Melanie Tourbier desperately wanted a child, but she'd stopped looking for a husband who would love her for more than her money. When she started the sperm-donor process at the hospital, Dr. Jared Cross tried to talk her out of motherhood. The handsome doctor had reasons for wanting to deter Melanie, but the feisty heiress vowed to show him a thing or two! While she volunteered at the hospital, Melanie came in close contact with Jared. Suddenly, harsh words turned to passionate kisses, until the truth became evident. Would these stubborn lovers rise to the stork's ultimate challenge?

Francesca Thorn is the FBI's best profiler… and she's needed to target Athena Academy's most dangerous foe. Getting inside the dark mind of a serial blackmailer is easy. The hard part? Working alongside an irritatingly sexy U.S. Army bodyguard who's shadowing her every move. But as she gets dangerously close to revealing the identity of her alma mater's greatest threat, it seems someone will stop at nothing to ensure she remains dead silent. And her only choice is to accept all the help her personal protector can provide.

"In high school, I could drive backwards better than anyone. And I've been going about living in reverse ever since. While other women were going to college, finding careers, marrying and having babies, I dropped out of college, had a baby, got married, got divorced and got a job. "So now, at the age of thirty-five, I've decided to finish that diploma…." But is this the new perspective Grace Greenleigh was hoping for? Now she's dealing with homework, experimenting with clothes and–God forbid–dating…alongside her teenage daughter! Not quite the white-picket-fence world she'd always wanted. Then again, maybe it's time to see what life has to offer her beyond that very fence.

Dear Lizzie, My marriage is in dire straits. I know you must get hundreds of people writing to you with this problem, but I think my husband may be having an affair…. –Name & Address Withheld Lizzie Ford is an urban sexpert, and her hip London magazine column and radio show are bombarded with romantic casualties on a daily basis. What a relief that, after years in the dating jungle, Lizzie herself has finally leaped off the shelf into the arms of Matt Baker–an advertising genius with enough charm to win over even Lizzie's man-cynical best friend. Little does Lizzie know there's more to Matt Baker than witty one-liners and bedroom eyes. Or that this innocent, seemingly anonymous note from a reader is about to catapult her into a scorching scandal, forcing Lizzie to confront some compelling home truths about life, love–and loyalty….

Handsome men are like kryptonite to Alex, but a husband, kids…trust? Building Never Happened–a cleanup service that erases all evidence of a homicide or suicide–is her main priority. But while being independent, beautiful and successful has its pluses, it's also pretty lonely. Or was until Alex learns that a high-tech gadget she found at a scene got a detective–and former lover–killed. Now she has mysterious CIA operative Austin Blake shadowing her every move. Caring for her irresponsible mother is hard enough, but toss in a murder investigation… How is she supposed to avoid trouble with Austin and get the job done? Well, maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive. After all, isn't it time Alex stepped back and just let life happen…?

How did they keep finding her? For years, professor Elizabeth Larocca had prepared for the day her late husband's dangerous secret life would catch up to her. So when her husband's dead body showed up for the second time and his former associates arrived on her doorstep, Liz took her daughter and ran. But every haven she found was compromised, as if someone knew all her plans. Now Liz had to choose whom to trust: her husband's former partner or a mystery man who warned her against him. On a trail of kidnapping, blackmail and murder, could the professor outwit two trained agents and keep herself and her daughter safe from harm?

Sophie Katz's relationship with the irresistible and occasionally insufferable P.I. Anatoly Darinsky is on the fritz when a friend recruits Sophie's investigation skills to decode her possibly two-timing husband's strange behavior. When Sophie shows up in a short, red cocktail dress and her friend's hubby winds up dead, the loveable would-be sleuth can't help but take on the job. Suddenly plunged into a crazy world of campaign mudslinging, dirt-digging and cover-ups, Sophie begins to uncover some pretty dirty secrets indeed–involving a conservative congressional hopeful's involvement in the Furry community, a group of people who dress up in mascot-size stuffed animal costumes. Sex and politics, wouldn't you know? Way in over her head as usual, Sophie reluctantly–or not-so-reluctantly–enlists the help of her two-time sidekick and ex–Anatoly. Together they set out to determine who killed Eugene and why, and in the process can't resist falling for each other–again?

Twenty-three-year-old Jersey girl Eve Vitali is on the verge of something… whether it be a relationship, the fabulous life that she reads about in the Styles section of the New York Times or a nervous breakdown. Despite her Jackie O. suit, Eve works as an unappreciated assistant for–of all things–a bicycle magazine. Everyone keeps telling her that she's got her foot in the door, but the rest of her is surfing the Net and schlepping around with Tabitha, an Amazonian sex goddess. Between glam parties, obligatory visits home and myriad men, Eve is realizing that it takes a lot of work to get beyond the verge and on to the next big thing…. It seems everyone has advice on how to get there: Eve (on keeping her "foot in the door"): "Develop artificial cheeriness. Answer all requests with 'great.' Hypothetical: Person of dubious authority: 'Eve, why don't you count all of the paper clips in the entire department and then divide them into seven equal piles?' Me: 'Great. I'll get right on it. That'll be great.'" Tabitha (prefers foreign men, gets entree to the coolest parties, buys lots of underwear): "Remove unsightly hairs before all dates." Roseanne (Eve's roommate who works in–gasp!–finance): "Whatever you do, don't be predictable."

Veterinarian Carter Phillips wants answers. The scandal surrounding his employer's prizewinning horse has left Carter unable to clear Quest Stables' name…or his own. But then Carter spies an exquisite painting of an unknown horse that could finally lead him to the truth…. Artist Gillian Cameron knows exactly who the horse is: he's her family's Thoroughbred, Picture of Perfection. But Carter's suspicions compromise the horse's future and that of her family. She knows she can't trust Carter's agenda…so why does she find herself wanting to trust him with a mystery of her own?

Leverage Scala and Machine Learning to study and construct systems that can learn from data About This Book ? Explore a broad variety of data processing, machine learning, and genetic algorithms through diagrams, mathematical formulation, and updated source code in Scala ? Take your expertise in Scala programming to the next level by creating and customizing AI applications ? Experiment with different techniques and evaluate their benefits and limitations using real-world applications in a tutorial style Who This Book Is For If you’re a data scientist or a data analyst with a fundamental knowledge of Scala who wants to learn and implement various Machine learning techniques, this book is for you. All you need is a good understanding of the Scala programming language, a basic knowledge of statistics, a keen interest in Big Data processing, and this book! What You Will Learn ? Build dynamic workflows for scientific computing ? Leverage open source libraries to extract patterns from time series ? Write your own classification, clustering, or evolutionary algorithm ? Perform relative performance tuning and evaluation of Spark ? Master probabilistic models for sequential data ? Experiment with advanced techniques such as regularization and kernelization ? Dive into neural networks and some deep learning architecture ? Apply some basic multiarm-bandit algorithms ? Solve big data problems with Scala parallel collections, Akka actors, and Apache Spark clusters ? Apply key learning strategies to a technical analysis of financial markets In Detail The discovery of information through data clustering and classification is becoming a key differentiator for competitive organizations. Machine learning applications are everywhere, from self-driving cars, engineering design, logistics, manufacturing, and trading strategies, to detection of genetic anomalies. The book is your one stop guide that introduces you to the functional capabilities of the Scala programming language that are critical to the creation of machine learning algorithms such as dependency injection and implicits. You start by learning data preprocessing and filtering techniques. Following this, you'll move on to unsupervised learning techniques such as clustering and dimension reduction, followed by probabilistic graphical models such as Na?ve Bayes, hidden Markov models and Monte Carlo inference. Further, it covers the discriminative algorithms such as linear, logistic regression with regularization, kernelization, support vector machines, neural networks, and deep learning. You’ll move on to evolutionary computing, multibandit algorithms, and reinforcement learning. Finally, the book includes a comprehensive overview of parallel computing in Scala and Akka followed by a de*ion of Apache Spark and its ML library. With updated codes based on the latest version of Scala and comprehensive examples, this book will ensure that you have more than just a solid fundamental knowledge in machine learning with Scala. Style and approach This book is designed as a tutorial with hands-on exercises using technical analysis of financial markets and corporate data. The approach of each chapter is such that it allows you to understand key concepts easily.

Prima Ballerina Darcey Bussell takes you on a captivating journey to a faraway land of ballet and magic, the wonderful world of Enchantia! The first of a sparkly new series for all young girls who dream of being a ballerina, or simply love to dance… Delphie’s greatest dream is to become a ballerina, and she can't quite believe it when she is invited to join the new ballet school. But there's more to Madame Zarakova's than it at first seems and with the help of some very special ballet shoes, Delphie finds herself spinning into a whole new world…

When friendship becomes love, two people must face their greatest fear – being hurt again…The powerful bestseller from the country’s number one storyteller. Luke Hammond: handsome, rich, charismatic, cursed by private tragedy. Amy Atkinson: humble and kind with a good – but wounded – heart. When they meet by chance, a spark of love takes hold of their hearts. But neither are sure that they can dare to love again. And what of Luke's public life, hidden from Amy? The owner of a large factory, he is a pillar of the community, married – though in name only. Amy is torn between her head and her heart, but her sense of honour is paramount – and when she discovers his true identity, she is thrown into even greater turmoil. Then disaster strikes and the future looks troubled indeed ….

Another page-turning story of tragedy and triumph from the No.1 bestselling author of The Loner and The Journey. In the sleepy Lancashire village of Salmesbury, childhood sweethearts Emily and John are secretly planning a life together when they are cruelly forced apart. Already abandoned by her father, and unhappy at home, Emily is heartbroken when John leaves the village. Her life takes a devastating turn for the worse when she gives birth to a child. She dare not reveal the identity of the child's father or there will be a terrible price to pay. Many miles away, John is trying to forget Emily and forge a new life. Having carried her in his heart for years, a chance encounter leads him to believe she has forgotten him. Emily has never been able to banish thoughts of John. But when it looks as though history is about to repeat itself, Emily must put the past – and John – behind her and safeguard her daughter. But can she forget him?

This bestseller from the country’s number one storyteller is a deeply moving and powerful tale of love and courage and a sacrifice no man should be asked to make. Three strangers are thrown together by chance. It’s an encounter which is destined to change all of their lives for ever. When Ben Morris comes to the aid of Lucy Baker and her daughter Mary, he is intrigued by the story behind their frequent visits to the local graveyard. Later, invited into their home, an old Edwardian place suffused with secrets of the past, Ben hears Lucy’s remarkable tale – one she must tell before it’s too late. The story of Barney Davidson, his family and the part Lucy played in his extraordinary life, is one of a deep, abiding love and an incredible sacrifice.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘The Hours’ and new novel ‘The Snow Queen’, time, technology and love are the central concerns of a provocative novel that calls to mind David Mitchell’s ‘Cloud Atlas’. Lucas, Catherine, Simon: three characters meet time and again in the three linked narratives that form ‘Specimen Days’. The first, a science fiction of the past, tells of a boy whose brother was ‘devoured’ by the machine he operated. The second is a noirish thriller set in our century, as a police psychologist attempts to track down a group of terrorists. And the third and final strand accompanies two strange beings into the future. A novel of connecting and reconnecting, inspired by the writings of the great visionary poet Walt Whitman, ‘Specimen Days’ is a genre-bending, haunting ode to life itself – a work of surpassing power and beauty by one of the most original and daring writers at work today.

A romance-filled page-turner for any Austen fanatic who’s ever dreamt of spending a weekend with Mr Darcy… Katherine Roberts is fed up with men. As a lecturer specialising in the works of Jane Austen, she knows that the ideal man only exists within the pages of Pride & Prejudice and that in real life there is no such thing. Determined to go it alone, she finds all the comfort she needs reading her guilty pleasure – regency romances from the pen of Lorna Warwick – with whom she has now struck up an intimate correspondence. Austen fanatic, Robyn Love, is blessed with a name full of romance, but her love life is far from perfect. Stuck in a rut with a bonehead boyfriend, Jace, and a job she can do with her eyes shut – her life has hit a dead end. Robyn would love to escape from it all but wouldn't know where to start. They both decide to attend the annual Jane Austen Conference at sumptuous Purley Hall, overseen by the actress and national treasure, Dame Pamela Harcourt. Robyn is hoping to escape from Jace for the weekend and indulge in her passion for all things Austen. Katherine is hoping that Lorna Warwick will be in attendance and is desperate to meet her new best friend in the flesh. But nothing goes according to plan and Robyn is aghast when Jace insists on accompanying her, whilst Katherine is disappointed to learn that Lorna won't be coming. However, an Austen weekend wouldn't be the same without a little intrigue, and Robyn and Katherine are about to get much more than they bargained for. Because where Jane Austen is concerned, romance is never very far away…

A tremendously vivid, page-turning and plausible novel that depicts the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the most spirited, independent and courageous of Henry’s queens, as viewed from both the bedrooms and the kitchens of the Tudor court. Everyone knows the story of Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII divorced his longstanding, long-suffering, older, Spanish wife for a young, black-eyed English beauty, and, in doing so, severed England from Rome and indeed from the rest of the western world. Then, when Henry had what he wanted, he managed a mere three years of marriage before beheading his wife for alleged adultery with several men, among them his own best friend and her own brother. This is the context for Suzannah Dunn's wonderful new novel, which is about – and told by – two women: Anne Boleyn, king's mistress and fated queen; and Lucy Cornwallis, the king's confectioner, an employee of the very highest status, who made the centrepiece of each of the feasts to mark the important occasions in Anne's ascent. There's another link between them, though: the lovely Mark Smeaton, wunderkind musician, the innocent on whom, ultimately, Anne's downfall hinged… Suzannah Dunn has all the equipment needed for literary-commercial success: wit, a mastery of dialogue, brilliant characterization, lack of pretence, and good humour. The Queen of Subtleties adds to that mix a wonderfully balanced, strong story; Dunn has plumped for a fascinating retelling of one of the most often-told, most compelling stories of our islands' history. In doing so, she's turning from contemporary stories to historical fiction. The result is sensational.

David Beckham is one of the world's foremost media icons, his popularity transcending sport and cultural divides. This is his own in-depth account of his career to date, for Manchester United and England, and of his childhood, family and personal life. This is Beckham's fascinating life story in his own words. His rise through the ranks at the biggest club side in the world. His complex relationship with United boss Alex Ferguson. The England story, from being vilified by the nation before returning as the prodigal son to eventually captaining his country. His acrimonious falling-out with his manager and departure from Old Trafford in June 2003. And starting a new chapter of his life on foreign soil in the glare of the world’s press. Now from Beckham himself, we gain a vivid and eye-opening insight into the family man behind the famous footballer, the international model and fashion leader. He describes how he first met and then married ex-Spice girl Victoria Adams, and the upbringing of their two children Brooklyn and Romeo. How his family's every step is monitored by a posse of newshounds and paparazzi. Also, the influence of his parents, growing up as a shy youngster in the family home, and how their subsequent split affected him. Intimate and soul-searching, this is the real David Beckham like we have never seen before.

The warm, engrossing new novel from the No. 1 bestseller, Cathy Kelly. Welcome to Avalon: a quaint, sleepy town on the Irish coast. Nothing has changed here for generations – least of all the huge mansion on Willow Street; the house in which sisters Tess and Suki Power grew up. Now, years later, Tess is trying to save her marriage protect her glamorous sister Suki who has come back home, dreams shattered. Similarly, Mara Wilson is seeking refuge from a broken heart at her Aunt Danae’s house. And Danae, the inscrutable postmistress, is hiding some dark memories of her own. Now that the big house is up for sale, change is blowing on the cold sea wind. But before they can look to the future, these four women must face up to the past…

The whole of the magnificent Riftwar Cycle by bestselling author Raymond E. Feist, master of magic and adventure, now available in ebook Kaspar, former Duke of Olasko and once absolute ruler of his nation, has been cast into exile. Abandoned in the wilds of a continent on the other side of the world and left with nothing but his wits and determination, he must fight merely to survive. Armed with guile, cunning and an iron will, he starts his odyssey with a single goal: to return to his home and revenge himself upon the man who cast him down, Talwin Hawkins. But fate has other plans for Kaspar, and as he struggles against adversity, he encounters dangers greater than any he had imagined. More is at stake than he realised and Kaspar is but a single player in a far greater game than he imagined, for pitted against the Conclave of Shadows are the agents of the Dark Empire, a looming menace that threatens not only Kaspar's homeland, but the entire world of Midkemia. Exile’s Return is the third and concluding book in the Conclave of Shadows trilogy.

The whole of the magnificent Riftwar Cycle by bestselling author Raymond E. Feist, master of magic and adventure, now available in ebook For four days and nights Kieli has waited upon the remote mountain peak of Shatana Higo, for the gods to grant him his manhood name. Exhausted and despairing, he is woken by the sharp claws of a rare silver hawk piercing his arm, though later he is not sure if it ever happened. Devastation greets Kieli on his return home. His village is being burned, his people slaughtered. Although it means certain death, Kieli throws himself into the battle… and survives. A distant voice echoes in his mind: Rise Up and be a talon for your people… Now he is Talon of the Silver Hawk, and he must avenge the murder of his people, at whatever cost… Talon of the Silver Hawk is the first book in the Conclave of Shadows trilogy. The second book in the trilogy is King of Foxes.