Humorous fiction

Book SynopsisA Kafkaesque and darkly humorous “suburban gothic” that tracks the unraveling of man’s body, mind, and life.  James Orr—husband, father, reliable employee and all-around model citizen—awakes one morning to find half his face paralyzed.   Waiting for the affliction to pass, he stops going to work and wanders his idyllic estate, with its woodland, uniform streets and perfectly manicured lawns. But there are cracks in the veneer. And as his orderly existence begins to unravel, it appears that James may not be the man he thought he was.   A deeply unsettling story of creeping horror that consistently confounds expectations, The Alarming Palsy of James Orr introduces a writer of extraordinary and disturbing talents.

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Book SynopsisFans of Dumb and Dumber and Forrest Gump will love this “hilarious” book. (Screencraft)“A hilarious and quick read. If you’re a fan of absurdist humor this is the book for you.” —Tyson Harvey, Amazon reviewer They’re not exactly the A-Team…Benjamin was never the sharpest tool in the shed. For as long as he can remember, he’s longed for adventure in far away lands. But every day he wakes up in the same boring suburb, where nothing ever happens. He rides his bike, reads Soldier of Fortune magazine with his best friend Jim, and wastes time working a dead end job at the local convenience store.But when a phone scam from Somali grifters puts dollar signs in Ben-jamin’s eyes, he and Jim hatch a hare-brained scheme. Ditching their daily grind and jetting off to the coast of Africa, Benjamin and Jim plot to convince the locals they are highly trained Navy Seals and demand the Somali pirates turn over their treasure…It’s not a great plan. In fact, it might just get them killed…But through a combination of crazy coincidences, inept schemes, and plain dumb luck, these dim-witted dreamers are determined to get rich, or die trying. Can these two soldiers of misfortune pull off the ultimate con?“The lunacy made me laugh out loud and the energetic plot kept me eagerly anticipating what craziness would happen next.” —Mr. B, Amazon reviewer“I loved this book so much! What a fun (and quick!) read!! Rarely do I laugh OUT LOUD reading a novel. But this one had me in stitches.” —Amazon reviewer“I’m not that much a fan of Dumb & Dumber and the ilk, but I have to admit I found myself laughing out loud at the antics of Jim and Jam! Call it what you will—absurd, slapstick, or potty humor—it does reel you in.” —Shari Held, Amazon reviewer

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Chick Magnet comes a heartfelt friends-to-lovers story about what can happen when a funny guy and his childhood best friend are stuck together in a small New York City apartment.Sam can?t escape the smash hit ?Lost Boy? because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she?s never revealed her biggest secret: she?s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country?and doesn?t say a thing to Sam.But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support?and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she?s his friend. He can?t be falling for her.Except he is.Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?

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Book SynopsisThree grown women find escape and camaraderie on sorority row in a delightfully exhilarating novel about fresh starts, whether you want them or not, by New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster. How fast can charity fundraiser CeCe Barclay’s unimpeachable society life come tumbling down? One minute she’s speaking before Chicago’s glitterati. The next, her financier husband is wanted for embezzlement. Her assets seized and her fall mortifyingly public, CeCe grasps for refuge—and employment—as a sorority housemom at Eli Whitney University, her daughter Hayden’s alma mater. Tasked with preparing a stately—but in CeCe’s estimation shabby—house for rush, CeCe isn’t the only one navigating a new life. Janelle Smith’s last experience as a housemother was at a Jersey strip club, where she witnessed a mob hit. To keep her safe until trial, WITSEC finds her a new identity and a housemom position on Eli Whitney’s sorority row, where Janelle’s conflict mediation and tolerance for high estrogen levels make her a star employee. For Hayden, a barista at a hopelessly hip off-campus café, the goal is to flee everything Barclay: the money, the scandals, and the exasperating family nonsense. What next? Though CeCe’s not ready to sell her Chanel bag, she’s open to reinvention. Hayden might even admit she needs help in her new independent life. And Janelle’s due for a personal triumph. But big challenges loom between the alabaster columns of Eli Whitney, unexpected and dicey enough to bring them all together—if only to keep them from falling completely apart.Trade Review“[A]n intriguing and compelling tale with complex characters…look[ing] at the sisterhood formed in sororities that extends to those who work in, and around, them.” —Kirkus Reviews “The book shines in its emphasis on the power of women having each other’s backs and rooting for one another. This novel is a witty, wild ride and an overall gripping read with unforgettable, wholesome moments.” —Booklist “Scathingly witty.” —The Boston Herald “Witty and hilarious…Jen Lancaster is like that friend who always says what you’re thinking—just 1,000 times funnier.” —People “No matter what she’s writing, it’s scathingly witty and lots of fun.” —Publishers Weekly “Hilarious.” —InStyle “Witty, bitingly funny, and even thought provoking.” —The Book Chick “Jen Lancaster is like a modern-day, bawdy Erma Bombeck.” —Lisa Lampanelli, New York Post

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Three grown women find escape and camaraderie on sorority row in a delightfully exhilarating novel about fresh starts, whether you want them or not, by New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster. How fast can charity fundraiser CeCe Barclay’s unimpeachable society life come tumbling down? One minute she’s speaking before Chicago’s glitterati. The next, her financier husband is wanted for embezzlement. Her assets seized and her fall mortifyingly public, CeCe grasps for refuge—and employment—as a sorority housemom at Eli Whitney University, her daughter Hayden’s alma mater. Tasked with preparing a stately—but in CeCe’s estimation shabby—house for rush, CeCe isn’t the only one navigating a new life. Janelle Smith’s last experience as a housemother was at a Jersey strip club, where she witnessed a mob hit. To keep her safe until trial, WITSEC finds her a new identity and a housemom position on Eli Whitney’s sorority row, where Janelle’s conflict mediation and tolerance for high estrogen levels make her a star employee. For Hayden, a barista at a hopelessly hip off-campus café, the goal is to flee everything Barclay: the money, the scandals, and the exasperating family nonsense. What next? Though CeCe’s not ready to sell her Chanel bag, she’s open to reinvention. Hayden might even admit she needs help in her new independent life. And Janelle’s due for a personal triumph. But big challenges loom between the alabaster columns of Eli Whitney, unexpected and dicey enough to bring them all together—if only to keep them from falling completely apart.

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Book SynopsisIn a breathtaking island paradise, it?s easy for a handsome local and a sexy tourist to get swept away in a tart and tempting romance by a USA Today bestselling author.A destination wedding on La Jarra Island for Tillie James?s sister has its drawbacks: hair-wrecking ocean spray and pincher crabs. And its perks: sexy, hotheaded beachfront bartender Gabe Landers, who brings out the competitive streak in fellow drinkslinger Tillie. When the rivals get together for a cocktail-making challenge, the blend is pure bliss, leaving them shaken and stirred.The spirited blue-eyed tourist from Georgia makes Gabe?s head spin faster than his signature drink, the mermaid sunrise. But he?s determined not to obsess?out-of-towner love stories never last. Tillie agrees. They?ll just enjoy each other for now and make a clean break. No strings. No attachments. No chance. But when Tillie?s kiss goodbye comes with an invitation for Gabe to visit Atlanta, he can?t resist. As fate has it, it?s home to a heartbreaking piece of his own past.As Tillie and Gabe face new challenges, destiny could tear them apart?or turn an intoxicating romance on the rocks into more than they ever expected.

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Book SynopsisDiscover what makes Lucy Gilmore an instant fan favorite with this unforgettably funny enemies-to-lovers romcom starring:a grumpy dog show judgea determined former beauty queenand a Golden Retriever more interested in stealing bacon than winning Best in Show.Ruby Taylor gave up pageant life the day she turned eighteen and figured she'd never look back. But when an old friend begs her to show beloved Golden Retriever Weezy at the upcoming Canine Classic, Ruby doggedly straps on her heels and gets to work.If only she knew exactly what the adorably lazy lump of a dog was getting her into.If there's one thing veterinarian Sam Wilson knows in this world, it's dogs. Human beings are a different story. Especially gorgeous women clearly in way over their heads. As judge for the local dog show, Sam advises Ruby to quit while she still can, but her old fervor for winning has returned—and she wants to show the stern, broody-eyed judge that she's more than just a pretty face. In the end, she'll show him who's best in show."AS APPEALING AS A PUPPY."—Publishers Weekly STARRED for Puppy ChristmasTrade Review"Entertaining" - Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisCurl up this Christmas with a sparkling romance filled with:Irresistible friends-to-lovers romanceThe kiss that changed everythingWarm nights on the family Christmas tree farmAll your favorite Christmas songs!Nick Winter is just out of the military, and his Christmas homecoming is not going as planned. What was supposed to be a memorable holiday with his long-time girlfriend goes sour when he learns she cheated on him while he was stationed overseas. At least Nick can rely on his usual shift at the family Christmas tree farm with his best friend, Noel Carter, and her endless supply of Christmas tunes to lift his spirits. A night of fun together is just what he needs to forget about his ex.But then they kiss. And it feels...so right.If Noel can turn Nick's Blue Christmas merry and bright, this might be the last Christmas Nick spends with a broken heart. This year, they'll be Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree as a couple—as long as Nick's ex doesn't go standing under any mistletoe."Codi Hall brings all the feels."—Monica Murphy, New York Times bestselling author

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Book SynopsisIt's all fun and games until you accidentally marry a stranger in Greece and inherit a hotel.Amelia Lang's life is kind of a mess. She's stuck living at home with her narcissistic mother. Her tech bro ex-boyfriend deliberately sabotages her at work, and she gets fired after throwing a mug at his head (it's okay! She missed.) Then she has a major falling out with her best friend. So Amelia does what Amelia does best: She runs away.After traveling around Europe for three months, she settles on a small Greek island to reset her life and figure out what's next. But after too much retsina, she gets tricked into marrying James, another guest at the hotel, who is perfectly nice-but perfectly boring. To top it off, they are gifted the very hotel they're staying in-a hotel they don't want that is in desperate need of some TLC. They agree to keep the hotel open through the busy summer season for the sake of the island's quirky but well-meaning residents, after which Amelia plans to return home to start rebuilding her disastrous life.Amelia and James must work together to determine how to get out of their situation-easier said than done for Amelia, who's started to feel a strong spark of attraction for James. But Amelia is sure her real life is waiting for her back in San Francisco. Is it time for Amelia to return home or could this be the second chance at a new life she didn't know she wanted?

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Book SynopsisMeagan is a seventeen-year-old netaholic, addicted to online dating but scared to death to take those online “relationships” offline. Banished by her parents to her gay hippie grandfather’s farm (where the cell reception is terrible!), she is so not looking forward to a techno-free summer of gardening and cleaning house. When two offline boys fall for her at a Netaholics Anonymous meeting, she desperately enlists her bestie Sheila to help extradite herself from such an awkward situation. Good luck with that! Falling in with a ragtag bunch of Luddites, Meagan joins a zany softball team, takes the game of Scrabble to a whole new level, and gets immersed in the world of invertebrate sex—all the while coming to terms with her raging netaholism and discovering the joys and heartbreaks of offline relationships. Offline is a romantic romp through the dark underbelly of technology. Equally parts serious and ridiculous, this fast paced romantic comedy for adults and young adults gently pokes fun at the perils and pitfalls of the online world. Brian Adams is the author of two award-winning romantic comedies about environmental activism, Love in the Time of Climate Change and KABOOM! In a previous life he was a college professor, desperately trying to get folks to stop texting in class, put away their damn phones, and get the hell outside. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife and cat.Trade Review"Brian Adams's charming and heartfelt young adult novel Offline explores the harm that comes with trading the real world for an online one. Meagan has a real problem. She's not addicted to drugs or alcohol or gambling, but she can't tear herself away from her phone for the life of her. She spends hours swiping, scrolling, and texting. It's beginning to stunt her growth, creating a barrier between Meagan and real, offline relationships. Offline, with its accessible, funny characters and engaging storyline, explores what happens when a seemingly harmless habit takes over someone's life. . . . Meagan's development is at the center of the novel. The at-first deeply superficial teen blossoms into someone who values the complex, tangible world around her. . . . Humorous and earnest, Offline reminds us to unplug and appreciate the things we might miss while buried in our phones." -- Foreword Reviews

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Book SynopsisA tour guide leads a Valentine's Day-themed ghost walk, visiting the sites of horrific, yet romantic, deaths. A homicide cop solves tough cases using tips from his plants. Scientists discover a new species of religiously observant gophers, and a young math whiz, on the hunt for her escaped boa constrictor, ponders the theory of multiple worlds. Replete with dark humour and cheeky interrogations of philosophy and metaphysics, the thirty-three stories in How to Tell if Your Frog is Dead expose the fundamental absurdity of the human condition.

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Book SynopsisMiles Jupp stars as James Boswell in four fantastic episodes of Jon Canter's BBC Radio 4 comedy. 'A work of genius' Radio Times James Boswell, Dr Johnson's celebrated biographer, turns time traveller to pursue other legends to immortalise in this award-winning comedy series. Hampered by his own pomposity and self-importance, he finds that his subjects get the better of him – with hilarious consequences.Interviewing Sigmund Freud, Boswell is wrong-footed when Freud asks all the questions, and on meeting Maria Callas (and her poodle) he becomes caught up in an opera of his own making. While talking to Harold Pinter he finds himself the victim of a betrayal, and Boris Johnson proves to be a formidable opponent – especially on the whiff-whaff table.Written by acclaimed comedy author Jon Canter, this hugely entertaining series won the Prix Europa for Best European Radio Series of the Year. It stars Miles Jupp as Boswell, with Henry Goodman as Freud, Arabella Weir as Callas, Harry Enfield as Pinter and Alistair McGowan as Boris Johnson. Duration: 2 hours approx.

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Book SynopsisLala's done it: her failed-screenplay-turned-successful-novel is about to be made into a movie. In Paris! With a Hollywood bad boy as the lead! But the City of Lights can only offer so much respite from the petrifying decisions that await Lala back in the City of Angels. It's an ocean away from her boyfriend, David, with whom she is becoming alarmingly close (as in, tying-the-knot-close). For every leading lady who got her start later in life, Lala Pettibone screams a hilarious "Yes!" to joie de vivre at any age.

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Book SynopsisHeir to the FIBA button factory in Lombardy, Augustus is profiting from Italy’s postwar industrial boom. Yet the dreamy young man is far from your stereotypical industrialist. He is less interested in making money than in talking to the birds in the surrounding garden and in making love to a beautiful factory worker named Palmira. But when the money-hungry Palmira schemes to have him institutionalized, Augustus finds a new love among his fellow mental patients: flute-playing flower child Serafina. Can Augustus and Serafina find a way to break free and express their love of each other and of nature in this crazy world? Newly translated into English, Giuseppe Berto’s charming 1973 novel Oh, Serafina! was one of the first works of Italian literature to deal with ecological themes while also questioning the destructive effects of industrial capitalism, the many forms spirituality might take, and the ways our society defines madness. This translation includes a foreword from literary scholar Matteo Gilebbi that provides biographical, historical, and philosophical context for appreciating this whimsical fable of ecology, lunacy, and love. Trade Review"A madcap, modern-day St. Francis who talks to the birds, Augustus is committed to an institution by his wife at a time when mental health care rested on marginalization and segregation. There he falls in love with Serafina, another outcast, in this lighthearted fable that is sometimes pointed, but never caustic." -- Anne Milano Appel * award-winning translator *"Entertaining, profound, and timely, Giuseppe Berto’s Oh, Serafina! shows the marvels hidden in worlds that, despite their apparent marginality, teem with vitality and poetry. Perfectly attuned with the novel’s spirit and rhythm, Gregory Conti’s elegant translation prompts the rediscovery of this jewel of Italian literature." -- Serenella Iovino * author of Ecocriticism and Italy: Ecology, Resistance, and Liberation *“Oh, Serafina! is a bizarrely beautiful fable for the ages. Thanks to the deft work of translator Gregory Conti, this tale of industry, lust, mental illness, and ecological sensibility is a most welcome addition to the small but growing canon of Italian environmental literature available in translation.” -- Monica Seger * author of Landscapes in Between: Environmental Change in Modern Italian Literature and Film *“Fifty years ago, Giuseppe Berto wrote his fable of ecology, lunacy, and love against the backdrop of the industrialized Italy of his day. But books, fortunately, outlive their occasional contexts. In Gregory Conti's flawless translation, Oh, Serafina! shines as a tale that belongs even, if not especially, to our own time.” -- Federica Capoferri * coauthor of Badlands: Il cinema dell'ultima Roma *Table of ContentsContents Author's Note, Giuseppe Berto Translator's Note, Gregory Conti Foreword, Matteo GilebbiOh, Serafina! About the Author About the Translator

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Book SynopsisThe oldest trick in the book turns out to be the best thing thatâs ever happened . . .Jada Berkleeâs acting career is finally heating back up after an on-set romance with her ex ruined her last job on a popular TV show. When she gets a second chance with a desirable supporting role in a hot new romantic comedy, Jadaâs determined not to let on-set politics or her off-set ex get in the way again. Sheâs prepared, polished, professional--and sheâs going to knock their socks off.Still, despite Jadaâs best efforts to keep her head down she accidentally walks in on leading man--and notorious lothario--Tristan Maxwell cheating on his latest fling. An intense and embarrassing showdown on set ensues. Of course, there are no secrets in Hollywood, and when their confrontation makes its way to the biggest gossip site in the world, it has consequences for both their careers.With their reputations on the line, they need public relations rehab, and stat. Tristanâs agent suggests the perfect solution--a fake relationship to get the press off their back and repair both their images. Jada reluctantly agrees. But when their faux-romance begins to have real consequences for them both, Tristan and Jada need to decide if theyâre in it for real, and not just when the cameras are rolling.

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Book SynopsisPublishers Weekly #1 Summer Romance ReadFilled with delectable delights and heart-tugging insights . . . Stunning. âPublishers Weekly, starred reviewAll bets are off in the City of Light . . . where life and love can change in less than a dayAfter calling off her engagement, Mira escapes on an all-expense paid business trip to Paris. Despite the delicious food and flowing wine, she canât forget the ache of leaving her fiancà behind or the fact that sheâs just blown up her personal life. And messing up simply isnât Mira.Sheâs used to being in control. Meticulously planning. But now sheâs at the mercy of the travel gods, and they are not acting in her favor. Subways are missed. Trains donât run. Flights are overbooked. And by the time she arrives at the airport to go home, there are no new flights to NYC until the next day. The worst part? Sheâs now stuck in Paris for twenty-four hours with her arrogant and insufferable co-worker Jake whose constant flirting and annoying optimism is more than she can handle.But as they spend the next twenty-four hours in Paris, exploring the city in all its beauty, Mira realizes that she and Jake have more in common than they thought, and he may turn out to be the best thing she discovers in the City of Love.

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Book SynopsisBut the algorithm has a serious glitch, because it pairs her with the one man on earth she never wants to see again: Simon – the man who broke her heart when he called off their engagement six years ago. Then Simon shows up on her doorstep, promising he can get her a refund by showing the service the match was wrong. But he wants her to really prove it—by dating him for the next month.

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