Which Steve Almond Book Won Literary Awards?

After her mother's death and her brother Reno's deportation, Riana is left alone in NYU. Life seems to only get worse when she finds her roommate and her boyfriend having sex in her bed. Alan's girlfriend just cheated on him. With his PA. In public. And they were caught by a server. Angry on his behalf, Riana bids on him at a charity auction to make sure his cheating girlfriend doesn't go near him again. She wins what she thought was a simple date with the man, but boy was she wrong. Riana wins a date with billionaire Allan Sinclair and a trip to Venice. For two weeks. With him.

On my birthday, Jake handed me two bucks and took me to a gas station to buy a lottery ticket. Then he dashed off, claiming he had an urgent work meeting. As I sat alone in the restaurant celebrating my birthday, I spotted my boyfriend, who claimed he had no time for me, having dinner with another woman. Without a second thought, I sent him a breakup text right then and there. Two days later, that lying jerk had the nerve to demand I return the lottery ticket. That's when I discovered it was worth $5 million. I cashed in the ticket and told him to get lost.

In the Kingdom of Pierl, love is not determined by destiny, but luck. Every year, couples are chosen through a unpredictable game of chance called "The Mate lottery". Once paired, the lucky lovers head to the mysterious Island of Luck, where their virtues get put to the test and the winning pair is granted three wishes by the goddess of love, Isolde.This year, the Lottery will be the greatest there has been in centuries, as the prestigious Emperor Lordlin Varno, gorgeous as hell, suddenly made a decision to join and find his mate. Every royal woman participating is expected to win a reputable mate. All except Liora, a princess who is considered a bastard child by her family. Everyone believes that she can only win a peasant. But then the impossible happens.No one expected a bastard to be matched with the mighty Emperor Lordrin Varno, least of all him.Will the Mighty Emporer accept a mate who is a lowly human, branded a bastard child, when he has the power to reject his match and choose someone more fitting of his status? Like Heather, Liora's step-sister, beautiful, strong and utterly evil.Emporer Lordrin's biggest goal is to win the wishes granted by the goddess in the Island Of Luck. He isn’t looking for just a simple mate to love, but a cunning, strong and determined woman who can help him win the goddess's tests. Question is, which woman has what it takes to win the tests?

My boyfriend Julian is a chess grandmaster, a genius. At sixteen, he became the youngest grandmaster in North American history. I gave him ten years of my life, but a ring was never on the table. But when he reached the pinnacle of his career and won the Grand Slam, he still refused to break the pact he'd made with his family about his career. "According to my plan, I'm not considering marriage or any other form of long-term commitment until all my goals are achieved." I didn't argue with him. I quietly packed his luggage for the World Championship and wished him the best. He had no idea that at the very moment he was lifting the championship trophy with the world watching, I was dragging my failing body to sign my own name on a euthanasia consent form.

The Alpha's pup is an Omega!After being bought his place into Golden Lake University; an institution with a facade of utmost peace, and equality, and perfection, Harold Girard falls from one calamity to another, and yet another, and the sequel continues. With the help of his roommate, a vampire, and a ridiculous-looking, socially gawky, but very clever witch, they exploit the flanks of the inflexible rules to keep their spots as students of the institution.The school's annual competition, 'Vestige of the aptest', is coming up, too, as always with its usual thrill, but for those who can see beyond the surface level, it's nothing like the previous years'. Secrets; shocking, scandalous, revolting and abominable ones begin to crawl out of their gloomy shells.And that is just a cap of the iceberg as the Alpha's second-chance mate watches from the sideline like an hawk, waiting to strike the Omega! NB: Before you read this book, know that your reading experience might be spoiled forever as it'll be almost impossible to find a book more thrilling, and mystifying, with drops here and there of magic and suspense.

Lyka Moore is living a normal life like any normal college student until events take a turn for her at Halloween. Waking up, she finds out she's not who she thought she was and the people around her are not who she thought they were. She is a werewolf. She's the next Alpha With a dangerous enemy at hand, things can't get any more worse when she discovers what is at stake and who is the biggest threat to her destiny.