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The Magpie King by M. J. Fahy
A beautiful middle grade magical adventure: In the large and frightening world of the Bigguns, Tatty Moon, a faerie child, must rid her village of thieving magpies and rampaging Gnomes, all under the spell of the Queen’s merciless nephew. With the help of a group of friends who include a gypsy, an elf, a wood sprite, an elderly rat, and a hawk-sized dragonfly, Tatty journeys far to try and defeat him.
The Winning Score by G.K. Brady
Quinn Hadley only does one thing as well as he plays hockey—wheeling the ladies. He’s the envy of his teammates. With puck bunnies on speed dial in every city, he never spends a night alone unless it’s by choice. He has a certain type—hot, blond, and easy. So when he meets Sarah Nelson, bagging her is nowhere on his radar. Not only is she a brunette, but her fiery, take-no-prisoners style is a turn-off. Plus, she’s his teammate’s sister and totally off-limits.
But his disabled mother—who’s just been foisted on him—loves Sarah. And not only is his mom methodically ruining his sweet bachelor lifestyle, but she keeps firing every caregiver Quinn hires for her. So when COVID-19 puts everyone on lockdown, Quinn offers Sarah an opportunity she can’t refuse, despite the warning bells clanging in his head.
Sarah Nelson is fleeing a devastating breakup and has nowhere to go but to her brother’s place in Denver. An engineer by training, she needs a job pronto so she can yank herself back up on her own two feet. But COVID-19 stops her dead in her tracks. So when Quinn Hadley offers her a temporary job making stupid money, she has a hard time refusing—despite the fact she has to live under the same roof with a guy who turns her stomach. She’s had too much experience with charmers like him, and Quinn Hadley is the biggest charmer of all. With a track record to prove it. But it’s the other side of Quinn she never expects, and it’s far more lethal than his public persona.
When Mr. Smooth and Ms. Prickly shelter in place together, not even his mansion is big enough to contain the fireworks. These two are sparks colliding with gas: combustible and explosive.
Someone’s bound to get burned.
Deadly Trail by Marilyn Meredith
Deputy Tempe Crabtree arrests fellow Native American Nick Two John at a protest against logging. He berates her for her lack of knowledge of her Indian heritage. When he becomes the major suspect in the murder of the owner of the local inn, she feels sure he is not the guilty one and she begins her own investigation. When someone tried to kill her, she knows she’s on the right track.
SMART Objective Setting for Managers by Irial O'Farrell
If you manage teams, what frustrates you the most? If you’re like most managers I’ve met, chances are it’s the way “Johnny communicates his ideas” or the way “Chrissy keeps asking you to talk to the other team, rather than just doing it herself” or how “Jamie keeps asking the same questions over and over!”. Developing these “soft” performance issues are very challenging. It can feel uncomfortable to raise the topic and many managers fear the conversation will go wrong. The 4 main struggles managers have with objective setting are:
1. Defining the desired outcomes of performance
2. Diagnosing team members’ individual starting points
3. Defining tangible objectives for “soft” behavioural performance issues
4. Understanding what can go wrong in the communication process, when agreeing objectives
SMART Objective Setting for Managers unpacks each of these challenges, culminating in a chapter dedicated to understanding how to diagnose and design objectives that address the “softer” performance issues. Being endlessly practical when it comes to the “how”, the book also provides a roadmap for preparing for and conducting objective setting meetings.
Told through stories and examples, feedback from readers include “I thought I already knew how to do this but I’ve learnt so much from this book”, “very easy to read and understand the learning points”, and “managers and employees should read this book”.
So if reducing your frustration while increasing your team’s motivation and engagement sounds like a good outcome for you, buy this book today and start finding out how to design and agree SMART objectives that will make a difference.
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Lief by Celeste Barclay
Fate brought them together. Free will binds them.
Leif Ivarrson wants nothing more than to enjoy the comforts of home after sailing for months. When a neighboring jarl arrives bearing news of a threat to their land and security, Leif knows there will be no rest for him. Tasked with finding and bringing back this jarl’s niece, Leif departs on a journey that fate designed but he chooses to carry out.
Sigrid Torbensdóttir’s visions have been both a gift and a curse since she was a young girl. Now a woman, Sigrid’s position as a seer puts her in danger when enemies seek to take advantage of her gift for their benefit and to keep her from saving her family. Sigrid knows she cannot defy fate, and when Leif comes to her rescue, Leif discovers destiny cannot be ignored.
Leif and Sigrid struggle to reconcile the future the gods have shown her with the shifting fate their enemies attempt to control. Will a new love survive the tests of war and family? Can a match created by fate withstand the machinations of man?
If you love edge of your seat, breathless Viking romances with fantastic characters, then you’ll love Celeste Barclay’s steamy and passionate Leif.
Viking Glory is a steamy historical series that will transport you back to the world of the ancient Norse with brave heroes and even stronger heroines. The series follows the lives and loves of five friends. Brother and sister, Leif and Freya, along with their cousin, Bjorn, and their friends Strian and Tyra sail the seas and conquer hearts. This is a five book series where each book can be read as a standalone but is best read as part of the series.
His Highland Lass by Celeste Barclay
An undeniable love… an unexpected match…
Faced with a feud with the Sinclairs that is growing deadly, Laird Tristan Mackay is bound by duty to his clan to make peace with the enemy. Tristan arranges a marriage for his stepbrother, Sir Alan, but never imagines that he would meet the woman he longs to marry. When things sour quickly between Tristan’s stepbrother and Lady Mairghread Sinclair, Tristan is determined to make her his. A choice that promises to change his life forever.
Raised with four older warriors for brothers and as the only daughter of the Sinclair laird, Mairghread is independent resourceful, and loyal to her family. When her father arranges a marriage to a man she has never met for the sake and safety of her clan, Mairghread tries to accept her fate. Mairghread is betrothed to one man but it is the dark, handsome, and provocative laird who catches her eye. Arranged to marry Sir Alan, Mairghread finds herself drawn to Laird Tristan Mackay. After meeting her intended, Mairghread knows she cannot go through with the marriage, but she must find a way to end the feud that is tearing the two clans apart.
When the wedding is called off by Mairghread’s father, Tristan and Mairghread see an opportunity to be together. Neither of them imagined that they would find the passion that grows between them. However, a spurned mistress and a jilted suitor stand between Tristan and Mairghread’s happiness. Tristan and Mairghread must fight for the love they have found with one another.
Destined for another…
Mairghread Sinclair is not prepared for the danger that awaits her while visiting the Mackay clan. She must use her wits to keep herself alive when dangers pulls her away from the man she loves.
Fated to be together…
Laird Tristan Mackay was not looking for a wife, but could Lady Mairghread Sinclair be the one to open his heart and bring peace to their clans, or will their passion tear the two clans apart?
If you enjoy a romance with strong women and men who can protect, love, and respect them, then you’ll love Celeste Barclay’s steamy His Highland Lass.
Meet the members of Clan Sinclair in this STEAMY first installment of the five book Highland romance series. The Clan Sinclair features Mairghread and her four brothers, Callum, Alexander, Tavish, and Magnus. Each member of the Scottish clan faces challenges as they meet their fated match, but all of the Sinclairs find their HEA. Each STEAMY novel in the series is a standalone, but they are best read together.
A Spinster at the Highland Court by Celeste Barclay
A spinster lady in waiting…
After four broken betrothals, Elizabeth Fraser believes her father’s political ambitions will keep her from ever finding a husband. Content to be considered on the shelf, Elizabeth would rather be left in peace as one of the queen’s ladies in waiting than engage in flirtations that lead nowhere. She never expected one chance encounter months ago would alter the future she had accepted. Will Elizabeth give Edward a second chance to prove he wants more than a dalliance?
A warrior wanting to return home…
Edward Bruce, the adopted younger brother of King Robert the Bruce, is tired of fighting the English in Ireland. Loyal to his brother but homesick, Edward returns to Robert’s Scottish court in hopes of settling down once more in the Highlands. Edward recognizes the beguiling Lady Elizabeth from a brief meeting that involved one dance and a rushed conversation on the terrace. He still can’t believe the rumor she started to protect her friends. Drawn to her dry wit and independent nature, Edward realizes that his new home will require one particular lady of the keep. Can Edward prove to his Highland lady that his intentions are sincere before time runs out?
A hidden threat…
When Elizabeth and Edward realize their lives are in danger, they must rely on the Sinclair brothers and their wives to help them investigate who might want them dead. Courtly intrigue follows them as their new love blooms and a home in the Highlands calls to them. If you love romance with intrigue and characters that come to life, then you’ll love Celeste Barclay’s steamy A Spinster at the Highland Court.
Welcome to Robert the Bruce’s Highland Court, where the ladies in waiting are a mixture of fire and ice. The Highland Ladies, spin-off series from Celeste Barclay’s The Clan Sinclair series, returns to the Medieval royal court for love and intrigue. A Spinster at the Highland Court is the much requested and highly anticipated story of Elizabeth Fraser who appeared in both His Highland Pledge and His Highland Surprise. She finally has her own steamy love story and HEA. This a full-length novel. The novella previously appeared in the Once Upon a Christmas Wedding anthology.
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Normalish 2 by Robert Gaspari
Would you change if lightning struck you and you survived?
That’s the reality Andy faced after lightning struck him twice on the same day!He could see and interact with the spirits of the dead and other invisible entities he never knew existed. This aftereffect knocked the normal right out of him. Andy said he was ‘normalish’ since what he saw wasn’t normal. What could he do?
He sought help from psychics and his logic was sound. They had a gift and must know how to turn it off and on. He could learn from them.A gifted psychic and her aunt agree to train him and this opens an entire new world of adventure for him. Andy discovers love with his Wiccan high priestess teacher and a prophecy about the couple. He becomes the target of a powerful enemy who grows in strength when paired with an elemental entity obsessed with revenge.The experience leads him to a life and death battle with the unbelievable.
The Girl And The Secret Society by A.J. Rivers
This is the bizarre and shocking case of Lakyn Monroe.
In the midst of filming her show, Lakyn Monroe vanished without a trace.
Four months have passed, and the unusual disappearance of the internet celebrity has garnered nationwide attention. With not a clue to the reasoning behind her disappearance, the beautiful girl with the world at her feet would soon become just another missing face.
It has been months since the horror of Windsor Island. FBI agent Emma Griffin has fully settled back in Sherwood. Balancing her time between the Bureau, the local police, and making sense of her ex-boyfriend’s mysterious death.
When her cousin Dean shows up for an impromptu visit and brings along a strange missing person’s case. One that he still can’t untangle, she’s willing to help him puzzle it out.
As they work together to uncover the truth behind what happened to Lakyn Moroe.
They get drawn into a string of murders and disappearances. Cases that seem unrelated, but as more clues are uncovered, more questions arise.
When the cases start to intertwine leading back to one man. A “disturbed and unstable” man that is fighting for his life against the executioner’s time. They start to discover the sinister secret behind Lakyn’s disappearance. Faced with an insurmountable opponent, they must fight against the clock to rescue the missing and save innocent lives.
Emma must not only uncover but expose the monsters lurking in the shadows.
As more is uncovered, a photo of a blonde woman throws Emma right back into her past.
Evil has many faces. This one you will never see coming.
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Princelings Revolution by Jemima Pett
Jasmine’s birthday party ends in disaster. George seems to have lost a phial of highly dangerous liquid. And Fred, well, King Fred is battling politics, relatives and self-seeking dignitaries in his aim to give the people a better management system.
And above all this there is a promise he wants to keep. A promise to an engaging chap he made when he was a mere stripling, when he persuaded that person to stop the Great Energy Drain.
What will happen if he fails?
Princelings Revolution is the final book in the Princelings of the East saga. It’s a tale of heroes and villains, castles and inventions, of bravery and intelligence. And just about all suitable for advanced readers aged ten and up, eight with parental guidance.
