After suffering a horrific injury that threatens to end his career, Baden Oulett is about to learn that sometimes a fresh start is just what the doctor ordered.

While my injuries are physical, the same can’t be said for the woman I rescued. Suffering from wounds that can’t be seen, Sophie Winters has withdrawn from the world. Through our shared trauma, Sophie and I find peace. As we grow closer, what started as friendship becomes more intimate. But can a love born of anguish endure, or will the pain of our past prove too much to overcome?

Bishop Scott, cocaptain. Not too shabby, huh? It’s all part of my fresh start with the NHL’s latest expansion team, and that means new teammates, a new coach, a new city, and a big new contract. But first, I decide to check out the town before the grind begins. Turns out Arizona chicks are totally smokin’, and I’m fortunate enough to meet one who’s looking for the same thing I am: a night of anonymous, unforgettable, no-strings-attached sex. Fast forward to the Vengeance arena. It’s the last place I expect to see her again - let alone in her own office.

He left to travel the world for fame and glory, but only after spurning Gabby Ward and crushing her young heart. Now Hunter Markham has come back home to the sand and salty breeze of the North Carolina Outer Banks so he can open up Last Call, a beach bar nestled among the dunes of the Atlantic. Gabby Ward is not happy that Hunter has returned. Bitter over his rebuff years before, she's content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways

Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no 16-year-old should ever have to endure. She's spent years trying to forget that night, even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her - until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela's TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend's world....

Valentine French may be the sassiest dating columnist in New York City, but the abundance of metrosexuals in her adopted metropolis is seriously cramping her style. Where are the beefy all-American boys? Hoping to find some inspiration, Val heads to Alaska, where the men outnumber the women 15 to one and wrestle grizzly bears for sport. Or so she can only imagine.

Kyle Sommerville is in hiding and doesn't want to be found by anyone. Certainly not by his quirky, free-spirited neighbor who's managed to push her way past the walls he's built around him. But Jane Cresson's indomitable will and insatiable curiosity about her reclusive neighbor makes it impossible for Kyle to stay immersed in his dark world. Little by little, she claws through his shell. Day by day, she gets him to smile a little more. Night by night, they both find pleasure they never knew existed.

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he's called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides. First by the team's coach, who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers' sexy, icy publicist - his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington. Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do - and saying hello again isn't much easier.

I've never been in love. I've never had an orgasm, but I've faked plenty. I want to experience love. Real, passionate love. I don't want to die. It's funny what blurts out of your mouth when the plane you're on is going down, and I didn't hold back with my seat mate when my plane decided to crash. My hysterical confessions didn't faze the muscular stranger that sat beside me. In fact, he promised if we survived, he'd give me my first orgasm.

I’ve sworn off men to focus on my dream job that starts on Monday. But my best friend talks me into a final night of fun—a blind date. I only agree because the guy is going to work as a doctor in Africa. It’s the best date of my life. Dr. Africa makes me laugh and swoon, and I want to give him a thorough physical examination. He turns into Dr. One Night Stand, and I’m not sad about it. Monday morning, I’m enthusiastic and excited, until I bump into...you guessed it.

Lila James is my best friend’s little sister, and I’ve always looked out for her. She's five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore.

Everyone expected me to play hockey. I was good at it, but I was better at being a doctor. So I hung up the skates and joined Doctors Without Borders. But there is no place like home, so now I’m back. And instead of being on the ice, I’m behind the bench as the team physician. After years of playing cat and mouse, it’s time to admit it. She’s mine.

What I meant to do: quietly divorce my lout of a husband and then have a child all on my own. What happens instead: my crush comes back to town when I’m at my most vulnerable. After too many cocktails, I ask him to be my baby’s father. In my defense, it’s been a rough couple of months. Seeing Matteo Rossi again after 14 years has done a number on my emotions. And my libido. In the morning, I’m hoping he’s forgotten the whole thing. But no such luck. In fact, Matteo has a few clarifying questions. And a few naughty ideas, too....

Of all the things that could have landed in her yard, it had to be him. For most people, finding a half-naked superbeing in their yard might be a dream come true. Unfortunately for Gracie Castro, it’s the exact opposite. Especially when he’s grouchy, rude, and shows no signs of leaving anytime soon. But when a hero of mankind needs you, you do what you have to. Even if it compromises everything you know. And totally changes your life.

The dreamiest player on the Moo U hockey team hangs a flyer on the bulletin board, and I am spellbound: Rent a boyfriend for the holiday. For $25, I will be your Thanksgiving date. I will talk hockey with your dad. I will bring your mother flowers. I will be polite, and wear a nicely ironed shirt.... Now everyone knows it’s a bad idea to introduce your long-time crush to your messed-up family. But I really do need a date for Thanksgiving, even if I’m not willing to say why.

VISIONS OF FLESH AND BLOOD: a Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire Compendium is a comprehensive companion guide for background, history, reader-favorite information, and reference materials. Combined with original short stories and scenes from some of the world’s most beloved characters, it’s a treat for the senses.