Short-listed for the CBCA Book of the Year- Older Readers "When can I hold you then?" He whispered. "I want to. I... " He was going to say I love you - but what did that mean? For Xavier McLachlan, rugby is life. Winning a 1st XV jersey means everything... Until he meets Nuala Magee. Has there ever been a girl like her? She's feisty, she's troubled, she's dangerous. What will his mates think? Does he even care? Everything looks different now. Xavier McLachlan is in love.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER An engaging no-holds-barred memoir that reveals Howie Mandel’s ongoing struggle with OCD and ADHD—and how it has shaped his life Howie Mandel is one of the most recognizable names in entertainment. But there are aspects of his personal and professional life he’s never talked about publicly—until now. Twelve years ago, Mandel first told the world about his “germophobia.” He’s recently started discussing his adult ADHD as well. Now, for the first time, he reveals the details of his struggle with these challenging disorders. He speaks candidly about the ways his condition has affected his personal life—as a son, husband, and father of three. Along the way, the versatile performer reveals “the deal” behind his remarkable rise through the show-business ranks, sharing never-before-told anecdotes about his career. As heartfelt as it is hilarious, Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me is the story of one man’s effort to draw comic inspiration out of his darkest, most vulnerable places.

Touch Me Not is an Austrian manuscript compendium of the black magical arts, completed c. 1795. Unique and otherworldly, it evokes a realm of visceral dark magic. As the co-editor of this volume Hereward Tilton notes, the manuscript "appears at first sight to be a 'grimoire' or magician's manual intended for noviciates of black magic. Psychedelic drug use, animal sacrifice, sigillary body art, masturbation fantasy and the necromantic manipulation of gallows-corpses count among the transgressive procedures it depicts. With their aid hidden treasures are wrested from guardian spirits, and the black magician's highest ambition--an infernal transfiguration and union with the Devil--can be fulfilled." Hidden for decades within the Wellcome Library collection, Touch Me Not is published here as a full-color facsimile. The German and Latin texts have been translated by Hereward Tilton and Merlin Cox, scholars who have explored the sources for the various elements and provided copious references. Tilton provides an introduction that lays out the context for the survival of this extraordinary manuscript.

In 1930s Paris, the &“Butcher of the Dances&” is on the prowl for young, loose women, and local dominatrix Agatha suddenly turns up dead. Everyone assumes it was suicide, but her sister Blanche is convinced that the Butcher is responsible. She decides to take matters into her own hands, and in her pursuit, she ends up hired into a luxury house of call-girls. She soon becomes adept at certain practices, but she does not lose sight of her ultimate goal—to find her sister's killer. A suspenseful spicy tale as only the French could so lightly get away with, this work is deceptive in its depth and realism.

Emotional sensuality...Regency style.Thea might have been born a lady, but she's lived a life of freedom as a simple miss in the West Indies, unbound by the strictures of her title or straight-laced Regency England. She's unlike any woman Pierson Drake has ever met, but he finds her innocent sensuality irresistible. The illegitimate son of a duke with no claim on the title, Pierson Drake maintains a level of honor most in the ton only give lip-service to. He is determined to make a name for himself and will stop at nothing to keep what he claims for his own.Thrown together on a voyage back to England, Drake finds Thea's innocent sensuality irresistible. She's unlike any woman he's ever known. Passion flares between them with enough heat to burn the best of intentions to ash, and once they share a bed for the first time, there's no going back.But Thea's secrets are a heavy burden. With her life hanging in the balance after a devastating betrayal, Drake must take any risk to protect her, and the hope for their future. They have one chance to get it right. . .

Pleasing a man is something former mistress Genevieve Ralston does very well. But after her lover callously dumps her, she's definitely off men…until she meets Simon! He's brooding. Sexy. And she can't keep her hands off him…. But Simon Cooperstone, Viscount Kilburn, is a spy. His mission: retrieve a mysterious letter in Genevieve's possession. Intent on seducing her secrets from her, he forgets to guard one thing: his heart. Each stroke of Genevieve's talented fingers unleashes his deepest desires. Too late, he realizes that while he may be a master of the art of seduction, he's no match for a sensual mistress….

How far can we pull on the rope before it breaks?Felicity spent her entire teenage years overwhelmed by the fame of her two sisters, the most popular girls in school and prom queens. Managing to survive knowing she wasn't as beautiful and thin as they were was difficult and she eventually chose to live in invisibility for fear of ending up in the crosshairs of the school bullies. But things have changed. She's a sophomore in college, has two fantastic friends, and is no longer hiding. But her rejection of her own body is still very present and she has not yet managed to overcome her fear of being touched. Ryo and her friends have always been the center of attention. One look is enough for her to be feared or desired by anyone. A no for an answer is meaningless to him and those who have tried have bitterly regretted it. His life has always been a mix of adrenaline and speed, but although he has always liked to take risks, he would never have imagined crashing his bike because of a distracted girl, always able to say and do the wrong thing at the wrong time. Ryo has no intention of forgiving her. Felicity, wracked with guilt, will do anything to make it up to him. Even become his slave. But how far can you pull the rope before it breaks?Translator: Fanny Morvan