3 steamy MFM pairings featuring dominant werewolf billionaires and their innocent fated mates. Nothing will stop these powerful shifter CEOs from claiming the woman who belongs to them. All of the Mating Series books are standalone stories with a HEA. Each book can be read independently in any order. **BOOK 7: Sold to the Billionaires** Taken as payment for a gambling debt, Beth vows to keep her heart closed to the ruthless casino magnates who own her. Troy and Sebastian run their casino empire with ruthless efficiency. Even if it means they have to do bad things outside the law. When the leader of a competing wolf pack loses big at their tables, Troy and Sebastian claim his daughter as payment. Beth thinks that she can settle her father's debt in exchange for her freedom. But once they have her in their grasps, they are never letting her go. They are now playing for the highest stakes of all: the heart of their fated mate. The house NEVER loses. **BOOK 8: Given to the Billionaires** It's a simple enough transaction. A fake relationship for PR. Once tickets are sold for the band's upcoming tour, they'll never have to see each other again. No feelings. No strings attached. Right? In the middle of a worldwide tour, Jake and Duncan get caught up in a scandal that goes viral on the internet and threatens to destroy their band forever. As the public boycotts the band, ticket sales dry up and prices plummet. Jake and Duncan need to repair their image quickly before the remaining concert dates are canceled, and the band is bankrupted by penalties and fines. What better way than coming to the rescue of a nice girl like Penny and sweeping her off of her feet? Once the public sees that they've turned a new leaf, things can go back to normal. If only she wasn't their fated mate. Penny is only doing this so she doesn't lose her job. She never wanted to be famous or in front of the cameras. When two billionaire rock stars make her an offer she can't refuse, she agrees to be their pretend girlfriend if it means she can keep a roof over her and her little brother's heads. Suddenly thrust into the glaring spotlight of the public eye, Penny ends up the target of voracious paparazzi, jealous fans, and a crazy stalker. Even if they make it out of this alive, will she want to stay with them if it means putting her life at risk, or will they lose the only woman they've ever loved? **BOOK 9: Claimed by the Billionaires** On the run from her stalker ex, the last place Scarlet expected to find herself was on a ranch. Despite her rough and grumpy new bosses, the offer of refuge and a job isn't something she can turn down. Pax and Austin have their hands full with running their sprawling ranch and managing dozens of employees. The last thing they need is a delicate woman from Los Angeles coming to mess things up on their land. Even if she has soft emerald eyes that make their hearts pound and they scent that she's their mate. They don't need that distraction in their lives and the faster she gets back on her feet and leaves, the better. When danger comes after Scarlet and intrudes on their idyllic ranch, Pax and Austin will do anything to protect her. Even kill. Can they save their mate in time, or will they lose her forever?

The ultimate gift for young readers who love thrills, chills, and spooky stories, here are three haunting tales from award-winning master of middle grade horror Mary Downing Hahn, together in one ghostly collection. Are you ready for a hauntingly good read? There are scares aplenty in this enticing collection of three of Mary Downing Hahn's most popular books: Took, The Girl in the Locked Room, and The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall. Daniel's little sister disappears in a forest haunted by witches and beasts. Jules is sure that someone--or something--lurks in the upstairs of her new house. Vengeful Spirit Sophia stalks the shadows of a gloomy manor, and dreams of the girl inside. Three of award-winning author Mary Downing Hahn's spookiest tales come together in this gathering of ghosts. Guaranteed to give you goosebumps!

3 BOOKS IN ONE ! DIRTY, RICH BOSS I was slightly drunk, and I was frustrated. Mainly because I haven't had sex with someone in over a year. So I decided to slide into someone's DM's for fun. Only it wasn't fun, it was hot, sexy, and dirty. I didn't imagine this guy would be so good at dirty talking, he had an effect on me through the phone and I could only imagine what he'd do on person. I was having fun texting him one afternoon at work and when my boss called me to his office. I tried to look like I wasn't completely turned on. Until I noticed the massive bulge on his pants and our whole conversation on his phone screen. No, it can't be. I haven't been sexting my boss all this time. My sex on legs boss has a dirty mouth and huge dick. Oh, fuck me. Literally. SAY YES TO THE BOSS Hazel Clarke had lost her job, her best friend, her home, and the man she loved. Now, three months later, she is back trying to piece together her life. Hazel has sworn off the seductive charms of Hollywood's leading men after being betrayed by her last two boyfriends. Unfortunately, she'll have to face her past and all the drama that comes from living in Hollywood and working as the personal assistant to the handsome and famous actor, Nick Sterling. Can Hazel trust that Nick is different from the men who've broken her heart, or will the ghosts of her past doom their romance before it even begins? THE BOSS'S BIG SECRET Scarlett Morgan is the smoking hot young general manager of the ritzy Sterling Lodgings hotel, catering to the rich and elite. At just 25 years old, she's already running the show - until rumors start swirling that the hotel is getting a brand new, crazy-handsome boss. When the legendary Arthur Sterling, 31-year-old son of the current owner, shows up to inspect the place, Scarlett is instantly captivated. This guy is the total package - tall, handsome, and devastatingly masculine, with an arrogant and assertive presence that just screams "boss." And he seems to have Scarlett's number, easily seeing through her professional facade to the hot-blooded woman underneath. However, just as Scarlett thinks she has Arthur's measure, he suddenly shifts the power dynamics, summoning her to his luxurious penthouse suite for a private meeting. Curiosity and undeniable attraction draw her into his lair, but she has no idea what the mysterious, dominant Mr. Sterling has in store for her behind closed doors...

What exactly is a children’s book? How is children’s literature defined as a genre? A leading scholar presents close readings of six classic stories to answer these questions and offer a clear definition of children’s writing as a distinct literary form. Perry Nodelman begins by considering the plots, themes, and structures of six works: "The Purple Jar," Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Doolittle, Henry Huggins, The Snowy Day, and Plain City—all written for young people of varying ages in different times and places—to identify shared characteristics. He points out markers in each work that allow the adult reader to understand it as a children’s story, shedding light on ingrained adult assumptions and revealing the ways in which adult knowledge and experience remain hidden in apparently simple and innocent texts. Nodelman then engages a wide range of views of children's literature from authors, literary critics, cultural theorists, and specialists in education and information sciences. Through this informed dialogue, Nodelman develops a comprehensive theory of children's literature, exploring its commonalities and shared themes. The Hidden Adult is a focused and sophisticated analysis of children’s literature and a major contribution to the theory and criticism of the genre.

Contributions by Rebecca A. Brown, Justine Gieni, Holly Harper, Emily L. Hiltz, A. Robin Hoffman, Kirsten Kowalewski, Peter C. Kunze, Jorie Lagerwey, Nick Levey, Jessica R. McCort, and Janani Subramanian Dark novels, shows, and films targeted toward children and young adults are proliferating wildly. It is even more crucial now to understand the methods by which such texts have traditionally operated and how those methods have been challenged, abandoned, and appropriated. Reading in the Dark fills a gap in criticism devoted to children's popular culture by concentrating on horror, an often-neglected genre. These scholars explore the intersection between horror, popular culture, and children's cultural productions, including picture books, fairy tales, young adult literature, television, and monster movies. Reading in the Dark looks at horror texts for children with deserved respect, weighing the multitude of benefits they can provide for young readers and viewers. Refusing to write off the horror genre as campy, trite, or deforming, these essays instead recognize many of the texts and films categorized as "scary" as among those most widely consumed by children and young adults. In addition, scholars consider how adult horror has been domesticated by children's literature and culture, with authors and screenwriters turning that which was once horrifying into safe, funny, and delightful books and films. Scholars likewise examine the impetus behind such re-envisioning of the adult horror novel or film as something appropriate for the young. The collection investigates both the constructive and the troublesome aspects of scary books, movies, and television shows targeted toward children and young adults. It considers the complex mechanisms by which these texts communicate overt messages and hidden agendas, and it treats as well the readers' experiences of such mechanisms.

A collection of 14 essays clarifies for parents, educators, media and culture scholars, and general readers some of the icons that marketing and advertising executives use to shape the values and consciousness of children. They argue that while the corporations are ostensibly only engaged in the perfectly legitimate business of emptying parents' pockets through the judgement of their kids, they are also reshaping the experience of childhood itself into a prefabricated product for consumption. Among the targets are Disney movies, Sesame Street, Barney, Beavis and Butt- Head, sports, trading cards and McDonald's. No index. Paper edition (unseen), $19.50. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR