Download or read book The Charm Offensive written by Alison Cochrun and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A MOST ANTICIPATED ROM-COM SELECTED BY * BUZZFEED * LGBTQ READS * BUSTLE * THE NERD DAILY * ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT * FROLIC MEDIA * AND MORE! A BEST BOOK PICK BY * HARPER’S BAZAAR * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “The Charm Offensive will sweep you off your feet.” —PopSugar In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer. Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.
Download or read book Charm Offensive written by Joshua Kurlantzick and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the beginning of the twenty-first century, China is poised to become a major global power. And though much has been written of China's rise, a crucial aspect of this transformation has gone largely unnoticed: the way that China is using soft power to appeal to its neighbours and to distant countries alike. This original book is the first to examine the significance of China's recent focus on soft power, that is, diplomacy, trade incentives, cultural and educational exchange opportunities, and other techniques, to project a benign national image, pose as a model of social and economic success, and develop stronger international alliances. Drawing on years of experience tracking China's policies in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Joshua Kurlantzick reveals how China has wooed the world with a charm offensive that has largely escaped the attention of American policymakers. Beijing's new diplomacy has altered the political landscape in Southeast Asia and far beyond, changing the dynamics of China's relationships with other countries. China also has worked to take advantage of American policy mistakes, the author contends. In a provocative conclusion, he considers a future in which China may be the first nation since the Soviet Union to rival the U.S. in international influence.
Download or read book Kiss Her Once for Me written by Alison Cochrun and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-11-01 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ+ Romance A Best New Holiday Romance by PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and more! The author of the “swoon-worthy debut” (Harper’s Bazaar) The Charm Offensive returns with a festive romantic comedy about a woman who fakes an engagement with her landlord…only to fall for his sister. One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money. Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real. Perfect for fans of Written in the Stars and One Day in December, Kiss Her Once for Me is the queer holiday rom-com that you’ll want to cozy up with next to the fire.
Download or read book We Can t Keep Meeting Like This written by Rachel Lynn Solomon and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Impossible not to love.” —Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Five Feet Apart A wedding harpist disillusioned with love and a hopeless romantic cater-waiter flirt and fight their way through a summer of weddings in this effervescent romantic comedy from the acclaimed author of Today Tonight Tomorrow. Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have been in business together for years: Quinn’s parents are wedding planners, and Tarek’s own a catering company. At the end of last summer, Quinn confessed her crush on him in the form of a rambling email—and then he left for college without a response. Quinn has been dreading seeing him again almost as much as she dreads another summer playing the harp for her parents’ weddings. When he shows up at the first wedding of the summer, looking cuter than ever after a year apart, they clash immediately. Tarek’s always loved the grand gestures in weddings—the flashier, the better—while Quinn can’t see them as anything but fake. Even as they can’t seem to have one civil conversation, Quinn’s thrown together with Tarek wedding after wedding, from performing a daring cake rescue to filling in for a missing bridesmaid and groomsman. Quinn can’t deny her feelings for him are still there, especially after she learns the truth about his silence, opens up about her own fears, and begins learning the art of harp-making from an enigmatic teacher. Maybe love isn’t the enemy after all—and maybe allowing herself to fall is the most honest thing Quinn’s ever done.
Download or read book Japan and China as Charm Rivals written by Jing Sun and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2012-08-02 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two Asian powers compete for the goodwill of their neighbors
Download or read book Nixon and Mao written by Margaret MacMillan and published by Random House. This book was released on 2007-02-13 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Margaret MacMillan, praised as “a superb writer who can bring history to life” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), brings her extraordinary gifts to one of the most important subjects today–the relationship between the United States and China–and one of the most significant moments in modern history. In February 1972, Richard Nixon, the first American president ever to visit China, and Mao Tse-tung, the enigmatic Communist dictator, met for an hour in Beijing. Their meeting changed the course of history and ultimately laid the groundwork for the complex relationship between China and the United States that we see today. That monumental meeting in 1972–during what Nixon called “the week that changed the world”–could have been brought about only by powerful leaders: Nixon himself, a great strategist and a flawed human being, and Mao, willful and ruthless. They were assisted by two brilliant and complex statesmen, Henry Kissinger and Chou En-lai. Surrounding them were fascinating people with unusual roles to play, including the enormously disciplined and unhappy Pat Nixon and a small-time Shanghai actress turned monstrous empress, Jiang Qing. And behind all of them lay the complex history of two countries, two great and equally confident civilizations: China, ancient and contemptuous yet fearful of barbarians beyond the Middle Kingdom, and the United States, forward-looking and confident, seeing itself as the beacon for the world. Nixon thought China could help him get out of Vietnam. Mao needed American technology and expertise to repair the damage of the Cultural Revolution. Both men wanted an ally against an aggressive Soviet Union. Did they get what they wanted? Did Mao betray his own revolutionary ideals? How did the people of China react to this apparent change in attitude toward the imperialist Americans? Did Nixon make a mistake in coming to China as a supplicant? And what has been the impact of the visit on the United States ever since? Weaving together fascinating anecdotes and insights, an understanding of Chinese and American history, and the momentous events of an extraordinary time, this brilliantly written book looks at one of the transformative moments of the twentieth century and casts new light on a key relationship for the world of the twenty-first century.
Download or read book Charm Offensive written by William Thacker and published by Legend Press Ltd. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘A strange book, but its strangeness is what keeps you turning the pages.’ Jennifer Johnston ‘I'm always a sucker for redemption stories but this one is really highly entertaining, life-affirming and - yes - charming. On this evidence, William Thacker is a name you will hear a lot more often.’ Matt Haig On reflection, he should probably continue with the plan. The plan was to get away, wasn't it? What made him deviate from the plan? It was all the things that came in between. He just needs to keep going. When retired politician Joe Street is named in a tabloid media slur, he carries out a last-ditch attempt to resurrect his marriage and undo the damage from the lie. With a cheap PR consultant in tow, Joe is reintroduced to a world of empty sound bites and media appearances - a world he would rather forget. His PR campaign takes a turn for the worse and Joe sets out to rebuild a relationship with his estranged daughter. Together, they commit themselves to a challenge that will help right their wrongs. In spite of his regeneration, Joe discovers that nothing is ever easy. With his fragile reputation on the line, his past continues to chase him. Joe finds himself on a journey of self-discovery, of redemption, but most importantly, of finding hope once more.
Download or read book Waiting for the Flood written by Alexis Hall and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2024-02-20 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the acclaimed author of BOYFRIEND MATERIAL comes a deeply moving romance about losing the life you always thought would be yours...and finding something beautiful in the wreckage of the past. Quietly heartbroken, Edwin Tully lives alone in the house he used to share with the man he once loved. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to build a future from the fragments of the past. Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin's quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again. As the two men are drawn together in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin slowly lets down his guard as he comes to accept he can't shield his heart from everything—and perhaps he doesn't even need to try. Because love doesn't only leave scars...sometimes, it heals them, too. This lyrical, moving LGBTQIA+ romance contains never-before-seen content and exclusive bonus material—including a NEW novella, Chasing the Light, following Marius as he rediscovers love and the complicated joy of being truly alive. The World of SPIRES: Glitterland, book 1 Waiting for the Flood, book 2
Download or read book If We Were Us written by K. L. Walther and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A high school romance that flips the switch on the will they or won't they trope when two best friends are forced to confront truths about their friendship, identities, and relationships during their senior year at boarding school. Everyone at the prestigious Bexley School believes that Sage Morgan and Charlie Carmichael are meant to be. Even though Charlie seems to have a new girlfriend every month, and Sage has never had a real relationship, their friends and family all know it's just a matter of time until they realize that they are actually in love. When Luke Morrissey shows up on the Bexley campus his presence immediately shakes things up. Charlie and Luke are drawn to each other the moment they meet, giving Sage the opportunity to spend time with Charlie's twin brother, Nick. But Charlie is afraid of what others will think if he accepts that he has much more than a friendship with Luke. And Sage fears that if she lets things with Nick get too serious too quickly, they won't be able to last as a couple outside of high school and miss their chance at forever. The duo will need to rely on each other and their lifelong friendship to figure things out with the boys they love. Perfect for those looking for: Teen romance books Two love stories in one LGBTQ books A fresh rom-com that twists the tropes Coming-of-age stories Books set at a boarding school
Download or read book Date Me Bryson Keller written by Kevin van Whye and published by Ember. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of the most adorable, big-hearted, charming books in existence." --Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda What If It's Us meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a '90s rom-com! Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new--the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. But Kai Sheridan never expected Bryson to say yes to him. As the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right? Drawing on his own experiences, Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story. Readers will root for Kai and Bryson to share their hearts with the world--and with each other.
Download or read book An Unexpected Kind of Love written by Hayden Stone and published by Entangled: Embrace. This book was released on 2021-08-09 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bookstore owner Aubrey Barnes likes his quiet, orderly London life, thank you very much. His shop may be struggling, his only employee is a menace, and his plumbing is one creaky pipe away from disaster, but he can handle it. Maybe. He cannot, however, handle the film company that’s thrown his Soho street into chaos. And he definitely can’t handle the charismatic American actor Blake Sinclair. Which is why he’s extremely reluctant to lease out his shop as a set for Blake's film, but it’s his one opportunity to save his business. Now he can’t get away from the distractingly hot actor. Then Aubrey finds himself alone with Blake in a trailer...and what happens next turns London’s heat wave into an inferno that leaves him breathless. Aubrey is not cut out for the high-profile life of celebrity dating—especially an American actor who’s not even out yet. Good thing their tryst is absolutely not going anywhere. But expecting nothing can be complicated...especially when it starts to mean everything. Each book in the When Snow Falls series is STANDALONE: * An Unexpected Kind of Love * When London Snow Falls
Download or read book The Dog Share written by Fiona Gibson and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2021-03-04 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘Brilliant and funny... I raced through it at 90 mph and was devastated at the last page and just wanted to go read it all again... Sheer genius... More please!!!!’ NetGalley Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Suzy Medley is having the worst day of her life when a shaggy terrier suddenly turns up at her door.
Download or read book One to Watch written by Kate Stayman-London and published by Dial Press Trade Paperback. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Real love . . . as seen on TV. A plus-size bachelorette brings a fresh look to a reality show in this razor-sharp, “divinely witty” (Entertainment Weekly) debut. “Effortlessly fun and clever . . . I found the tension impeccable . . . and that made my reading experience incredibly propulsive. Read it in a day and a half.”—Emily Henry, #1 bestselling author of Beach Read and The People We Meet on Vacation NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • Marie Claire • Mashable Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers—and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television? Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition—under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She’s in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That’s it. But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She’s in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, wickedly observant debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men—and herself—for a chance to live happily ever after.
Download or read book Head Over Heels written by Hannah Orenstein and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a best beach/summer read by O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Parade, PopSugar, Marie Claire, Bustle, and more! From the author of the Love at First Like and Playing with Matches, an electrifying rom-com set in the high stakes world of competitive gymnastics, full of Hannah Orenstein’s signature “charm, whimsy, and giddy romantic tension” (BuzzFeed). The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri. Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine. Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jasmine Guillory, Head Over Heels proves that no one “writes about modern relationships with more humor or insight than Hannah Orenstein” (Dana Schwartz, author of Choose Your Own Disaster).
Download or read book The Professor s Lady written by Holly Bush and published by Holly Bush Books. This book was released on 2022-01-25 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet the Thompsons of Locust Street, an unconventional family taking Philadelphia high society by storm… 1870 Kirsty Thompson is determined to begin her own business bringing beloved Scottish fabrics and yarns to Philadelphia but first she must meet the men and women who weave the plaids and spin the wool. How will she ever escape her protective older siblings and sail to Scotland? Albert Watson is a medical doctor focusing on research, especially that of Joseph Lister and his sterilization techniques. He speaks at universities in America and in England while visiting his London relatives. As he prepares to sail for just such an engagement, Kirsty Thompson boards his ship to beg him to take her with him. What’s a gentleman to do? Albert cancels his trip across the ocean to escort Miss Thompson back to Philadelphia and finds there is danger afoot for her and her family. Soon he comes to realize there is also danger for his heart, even for a man who rarely pulls his nose from a medical journal. He finds himself unable to put Miss Kirsty Thompson out of his thoughts, where they belonged, because certainly a beautiful, ambitious, and charming young woman could have no interest in him. Or could she?
Download or read book The Sunbearer Trials written by Aiden Thomas and published by Feiwel & Friends. This book was released on 2022-09-06 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys. “Only the most powerful and honorable semidioses get chosen. I’m just a Jade. I’m not a real hero.” As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the chaotic Obsidian gods at bay. Sol selects ten of the most worthy semidioses to compete in the Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all—they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body melted down to refuel the Sun Stones, protecting the world for another ten years. Teo, a seventeen-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of the goddess of birds, isn't worried about the Trials . . . at least, not for himself. His best friend, Niya is a Gold semidiós and a shoo-in for the Trials, and while he trusts her abilities, the odds of becoming the sacrifice is one-in-ten. But then, for the first time in over a century, the impossible happens. Sol chooses not one, but two Jade competitors. Teo, and Xio, the thirteen-year-old child of the god of bad luck. Now they must compete in five trials against Gold opponents who are more powerful and better trained. Worst of all, Teo’s annoyingly handsome ex-best friend and famous semidiós Hero, Aurelio is favored to win. Teo is determined to get himself and his friends through the trials unscathed—for fame, glory, and their own survival.
Download or read book Blank Spaces written by Cass Lennox and published by Riptide Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-14 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Absence is as crucial as presence. The decision to stop dating has made Vaughn Hargrave’s life infinitely simpler: he has friends, an excellent wardrobe, and a job in the industry he loves. That’s all he really needs, especially since sex isn’t his forte anyway and no one else seems interested in a purely romantic connection. But when a piece is stolen from his art gallery and insurance investigator Jonah Sondern shows up, Vaughn finds himself struggling with that decision. Jonah wants his men like his coffee: hot, intense, and daily. But Vaughn seems to be the one gay guy in Toronto who doesn’t do hookups, which is all Jonah can offer. No way can Jonah give Vaughn what he really wants, not when Jonah barely understands what love is. When another painting goes missing, tension ramps up both on and off the clock. Vaughn and Jonah find themselves grappling not just with stolen art, but with their own differences. Because a guy who wants nothing but romance and a guy who wants nothing but sex will never work—right? Not unless they find a way to fill in the spaces between them. Winner: Best Asexual Contemporary and Historical Romance in the 2017 Rainbow Awards Winner: Best Asexual Book in the 2017 Rainbow Awards "An unlikely romance between two beautifully written characters will leave readers swooning." – Kirkus **See this title's page on RiptidePublishing.com for content warnings.**
