossroads in the town of Kuhmo. Learning from their mistakes, they deployed the formidable 54th Mountain Division, seasoned in Arctic warfare, to achieve the objective. When ten thousand Red Army soldiers stormed across the border, the Finnish 9th Division, led by Colonel Siilasvuo, raced to intercept them. After days of fierce combat...