How Does The Elf On The Shelf: A Christmas Tradition Work?

Ashley, the want to be alone outsider, can't believe what hit him when he met Austin, the goodlooking, nice soccerstar. Which leads to a marathon of emotions and some secrets from the past.

Grace Hammond lost the most important person in her life, her grandmother, Juliet. Left with little beyond a failing farm and not much clue how to run it, she's trapped-- either she gives up three generations of roots and leaves, or she finds some help and makes it work. When a mysterious letter from Juliet drops a much needed windfall in her lap, Grace knows she has one chance to save the only place she's ever called home and posts a want-ad.The knight that rides to her rescue is Robert Zhao, an Army veteran and struggling college student. A first generation Korean American, Rob is trying desperately to establish some roots, not just for himself, but for the parents he's trying to get through the immigration process, a secret he's keeping even from his best friends. Grace's posting for a local handyman, offering room and board in exchange for work he already loves doing, is exactly the situation he needs to put that process on track.Neither is prepared for the instant chemistry, the wild sweet desire that flares between them. But life in a small town isn't easy. At worst, strangers are regarded suspiciously, and at best, as profoundly flawed-- and the Hammond women have a habit of collecting obscure and ruthless enemies. Can their budding love take root in subtly hostile soil and weather the weeds seeking to choke them out?

To protect the endangered elf race from human nobles, I left the Life Forest and seduced Anders, my childhood friend, now the most powerful and ruthless man in the world. As I expected...he was still obsessed with me. For three days and three nights, we drowned in feverish, desperate pleasure. But when I finally woke—naked, aching, gasping for air—a bucket of sulfuric acid was dumped over my head! I screamed. However, Anders stood by with a cruel smile. "Huh, so the legendary immortal elf can feel pain?" "This is just the beginning, Jovia. Until you tell me where my parents are." He firmly believed that the elves were behind the mysterious disappearance of his parents. From then on, my hell began: Forced to watch him and Lisa be affectionate, forced to cut open my chest and extract my life crystal that sustained my life for her beauty treatment; forced to sing with an overstrained, hoarse voice to lull Lisa to sleep… He hated me to the core. But every time I was on the verge of death, it was he who would roughly pick me up and force me to swallow the top-grade magic potion. His hands trembled with rage, and something he refused to name. Sometimes he was as cold as ice: "Do you think I still love you, so I can't do anything to you? Keep going!" At other times, he would reveal a heart-wrenching tenderness, gently stroking the scars on my neck with his fingertips and whispering in a low, seductive voice: "Be good, tell me where my parents are. " I silently endured his love and hate, feeling the struggle deep in his soul. I silently kept the secret about his parents that could shatter everything. Soon, I wouldn't have to endure all this anymore. Because if an elf leaves the Life Forest for more than three years, their life source will dry up and will eventually turn into nothing. At this point, there were only three days left until my disappearance.

That guy, he's her roommate. But also a demon in human skin, so sinful and so wrong she had no idea what he was capable of. That girl, she's his roommate. But also an angel in disguise, so pure, so irresistible and so right he felt his demon ways melting. Aelin and Laurent walk on a journey, not together but still on each other's side. Both leading each other to their destination unknowing and Knowingly. Complicated and ill-fated was their story.

Saelyna and her twin brother, Cyran, are among the last, few elves in Halden that are still healing from the wounds of the rebellion. They both work in the King's Glade, growing the magical kingpeas for His Grace's use. One day, Saelyna steals some of the peas in a bid to sell them and repay her brother for the loss of his sheep. That same evening, a werewolf attacks Cyran while hunting, injuring him severely. He escapes and makes it home, but is dying from the wound. A mysterious stranger stops by to help, and uses the peas to heal him. The king's mages, however, have detected the use of magic and send their scouts to apprehend the culprit. Saelyna and Cyran prepare to flee, but are kidnapped, along with other elves. They are taken to a land called Eldad, and their captors turned out to be the werewolves, who wants them to work on their lands and grow more kingpeas to aid their second attempt at a rebellion. Saelyna is placed under the claws of Caivan, who turns out to be the mysterious stranger who saved Cyran's life. And Cyran is forced to work for Gylen, the werewolf who had attacked him. Saelyna finds out that he's not the helping kind though. Caivan is the pack's beta, and next in line to be the alpha, which requires him to be brutal, sharp at will and self-centered. Over time, though, Saelyna and Caivan grow closer, bonding over their affinity for magic, their plans to escape the world and their love for books.

Can Christmas magic help her hear the music again? Melody Murphy shared her love of music with her father, but after tragically loosing him on Christmas Eve two years ago, she no longer has any interest in music or Christmas. She returns to her hometown of Charles Town, West Virginia, to help her mother save the family antique business, content to stay focused on her work. However, when a chance encounter with an adorable five-year-old leads her to befriend an attractive single dad, Melody begins to realize she's been putting her life on hold, something her father would've never wished for her. Will she learn to hear the song in the falling snow again? Reid has recently moved to Charles Town to start over after his wife walked out, leaving him alone to raise their son, Michael. When Michael decides he needs Melody Murphy in his life, Reid needs to find out what it is that has his son drawn to the young woman like a magnet. The closer he gets to Melody, the more he begins to believe he might get a second chance at love after all. This is a sweet contemporary romance with Christian themes, perfect for holiday reading.