A royal kiss under the mistletoe Prince Alexandro Castanovo arrives in snowy New York intent on protecting his royal family from scandal. And when Reese Harding—down-to-earth and heart-stoppingly beautiful—finds room for him at her inn, it seems like the perfect twist of fate. Not long ago Reese's world came crumbling down, shaking her foundations. But this enigmatic stranger intrigues her! She's learned to be wary of secrets…but when she discovers Alex's true identity, might there be enough magic in the air to make this regular American girl a princess by Christmas…?

Proud, beautiful Clare Harrison is a working girl with no time for romance–until a chance meeting with the unforgettable millionaire Mark King makes her reconsider! Clare decides to have some fun with the bachelor playboy. A no-strings affair with Mark could be just what she needs to take her mind off her work! But Clare is unprepared for the sexy twinkle in his eye, and the provocative intimacy between them. She soon realizes she's accidentally fallen for him.…

Twin babies mean double the trouble! Nikki is always happy to baby-sit for her friend's adorable twins. But now the babies' mom is unavoidably delayed–and Nikki needs help! And the arrival of a handsome man means even more… The babies' uncle, Seth Baxter, comes to her rescue! But the man is gorgeous–can she really spend every minute of every day with him? It's tough, especially as Nikki is determined not to get close to anyone ever again. But playing at happy families with Seth shows her that he could be the man to change her mind…and her life….

A thunderous crack of the auctioneer's gavel and $350 later Emily Holmes "owned" Bachelor #46, all six gorgeous feet of him! T. J. Kirkpatrick was going to have to pony up more than dinner and a movie, though. Emily needed a husband–her inheritance depended on it. T.J. insisted that he was no spousal specimen, but if being "married" meant playing newlyweds, then he'd happily masquerade as Emily's man. The charade proved all too real, for T.J.'s kisses made her heart race–and time stand still. And now that she'd unexpectedly fallen madly in love with her "husband," she intended to get them going…going…gone–right to the preacher!

He'd hidden his passion behind another man's name. For John Bandera knew that a genteel Mississippi flower like Emily Russell could never share her life with a half-breed Comanche rancher. But the hiding was over. His true love was here, in the flesh. And he wanted to make her his bride! Six years of heartfelt correspondence had to count for something, a very pregnant and very along Emily Russell insisted as she headed west to find the man of her dreams. But instead of the Southern cavalier she thought she loved, she'd found John Bandera, a man of secrets and soul-spinning sensuality…!

JUST THE COWBOY SHE NEEDED? The last thing Cora Bell wants is a distracting cowboy showing up on her family's farm seeking temporary shelter. Especially one she is sure has something to hide. But she'll accept Wyatt Williams's help rebuilding her family's barn–and try not to fall once again for a man whose plans don't include staying around. Since leaving his troubled past behind, Wyatt avoids personal entanglements. He just wants to make a new start with his younger brother. But there's something about Cora that he's instinctively drawn to. Dare this solitary cowboy risk revealing his secrets for a chance at redemption and a bright new future with Cora by his side? MONTANA MARRIAGES: Three sisters discover a legacy of love beneath the Western sky

"Get Out, Ye Bloodthirsty Half-Breed!" Since the infamous Battle of Falkirk, Cristiane MacDhiubh had these words–and worse–hurled at her in the village streets. Half Scot, half English, she could claim no place as home–until the Lord of Bitterlee, as gallant a knight as any could dream, came in search of a bride…! Marriage had been naught but sadness for Adam Sutton, yet duty demanded he wed again. Cristiane MacDhiubh, as fey and wild as his own island fiefdom, might rouse his forgotten passions. But brave of heart though she might be, could Cristiane ever heal his sorrowing soul?

Caleb Tanner is a playboy millionaire with an aversion to weddings–only, he's surrounded by women scheming to get him to the altar! Caleb needs a decoy: a bride on loan… Sabrina Saunders isn't thrilled about moving in with Caleb. He's far too attractive for his own good! He's also her agency's biggest client so she's forced to play the part of Caleb's bride-to-be. It's only for a couple of weeks–or so they both think!

Carrie Dean had fallen for Andrew Beckford–Beck–the first moment she'd set eyes on him. She thought her new boss was attracted to her, too, but Beck already had a girlfriend–the blond, petite and glamorous Helena. What could he possibly see in plain old Carrie? Only, now Helena has left. And Beck is technically single, definitely sexy and Carrie's for the taking! But she's afraid that Beck is only temporarily hers until Helena returns. Carrie is determined to keep her bridegroom-on-loan–but when will Beck realize that she is the one most worthy of his love…?

Elite 8th Wing pilot Celene Jur was taken captive after a mysterious device temporarily disabled her ship's controls. Three solar months later, when Celene receives intel on the man who built the device, she's ready to get the bastard. Only problem is, the higher-ups think her mission partner should be Nils Calder, a tech-head who can understand the disabling device. The attraction between them is electric, but Celene needs a soldier who can watch her back as she exacts her revenge. Nils knows his department is nicknamed NerdWorks. Pilots like Celene think the closest tech geeks come to combat is all-night Nifalian chess tournaments. But behind the NerdWorks insignia on his sleeve Nils is an able fighter, ready to prove himself and gain Celene's trust. The desire between them is unexpected, but with the fate of thousands hanging in the balance, the hotshot pilot and the tech genius must succeed in their mission–no matter the cost. 43,000 words

Desperate to help her mother regain her health, she had taken on the older woman's identity as the alluring singer The St. Louis Songbird. She never dreamed as she entertained the crowds that she possessed her own special magic–and an innocent allure strong enough to catch the eye of the enigmatic Case Durham. But was Case a man she could trust with her most guarded secret? Case was surprised by his reaction to the beautiful stranger's voice. And by the fact that her image haunted his waking hours. He couldn't afford an interest in a woman whose reputation was bandied about in saloons. Despite her appeal, he had his daughter's happiness to protect, not to mention his own guarded heart!

Two newborns in jeopardy bring together former sweethearts in the second book in USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen's Sweetwater Ranch series! The last thing Texas Ranger Tucker McKinnon expects to find in his pantry is two sleeping newborns. But it's the woman who spirited the infants to his ranch who stirs the lawman's blood, along with haunting memories. Once, Tucker and Laine Braddock were inseparable…until murder divided their families. Now, with a killer on Laine's trail, Tucker has never felt more powerless. Or been more determined. Desperate to keep her and her innocent charges safe, Tucker uncovers some shocking truths. Including the feelings they still share–and the desire they're finding impossible to resist.

The Creedence Creek had once been a bustling cattle ranch…until Ms. Eve Terry bought the place out from under foreman Ryder Quinn and turned it into baby central. Who could blame Ryder for being so distressed at seeing his beloved rugged landscape overrun with cooing, two-legged tots? The new boss lady was so dedicated to making her day-care business flourish…and so danged dangerous to Ryder's usual cool facade, he figured his only recourse was to bet the ranch Eve wouldn't last six months in the Arizona heat. Happily, she agreed to the wager, knowing she could outlast the most dedicated cowboy…and hoping she could convince this particular wrangler to fill some of those cradles with their very own cowpoke babies!

DARE SHE DATE AGAIN? Single mum and paramedic Samantha Doxtator was broken-hearted after losing her husband. Now she’s finally following her dream to become an air ambulance pilot… after mentoring paramedic trainee George Atavik! Since nearly losing his life in a plane crash George doesn’t hold back on life – or on the sparks flying between him and Samantha. Does she dare risk her fragile heart for one last chance at happiness?

SHE WAS HIS HOPE Years ago Piper Diamond had sorely tempted Kyle Masters's rough-hewn masculinity. Though he'd ached to know the fulfillment of the promise he could taste on her lips, he'd manfully sent her on her way. Kyle was too honorable to snatch a young girl's innocence. HE WAS HER DREAM Now Piper was back, pregnant, unwed, and looking for a father for her child. Still compassionate and caring, Kyle was exactly the man Piper needed. But getting rugged, sexy Kyle Masters to agree to a marriage of convenience wasn't enough. Because Piper wanted a real husband…

The elite, covert agents of Stony Man Farm, comprising the best cyber techs and military in the world, act under orders of the President. Whether it's stopping a terror attack overseas or saving civilians closer to home, the teams fight for freedom and peace. A cutting-edge electromagnetic pulse weapon sets off a bidding war, and brokers from countries all over the world can't wait to get their hands on it. But when the Libyan rebel behind the auction squeezes out the U.S., red flags are raised in Washington. Determined to keep the weapon of mass destruction away from hostile powers, Stony Man Farm has two choices: steal it from the rebel's headquarters in Greece–or destroy it. While Phoenix Force deploys overseas, Able Team has its own mission. An American paramilitary contractor also wants the EMP device…and he's willing to kill anyone who gets in his way.

LAWMAN TO THE RESCUE Who placed the bomb under schoolteacher Tess Collins's classroom desk–and why? There's only one man who can save Tess–SWAT cop Declan Shaw. Her survival depends on him defusing the bomb and protecting her from an unknown enemy. He can't afford to be distracted by the alluring beauty who was his onetime high school crush. But keeping her safe soon becomes more than just a job for the highly trained explosives expert. And it'll take all his professional skills to catch the madman targeting Tess before it's too late. SWAT: TOP COPS–Love in the line of duty

This holiday season, three military men of honor must do everything they can to save Christmas Mission: Christmas Rescue by Debby Giusti On the run from a killer, Elizabeth Tate must accept U.S. Army captain Nick Fontaine's protection for the sake of her young niece and nephew. Now her life is in the hands of the very man who broke her heart years ago. Special Ops Christmas by Susan Sleeman Researcher Claire Reed's top secret project is stolen, putting her at risk of being kidnapped to unlock it. Her undercover bodyguard—her former love, Green Beret Travis Chapman—is on his most dangerous mission yet. Homefront Holiday Hero by Jodie Bailey When someone tries to kill the daughter of a military official, U.S. Army major Tyler Rainey must keep Kelly Walters from harm…while guarding his own heart against very unexpected feelings.

Get command of your organizational Big Data using the power of data science and analytics About This Book ? A perfect companion to boost your Big Data storing, processing, analyzing skills to help you take informed business decisions ? Work with the best tools such as Apache Hadoop, R, Python, and Spark for NoSQL platforms to perform massive online analyses ? Get expert tips on statistical inference, machine learning, mathematical modeling, and data visualization for Big Data Who This Book Is For The book is intended for existing and aspiring Big Data professionals who wish to become the go-to person in their organization when it comes to Big Data architecture, analytics, and governance. While no prior knowledge of Big Data or related technologies is assumed, it will be helpful to have some programming experience. What You Will Learn ? Get a 360-degree view into the world of Big Data, data science and machine learning ? Broad range of technical and business Big Data analytics topics that caters to the interests of the technical experts as well as corporate IT executives ? Get hands-on experience with industry-standard Big Data and machine learning tools such as Hadoop, Spark, MongoDB, KDB+ and R ? Create production-grade machine learning BI Dashboards using R and R Shiny with step-by-step instructions ? Learn how to combine open-source Big Data, machine learning and BI Tools to create low-cost business analytics applications ? Understand corporate strategies for successful Big Data and data science projects ? Go beyond general-purpose analytics to develop cutting-edge Big Data applications using emerging technologies In Detail Big Data analytics relates to the strategies used by organizations to collect, organize and analyze large amounts of data to uncover valuable business insights that otherwise cannot be analyzed through traditional systems. Crafting an enterprise-scale cost-efficient Big Data and machine learning solution to uncover insights and value from your organization's data is a challenge. Today, with hundreds of new Big Data systems, machine learning packages and BI Tools, selecting the right combination of technologies is an even greater challenge. This book will help you do that. With the help of this guide, you will be able to bridge the gap between the theoretical world of technology with the practical ground reality of building corporate Big Data and data science platforms. You will get hands-on exposure to Hadoop and Spark, build machine learning dashboards using R and R Shiny, create web-based apps using NoSQL databases such as MongoDB and even learn how to write R code for neural networks. By the end of the book, you will have a very clear and concrete understanding of what Big Data analytics means, how it drives revenues for organizations, and how you can develop your own Big Data analytics solution using different tools and methods articulated in this book. Style and approach This book equips you with a knowledge of various NoSQL tools, R, Python programming, cloud platforms, and techniques so you can use them to store, analyze, and deliver meaningful insights from your data.

Learn the techniques for object recognition, 3D reconstruction, stereo imaging, and other computer vision applications using examples on different functions of OpenCV. About This Book ? Learn how to apply complex visual effects to images with OpenCV 3.x and Python ? Extract features from an image and use them to develop advanced applications ? Build algorithms to help you understand image content and perform visual searches ? Get to grips with advanced techniques in OpenCV such as machine learning, artificial neural network, 3D reconstruction, and augmented reality Who This Book Is For This book is intended for Python developers who are new to OpenCV and want to develop computer vision applications with OpenCV and Python. This book is also useful for generic software developers who want to deploy computer vision applications on the cloud. It would be helpful to have some familiarity with basic mathematical concepts such as vectors, matrices, and so on. What You Will Learn ? Detect shapes and edges from images and videos ? How to apply filters on images and videos ? Use different techniques to manipulate and improve images ? Extract and manipulate particular parts of images and videos ? Track objects or colors from videos ? Recognize specific object or faces from images and videos ? How to create Augmented Reality applications ? Apply artificial neural networks and machine learning to improve object recognition In Detail Computer vision is found everywhere in modern technology. OpenCV for Python enables us to run computer vision algorithms in real time. With the advent of powerful machines, we have more processing power to work with. Using this technology, we can seamlessly integrate our computer vision applications into the cloud. Focusing on OpenCV 3.x and Python 3.6, this book will walk you through all the building blocks needed to build amazing computer vision applications with ease. We start off by manipulating images using simple filtering and geometric transformations. We then discuss affine and projective transformations and see how we can use them to apply cool advanced manipulations to your photos like resizing them while keeping the content intact or smoothly removing undesired elements. We will then cover techniques of object tracking, body part recognition, and object recognition using advanced techniques of machine learning such as artificial neural network. 3D reconstruction and augmented reality techniques are also included. The book covers popular OpenCV libraries with the help of examples. This book is a practical tutorial that covers various examples at different levels, teaching you about the different functions of OpenCV and their actual implementation. By the end of this book, you will have acquired the skills to use OpenCV and Python to develop real-world computer vision applications. Style and approach The book is a practical tutorial that covers various examples at different levels, teaching you about the different functions of OpenCV and their actual implementation.

Transform yourself into a Kubernetes specialist in serverless applications. About This Book ? Get hands-on experience in installing, configuring, and using services such as Kubeless, Funktion, OpenWhisk, and Fission ? Learn how to launch Kubernetes both locally and in public clouds ? Explore the differences between using services such as AWS Lambda and Azure Functions and running your own Who This Book Is For If you are a DevOps engineer, cloud architect, or a stakeholder keen to learn about serverless functions in Kubernetes environments, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn ? Get a detailed analysis of serverless/Functions as a Service ? Get hands-on with installing and running tasks in Kubernetes using Minikube ? Install Kubeless locally and launch your first function. ? Launch Kubernetes in the cloud and move your applications between your local machine and your cloud cluster ? Deploy applications on Kubernetes using Apache OpenWhisk ? Explore topics such as Funktion and Fission installation on the cloud followed by launching applications ? Monitor a serverless function and master security best practices and Kubernetes use cases In Detail Kubernetes has established itself as the standard platform for container management, orchestration, and deployment. It has been adopted by companies such as Google, its original developers, and Microsoft as an integral part of their public cloud platforms, so that you can develop for Kubernetes and not worry about being locked into a single vendor. This book will initially start by introducing serverless functions. Then you will configure tools such as Minikube to run Kubernetes. Once you are up-and-running, you will install and configure Kubeless, your first step towards running Function as a Service (FaaS) on Kubernetes. Then you will gradually move towards running Fission, a framework used for managing serverless functions on Kubernetes environments. Towards the end of the book, you will also work with Kubernetes functions on public and private clouds. By the end of this book, we will have mastered using Function as a Service on Kubernetes environments. Style and approach A clear, concise, and straightforward book that will empower you work with clusters and run serverless functions effectively.