Happily ever after...' When Gabe Vitali escapes to a fresh start in Crystal Point, Australia, the former physician isn't looking for a storybook ending. For the first time he's living in the moment. His new five-year plan does not include serious relationships. But he doesn't anticipate his unavoidable next-door neighbor...and an undeniable attraction. Bridal consultant Lauren Jakowski wants marriage. She's just sworn off love and sex! To avoid getting burned again, she's looking for safe and forever-after. But they're not Gabe's to give-for reasons he can't share with anyone, least of all this pretty complication. Gabe and Lauren don't figure on a fairy tale. But fate has other plans....

This includes the first three interconnected standalone fairy tales from the Once upon a Story series. Book 1 - Once upon a Shoe: A Cinderella Retelling Magic shoes, family problems, and a midnight deadline… How much do you really know about Cinderella’s fairytale? Ella always knew she’d marry for love or not at all. she wanted nothing less in a marriage than the obvious affection she witnessed between her father and her stepmother, Iris. But when her father disappears and Iris sinks into depression, Ella cuts herself off from the rest of the world as she struggles with her own emotions, a disgruntled stepsister, and an overwhelming workload. Armed with a fragile hope, she must go to the royal ball to find her father. But a reunion with her childhood best friend threatens to shatter the walls she’s built around her heart. Stepmothers aren’t always villains and princes aren’t always charming. With so much uncertainty, do they have what it takes to create a happy ending? Book 2 - Once upon a Silent Song: A Little Mermaid Retelling Fins to feet, a silenced voice, and a villain that must be stopped... How much do you really know about The Little Mermaid fairytale? As a Siren with a strong Voice, Nimue has always looked forward to joining the Protectors and using her Voice to help others. But not all is as it seems in the Siryian Sea. Her father, Varun, hates the humans and will stop at nothing to see them destroyed. When he orders Nimue to help the other Protectors sink any ship that crosses their borders, Nimue puts all her strength into saving a ship and the humans on it, despite the odds against her. For her defiance, Nimue’s Voice is taken from her. And now, she has only two options of getting her Voice back—finding True Love’s Kiss or convincing her mother to reclaim the throne. Not one to believe in true love, Nimue puts her hope in her mother. But before she makes it very far, she is captured by humans sailing in the opposite direction of where she needs to go. Forced to stay with them until they make it to land, Nimue must rely on her outcast sister to find their mother and set things right. Unwilling to give in to her frustrations, she finds herself interacting with the humans and feeling drawn to the ship’s handsome young captain. Although True Love’s Kiss starts to look like a valid option as the mutual attraction between Brandt and Nimue grows, the strange cultural customs of these islanders clash with her own in a way that may make it impossible. Can Nimue convince Brandt to kiss her and free her Voice? And if she succeeds, will she be willing to pay the price? Book 3 - Once upon a Rose: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling A far off castle, a terrible curse, and a magic mirror... How much do you really know about the tale of Beauty and the Beast? Belle was content with a quiet life among books and caring for her sisters. But when a mysterious letter brings hope that her father is not only alive but imprisoned, she must trade herself to save him. She doesn't expect to end up wanting to break her captor's curse, but when she finds out what is needed, she knows she can't do it. King Marcaus will do anything to break free of his curse and the one who cursed him, even marry someone he would never have considered before. But Belle is nothing like he expected. When Belle refuses his proposal on his behalf and asks for her freedom, he is torn. Appearances can be deceiving and time is running out. Can Marcaus and Belle heal the scars of their pasts and break the curse?

It is 1968. Across America, citizens march for social reform and an end to the Vietnam War. Amid all this, Surya Green--a New York-born, self-absorbed, modern young woman--is a student at Stanford University, blithely pursuing a graduate degree in communication. Her view of life's purpose unexpectedly starts to expand when she says "Yes" when her Stanford film mentor selects her for a writing job at Zagreb Film in Yugoslavia. Family and friends marvel at her courage, or foolishness. The Zagreb studio may be the renowned producer of the first non-American animated film to win an Oscar, but it is in a country most Americans fear and reject as "communist." Green has no idea that her stay in Yugoslavia will ultimately take her beyond national borders to the outermost limits of her mind. Although penned in the first person against the backdrop of Tito's Yugoslavia in historic 1968, Once Upon a Yugoslavia is, paradoxically, most timely. The global economic crisis has compelled people to question excessive consumption and redefine success and the good life while embracing new lifestyle priorities--just as Yugoslavia required of Surya Green decades ago. Once Upon a Yugoslavia addresses this present-day longing while also offering a lively history lesson. History books have objectively described the former Yugoslavia, but Once Upon a Yugoslavia gives personalized look at the everyday lives of people in pre-1989 Eastern Europe that shows how the experience transformed one young woman's American Dream. Chronicling the sights, sounds, and ups and downs of the everyday Yugoslav existence, Green speaks to both the positive and negative aspects of the contemporary phenomenon known as "Yugo-nostalgia." The pros and cons of the American and Yugoslav societies fly to and fro during Surya's conversations with a host of colorful characters--some of whom she lodges with and travels the countryside with, others of whom she dates. In this strange Big Brotherish country of perplexing language, culture, and customs--which gives Surya an early experience of living a monitored life without privacy in a land where paranoia is contagious--more than once readers will hear her sobbing at night. Ultimately, the Yugoslav social experiment--its plus points, at least--were to give Surya Green a considerably altered view of the American values with which she was raised. And it is what led to that perspective--a personal transformation that started for her in explosive, memorable, life-changing 1968 in Tito's Yugoslavia, and continues to this day--which makes Once Upon a Yugoslavia such a unique and remarkable book. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Fins to feet, a silenced voice, and a villain that must be stopped... How much do you really know about The Little Mermaid fairytale? As a Siren with a strong Voice, Nimue has always looked forward to joining the Protectors and using her Voice to help others. But not all is as it seems in the Siryian Sea. Her father, Varun, hates the humans and will stop at nothing to see them destroyed. When he orders Nimue to help the other Protectors sink any ship that crosses their borders, Nimue puts all her strength into saving a ship and the humans on it, despite the odds against her. For her defiance, Nimue’s Voice is taken from her. And now, she has only two options of getting her Voice back—finding True Love’s Kiss or convincing her mother to reclaim the throne. Not one to believe in true love, Nimue puts her hope in her mother. But before she makes it very far, she is captured by humans sailing in the opposite direction of where she needs to go. Forced to stay with them until they make it to land, Nimue must rely on her outcast sister to find their mother and set things right. Unwilling to give in to her frustrations, she finds herself interacting with the humans and feeling drawn to the ship’s handsome young captain. Although True Love’s Kiss starts to look like a valid option as the mutual attraction between Brandt and Nimue grows, the strange cultural customs of these islanders clash with her own in a way that may make it impossible. Can Nimue convince Brandt to kiss her and free her Voice? And if she succeeds, will she be willing to pay the price? The Once upon a Story series consists of interconnected standalones that can be read in any order.

The Complete Short Stories of Roald Dahl in the second of two unsettling and sinister volumes. 'Dahl finds the child in the adult and the adult in the child and, with a little smile, he sticks the knife in both' Anthony Horowitz, from his introduction Roald Dahl is one of the world's most popular writers, equally at home writing for both children and adults. In this, the second of two volumes chronologically collecting all his published adult short stories, we experience Dahl's dark and powerful imagination in full flight in 28 stories written between 1954 and 1988 (including eight tales which are not available in any other printed edition). Here, in 'Parson's Pleasure', a piece of furniture is the subject of a deceitful bargain; in 'William and Mary', a wife revenges herself on her dead husband; and in 'Royal Jelly' some new parents find an unusual and unsettling way to give their newborn its start in life. Whether you're young or old, once you've stepped into the brilliant, troubling world of Roald Dahl, you'll never be the same again. 'One of the most widely read and influential writers of our generation' The Times 'The absolute master of the twist in the tale' Observer Look out for Volume One, introduced by Charlie Higson. Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.