A Shocking Passion

Ellie goes to see her family in Capri to celebrate her stepbrother Luke’s engagement…but what the rest of the family doesn’t know is that Luke is also her ex! It’s hard to keep her spirits up, hanging out at the resort alone. Ellie is afraid Luke will think she’s not over him, and when no one is looking, Luke keeps hitting on her. Ellie is in a tough spot, so in order to deter Luke, she pretends to be dating her other stepbrother, Jack, even though she can't stand him! But soon their pretend kisses become real, and being with Jack makes her heart pound. What on earth is she feeling for him?

Ellie goes to see her family in Capri to celebrate her stepbrother Luke’s engagement…but what the rest of the family doesn’t know is that Luke is also her ex! It’s hard to keep her spirits up, hanging out at the resort alone. Ellie is afraid Luke will think she’s not over him, and when no one is looking, Luke keeps hitting on her. Ellie is in a tough spot, so in order to deter Luke, she pretends to be dating her other stepbrother, Jack, even though she can't stand him! But soon their pretend kisses become real, and being with Jack makes her heart pound. What on earth is she feeling for him?

One night in Monte Carlo… Now I’m about to change the playboy’s life—forever! He’s Monaco racing royalty and I, Belle Simpson, was his housekeeper. But that evening, Alexi Galanti’s searing blue gaze exhilarated me. Neither of us could think about anything beyond our desire for one another… Now, five years later, I finally have the chance to reveal my scandalous secret—Alexi’s a father! Even though he’s scarred by his parents’ abandonment, I know Alexi will never desert his son. But falling for him would be a dangerous mistake, even if I’ve never stopped yearning for his touch!

Pain, Passion and Faith: Revisiting the Place of Charles Wesley in Early Methodism is a significant study of the 18th-century poet and preacher Charles Wesley. Wesley was an influential figure in 18th-century English culture and society; he was co-founder of the Methodist revival movement and one of the most prolific hymn-writers in the English language. His hymns depict the Christian life as characterized by a range of intense emotions, from ecstatic joy to profound suffering. With this book, author Joanna Cruickshank examines the theme of suffering in Charles WesleyOs hymns, to help us understand how early Methodist men and women made sense of the physical, emotional and spiritual pains they experienced. Cruickshank uncovers an area of significant disagreement within the Methodist leadership and illuminates Methodist culture more broadly, shedding light on early Methodist responses to contemporary social issues like charity, slavery, and capital punishment.

Khalil Totahs life spanned the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate in Palestine, and the foundation of the state of Israel. His passion for education drove him to leave his native Palestine for the US in 1906 to complete his education, which culminated in a PhD from Columbia University. His next adventure, in France during World War I, was followed by a return to Palestine with a beautiful American wife. Having achieved his education and successfully navigated life transitions, he set out to serve as principal of a teacher-training college in Jerusalem. Later he became principal of the Friends Boys School in Ramallah, the Quaker school that had taught and mentored him. In spite of work-related struggles and a family tragedy, he built and developed the school throughout the Arab Peasant Revolt and the British Mandate. He was esteemed and venerated by his people for his leadership. In 1944, Khalil and his family returned to the US, where he continued his career in education as director of the Arab information office in New York. He lectured, wrote, and became an activist on behalf of the Palestinians as partition was debated at the UN. Told by his daughter, the story of Khalils life sheds light on the history of Palestine of that period and of the Quakers in Palestine. His journal, diaries, articles, photographs, and her mothers letters to family in the US have formed the foundation for this story.

An original and provocative exploration of our capacity to ignore what is inconvenient or traumatic Ignorance, whether passive or active, conscious or unconscious, has always been a part of the human condition, Renata Salecl argues. What has changed in our post-truth, postindustrial world is that we often feel overwhelmed by the constant flood of information and misinformation. It sometimes seems impossible to differentiate between truth and falsehood and, as a result, there has been a backlash against the idea of expertise, and a rise in the number of people actively choosing not to know. The dangers of this are obvious, but Salecl challenges our assumptions, arguing that there may also be a positive side to ignorance, and that by addressing the role of ignorance in society, we may also be able to reclaim the role of knowledge. Drawing on philosophy, social and psychoanalytic theory, popular culture, and her own experience, Salecl explores how the passion for ignorance plays out in many different aspects of life today, from love, illness, trauma, and the fear of failure to genetics, forensic science, big data, and the incel movement—and she concludes that ignorance is a complex phenomenon that can, on occasion, benefit individuals and society as a whole. The result is a fascinating investigation of how the knowledge economy became an ignorance economy, what it means for us, and what it tells us about the world today.