Arcadia Public Library

"Bestselling romance author Jacob Churcher hasn't been home for almost twenty years--not since his mentally ill mother kicked him out of the house when he was just sixteen. When a lawyer calls a few weeks before Christmas to inform him that his estranged mother has passed away and left her house to him, Jacob returns not just to settle the estate but to try to reconcile with the past and the pain and abuse he experienced as a child. Also, maybe cleaning...

"A love story for Christmas from the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box and The Walk. Elise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful. Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally...

Chicago celebrity, Charles James can't shake the nightmare that wakes him each night. He sees himself walking down a long, broken highway the sides of which are lit in flames. Where is he going? Why is he walking? What is the wailing he hears around him? By day, he wonders why he's so haunted and unhappy when he has all he ever wanted-fame, fans and fortune and the lavish lifestyle it affords him. Coming from a childhood of poverty and pain, this...

On Christmas Eve, Thomas buys a magical candle that changes the way he views his fellow human beings and helps him feel charity for those less fortunate than he.

"The master of the holiday novel presents the moving story of two people who brave loneliness and loss to find love. Dear Universe, Is anyone out there? Thinking no one is reading, a blogger who calls herself LBH writes about her most personal feelings, especially her overwhelming loneliness. She goes from day to day showing a brave face to the world while inside she longs to know how it would feel if one person cared about her. Alex Bartlett cares....

Michael was born with special electrical powers -- and he's not the only one. His friend Taylor has them too, and so do other kids around the world. With Michael's friend Ostin, a tecno-genius, they form the Electroclan, an alliance meant to protect them from a powerful group, the growing Order of Elgen, who are out to destroy them. The leader of the Elgen, Dr. Hatch, has kidnapped Michael's mother, and time is running out. After narrowly escaping...

An old man reminisces about his first love, a young runaway who taught him more about life than anyone had before or since.

Publicly humiliated after her husband, a local councilman, is arrested for bigamy, Sally Walther isolates herself from the world after the divorce. Encouraged to climb out of her hole and embrace the season to get her out of her funk, Sally decides to put up a Christmas tree and reluctantly heads off to buy one. She is immediately taken by Andrew, the man who owns the Christmas tree lot and delivers her tree. As their friendship develops, Sally slowly...

Beth Cardall's life was falling apart: her six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, was suffering from an unidentifiable illness; her marriage transformed from a seemingly happy and loving relationship to one full of betrayal and pain; her job was increasingly at risk; and she had lost her ability to trust, to hope, or to believe in herself. Then, on Christmas day, Beth encountered Matthew.