How Does Cold Sassy Tree End?

On the road, I met a woman unlike anyone I had ever seen before. Her name was Janet Smith. She seemed slow and almost childlike, yet she had been wandering alone for two years without ever going home. Even with one leg crippled, she had forced herself to climb the Highveil Mountains. This time, however, she was caught in a blizzard. Injured and stranded, she could no longer make her way down. As her vision blurred and her strength slipped away, tears covered her face. She placed a pair of small handmade clay dolls in my hands. "I'm probably going to die here," she murmured. "Please give these to my adoptive brother, Chester Graham." She was clearly at death's door, yet her smile was soft and unexpectedly serene. "Tell him I've seen enough of the world. I don't love him anymore. And tell him he doesn't need to worry. I'm not so foolish now. I won't cause trouble for anyone again." Chester? At the sound of his name, I stood rooted to the spot. In Riverton City, everyone who worked at the harbor knew him, the so-called Ship King. Right before I left for the mountains, news of his engagement had been everywhere.

Before the world turned to ice, her family came knocking, ready to negotiate the terms of our marriage. They wanted more than commitment. They wanted three million dollars and three luxury homes. My parents shut them down immediately. It was ridiculous. Then, the storm hit. The blizzard sealed us inside the house. With numbers on their side and no mercy to spare, her family took control of everything. The food. The heat. Our chances. When we fought back, we lost. They dragged us outside and left us in the snow. We froze. Then, I opened my eyes. I was back to before it all began.

BLURB Maya Chen thought the worst day of her life was when her husband Ethan Hart divorced her after three years of marriage, replacing her with her best friend Vanessa. But when the world ends in an extreme cold apocalypse weeks later, Maya realizes her personal hell was only the beginning. Given a second chance when she mysteriously wakes up one month before her wedding, Maya has thirty days to rewrite her fate. She must decide whether to save the people who will betray her, whether to trust the dangerous investigator who offers her revenge, and whether to warn a world that won't believe her about the frozen doom coming for them all. As temperatures plummet and civilization crumbles, Maya discovers that survival isn't just about stockpiling supplies. It's about choosing who deserves to live and who deserves to freeze. And when Ethan realizes what he's lost and comes crawling back, Maya will have to decide if some betrayals are worth forgiving—or if revenge is a dish best served frozen.

I caught my boyfriend sleeping with my cousin/best friend. And three days later, I became the campus slut. A single edited recording was all it took for everyone to turn against me. My boyfriend, my cousin, my teammates, even the aunt and uncle who raised me — they all believed the lies. Overnight, I lost my place on the hockey team, my scholarship, my reputation, and the only family I had left. Cast out and humiliated, I transferred to a distant university with one goal: Start over. I thought that leaving would end my nightmare but I was wrong. My new team hates me. Their captain wants me gone. And my new coach, Vance Sterling, looks at me like I'm the last person he wants on his ice. But hatred quickly turns into something neither of us can control. Stolen glances become secret touches, late-night practices become forbidden kisses. And before I realize it, I'm falling for the one man I can never have. The problem is that if our relationship is exposed, we'll both lose everything. Worse, the enemies who destroyed my life aren't finished with me yet. My jealous cousin. My cheating ex. A bitter rival determined to take my place. They're willing to lie, scheme, and destroy anyone who stands in their way, including the man I love. Now I'm caught between the career I've spent my whole life building and a forbidden love that could cost me everything. And when a shocking secret from Vance's past collides with mine, I discover that the people who ruined our lives have been connected all along. They thought they broke me. Instead, they created something far more dangerous. The Ice Queen is coming for her crown.

Although Kate Hopkins and I have been in a relationship for ten years, our love for each other has never faded away in the slightest. In the past, she has declared on a podium that she will always stay devoted to me. Naturally, I've always thought that she'll be my soulmate in this lifetime. Three years ago, Kate was transferred to a research station in Althoria. When I head over to visit her, I witness her wrapping a naked young man up with a blanket. After choosing to believe Kate's side of the story, I return to the country and do everything I can to take care of her mother while waiting for her return. Little do I know that this is just a huge lie. Just like that, my ten-year relationship has gone down the drain. Ten years seem like a short time—as short as a cicada's lifespan while it chirps through the summer. The polar night might seem like a long time—so long that a passionate relationship carved into my flesh and bones can be erased. But no matter how long the night is, there will always be an end to it. When dawnlight shines onto my world, it still remains intact even at Kate's absence.

Kehna had lost her mother when she was young she was only left with her dad who after awhile married her Stepmom. After her mother's death she still hadn't recovered yet, she wasn't doing so well in school anymore but when her dad got married nothing became better it all just became worse.