Adult

When Old Order Amish Rose Kurtz is asked to leave her family and help Joel Dienner with his children in the wake of tragedy, the quiet young woman recognizes a home where she might find kindness instead of criticism and hope replacing harsh words. She agrees to stay in Forest Hill and become Joel’s wife for the sake of his family needs, but their marriage is to be a partnership, one built from need, not love and affection. As the years pass, Rose continues to beckon Joel to join life again, to take joy in his growing children, and to awaken his heart to the possibility of new love. But will the arrival of a beautiful widow and a series of misunderstandings reverse how far Rose and Joel have come?

Scholars have long argued that the developmental state of the human infant at birth is unique. COSTLY AND CUTE expands that argument, pointing out that many distinctively human characteristics can be traced to the fact that we give birth to infants who are highly dependent on others and who learn how to be human while their brains are experiencing growth unlike that seen in other primates. The contributors to this volume take a broad look at how human infants are similar to and different from the infants of other species, how our babies have constrained our evolution over the past six million years, and how they continue to shape the ways we live today.

In Old Gate, Virginia, stands a grand house built by Randolph Bliss, a charming New York carpetbagger who, in 1878, shook off dire warnings to build his home elsewhere. For the ground beneath Bliss House is tainted with the kind of tragedy that curses generations, seeping through the foundation and sowing madness in its wake. THE ABANDONED HEART is the prequel to CHARLOTTE'S STORY and BLISS HOUSE, forming a trilogy of southern Gothic novels in which one haunted house begets haunted lives that echo over centuries. A haunting so powerful that even Bliss House’s destruction cannot kill it.

THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT tells the mesmerizing story of Lilliet Berne, an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept into the glamour and terror of Second Empire France. She became a sensation of the Paris Opera, with every accolade but an original role --- her chance at immortality. When one is offered to her, she finds the libretto is based on her deepest secret, something only four people have ever known. But who betrayed her? Alexander Chee shares Lilliet’s cunning transformation from circus rider to courtesan to legendary soprano, retracing the path that led to the role that could secure her reputation --- or destroy her with the secrets it reveals.

Two years since losing her husband, all Andrea Montgomery wants is for her children to enjoy their first Christmas in Haven Point. But then Andie accepts a favor to keep an eye on the brother of her friend Wyn, Sheriff Marshall Bailey, who’s recovering from a hit-and-run. Marshall hates feeling defenseless and resents the protective impulses that Andie brings out in him. When a blizzard forces them together for the holidays, something in Marshall begins to thaw. Andie’s gentle nature is a salve, and her kids’ excitement for the holidays makes him forget why he never wanted a family. If only he and Andie can admit what they really want --- each other --- their Christmas wishes might come true after all.

From flurries of delicate snowflakes to deliciously decorated gingerbread houses and reindeer-led sleighs, JOHANNA'S CHRISTMAS is a celebration of this wonderful holiday season that invites you to pick up your pens and pencils to color, complete or embellish each of the festive artworks. Hidden in this book are a flock of elusive little robins. Can you spot them all?

Did you know that your answers to just a handful of questions can predict the zip code of where you grew up? In 2013, Josh Katz accumulated and visually mapped over 350,000 unique survey responses to questions about word choice and pronunciation throughout America. His dialect quiz quickly became the most viewed webpage in the history of The New York Times. In SPEAKING AMERICAN, Katz offers a visual atlas of the American vernacular --- who says what, and where they say it --- revealing the history of our nation, our regions and our language.

Our world belongs to the Equals --- aristocrats with magical gifts --- and all commoners must serve them for 10 years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world. Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but when she falls for one of their noble-born sons, she faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty --- but will her heart pay the price? Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town and makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now he has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution. Luke is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate --- or destroy?

Heart surgeon Suzette Kendall is stunned when her husband, Hyland, admits his yearning for a child. From the beginning they had decided that having children was not an option, as Suzette feared passing along the genes that landed her mother in a mental institution. But Hyland proposes a different idea: a baby via surrogate. A young woman named Dorothy Muscarello is chosen as the one who will help make this family complete. For Dorrie, surrogacy (and the money that comes with it) are her opportunity to leave behind a troubled past and create a future for herself. But this situation forces all three of them to face a devastating uncertainty that will reverberate in the years to come.

At nearly 100 years old, Thalia Mars is a far cry from the patients who child psychologist Alex Delaware normally treats. But the charming, witty woman convinces Alex to meet with her in a suite at the Aventura, a luxury hotel with a checkered history. What Thalia wants from Alex are answers to unsettling questions --- about guilt, patterns of criminal behavior and victim selection. When Alex asks the reason for her morbid fascination, Thalia promises to tell all during their next session. But when he shows up the following morning, he discovers Thalia dead in her room. Alex and homicide detective Milo Sturgis must peel back the layers of a fascinating but elusive woman’s life and embark on one of the most baffling investigations either of them has ever experienced.