Kia Stephens Knihy

"HARPER St. James is the type of girl who thrives on the idea of life's simple pleasures: a half-melted ice cream cone on a summer's day, a puppy licking sand from a baby's face, a gentle wave that crests and breaks on the ocean's shore. For quite some time, Harper's been harboring a secret crush on Nate Gunderson, fellow Coastal U student and MLB-hopeful. In order to spend more time with him this semester, she finds herself spinning a ridiculous web of lies. Her first step . . . convincing her sports med professor that she's been dating a football player. After all, if she's romantically involved, it simply wouldn't be right for her to keep an internship with their team. Unfortunately for Harper, this silly, frantic excuse to switch assignments quickly snowballs into an unstoppable rumor. LUCA Reynolds is the type of guy who prefers to set low expectations, both for himself and others, if only to avoid any inevitable disappointment. His football teammates would describe him as reserved, brooding, and occasionally stand-offish. The truth? Luca doesn't feel like he belongs. When an unexpected injury threatens to destroy Luca's long-term plans, he finds himself in need of help from a discreet professional--one who will assess his knee, provide some simple stretches, and assure him that everything's fine. Luckily, there's a scheming student intern that just might owe him a favor or two.A secret for a secret. A lie for a lie. It's not really blackmail if she's the one who used him first."-- Goodreads

"Stephens was my Dante into dark and dangerous places that native Irish writers never knew." Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes "Ah, it's M. G. Stephens on the prowl again, walking the nocturnal beat of the human condition. He is Bogart as poet: a man orders a shot of whiskey and sees the blue stars of eternity." Thomas McCarthy

Riz Chester is an average 11-year-old girl. She doesn't think she can do anything special and is average at school. But Riz is particularly observant. When she finds out about a counterfeit ring, can she use her powers of observation to work out who is behind it? Will they even believe her?

JADE Jennings is tired of her day-to-day life-from the boring, senseless boys at Dayton U to the repetitive beats her editor assigns. She's looking for excitement, novelty, a good story to sink her teeth into, and a boy she can write home about. She's a driven and ambitious journalist, and she has an innate love for the game of football. She's also the younger sister to an NFL superstar, which means she's not interested in the aimless, student-athletes at her school. But maybe, for entertainment purposes, she could spend just one night trying them on for size. THEO Westman-Cooke, aka "West," has one goal in this life: to be drafted into the NFL. But his coach doesn't support an early declaration, his grades (and scholarship) are slipping, and he only has one more year to make his college career count for something. Oh, wait. There is one other thing that West might want-a chance to spend the night with his favorite red-headed cheerleader. When the opportunity suddenly strikes, it's nearly impossible to pass up the perfect trade. In just a few months, Dayton U's football team is hosting their annual spring banquet. The catch? Players must go home with another teammate's date. To the rest of the team, it's a simple, secret trade. But for Jade and West, it's the night that everything changed.