Beautiful Friendship

Stephanie Harrington had always expected to be a forest ranger on her homeworld of Meyerdahl until her parents relocated to the frontier planet of Sphinx in the far distant Star Kingdom of Manticore. It should have been the perfect new home - a virgin wilderness full of new species of every sort, just waiting to be discovered. But Sphinx is a far more dangerous place than ultra-civilized Meyerdahl, and Stephanie's explorations come to a sudden halt when her parents lay down the law: no trips into the bush without adult supervision!

A modern masterpiece from one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila, who represent the story of a nation and the nature of friendship.

Women long for deep and lasting friendships but often find them challenging to make. The private angst they feel regarding friendship often translates into their own insecurity and isolation. Christine Hoover offers women a fresh, biblical vision for friendship that allows for the messiness of our lives and the realities of our schedules.

What causes a perfectly rational, mature woman to lose herself in a perfectly irrational, immature relationship? For Cynthia Thomas, a single, thirty-something woman, it could be insecurity. It could be loneliness. It could be something deeper. Like a woman who has waded so far into the ocean she's lost sight of the shore, Cynthia fears she's gone too far with Victor. She fears she's wasted too many of her good years. She's no closer to becoming a wife and a mother, and as she approaches her 40th birthday, her regrets threaten to destroy her. Good for them. But when will things be good for ...

Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart.

Sonny is working on a whaling ship in the South Atlantic, reckoning with the most vicious storms he has ever seen. It’s a brutal way to make a living. When he finally returns to his Shetland home to build a life with his wife and young son, the legacy of his time at sea is felt by all of them. In present day Shetland, Jack is an old man, living alone in the cottage where he grew up, in the shadow of a hill. And it is here, one evening, that something appears on his doorstep. Something that throws off the rhythm of his solitary existence in the most profound way.

-The big story has hit the papers and the reporter is out celebrating with his peers. Trust and fidelity are on the line as the reporter finds himself thrust into a compromising situation in "The Aftermath of the Afterparty." - For the two principal characters in the "San Juan River Inn," one is desperate to recover her memory while the other will not leave until he helps her find what she lost. - In "Beautiful Green Grass," a Detroit landlord comes by to collect delinquent rent. What the landlord and the renter tell each other changes their lives. - "The Tide is Turning," for Eddie ...

In a lush, sun-drenched forest filled with chattering critters and fluttering wings lives a peacock unlike any other—Felicity Louise Finefeather. With feathers as vibrant as a sunrise and a strut that turns heads, Felicity is the very image of beauty, grace, and, well… confidence. But beauty isn’t everything. When Felicity discovers that popularity and perfection don’t always lead to real friendship, her journey takes an unexpected turn. What follows is a heartfelt tale about kindness, empathy, and what it truly means to shine. With humor, emotion, and richly imagined characters, ...

They say Delia burned herself to death in her stepfather's shed. They say it was suicide. But June doesn't believe it. June and Delia used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else - before guys, before family. It was like being in love, but more. They had a billion secrets tying them together like thin silk cords. But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June's boyfriend, Ryan, were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand.

Lucy’s life is a mess. Will a reality TV show about love set in a beautiful Scottish castle help her find some answers or cause even more heartache and problems? Lucy’s life is a mess. It’s official. Her ex just walked out on his wedding, telling everyone it’s because he’s still in love with Lucy. Now, she’s on the town’s most hated list, even though she’s the innocent party in this whole dreadful wedding day fiasco. Desperate for a place to escape to while the dust dies down, Lucy gets the chance to stay in a luxury castle in the Scottish Highlands - for free. The catch? ...

All About Laurie is the epic collection of all four real-life true stories about an extraorinary woman lamed Laurie who has changed the author's life forever.

In this immersive and inspirational book, Grammy Award-nominated singer Kierra Sheard-Kelly shares her hard-won advice on body positivity, spiritual self-care, goal setting, finding your joy, and living boldly in faith, empowering you to grab the life you’re meant to lead.

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, read by the actor Kevin T. Collins with Eve Bianco and featuring original music by Michele McGonigle. Is falling in love the beginning . . . Or the end? In Ethan Wate’s hometown there lies the darkest of secrets. There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head. Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes. There is a curse.

When journalist Holland Tate is granted an interview with Catriona Bouchard, her former best friend turned mega-popular tradwife, she jumps at the chance to also possibly rewrite their bitter ending. But at the Bouchards’ gated compound, what she finds is not the independent woman she once knew. Cat may have six beautiful children and be married to the man she calls the love of her life, but she’s a ghost of her former self.

A tropical cyclone isn’t the only thing turning Sam’s life upside down… When Sam Pankhurst returns to Blue Penguin Bay after a five-year absence, his plan is to help his father run the family bakery until he can find someone else to take over. Then he’s going to return to his job as a pastry chef on a cruise liner, travelling around the world. Settling down in the bay and making the same old loaves and muffins until the day he dies isn’t his idea of a dream future. Then he meets Ginger Cartwright. Feisty, confident, and as beautiful as the sub-tropical Northland bay that most ...

When the lives of four very different women become entangled in a boutique Venice hotel, dark secrets unravel and not everyone who checked into the hotel will check out again. Set against a backdrop of the romance and tragedy of magical Venice, The Venice Hotel explores the powerful bonds that develop between women in times of crisis, and the healing power of female connection.

Nova Kumalisi would do anything for her closest friend, Mal Wacken. She owes him her life. So, when he asked her to be the surrogate mother for him and his wife, in spite of her fears about how it would alter their friendship, Nova agreed. Eight years later, Nova is bringing up their son alone, and she and Mal don't speak. Months into the pregnancy, Mal's wife changed her mind about the surrogacy agreement. Already suspicious of how close Nova and Mal were, Stephanie realised her strained marriage was in serious trouble when she found a text from her husband to Nova.

Dad's work trip to Africa was supposed to be an amazing journey for us, since he is a famous paleontologist and I want to become the youngest Indiana Jones in History, but the truth is, that when we got here, he allowed me to do nothing, while he spent all of his time in the laboratory, where I can't even touch the mouse on his computer. Until one day, when I was exploring the area and found an ostrich egg. And it turned out to be not exactly an ostrich's...but a dinosaurs! And it hatched! That's when the true adventures began… If you want your child to dive into the world of real ...

In 1940 Edmund Wilson was the undisputed big dog of American letters. Vladimir Nabokov was a near-penniless Russian exile seeking asylum in the States. Wilson became a mentor to Nabokov, introducing him to every editor of note, assigning to him book reviews for the New Republic, engineering a Guggenheim. Their intimate friendship blossomed over a shared interest in all things Russian, ruffled a bit by political disagreements. But then came Lolita, and suddenly Nabokov was the big (and very rich) dog.

A holiday on a Greek island? Yes, please. Offered the chance to flee dismal London for some peace, quiet and sun, Kate Barrington leaves her editor job and sets off with alacrity. She’s never heard of the island of Sifnos, but reckons if celebrity actor Marcia Gold has a holiday house there it must be okay. And it is – stunning views, great food, and the gorgeous next-door neighbour Theo Laskaris, aka Tim Firth, popular crime writer. However, things turn sour. Kate learns that, back in London, Marcia hasn’t turned up for rehearsals for her current play, and seems to have totally ...