Deirdre Riordan Hall

"I m the fat Puerto Rican Polish girl who doesn t feel like she belongs in her skin, or anywhere else for that matter. I ve always been too much and yet not enough." Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn t always fat, but fat is what she is now at age seventeen. Not as fat as her mama, who is so big she hasn t gotten out of bed in months. Not as heavy as her brother, Skunk, who has more meanness in him than fat, which is saying something. But she s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is: at the grocery store, walking down the street, at school. Sugar s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home cooking, shopping, and, well, eating. A lot of eating, which Sugar hates as much as she loves. When Sugar meets Even (not Evan his nearly illiterate father misspelled his name on the birth certificate), she has the new experience of someone seeing "her" and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother. Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her."

Sugar

Run fast and run far, unless you're fearless. Unless you're courageous. I'm not, but I'd like to be. Pearl Jaeger is seventeen and homeless after drugs, poverty, and addiction unraveled the life she shared with JJ, her formerly glamorous rock star mother. This moment of happiness is fleeting; someone will take it from me. When tragedy brings a chance to start over at an elite boarding school, she doesn't hesitate. Yet the only salvation comes from an art teacher as troubled as Pearl, and she faces the stark reality that what she thought she wanted isn't straightforward. I trace the outline of my reflection in a window. I am no more than a replica of my mother. This is not the self-portrait I want to paint. Through the friendships she forms at school--especially with Grant, a boy who shows Pearl what it means to trust and forgive--she begins to see a path not defined by her past. But when confronted with the decision to be courageous or to take the easy way forged by her mother's failures, which direction will Pearl choose?

Pearl

Let go from her job and feeling lost, Navy Carrington takes a position as coffee-girl at a publicity firm. Their newest client is Carrick Kennely, the former love of her life and her fiercest adversary. She thought she'd let go of the past by playing it safe with book boyfriends-and avoiding frustratingly sexy guys like Carrick. Mostly I think it just wasn't for me and it's a hugely personal issue. I mentioned this in the review as well and still recommend it to other people. When Navy's roommate finds the Boyfriend Book, a silly relic leftover from Navy's teens, it prompts a dare; Navy is to go on five dates and pick one to be her Valentine. Despite her reservations, she can't say no, especially if it means proving to herself and Carrick that she can move on. Navy chronicles her brief romantic entanglements with the Hottie in 7G, the Man-Bun-Barista, the Gym Stud, and the Book Boyfriend who turns out to be a toad-not the kind that when kissed turns into a prince-, on The Boyfriend Book Blog. She doesn't want to let her readers or herself down, but as Valentine's Day nears, none of the guys comes close to being her one true love. Except Carrick. He's infuriating, attractive, confusing, catnip...and it turns out he has a secret. With a love letter and a plane ticket in hand, Navy leaves her baggage behind and must decide between love, hate, and the lies she told to protect her fragile heart. Told with humor and heart, Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told may appeal to readers who enjoy Alice Clayton, Sally Thorne, and Emily Giffin's work.

Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told

Katya's middle name may be Aphrodite, but she has no interest in relationships. In fact, she has three rules she lives by: 1. Never spend the night.2. Never sleep with the same guy twice.3. Never fall in love. Oh, and number 3.1 is never order the same coffee two days in a row. That's a lot of nevers, but when she breaks every single one of them, repeatedly (her undoing was a vanilla latte with a heart in the foam, BTW), she begins to wonder... Actually, it was a batch of chocolate chip cookies that started her downward spiral. Never mind, scratch that, it was Spencer-her neighbor. He's also a banker, a player, and seems to know just what Kat wants, which isn't love. Until they start to spend a lot of time together... Until she finds one of his socks at her place... Until they go to a ski resort for a long weekend... Until he has a snowboarding injury... As Kat struggles with the part of her that wants to be strong, single, and on the scene and the mushy, melty, romantic within, she tries desperately not to fall in love. But what's wrong with falling if you have someone with dark tousled hair, refined yet ruggedly handsome features, and chiseled abs to catch you? Nothing. Nothing at all. How Not to Fall in Love is the companion novella to Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told, but can be read as a standalone romantic comedy.

A Love, Hate and Other Lies Novella

How Not to Fall in Love

Never trust a mermaid's kiss. Tyler McColdrum has a bright future on the professional surfing circuit until his father tragically dies at sea. Unable to pay the bills, Tyler and his mother leave California and move to his late grandfather's cottage in Land's End, Maine—a world away from the life he's known. Not even the stormy Atlantic can douse Tyler's surf stoke, but when mariners go missing off the coast, legends as old as the sea itself suggest something lurks beneath the surface. As the police investigate, his friend Kiwa—the only female surfer for miles—indicates there's more to the McColdrum family history than blood and bone. Amara is a beautiful mermaid, a mero, who wants a life on land away from her sinister sisters. As charming as mero are, with musical voices and a tempting gaze, they're also brutal and cruel, stealing the souls of sailors. As Initiation nears, Amara learns Poseidon selected her as consort and her desperation for freedom increases. When Tyler encounters Amara, he falls hard for her. The ocean is no longer safe for him, but he trusts their love can overcome her mero nature. As locals and officials wage war against the sea, trying to keep mariners safe, Tyler and Amara struggle with how to protect each other.With one foot in the sand and the other in the sea, Tyler must choose love or the surf as the tide quickly rises.

Deirdre Riordan Hall

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