High Point Library Hours Novels & Stories

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Maria Walker has spent her entire life under the weight of expectations in a world where reputation trumps happiness. As the daughter of the respected Walker family, every choice—including her relationship with kind, loyal Noah Bennett—is judged by high society, who see him as far beneath her standing. Daniel Rothfield faces a different pressure. The powerful, emotionally guarded CEO of Rothfield Holdings has avoided relationships since a devastating breakup left him unwilling to risk love again. Yet his parents and business partners insist a man of his status needs to project stability—and a serious relationship is the perfect image. When Maria and Daniel unexpectedly arrive together at a prestigious charity auction, a fleeting moment ignites rampant speculation. Within hours, social media explodes with rumors that the billionaire CEO and the Walker heiress are secretly dating. Rather than deny it, Daniel proposes a solution: pretend the rumors are true. A fake relationship solves both dilemmas. Maria’s parents would stop pressuring her about Noah, while Daniel’s family and associates would see him finally settling down. It’s meant to be simple, temporary, and strictly controlled. Rules are set: No real feelings. No crossing boundaries. No forgetting it’s just an act. But pretending to be in love proves far more complicated than planned. As they appear together at events, family gatherings, and public functions, undeniable chemistry emerges—shifting from performance to something dangerously authentic. Meanwhile, Noah grapples with quiet jealousy fueled by headlines and photos, Daniel’s past resurfaces to threaten the facade, and their carefully built lie begins to crumble. In a society that measures love by status and appearances, Maria and Daniel face an undeniable truth: the relationship they pretended to have may be the most real thing either of them has ever felt.

Scarlett Pierce had spent her entire life living as a shadow within her own family, constantly yielding to her pampered stepsister, Penelope. The breaking point arrived on her own wedding day, when her fiancé, Arthur Sterling, halted the ceremony to declare his love for Penelope instead.

Two geniuses. One room. Only one winner. Ethan Vance is a perfectionist with a 4.0 GPA and a life mapped out in ink. He needs the Sterling Global Fellowship to escape his father’s shadow, and he’s never let anyone stand in his way. Until Liam Rossi. Liam is messy, brilliant, and Ethan’s biggest rival. When a housing glitch forces these two enemies into a single dorm room with only one desk, the war begins. It’s sabotaged projects and late-night insults—until their professor forces them to work together on the final project of their lives. In the silence of the library and the heat of their cramped room, the line between hatred and obsession starts to blur. Ethan wanted to ruin Liam’s career. Now, he’s terrified Liam might be the only one who can build him back up. He’s my rival. My roommate. And the only man I can't have.

Rosalie Maxwell is the breadwinner of her ungrateful family. She does everything she can for them, pays medical bills, electricity and tends to all their needs even though they've never appreciated her. The only reason she looks forward to the daily visits to her parents house is because of her grandmother, the woman who did a better job at raising her and her brother than their own mother. Taking care of her family, taking their constant ungrateful treatments, and the insults has become a normal routine for Rosalie. But one day her whole life is up in shambles when her beloved grandmother goes missing. When Rosalie finds out that her, Grandma Mary has Alzheimer's which makes Rosalie all the more scared about what may happen to her. She has nowhere to run to. So, she goes to the only person she thinks can help her. Her boss, and the man that seems to inherit space in all of her wet dreams, Nicholas Sinclair. Philanthropist, Most handsome man three times in a row on the cover of Rayview Magazine. Rosalie is ready to do anything if it means getting her grandmother back. She'll take on extra hours, whatever it takes! But what happens when Mr Sinclair wants something far different from extra hours at work? What will she do when her boss tells her what he wants? He wants, Rosie.

Samantha "Sammy" Jacobs is a smart, witty, beautiful 22 year old struggling bartender in a small town in South Carolina, when a chance encounter one night brings about unfathomable wealth and opportunities to become the kind of humanitarian she could only dream of, but to get to that point she must encounter multiple hurdles along the way.

This is a continuation of Fated Love. All characters will still be in this book. Instead of only two people points of view, Shawn and Abbigail, there will be four. Beth and Melanie will also have a point of view in this book. The story picks up five years after Abbigail adopts Jordan. Come continue this journey and find out what happens next...

"All that she left behind became my everything." Living as his dead twin sister, Alexis Dionne Navarro leads a double life, an earnest student and volleyball player during school hours and the famous model after school. When an unknown man discovered his secret and turns out to be one of his teammates, it destroyed his hollow life. As this man crept into Alexis's heart, shattering the wall he built to hide his true self from everyone, he learned that these beautiful clothes couldn't conceal his true feelings any longer.

Warning: Extremely explicit sexual content. For adults 18+ only. Scorching tales of forbidden temptation. Stepbrothers who cross every line, best friends’ dads who take what they want, professors and students burning after hours, fake dates that turn dangerously real, rivals who hate-fuck their tension away, and strangers trapped together until control snaps. Slow-burn tension, raw power play, and irresistible cravings that refuse to stay hidden. If you love the thrill of breaking rules and giving in to what you shouldn’t, this collection will leave you wet and breathless.

Fresh out of Med school, Paris Martinez feels like the sky is her starting point, a perfect time to start chasing her dreams. Her dreams had to come to a halt when her father wants her to take over the family's business after his retirement and work for New York's most eligible bachelor, Dante Melendez. Abandoning a medical degree doesn't sound bizarre as having to work for the arrogant Dante Melendez. Paris would rather be in a theatre than anywhere near Dante but her father's wish has to be obeyed. Paris had a tiny plan, which frustrates Dante to the point of him firing her then she goes back to pursuing her dreams as a surgeon. Everything sounds easy until Dante craves a little plan of his too, frustrating Paris till she accepts he's above her. Maybe beneath all of the hate, there's something weird. Something that feels like passion and smells like love.