National Network for Equitable Library Service

When it comes to love, he plays to win There's only so much frustration a guy can handle before he gets a little nutty. For Jude Jamison, his frustration has a name--May Price. She's everything the former Hollywood bad boy actor came to Stillbrook, Ohio, hoping to find: open, honest, lovable, and full of those luscious curves you don't find on stick-figure starlets--curves May doesn't seem to appreciate in herself. Every time Jude tries to get close to the skittish business woman, to take her in his arms, she thinks he's joking. Joking? Joking does not involve lots of cold-shower therapy.

Trey McAllister is on his way home after fighting in the Civil War. Along the way he makes a fateful stop in Sassy Gap, Louisiana-a town populated by women whose love for God and home-cooked meals is unrivaled. Fighting his desire to get home, he helps the women save their land from an evil entrepreneur.

A recent Civil War widow, Charity Burk must find a man to plow the tough prairie sod. When she discovers Beau Claxton- mauled by a ravenous wolf- she believes he's the answer to her prayers. She drags the dying man to her cabin, convinced God wants them to marry. But does this unconscious stranger have room in his heart for God or for her?

Wynne Elliott is tracking down Cass Claxton, the scoundrel who ran off with her money just before the start of the Civil War and left her standing at the altar. Now that the war has ended, Wynne wants revenge. But she never expects Cass' older brother, the pompous Cole, to steal her heart.

Michael Stirling and his cousin John, the Earl of Kilmartin, are as close as brothers. However, Michael is secretly in love with John's wife Francesca Bridgerton. When John suddenly dies, Michael is wracked with guilt and pain. Even though he is determined to remain simply Francesca's friend and confidant, the temptation is far too great.

Dr. Leigh Culver loves practicing medicine in Timberlake, Colorado. It is a much-needed change of pace from her stressful life in Chicago. The only drawback is she misses her aunt Helen, the woman who raised her. But it's time that Leigh has her independence, and she hopes the beauty of the Colorado wilderness will entice her aunt to visit often. Helen Culver is an independent woman who lovingly raised her sister's orphaned child. Now, with Leigh grown, it's time for her to live life for herself.

Five years ago, Tuesday Eastwood's life collapsed and left her devastated. After an empty, nomadic existence, she's finally pieced her life back together in the small Oregon town of Hood River. Now Tuesday has everything sorted out. Just so long as men are kept for sex, and only sex- Then she met him. Musician and rancher Ezra Hurley isn't the man of Tuesday's dreams. He's a verboten fantasy- a man tortured by past addictions whose dark charisma and long, lean body promise delicious carnality. But this craving goes far beyond chemistry. It's primal. It's insatiable.

Former model Kelly Hurley has finally put the ashes of the past behind her. After a passionate but turbulent marriage to rock star Vaughan Hurley that ended in heartbreak and divorce, Kelly rebuilt her life in Portland, where she settled so their two young daughters could be close to their father. Just not so close Kelly couldn't truly make her own way without interference from the man who shattered her heart. Now Kelly's finally ready to move on, and she's planning to marry another man. But not if Vaughan has anything to say about it. Vaughan knows he was a fool all those years ago.

She has complete control--and he's determined to take it away. A librarian in the small town of Hood River, Natalie Clayton's world is very nearly perfect. After a turbulent childhood and her once-wild ways, life is now under control. But trouble has a way of turning up unexpectedly--especially in the tall, charismatically sexy form of Paddy Hurley. And Paddy is the kind of trouble that Natalie has a taste for. Even after years of the rock-and-roll lifestyle, Paddy never forgot the two wickedly hot weeks he once shared with Natalie.

Beth Thatcher returns home from her first year as a schoolteacher in the mining town of Coal Valley and steps into a whole different world. Her life back among her wealthy Eastern family is a stark contrast to her primitive life in the West, and Beth isn't sure where she belongs anymore. She barely has time to settle in before her mother announces plans for a family holiday'a luxurious steamship tour along the eastern coast of Canada and the U.S. Wishing to reconnect with her mother and sister, Beth agrees to go but quickly finds herself at odds with her mother's expectations.