Winter Women

In Winter, life force matches up to the toughest of the seasons. In this second novel in her acclaimed Seasonal cycle, the follow-up to Ali Smith's sensational Autumn, Smith's shape-shifting quartet of novels casts a merry eye over a bleak post-truth era with a story rooted in history, memory, and warmth, its taproot deep in the evergreens: art, love, laughter. It's the season that teaches us survival.

Although beautiful young widow Phoebe, Lady Clare, has never met West Ravenel, she knows one thing for certain: He’s a mean, rotten bully. Back in boarding school, he made her late husband’s life a misery, and she’ll never forgive him for it. But when Phoebe attends a family wedding, she encounters a dashing and impossibly charming stranger who sends a fire-and-ice jolt of attraction through her. And then he introduces himself...as none other than West Ravenel.

Dominic Valetti is only interested in two things: getting paid and getting laid. He's a bookie for the Valetti crime family, and he knows his shit. Dom's busy doing business, no time to dabble in social niceties. The women that chase after him wanting more than a dirty, hard f--k are only gonna get their hearts broken. That is, until Becca stumbles into his office to pay off her ex's debt. A hot brunette who's just as guarded as he is and has a body made for sin...and for him.

Sometimes you meet someone - maybe meet isn't the right word. You don't even have say hello for this to happen. You simply pass by them, and everything in your world changes forever. Chills flow all the way from the crook in your neck where you imagine he'd kiss you, all the way down, with only a single glance. I know you know what I'm referring to. The moment when something inside of you ignites to life, recognizing their other half that's been gone for far too long. It burns hot, destroying any hope that it's only a coincidence, and that life will go back to what it was.

Ever since a car accident tore her family apart, Holly has been part of a lonely-hearts holiday letter–writing club. Each December, she writes to a stranger who is also spending Christmas alone, and receives a letter from another lonely person in return. Usually, the letters go unanswered. That’s the point—the letters are anonymous, and the senders write whatever is in their heart. But this year, the letter Holly receives is different; not only is the letter full of a grief she knows all too well, but its writer, Emma, mentions a place that Holly has visited.

Ambitious ice queen and corporate lawyer Felicity Simmons has spent her life focused on one thing: scuttling up the career ladder. She's achingly close to taking charge of a media empire for her boss when she's sent to investigate a South Bronx charity that helps homeless people's pets. Has the charity made off with her boss's generous donation? And, who on earth is that gorgeous soft-butch veterinarian who looks as if she could toss a Shetland pony over one shoulder? Not that Felicity has any interest in some opinionated Amazon or her adorable fleabag of a dog.

Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister, Persephone, never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found - and years later, her murder remains unsolved. In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later.

I trust no one. I thrive with control and I've learned to be ruthless and coldhearted. A love life? I'm not interested. But I still have desires. That's where Dahlia came in; my treasure. She had never been a submissive before and I was eager to train her. When I saw her on stage at the auction, dressed in gold, I knew I had to have her. She's mine for an entire month. I own her. But one lie changed everything.

I was only a boy when I saw my mother murdered in front of me. That does something to a man. It turns him hard, cold, and makes him an addict for control. In all things. My desires are dark and what I'm interested in is far more than simple submission. I've been waiting for someone as broken as me. Someone who truly needs to give up complete control and rely on me to take away her pain. And then I found her. Katia. My kitten. The moment I laid eyes on her gorgeous face, full lips, and seductive curves, she stole the air from my lungs.

I should’ve known she would ruin me the moment I saw her. Women like her are made to destroy men like me. I couldn’t resist her though. Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept. But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything.

I ran from him, even though my heart knew better. Love was one thing, but survival another. I should have known he'd come for me. Men like him always get what they want. The temptation in his eyes, the heat of his touch...it's all still there, but his gaze is harsher now and his grasp unrelenting. He's not the boy I fell in love with, although pieces of what we once had are still there. I can feel it. I know what he wants from me, and I know it comes with a steep price. I'll pay it though, if for no other reason than to touch him again.

The first ever memoir from the most decorated female skier of all time, revealing never-before-told stories of her life in the fast lane, her struggle with depression, and the bold decisions that helped her break down barriers on and off the slopes.

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.

Toby thought she understood her own past; she thought she knew the score. She was wrong. It's time to learn the truth.

Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes listeners on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider. Hopping from Vermont to Colorado, Montana to West Virginia, Hansman profiles the people who have built their lives around a cold-weather obsession. Along the way she reckons with skiing's problematic elements and investigates how the sport is evolving in the face of the existential threat of climate change.

She thought this was a game. She thought she could walk away. She thought wrong. I've lived a cold, unforgiving life. I've seen things, I've done things, that would break a man. If they didn't kill him first. With my past behind me, I have nothing. No way to atone for my sins and nothing to lift me from the depths of despair I've come from. And no one to give me the control that I so desperately desire.

At Christmastime we remember that an ordinary, young, poor, oppressed woman was chosen to play a significant and breakthrough role in the redemption of the world. It is no mistake that a woman gets to be a part of all this, and that her voice, her questions, her fears, and her actions matter.

Identical twin sisters Alex and Hannah are the owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that sells their famous poison-themed Killer Chocolates. But now, there’s a real killer in their midst. Shortly before Christmas, their septuagenarian neighbor, Jane, confides to Alex that a murderer from a true-crime show has taken up residence in the village. Unfortunately, she’s also shared her suspicions with town gossip Netta. The next morning, Alex shows up at Jane’s house to watch the show, but instead she discovers Jane's body, with a box of Killer Chocolates nearby.

It's that time of year again! It's always Christmas in Holiday Haven, but this December is a special one. Carolyn Highcrest is preparing for her parents to visit for the inn's annual celebration . . . and to finally meet her boyfriend, Spencer. But when a mysterious package thief strikes the local postal service, Carol finds herself compelled to help Spencer find the culprit. Someone seems intent on ruining the holiday fun, with presents disappearing left and right and a spate of bad luck, which reminds Carol of the havoc the previous year wreaked by an out-of-control wishing box.

It’s springtime in Benedict, Alaska, and with the warmer weather comes an unseasonably somber local tradition...the annual Death Walk. At the end of each brutal winter, citizens gather downtown and then break into groups to search the community for those who might have somehow gotten stuck at home. Beth Rivers sets off with her friend Orin and dog Gus toward the cabin of an elderly resident, intending to check on him. When they reach the cabin, the old man is alive, but not in the best shape. Beth stays with him while Orin hurries to town for help, but it’s not Orin who returns.