The healing power of hope… And family! A trip home to Montana in December is just the vacation international relief doctor Noelle Bannerman needs to get past a heartbreaking time. What she didn’t expect was wounded Navy SEAL Dakota Maxwell to be part of her family’s holiday plans. His resistance to Christmas fun becomes her challenge. And as she remains festive in the face of everything she’s lost, will Dakota offer her new possibilities? From Harlequin Heartwarming: Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging. Big Sky Navy Heroes Book 1: The Cowboy SEAL's Challenge Book 2: The Navy Dad's Return

Upon learning that a recently discharged Army Ranger, a young man he has known for several years, has disappeared following an altercation at a local bar, the Sheriff of Harlan County, Kentucky persuades the local state police post to allow his office to take over the investigation. With his efforts to find Randall Cravens going nowhere, the sheriff is surprised to learn that the young man has not been discharged from the Army but was actually working undercover to stop a planned Saudi-inspired terrorist attack at a local high school basketball game, which could kill hundreds. Once the FBI, Homeland Security, and even an aged consultant from Britain’s MI5 get involved, the search for Cravens follows a roller coaster ride of emotions, escapes, and prayer—all leading to a thrilling and unexpected ending. At its core, this is the story about self-discovery in two young men, both sons of the Middle East, whose vastly different lives and experiences lead them down show little hope of converging; It is also a story about prayer and the recognition that when everything else is stripped away, prayer may be the only thing left to which people can turn; It is a story about valuing age and experience as much as technology and the sophisticated systems on which so many have come to rely; and, It is a story that speaks to people and nations who are sometimes saved not by those they identify as their saviors but by those that they are intent on keeping away because of fear.

A lonely boy… Gets a Christmas miracle! Christmas in Colorado would be magical…if Canadian Air Force sergeant Graham Hopkins wasn’t missing home. Volunteering as a Santa Tracker with NORAD, he’s able to comfort six-year-old Will Parnell and his widowed mother, Vivian. When Graham receives a gift certificate for a stay at Vivian’s B and B, the warmth between them brightens the holiday season. Suddenly, returning to Canada isn’t as appealing. But will being together take a Christmas miracle? From Harlequin Heartwarming: Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging.

Amy dreads her white-knuckled commute. A new massage therapist at the Hotel Del Coronado, Amy Cantrell is thrilled to work at the luxurious resort, knowing it could open the right doors for her future as a physical therapist. There’s only one problem. The easiest way to get to the Del is over Coronado Bridge, and Amy is terrified of bridges. Josh Murphy is a Navy SEAL—and he’s not afraid of anything. When he finds Amy cowering on a bus seat praying her way across Coronado Bridge, his attempts to make light of the situation only make matters worse. Amy despises him, but Josh can’t understand why Amy is so afraid of an inanimate object. Despite reservations about getting involved because of his job, Josh sets out to help Amy overcome her fear. . .then confronts a surprising fear of his own.

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Los Angeles Times • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • The Independent In such acclaimed novels as Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic, National Book Award–winning author Colum McCann has transfixed readers with his precision, tenderness, and authority. Now, in his first collection of short fiction in more than a decade, McCann charts the territory of chance, and the profound and intimate consequences of even our smallest moments. “As it was, it was like being set down in the best of poems, carried into a cold landscape, blindfolded, turned around, unblindfolded, forced, then, to invent new ways of seeing.” In the exuberant title novella, a retired judge reflects on his life’s work, unaware as he goes about his daily routines that this particular morning will be his last. In “Sh’khol,” a mother spending Christmas alone with her son confronts the unthinkable when he disappears while swimming off the coast near their home in Ireland. In “Treaty,” an elderly nun catches a snippet of a news report in which it is revealed that the man who once kidnapped and brutalized her is alive, masquerading as an agent of peace. And in “What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?” a writer constructs a story about a Marine in Afghanistan calling home on New Year’s Eve. Deeply personal, subtly subversive, at times harrowing, and indeed funny, yet also full of comfort, Thirteen Ways of Looking is a striking achievement. With unsurpassed empathy for his characters and their inner lives, Colum McCann forges from their stories a profound tribute to our search for meaning and grace. The collection is a rumination on the power of storytelling in a world where language and memory can sometimes falter, but in the end do not fail us, and a contemplation of the healing power of literature. Praise for Thirteen Ways of Looking “Extraordinary . . . incandescent.”—Chicago Tribune “The irreducible mystery of human experience ties this small collection together, and in each of these stories McCann explores that theme in some strikingly effective ways. . . . [The first story] is as fascinating as it is poignant. . . . [The second] captures the mundane and mysterious aspects of shaping characters from the gray clay of words, placing them in realistic settings and breathing life into their lungs. . . . That he makes the story so emotionally compelling is a sign of his genius. . . . The most remarkable [piece] is Sh’khol. . . . Caught in the rushing currents of this drama, you know you’re reading a little masterpiece.”—The Washington Post “McCann is a writer of power and subtlety and beauty. . . . The powerful title story loiters in the mind long after you’ve read it.”—Sarah Lyall, The New York Times “[McCann] unspools complex and unforgettable stories in this, his first collection in more than a decade.”—The Boston Globe “McCann is a passionate writer whose impulse is always toward a generous understanding of his diverse characters.”—The Wall Street Journal “Powerful, profound, and deeply empathetic, McCann’s beautifully wrought writing in Thirteen Ways of Looking glides off the page.”—BuzzFeed “McCann weaves the magic that made Let the Great World Spin so acclaimed.”—The Huffington Post

Unexpected Holiday Bonus by Merry Holly CEO Suzette LeBlec has a problem. Well, two actually. She needs a top-notch temporary replacement for her administrative assistant’s maternity leave, and she needs to find a way to outmaneuver a hostile takeover attempt by Mark Adams. To make things worse, it’s almost Christmas, the time when Suzette most feels alone in the world. Too bad that handsome man at the party got away. But when the same stranger applies for the temp job, his almost-too-good-to-be-true credentials set off Suzette’s alarms. Dirk Harvey worked hard for years to remain anonymous while he built his father’s floundering company back up to its glory days. But when he discovers the stunning woman he’d spotted at a party is hiring, he decides to go undercover as “Dirk Mulligan”, administrative assistant extraordinaire. Besides, he and Suzette have a common problem: takeover King Mark Adams. Maybe they can find a solution together plus a little holiday bonus as well. The Littlest Angel by Vicki Batman Lauren MacDonald has always coveted her mother’s ornament, The Littlest Angel. When her mother gave it to another, Lauren embarks on a lengthy search and finds a replacement only to have it snatched from her hands. Smith Hancock’s grandmother had a little angel which has gone missing. Finding another at a flea market would make her holiday the best ever. Only a feisty girl is claiming it for herself. Can the twosome find common ground and discover the true meaning of Christmas? A Promise of Forever by Gerri Brousseau Her virtue is lost, and her reputation in tatters when a twist of fate sends Lady Roxanne Rothchild from London to the vibrant city of Venice, and into the arms of the handsome and intriguing Danté. But she is not the only one vying for his affection. Anna Maria Delafino de Padova will use everything in her power to drive a wedge between Danté and Roxanne and win his favor, including revealing the truth about Lady Rothchild. Will Roxanne be able to put her blemished past behind her and find love, and will she have the courage to reach for a promise of forever? Bad Luck Partners by Award Winning Author Cara Marsi Holidays have never brought Las Vegas hotel concierge Laney Sikora anything but bad luck in the romance department. The worst was her fiancé dumping her on Valentine’s Day. Via text. She’s determined to spend New Year's Eve alone with no romantic entanglements. But when her hunky new neighbor locks himself out of his apartment, she can’t leave him standing in the hallway. What's a girl to do? Las Vegas is just a pit stop for Chicago native and radio personality Chance Carlisle while he waits for his agent to land him something bigger in L.A. But in the meantime, he keeps bumping into—literally—his adorable, but accident-prone, neighbor. Their private New Year’s Eve celebration leads to a plan: they’ll become the Bad Luck Partners, dating only on holidays and special events, avoiding holiday heartbreaks and matchmaking mamas. But Fate might have something else in mind for the klutzy cutie and the hotshot talk show host. Can their temporary partnership become a forever deal? Tillie’s Last Match by Bobbi Lerman Legendary matchmaker, Tillie has one last heart to mend before retiring, but Miriam & Mike may be her hardest match ever. Can she summon the magic one last time to bring the enchantment of love long given up back to life. A Christmas Promise by Jane Gale District Attorney Cherry Stevens is rescued by sexy police officer Drake Boarden during an attempted robbery igniting their passion for not only justice but for each other. A violent attempted robbery at District Attorney Cherry Stevens’ parents’ convenience store has her setting her sights on the city’s crime boss. Finding herself in the line of fire, Cherry is rescued by the sexiest seasoned police officer on the force. Both work for justice, seeking peace for the city, neither expected to find love in the process.