I’ve been in love with her for two years. The first time around, I screwed things up. I hesitated and the moment was gone. I passed when I shouldn’t have. Not a total loss. I gained a best friend instead of whatever we might have been. Sydney is hands down the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ll do anything to keep her in my life. Even bury my feelings deep inside. But one hot summer together at the lake filled with lots of teeny-tiny bikinis and I’m ready to risk it all for a second chance. It’s time to take my shot. For fans of: Helena Hunting, Elle Kennedy, Lauren Asher, Emily Henry, Avon Gale, Toni Aleo, Kristen Callihan, LJ Shen, Jana Aston, Karina Halle, Meghan March, Jay Crownover, Anna Todd, Geneva Lee, Audrey Carlan, Jill Shalvis, Helen Hoang, Christina Lauren, Sally Thorne, Penny Reid, Julia Kent, Kelly Jamieson, Kendall Ryan, Kennedy Ryan, Lauren Blakely, Lexi Ryan, Jen Frederick, Sara Ney, Nana Malone. Keywords: basketball, basketball romance, sports romance, new adult romance, sexy romance, steamy romance, valley u basketball, alpha males, alpha romance, roommates, best friends to lovers, college romance, summer romance, beach read.

An “excellent sports history” (Publishers Weekly) in the tradition of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, award-winning historian S.C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level, from high school to the NFL. Hal Mumme spent fourteen mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense that would soon shock players, delight fans, and terrify opposing coaches. It all began at a tiny, overlooked college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach, a lawyer who had never played college football, was hired as his offensive line coach. In the cornfields of Iowa these two mad inventors, drawn together by a shared disregard for conventionalism and a love for Jimmy Buffett, began to engineer the purest, most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football. Implementing their “Air Raid” offense, their teams—at Iowa Wesleyan and later at Valdosta State and the University of Kentucky—played blazingly fast—faster than any team ever had before, and they routinely beat teams with far more talented athletes. And Mumme and Leach did it all without even a playbook. “A superb treat for all gridiron fans” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Perfect Pass S.C. Gwynne explores Mumme’s leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated one, the game that tens of millions of Americans now watch every fall weekend. Whether you’re a casual or ravenous football fan, this is “a rousing tale of innovation” (Booklist), and “Gwynne’s book ably relates the story of that innovation and the successes of the man who devised it” (New York Journal of Books).

After death of wife and child, heartbroken man struggles on his prairie ranch against cold and hunger.

As analysis of the revenue available to Qing garrisons in Xinjiang reveals, imperial control over the region in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries depended upon sizeable yearly subsidies from China. In an effort to satisfy criticism of their expansion into Xinjiang and make the territory pay for itself, the Qing court permitted local authorities great latitude in fiscal matters and encouraged the presence of Han and Chinese Muslim merchants. At the same time, the court recognized the potential for unrest posed by Chinese mercantile penetration of this Muslim, Turkic-speaking area. They consequently attempted, through administrative and legal means, to defend the native Uyghur population against economic depredation. This ethnic policy reflected a conception of the realm that was not Sinocentric, but rather placed the Uyghur on a par with Han Chinese. Both this ethnic policy and Xinjiang’s place in the realm shifted following a series of invasions from western Turkestan starting in the 1820’s. Because of the economic importance of Chinese merchants and the efficacy of merchant militia in Xinjiang, the Qing court revised its policies in their favor, for the first time allowing permanent Han settlement in the area. At the same time, the court began to advocate provincehood and the Sinicization of Xinjiang as a resolution to the perennial security problem. These shifts, the author argues, marked the beginning of a reconception of China to include Inner Asian lands and peoples—a notion that would, by the twentieth century, become a deeply held tenet of Chinese nationalism.

A boy and his family befriend a country fiddler, who teaches the boy all about playing the old tunes, which the boy promises to help keep alive. Inspired by Melvin Wine and Jake Krack.

For fans of The Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, and The Fifth Wave, this fast-paced futuristic thriller tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cass and her fight to protect her younger brother from an unimaginably terrifying enemy. The Deadliest Enemy feels no fear. Cass has the invasion seared in her memory—the night the Fearless injected everyone in their path with the same serum that stripped them of their humanity. Seven years later, she is living on Hope Island in a community of survivors. But when the island’s security is breeched and her brother, Jori, is taken by the Fearless, Cass will risk everything to get him back. “A super super creepy, action-packed adventure that’ll have you hooked from page one.”—Kate Ormand, author of Dark Days “I could read it over and over and over again.”—TheGuardian.com “A fun and fast read that will appeal to lovers of zombie invasions as well as books that feature strong females in a dystopian setting.”—SLJ “Enjoyable shocks and thrills, and the characters are excellent . . . a masterful piece of writing.”—hierath.wordpress.com “Awesome from start to finish. . . . Exhilarating, terrifying and nail-biting.”—adreamofbooks.blogspot.com “A magnificent YA apocalypse.”—betterbooksandthings.tumblr.com