Collection: Adult

A searing and strikingly intimate debut set in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, about a newly married lesbian couple who move into a flipped foreclosure, unaware that the former homeowners are still living in the attic.

Months after the housing bubble bursts, newlywed Chicagoans Emma and Rachel move into a charming little house in a conservative Indiana college town, hoping for a fresh start after a painful miscarriage. As Rachel immerses herself in her new role as a tenure-track professor and bestselling novelist, adjunct Emma struggles in the shadow of her wife's success. Desperate to build something of her own, Emma secretly pursues IVF, even as Rachel insists they wait to have children. The house, initially a symbol of new beginnings, becomes a refuge for Emma from the town she's convinced is set against her--until strange occurrences make her question whether she and her wife are truly alone.

They aren't.

Charlotte and Dirk, the former homeowners, are secretly living in the attic above Emma and Rachel's attached garage. Dispossessed by the recession and anxious about her husband's declining health, Charlotte listens to the interlopers below, and her resentment steadily grows. What starts as small acts of defiance--missing food, flipped breakers in the fuse box, subtle scratches in the furniture--soon becomes sabotage. But when her campaign to drive out the couple goes too far, Charlotte's and Emma's stories converge in an explosive climax that will reveal the lengths people will go to reclaim what they've lost.

The shy curvy waitress and the silver fox cowboy who goes to the diner just to see her.

When Grayson lost his wife, he thought his love life was over. So he dedicated himself to raising five boys as a single dad. The only reprieve he gave himself was trips to the diner to see the younger, curvy waitress who made him smile like no one else could. He knew he could never date a woman twenty years younger than him, but that didn't stop him from developing feelings for her. Feelings he fought to keep buried.

Agatha promised herself when she became a single mom that her kids would always come first. Her crush on the hot older cowboy had to come second, even if she looked forward to seeing him at the diner every day. He was the first man who treated her like she was something valuable, and he showed up for her without expecting anything in return. Over the years, he checked oil, changed tires, and even brought soup when her kids were sick.

But her son's graduation day changed everything.

With both of their children all grown, could it finally be time for Grayson and Agatha to give themselves what they've been denying? Or has twenty years of friendship made becoming something more a terrible idea?

Find out in this sizzling, emotional romance with a plus-size female main character and a heartfelt hero.

Two rival schools stand next door to each other: one for elite ladies, one for good-for-nothing boys. But one of those boys might just be a naturally chivalrous diamond in the rough, and one of those girls might be a little more open-minded than is proper...

This cute and twisty manga spin on Romeo and Juliet is the latest hit in Japan, coming to print from a successful digital-first release!

Capulet & Montague, Chidori & Kikyo

Chidori High is a boys' school that takes in the dregs of society with the lowest grades. Next door stands Kikyo Girls' High, where the wealthy, high-class families send their precious daughters. Chidori second-year Rintaro, who has a fierce face but a gentle heart, is helping at his family's patisserie when he meets a girl named Kaoruko. The two hit it off right away...but this blissful peace is quickly disturbed when Rintaro discovers that Kaoruko is actually a student at Kikyo. Worse, she doesn't seem to realize what a huge problem this really is! Will these two be able to forge a path for themselves, and sidestep the traps (metaphorical and literal) laid by their classmates?

Genevieve Daylee didn't expect to be standing in front of a judge on her twenty-seventh birthday. But ever since her life became entangled with a former motorcycle gang, she's learned not to expect anything but trouble.

Her mother, a woman she once admired and adored, is gone, leaving behind a trail of secrets and lies. She's living in a tiny apartment above a garage owned by her brother, a man who loathes her very existence. And the father she met beside her mother's grave is as much of a stranger as Isaiah Reynolds, the broken man with soulless eyes standing beside her in front of the judge.

Isaiah is her protector from the murderer at large in Clifton Forge. Though he's more like a riven knight in dented armor than a prince on a white stallion. She knows next to nothing about him, other than he works as a mechanic. As of tonight, he'll be sharing her bathroom.

And, according to the judge, Isaiah is now her husband.

A practical, accessible framework to help education leaders at all levels turn goals into effective action

In Leading Strategically, Elizabeth A. City and Rachel E. Curtis introduce an actionable leadership framework that supports education leaders in developing and executing cohesive strategy and in taking action in their daily work in ways that make them more effective. Their approach helps leaders navigate challenges and dilemmas in ways that build ownership, collaboration, and capacity within their schools, school systems, and nonprofit educational organizations.

City and Curtis center their framework on five essential elements of strategic leadership: discernment, or figuring out what is important to achieve the organization's vision; cultivation of relationships by tending to interpersonal interactions and social networks with intentionality; deep knowledge of organizational context and history; identification of where power resides, what it looks like in action, and how to marshal it in service of shared purpose; and maintaining a lean and flexible mindset by thinking big, acting small, and learning fast. Throughout the work, reflective questions and tools invite readers to interrogate how each element can apply to their work, guide decision-making, and inform their leadership. Real-world mini case studies show these principles in practice, and a final chapter synthesizes the book into a set of questions leaders can use to guide them to lead strategically.

Overall, this practical, hope-filled work encourages leaders--from teachers to superintendents and CEOs--to think expansively about what they can do on behalf of all students, their families, and their communities.

Monster Girls--They're Just Like Us!

From grocery shopping for blood bags to hexing their exes, these creatures of the night just wanna make it through the day! With 36 hand-drawn illustrations by the creator of Tragic Girls, you can color in scenes of a sea monster accidentally flooding her local laundromat, a werewolf waiting for all her hair to dry at the salon, or a witch brewing her morning coffee. Each spookytacular coloring page is printed on premium quality paper that lies flat while coloring and is perforated for displaying your favorite man-eaters. So pick your coloring tools, chill out, and get ready to bring these macabre babes to life--or, at least, back from the dead!

Develop your intercultural sensitivity-and confidently manage personal and business relations in an intercultural environment!

With this book, you will learn why we all act 'automatically' in interactions with people from other groups and cultures, and how you can counteract these automatisms. The many exercises will guide you through recognizing your own cultural background, and identifying similarities and differences between cultures, to learning how to effectively interact in an intercultural environment.

• Gain a compact overview of models that help you to understand intercultural differences
• Assess and compare your own culture with the culture of your communication partners
• Learn different ways of reflecting on and resolving intercultural situations
• Apply what you have learned through the many practical exercises to situations you are currently facing
• Create a plan for developing your intercultural competencies to a higher level

Use this book for self-study, to accompany a course in intercultural competence or intercultural communication, or to find inspiration for additional exercises for the courses you offer yourself.

"Intercultural competency is one of the top skills that employers seek. Cultural Sensitivity Training provides a simple, yet elegant framework to help readers navigate the cultural minefield in our global work world. It's loaded with exercises and resources that help students and experienced business leaders work more successfully with culturally diverse colleagues. I highly recommend this great and timely book"

-- Dr Carol Scovotti, Arno Kleimenhagen Professor of Marketing, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (USA)

"Susann Kowalski's book is essential reading for anyone who would like to improve their communication style in multilingual and multinational settings. Th is book will significantly increase your self-awareness and knowledge around intercultural communication issues. It gives a really useful broad and deep synopsis of the main models and theories and provides superb practical advice and guidance. A great piece of work!"

-- Dr Alexandra Morgan, Author of Coaching International Teams: Improving Communication, Inclusion and Productivity (UK)

"This book puts together the theoretical framework about intercultural communication in a unique perspective. This is an amazing book and an added value to the intercultural communication educational library."

-- Dr Eva Haddad Al-Faraj, Assistant Professor SBSH, German Jordanian University (Jordan)

About the author

Dr. Susann Kowalski is a professor at TH Köln University of Applied Sciences and has been teaching courses in intercultural competencies and management, as well as personal development, at both undergraduate and graduate levels for over 20 years. She has years of experience teaching interculturally mixed groups of students in Germany as well as in countries as diverse as India, Russia, China, and the USA.

Available officially for the first time in English, experience Keisuke Itagaki's best-selling and highly influential BAKI saga from the start!

Who knew applying to be the next Miss Americana while you're drunk on tequila would actually

get anywhere? But that's exactly what happened to Ava when she wanted an excuse to promote her best friends' new businesses. She never even expected to get past the first round of auditions, much less win the beauty pageant, and now here she is, wearing a silk sash and a crown on her head, trying to picture what the next three months is going to look like. As the newly crowned Miss Americana, she's off on a three-month press tour, visiting all 50 states as part of her contract.

For a girl who loves adventure, it's a dream come true, except for two hiccups. The first one being the morality clause and long list of rules the organization is forcing her to live by while wearing the crown. And second, and probably the worst one, is the delicious sexy, yet grumpy driver-slash-bodyguard assigned to keep her in line.

Jaime normally spends his days as head of security for the world-famous rock band Atlas Oaks, but when they take a break from touring, he's excited for a change of pace. Until he learns his new assignment is the gorgeous and ever-frustrating pageant princess who gets under his skin in more ways than one.

When he learns Ava has made it her mission to drive him crazy-by constantly looking for a new hit of endorphins by toeing the line as well as by flirting with him endlessly-he realizes what he thought would be a simple assignment is anything but. Now if only he can survive the next ninety days keeping his hands to himself and off the woman he can't get out of his head.

An aspiring chef finds she has bitten off more than she can chew when her gig as a private cook to a bestselling author turns deadly in this propulsive, whip-smart suspense novel.

"Emma Cline's The Guest meets Freida McFadden's The Housemaid in this sexy, edgy, singular story."--Ashley Winstead, author of The Future Saints

Brett Novak is a young upstart chef, with real, raw talent--if only she could catch a break. After getting dumped by her married girlfriend and losing the perfect job offer, Brett accepts a temporary position as a live-in, personal chef of a reclusive, bestselling author, Carson Smart, who resides in a mansion on a secluded beach in Cape Cod.

Carson immediately seduces her, but things get complicated when Carson's wife, Vera, arrives home from her trip, and the love/hate relationship between the two spouses erupts, leaving Brett caught in the middle. Brett, starved for attention, craves Carson's affection and yet is oddly drawn to Vera's seductive and destructive charms.

As Brett becomes an unwitting pawn and weapon, she questions how far husband and wife will go to wound the other. With nowhere else to turn, she has no choice but to stay--even as her hold on reality begins to slip. Can she survive her employers' dark appetites?

'Tis the season for mischief and murder in the eighth Year-Round Christmas mystery from national bestselling author Vicki Delany.

It's Christmastime in Rudolph, New York, which means it's time for the December Santa Claus parade. This year, shop owner Merry Wilkinson has decided to decorate her float as Santa's elves' workshop and invites her landlady, Mabel D'Angelo, to help supervise the excited children playing the elves. But when Mrs. D'Angelo doesn't show up, Merry begins to worry.

Worry quickly turns into frustration when Mrs. D'Angelo reveals she was delayed by new neighbors moving in. As the center for all things gossip, Mrs. D'Angelo is determined to introduce the new arrivals to the neighborhood. As the days pass, Mrs. D'Angelo notices strange things about the newcomers, but Merry, busier than an elf in Santa's workshop, has little time for matters that really don't concern her. But things turn from jolly to downright concerning when Mrs. D'Angelo disappears and Merry is forced to admit that something might be terribly wrong.

With family and friends counting on her during this stressful holiday season, it is up to Merry to make sure this Christmas doesn't end up wrapped in blood red.

An alien named Mumu is a survivor of a civil war that saw the destruction of his planet's scientists, leaving only its fools alive. In an attempt to understand the advanced technology his species left behind, he's infiltrated Earth, a planet with a lower level of civilization, to study their so-called ""home appliances,"" which contain facets of all kinds of technological knowledge. However, a group of Mumu's fellow cat-shaped invaders from a radical faction arrives in a spaceship to conquer Earth! Will Sakurako, a regular college student and Mumu's owner, be able to warn her planet about the impending crisis?

Best Psychological Thriller in the United States of 2025, Evergreen Awards

Steve Balam is the man everyone trusts-a sharp financial advisor, devoted husband, and proud father living out the suburban dream in Atlanta. But behind the polished suits and warm family dinners lurks something else: a mind built for control, and a hunger for killing that won't be tamed.

He's a serial killer with a system so perfect that innocent men go to prison while he walks free-planting DNA from unsuspecting massage parlor clients at each crime scene. For years, he's been untouchable-a ghost. Until one frightened insider threatens to blow his secrets wide open.

As Detective John Grimm gets closer, Balam's carefully constructed world starts to crack. The deeper Grimm digs, the uglier the truth becomes. With his double life at risk, Balam will do anything to keep it hidden-and the innocent will pay the price. One slip could bring his empire, and his freedom, crashing down.

Dark, relentless, and disturbingly real, Prey Before Bed pulls you into a world where real monsters wear charming smiles-and no one is safe. You'll be left wondering just how well we really know the people we trust the most.

'A terrific, unexpected twist' Guardian

'Withered Hill is the ultimate nightmare destination' Laird Barron

InsideA year ago Sophie Wickham stumbled into the isolated Lancashire village of Withered Hill, naked, alone and with no memory of who she is.

Surrounded by a thick ring of woodland, its inhabitants seem to be of another world, drenched in pagan, folklorish traditions.

As Sophie struggles to regain the memories of her life from before, she quickly realises she is a prisoner after multiple failed escape attempts. But is it the locals who keep her trapped, with smiles on their faces, or something else, lurking in the woods?

OutsideIn London, Sophie leads a chaotic life, with too many drunken nights, inappropriate men and boring temp jobs. But things take a turn as she starts to be targeted by strange messages warning her that someone, or something, is coming for her.

With no idea who to trust, or where to turn for help, the messages become more insistent and more intimidating, urging Sophie to make her way to a place called Withered Hill

An utterly bewitching, dual timeline folk horror novel, with a truly devastating twist you have to read to believe.

Praise for Withered Hill 'Eerie, erotic and engrossing, David Barnett's Withered Hill is a masterpiece of folkloric horror, one I suspect shall henceforth be mentioned in the same breath as The Wicker Man, as it well and truly deserves to be' Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Sour Candy

'A bloody masterpiece Black Mirror meets The Wicker Man' Mark Stay, author of The Witches of Woodville series

'Haunting, shocking and beautifully written, Withered Hill lures you into a strange town where everything is slightly off-kilter, and then invites you to try and escape. But you can't. And neither will you escape the draw of this brilliant, almost hypnotic novel, which is one of my favourites of the year' Tim Lebbon

'Midsommar, Evil Dead and Stepford Wives all in one, this twisted dark fairytale rooted in the modern world had me too scared to walk my dog in broad daylight. Masterful storytelling, sinister, sick and funny if you're as warped as this folklore horror gem' Lisa Rookes, author of The Vanishing of Joni Blackwood

'Withered Hill gets into you as the best folk horror tends to: the woods grow ever-deeper, the villagers more smilingly hostile as the escape routes shrink tighter than a keyhole. But there's much delight in being trapped in the hands of such an agile, clever, and knowing storyteller' Nick Cutter, author of The Troop

'Beguiling, bewitching and brilliant. Withered Hill gets under your skin like some long-forgotten pagan spell and keeps you turning the pages late into the night.' Jeremy Dyson, from the League of Gentlemen