“A brutally honest and haunting cautionary tale…exposing the lie that is meritocracy and the unrelenting toll that being a final girl takes. A bloody tale spun masterfully…a dark delight.” —Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, New York Times bestselling author of Ace of Spades A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this “spine-chilling thriller” (Publishers Weekly). You must work twice as hard to get half as much. Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything. And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious events: the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door. But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her fellow competitors, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death. Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.

Their Vicious Games

One time is chance.Two times is coincidence.Three times is …Laila Eden is focused. Focused on her career, on her friends and on herself. Everything except the man she somehow keeps crossing paths with. She isn’t interested in anything with him, or so she tells herself, but even with her best efforts she can’t deny the magnetic pull that keeps bringing them back together.Bryce “Sonny” Taylor is at the height of his music career. By the numbers he has everything he’s ever dreamed of but dreams don’t always align with reality. When faced with the reality that the dream he’s been chasing doesn’t look like he thought it would, Sonny decides to take a step back, to set himself on a new course. That decision ultimately leads him in a new direction, one that shows he isn’t done yet. Not with music and certainly not with her.

So This Is Love

The first unauthorized look at the inner workings—and ultimate breakdown—of the Disney Channel machine For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in primetime at its peak. Today, it might best be known for introducing the world to talents like Hilary Duff, Raven-Symoné, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Zendaya. It wasn't always destined for greatness: when The Disney Channel launched in 1983, it was a forgotten stepchild within the Walt Disney Company, forever in the shadow of Disney’s more profitable movies and theme parks. But after letting the stars of their Mickey Mouse Club revival—among them Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling—slip through their fingers, Disney Channel reinvented itself as a powerhouse tween network. In the new millennium, it churned out billions of dollars in original content and triple-threat stars whose careers were almost entirely controlled by the corporation. Suddenly, everyone wanted a piece of the pie—and there were constant clashes between the studio, network, labels, and creatives as Disney Channel became a pressure cooker of perfection for its stars. From private feuds and on-set disasters, to fanfare that swept the nation and the realities of child stardom, culture journalist Ashley Spencer offers the inside story of the heyday of TV’s House of Mouse, featuring hundreds of exclusive new interviews with former Disney executives, creatives, and celebrities to explore the highs, lows, and everything in between.

Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire

Tracy Deonn’s #1 New York Times bestselling Legendborn Cycle continues in the sensational third book about a dazzling contemporary fantasy world that blends Southern Black Girl Magic with secret societies and the legend of King Arthur!. Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster. Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe. But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé. Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table. As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

Oathbound (3) (The Legendborn Cycle)

Mali spent most of her life thinking her dream job didn’t exist. Now, she’s about to start working on the PR for the local rugby team she’s supported since childhood and wonders if she just got lucky. The Toulshire Titans have had a Hollywood-style rise to fame. Well, just above local-level fame, but that’s still pretty impressive for their small town. Mali knows she can get them further if she keeps her head down.Then, Mali runs into her favourite player on her first day. He’s a pretty boy that the papers say won’t settle down, and she’s a girl who wants commitment. So, why is he so determined to take over all of her thoughts?***Zach has fought his way through hurdles to get to where he is today, and he did it alone. The Titans only made it to the National League because of him. Now, Zach has his sights set on the Premiership, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get there. He doesn’t care what he leaves behind, because Toulshire has never been home.And then he meets Mali, and everything he wants ceases to exist. The team calls him a player, but he’s sure he just met the love of his life, and he can’t figure out how to talk to her.

Spring Awakening

He believes love is a distraction. She says love has failed her. Will they risk their own hearts to prove each other wrong?Darrell Washington saw more than his fair share of chaos early on in life. The second youngest of five siblings, he carried his own load at a young age while witnessing his young mother chase after a new man each month. Darrell learned from his mother that love itself, is no more than a distraction from the more important things in life.Moriah Jackson chose to grow up at a young age after being abandoned by her mother with her older sister, left alone with her now single father who could only offer his best. Trying to be mature for the sake of lightening the weight for her father, Moriah has no choice but to believe that the love her mother had for her, simply wasn’t enough to make her stay.When Darrell and Moriah meet through a business venture, it’s clear that you cannot avoid what destiny has in store for you. The question is, will they risk their own hearts in the name of love? Or, will their fears prove them right after all?

Sight Unseen

Alina Azlan has two missions in life: start her daycare centre and have a happily ever after. But when an unexpected seizure sends her first-ever boyfriend running for the hills, Alina wonders if her epilepsy has destined her for a lifetime of spinsterhood. As a hopeless romantic, though, she agrees to a blind date set up by her baba, only to exchange unpleasantries with an arrogant yet devilishly handsome hotelier who is anything but Flynn Rider-esque.Azeer Khan has two goals for the future: provide his adopted daughter, Zoha, with a comfortable life and maintain his freedom despite familial pressures. However, fate intervenes in the form of a blind date with none other than Alina Azlan, his childhood tormentor. And things only get worse when Alina tampers with his little sister's wedding cake, and the two end up covered in a Pakistani buffet.Their punishment? An arranged marriage that, miraculously, offers mutual benefits. Alina can pursue her dream of opening her daycare in the prestigious Sun Tower hotel while sharing a bed with someone who sets alarms for her medication. Meanwhile, Azeer can give Zoha the mother she’s been wishing for—not that it would hurt to wake up to Alina’s dimples every morning, either.With unwanted butterflies fluttering around them, Alina and Azeer are left wondering if their sour beginning could eventually lead to a sweet ending or if it will leave them with a case of lemony heartburn.

When Life Gives You Lemons (Sun Tower Series)

North King has always been quieter and more reserved, but the youngest of the three King brothers is ready to take his place on the throne. Content with fading into the background, North just goes through the motions of life, enjoying his family and his work.That is, until he meets the quick-witted, charismatic Aspen Frost. Everybody knows her, but only a few see her for who she truly is, a deep well with dreams and plans of her own. Ready for a different pace, she decides to forge a path she never saw coming... or maybe she never let herself see. Until now.Both being the youngest, and never being taken seriously by those closest to them, they see each other and form a soul-tied friendship. What starts as late nights and video games slowly turns into something more than they could ever imagine.But when life wrenches them in opposite directions, will they be able to weather the quickly changing tides together to discover what they could be?

North King's Unexpected Inevitability

From the international bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola and A Lot Like Adiós comes a steamy love story of a divorced schoolteacher who discovers that her perfect no-strings fling is anything but…No stringsAfter Ava Rodriguez’s now-ex-husband declares he wants to “follow his dreams”—which no longer include her—she’s left questioning everything she thought she wanted. So when a handsome hotelier flirts with her, Ava vows to stop overthinking and embrace the opportunity for an epic one-night-stand complete with a penthouse suite, rooftop pool, and buckets of champagne.No feelingsRoman Vasquez’s sole focus is the empire he built from the ground up. He lives and dies by his schedule, but the gorgeous stranger grimacing into her cocktail glass inspires him to change his plans for the evening. At first, it’s easy for Roman to agree to Ava’s rules: no strings, no feelings. But one night isn’t enough, and the more they meet, the more he wants. No falling in loveRoman is the perfect fling, until Ava sees him at her cousin’s engagement party—as the groom’s best man, no less! Suddenly, maintaining her boundaries becomes a lot more complicated as she tries to hide the truth of their relationship from her family. However, Roman isn’t content being her dirty little secret, and he doesn’t just want more, he wants everything. With her future uncertain and her family pressuring her from all sides, Ava will have to decide if love is worth the risk—again.This emotional rollercoaster ride of a novel will have you laughing and crying and believing in happily-ever-afters!

Along Came Amor

A Fake Dating Black Romance Love Story - Steamy Slow Burn that Ends with Lots of Spice!Kerry Kind never expected to start over in her thirties, but after a difficult divorce, she needs a fresh start. When she finally lands a homeschool teaching position, she’s relieved until she realizes her new boss is the man she clashed with days ago.Victor Grimes, a world-renowned chef and widow, isn’t interested in disrupting his carefully structured life. But his daughters need a change, and Kerry just may be the perfect fit.Forced to navigate their undeniable chemistry and reluctant partnership, one impulsive fake dating scheme blurs the lines between professional and personal, making their attraction impossible to ignore.As past wounds resurface and their worlds collide, Kerry and Victor must decide if love is worth rewriting the rules or if some lessons are best left untaught.The Love Syllabus is a heartfelt small-town Black romance featuring fake dating, a cozy small-town backdrop, all wrapped in a tender love story between a former teacher-turned-nanny and a guarded single father. This fun but emotional read is perfect for readers who enjoy emotionally rich, slow-burn romance that gives you all the feels.

The Love Syllabus

“Kennedy Ryan pours her whole soul into everything she writes, and it makes for books that are heart-searing, sensual, and life affirming.” ―EMILY HENRY Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry's rarefied air. Your vision board? She’s probably living it. She’s a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions—always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she's facing her toughest challenge yet: caring for an aging parent. Who has time for romance? From her experience, there's a low ROI on relationships. She hasn't met the man who can keep up with her anyway. Until...him. Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer's hottest party, Hendrix feels like she’s met her match. Only he can’t be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired and appreciated, but he’s the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she’s set for herself. But when Maverick gives chase—pursuing her, spoiling her, understanding her—is it time to let herself have something more? “One of the finest romance writers of our age.” –Entertainment Weekly

Can't Get Enough

A YA debut about found family and queer awakening, set in the lively world of roller derby, perfect for fans of Whip It and Heartstopper.Eighteen-year-old Casey feels stuck; while her friends are all going to university, she’s taking a gap year at home to care for her disabled mother. Then she walks in on her boyfriend blatantly cheating on her. Surprisingly, though, she’s not as heartbroken as she thinks she should be. And when a chance encounter with the young woman in question, the very pretty and confident Imogen, includes both an apology and a tentative extension of friendship, Casey realizes her life may be about to change.Imogen convinces Casey to tag along to a roller derby bout, and there Casey finds herself surrounded by fearless women and nonbinary teammates who aren’t afraid to speak their minds ―and body slam each other. Her friends and family aren’t so sure about all the injuries, but she doesn’t care; there’s something magic about this game and this team. Plus, she soon finds herself nursing a serious crush on her magnetic new friend. Can Casey become a brand-new, stronger, more confident version of herself? And will dating a teammate lead to a winning season, or total heartbreak?

Learning to Fall

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Ebony Kelly

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Heyyy, How y’all doing? My name is Ebony, I got back into reading in 2022 and decided I needed more friends to talk about books with. I’m movies, tv shows, music and books (of course).
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