When Audie Wade's wife of 20 years dies from cancer, she finds her secret diaries. Carlie wrote of another woman; someone Audie never met, yet someone Carlie cared for deeply. Reeling from the discovery of Carlie's indiscretion, Audie does everything she can to erase her memory; and her betrayal. It's not until she meets friendly, and much younger, Reagan that she feels there's a real chance at happiness again. Reagan Malloy has the handsome Audie in her sights right away. While Audie is put off a bit by their age difference, Reagan does her best to get through Audie's armor. But when betrayal visits them again, will Audie and Reagan's new relationship survive? Or will they succomb to the betrayal and deny their love?

A “bracing and well-argued” study of America’s college debt crisis—“necessary reading for anyone concerned about the fate of American higher education” (Kirkus). College is far too expensive for many people today, and the confusing mix of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid leaves countless students without the resources they need to pay for it. In Paying the Price, education scholar Sara Goldrick-Rab reveals the devastating effect of these shortfalls. Goldrick-Rab examines a study of 3,000 students who used the support of federal aid and Pell Grants to enroll in public colleges and universities in Wisconsin in 2008. Half the students in the study left college without a degree, while less than 20 percent finished within five years. The cause of their problems, time and again, was lack of money. Unable to afford tuition, books, and living expenses, they worked too many hours at outside jobs, dropped classes, took time off to save money, and even went without adequate food or housing. In many heartbreaking cases, they simply left school—not with a degree, but with crippling debt. Goldrick-Rab combines that data with devastating stories of six individual students, whose struggles make clear the human and financial costs of our convoluted financial aid policies. In the final section of the book, Goldrick-Rab offers a range of possible solutions, from technical improvements to the financial aid application process, to a bold, public sector–focused “first degree free” program. "Honestly one of the most exciting books I've read, because [Goldrick-Rab has] solutions. It's a manual that I'd recommend to anyone out there, if you're a parent, if you're a teacher, if you're a student."—Trevor Noah, The Daily Show

Daniel Abraham delighted fantasy readers with his brilliant, original, and engaging first novel, A Shadow in Summer. Now he has produced an even more powerful sequel, a tragedy as darkly personal and violent as Shakespeare's Macbeth. As a boy, Otah Machi was exiled from his family, Machi's ruling house. Decades later, he has witnessed and been part of world-changing events. Yet he has never returned to Machi. Now his father--the Khai, or ruler, of Machi--is dying and his eldest brother Biitrah has been assassinated, Otah realizes that he must return to Machi, for reasons not even he understands. Tradition dictates that the sons of a dying Khai fall upon each other until only one remains to succeed his father. But something even worse is occurring in Machi. The Galts, an expansive empire, has allied with someone in Machi to bring down the ruling house. Otah is accused, the long-missing brother with an all-too-obvious motive for murder. With the subtlety and wonderful storytelling skill of his first novel, Abraham has created a masterful drama filled with a unique magic, a suspenseful thriller of sexual betrayal, and Machiavellian politics. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In Dee Henderson's novella "Betrayed," Janelle Roberts is freed--thanks to people she doesn't know--after serving six years of a twenty-year sentence for a murder she did not commit. But a murderer is still at large, and Janelle needs to be somewhere safe with someone she can trust. She may not survive another betrayal. In Dani Pettrey's "Deadly Isle," Tennyson Kent is trapped on the isolated island of her childhood by a storm surge, and she is shocked when the typically idyllic community turns into the hunting grounds of a murderer. Cut off from any help from the mainland, will she and first love Callen Frost be able to identify and stop a killer bent on betrayal before they become the next victims? In Lynette Eason's "Code of Ethics," trauma surgeon Ruthie St. John saves the life of Detective Isaac Martinez. After a betrayal leads to him getting shot and then attacked while in recovery, Isaac is now a key witness determined to testify. But someone is intent on silencing him--and those around him--forever. Together, Ruthie and Isaac go on the run, desperate to escape the killers hunting him.

Jacques Ellul is primarily known for his insightful critiques of Western culture. His recent books describe the "new demons" let loose upon the contemporary world by the double-edged achievements of science and industry. But he asserts in this latest book, the critics have gone too far. The West is the victim of a betrayal--that of its own children. Its intellectuals, most notably those of the Left, are necessarily that products of a civilized society. Yet they so loudly reproach this civilization for the atrocities and the destruction of rich local culture which have accompanied its growth that we are deaf to the reasoned voice which proclaims our debts to this Western tradition. When Ellul acknowledges the validity of many of these accusations, in The Betrayal Of The West he points out that they are not peculiar to the West, that they are indeed inherent in the growth of any civilization. And Ellul, as an historian, is a lover of civilization. He especially emphasizes the importance of the legacy of our own civilization. We are indebted to the West for our concepts of freedom, equality, and above all, the idea of the individual. In his words, "The West represents values for which there is no substitute. The West is a past, a difference, a shared history, and a shared human project ... The end of the West today would mean the end of any possible civilization." The Betrayal of the West explores the need for defense as well as critique of our culture. It explains the origins of the contradiction at the heart of Western Civilization and traces the course of this dialectic in three supreme chapters constructed around metaphors which correspond to the promise, the challenge, and, ultimately, the failure of the political left in Western societies.

In this "meticulously researched" account (New York Times Book Review), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author examines the dangers of a failing public health system unequipped to handle large-scale global risks like a coronavirus pandemic. The New York Times bestselling author of The Coming Plague, Laurie Garrett takes on perhaps the most crucial global issue of our time in this eye-opening book. She asks: is our collective health in a state of decline? If so, how dire is this crisis and has the public health system itself contributed to it? Using riveting detail and finely-honed storytelling, exploring outbreaks around the world, Garrett exposes the underbelly of the world's globalization to find out if it can still be assumed that government can and will protect the people's health, or if that trust has been irrevocably broken. "A frightening vision of the future and a deeply unsettling one . . . a sober, scary book that not only limns the dangers posed by emerging diseases but also raises serious questions about two centuries' worth of Enlightenment beliefs in science and technology and progress." -- Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

NOW FREE! She is programmed to kill. He’ll do anything to survive. When Captain Caleb Shepperd is released from prison, all he wants to do is keep his head down and smuggle contraband through the nine systems. But there’s a problem with that plan. The synthetic human stowed away in his cargo bay carries secrets from a past he thought he’d escaped. Secrets that could bring him and the nine systems to its knees. Now the authorities want Shepperd dead and his ship in pieces. And the synth? Well, she has an itchy trigger finger and murder on her synthetic mind. Shepperd is about to discover he can’t outrun his past, especially when that past has orders to kill. Action, drama, and suspense collide in this no-holds-barred sci-fi adventure! WARNING: 18+ only. Adult content. "This world is dark, the characters are twisted and I was completely hooked." ~ Feeling Fictional "It's as if Blade Runner, Firefly, and Ex_Machina had a baby named Girl From Above!"~ Goodreads Reviewer "(Girl From Above) is what would happen if HBO made a love child between the shows Firefly and Killjoys." ~ Smadas Book Smack "Generous helpings of sex, drugs and rock n' roll plus the intriguing character of the post-human #1001 help this novel stand out from the crowd." ~ Book of the Week (May 2015) scifi365.net "Prepare yourself for some laughs, thrills, and potentially some tears." ~ Sammie's Book Nook "Unique, gritty and totally awesome." ~ Bookfever Novel length: 177 paperback pages. Genre: Space opera. Series Reading Order: #1 Betrayal #2 Escape #3 Trapped #4 Trust