Readers' Advisory: Staff Picks

We Keep the Dead Close is a memoir of mirrors, misogyny, and murder. It is at once a rumination on the violence and oppression that rules our revered institutions, a ghost story reflecting one young woman's past onto another's present, and a love story for a girl who was lost to history.

Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders is a riveting, eye-opening, and heartbreaking work, offering a braided narrative about two remarkable women who were murdered doing what they most loved, the forensics of this cold case, and the surprising pervasiveness and long shadows cast by violence against women in the backcountry.

Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel by Craig Thompson, published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions. As a coming-of-age autobiography, the book tells the story of Thompson's childhood in an Evangelical Christian family, his first love, and his early adulthood.

Preacher is a supernatural, twisted and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer, who is inhabited by a mysterious entity that causes him to develop a highly unusual power.

Paper Girls follows the story of four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls (Erin, MacKenzie, KJ, and Tiffany) set in Stony Stream, a fictional suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. As they are out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween, the town is struck by an invasion from a mysterious force from the future.

A cookbook from acclaimed London restaurant Nopi, by powerhouse author Yotam Ottolenghi and Nopi head chef Ramael Scully. Pandan leaves meet pomegranate seeds, star anise meets sumac, and miso meets molasses in this collection of 120 new recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi's restaurant. In collaboration with Nopi's head chef Ramael Scully, Yotam's journey from the Middle East to the Far East is one of big and bold flavors, with surprising twists along the way.

Joan Peterson discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance”--a problem to be solved, a man to marry―and every time she falls in love she's torn from her world and thrust into another tear-soaked tale.

Cloud Atlas is a novel by David Mitchell whose plot spans centuries. It covers six stories where various characters are assumed to be reincarnations of the same soul. The stories are all vaguely inter-connected and deal with the themes of power, reincarnation, and the human spirit triumphing over obstacles.

When Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks, and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets.

Twelve esteemed and award-winning authors were asked to write a story about the South as long as there was a crime in it. This collection with contributions by such authors as Jeffrey Deaver, Bret Lott, Margaret Maron, and others expose the shrewdest characters, cleverest crimes, and darkest secrets of the deep South.

All the Light We Cannot See is an up close and personal story of two kids, one a German orphan boy with incredible engineering skills, the other a blind French girl who loves to read and sometimes leaves the safety of her uncle's home where she is cooped up, trying to keep out of the reach of Nazis during world war two ...

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world....

Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience - and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

Lowcountry Summer is the story of the changing anatomy of a family after the loss of its matriarch, sparkling with the inimitable Dot Frank's warmth and humor.

A stalker hunts victims in a retirement home, a lawyer confronts a vengeful adversary from the past, and a young man from a prominent family is driven off by scandal and fear—but finds unexpected redemption on the wrong side of the tracks.

A young woman who has never quite felt at home in her surroundings, Ana finally experiences the recognition and belonging she has always craved. Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary.

A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue. It's about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

Annie's fragile young son, Fred, suffers from dust pneumonia; her headstrong daughter, Birdie, flush with first love, is choosing a dangerous path out of Mulehead; and Samuel, her husband, is plagued by disturbing dreams of rain.

The work examines the destructive legacy of slavery as it chronicles the life of a Black woman named Sethe, from her pre-Civil War days as a slave in Kentucky to her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1873. Although Sethe lives there as a free woman, she is held prisoner by memories of the trauma of her life as a slave.

Hundreds of men have found jobs digging the Hawks Nest Tunnel--but what they thought was a blessing is killing them. And no one seems to care. Here, Sulley finds something new--a desire to help. With it, he becomes an unexpected catalyst, bringing Jeremiah and Gainey together to find what even he has forgotten: hope.

Driven off the force by her treacherous partner and lover, she's flat broke and struggling with a gambling addiction. All Nicole has left is the dream of a warm bed at a homeless shelter and the haunting memories of three-year-old Kelsey Chase―whose murder case ended her career.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight . . . " So begins the wish that changes everything—for Geppetto, for the Blue Fairy, and for a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isn't supposed to grant wishes in the small village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps it's the hope she senses beneath the old man's loneliness.

Peggy's family owned the farm, and Ginny Rose's were pickers, escaping the Oklahoma dust storms. That didn't matter to them then, but now, ten years, hard miles, and a world war later, Ginny Rose's family is back in town and their differences feel somehow starker.

But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry—he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and, to win her love, vows to bring her a star they see fall from the night sky. It is an oath that sends him over the town's ancient wall and into the mysterious land of Faerie - a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining . . .

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Uprooted tells the story of a young village woman named Agnieszka, born in a year where she is eligible to be taken by the Dragon – a powerful wizard who protects her village and the rest of the kingdom from the encroaching evil of the poisoned Wood.

Six of Crows is the story of Kaz Brekker and his crew, attempting to pull off an impossible heist. There is Kaz, known as 'Dirtyhands' in the Barrel (the slums of Ketterdam), who is part of The Dregs. The Dregs is a gang, and as the name suggests consists of everyone scraped from the floor of the Barrel.

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they've worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.)

Its narrative arc follows a princess who is learning to become her own savior; the semi-autobiographical book's author is the princess. It is the first installment in a series called Women Are Some Kind of Magic, which focuses on the resilience of women. The book won the Goodreads Choice Award for poetry in 2016.

A Court of Silver Flames follows Nesta and Cassian as they deal with the blazing fire between them while they face their haunting pasts, battle monsters and find acceptance and healing in each other's arms, amidst battle and betrayal.

After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

Daisy Jones & the Six follows "a rock band in the 1970s from their rise in the LA music scene to becoming one of the most famous bands in the world and explores the reason behind their split at the height of their success."

In The House in the Cerulean Sea, Linus Baker is a lonely case worker for a governmental organization which manages orphaned kids who are magical beings. One day, he's given a secret assignment to assess a special orphanage on the island of Marsyas, run by a man named Arthur Parnassus, who has secrets of his own.

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she's come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she's already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family's mansion.

Cochrun probes the realities behind a fairy tale romance in her warmhearted if flawed debut. After awkward tech millionaire Charles Winshaw is ousted from his Silicon Valley company, he makes the improbable decision to rehabilitate his image by becoming the next star of Ever After, a Bachelor-style reality show.

Lore Olympus is a retelling of Greek myths centered around Hades, god of the underworld, and Persephone, goddess of spring. It's an exploration of heartbreak, love, friendship, trauma, loss, rage, infidelity, secrets, truth, and power dynamics.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won't give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

Viv settles in the city of Thune, where no one seems to know what coffee is. However, with the help of a carpenter named Cal, an assistant named Tandri, and a baker named Thimble, Viv sets about transforming her life from mercenary violence to peace and pastries.

Gillian McCallister's Wrong Place, Wrong Time (2022) is a murder mystery thriller and time travel adventure. It follows Jen Brotherhood, a successful lawyer living in Liverpool, as she tries to prevent her son, Todd, from committing a murder. She finds herself in a time spiral the morning after her son is arrested.

The House of Eve is a historical fiction novel told in dual perspectives following Ruby and Eleanor. Ruby is in high school attempting to make her way to college when her world is turned upside down after befriending a White Jewish boy. She also deals with the heart-aching abuse and neglect from her biological mother.

In her 2013 memoir Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward pays tribute to five young Black men from her hometown of DeLisle, Mississippi. She honors each man's life and death in individualized chapters and explores her own personal and family history as she navigates the complex experiences of grief.

eary, Kianna Alexander's Carolina Built tells the previously untold story of the real estate luminary's climb to freedom. Readers are invited to follow Leary after emancipation in North Carolina as she chases her dreams and equips herself with the tools she needs to be a successful businesswoman in real estate.

eary, Kianna Alexander's Carolina Built tells the previously untold story of the real estate luminary's climb to freedom. Readers are invited to follow Leary after emancipation in North Carolina as she chases her dreams and equips herself with the tools she needs to be a successful businesswoman in real estate.

18-year-old Opal is a young Black woman working as a housekeeper in a small Southern town in the 1930s—and then the Klan descends. A moving story that confronts America's tragic past, When Stars Rain Down is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching.

A twisty, voice-driven thriller for fans of Megan Miranda and Jessica Knoll, in which no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead in the Bronx—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.

Someday, Maybe is a novel about grief. Eve loses her husband to suicide and struggles to overcome the depression and trauma of not only the loss of her beloved, but also the shock of his decision and the guilt she feels for not seeing the signs.

Sharp-tongued (and secretly soft-hearted) Kiki Banjo has just made a huge mistake. As an expert in relationship-evasion and the host of the popular student radio show Brown Sugar, she's made it her mission to make sure the women of the African-Caribbean Society at Whitewell University do not fall into the mess of "situationships", players, and heartbreak. But when the Queen of the Unbothered kisses Malakai Korede, the guy she just publicly denounced as "The Wastemen of Whitewell," in front of every Blackwellian on campus, she finds her show on the brink.

In this captivating family drama from award-winning, bestselling author ReShonda Tate Billingsley, four estranged sisters must return to rural Arkansas when their mother is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

When three women find their lives inextricably linked after a terrible mistake, they must work together to make the most of their futures. Alexis Marshall never meant to cause the accident that left Jon-Jon Robinson paralyzed—but though guilt plagues her, her husband hopes to put the past behind them.

'Hope & Glory' by Jendella Benson is a contemporary coming-of-age novel about a British-Nigerian woman on a quest to uncover a family secret. When Glory arrives back in Peckham after the sudden death of her father, she finds her family has fallen apart in her absence.

As 1947 opens, Eva Cardon is the twenty-four-year-old owner of Washington, D.C.'s, most famous Black-owned restaurant. When her path crosses with Courtland, a handsome white senator from Georgia, both find themselves drawn to one another--but the danger of a relationship between a Black woman and a white man from the South could destroy them and everything they've worked for.

In this riveting page-turner, Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—until a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his lost family heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.

An explosion on a yacht leaves ten desperate souls struggling to survive adrift in a lifeboat. Included among these are some very influential and wealthy people. Short on water, food, and hope, three days into the ordeal they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in, and he claims to be God.

“Red at the Bone” centers on two black families who come together when a girl and a boy in high school, Iris and Aubrey, become pregnant. Iris is from a life and family in which, “even as a child, she'd never doubted that she'd one day go to college”: Having a baby at 16 was never part of the plan.

Fletcher notes in her memoir just how much history she has lived through — from several virus outbreaks preceding the coronavirus pandemic, to the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 to every war and international conflict of the last seven decades.

A new collection of hilarious, intergenerational anecdotes full of absurd detail about everyday experiences of racism from the New York Times bestselling authors of You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, comedian Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey.

The book "Fish in a Tree" is about a girl named Ally Nickerson who has dyslexia and faces the struggles of not being able to read and everyday struggles any student can relate to. Ally experiences the school hardships of being alone, bullying, and not wanting to work.

Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?

A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected--and the man she enlists to help her--in this new New York Times bestselling romance by Helen Hoang.

She's haunted his dreams for years, and now she's back to wreak havoc on his heart. When Sheriff Cody Banks's wife died, he blamed Abby Brennan for the illness he's sure killed Deborah and, in his grief, made sure she knew it. Looking back now, he knows that his behavior was likely the reason Abby left town years ago.

Co-written with her older sister Lacey Lamar, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey is a trip through the incredible world of racism while being Black in the workplace, Black on dating apps, Black while shopping at JCPenny....you get the idea. Most of these stories are fairly short.

In recent years, many of us have turned our backs on the trend for oversized houses and embraced small-space living. Cosy, compact dwellings have so much to offer; they bring families closer together and make it easier than ever to express personal style.

Finding Me by Viola Davis is an inspiring memoir that explores her childhood in poverty, her journey to Hollywood, and the importance of embracing one's true self. She offers a glimpse into the experiences that shaped her as a woman and an artist, and shares the lessons she learned along the way.

Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

From the bestselling author of Honeysuckle Season comes an evocative dual-timeline novel detailing one woman's journey to discover the hidden stories of her family's seaside resort. When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow. Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale's hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina.

Nobody ever talks to strangers on the train. It's a rule. But what would happen if they did? From the New York Times bestselling author of The Authenticity Project comes an escapist read that will transport you, cheer you, and make you smile--and make you, too, wish you had Iona's gift for bringing out the best in everyone.

Bono--artist, activist, and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2--has written a memoir: honest and irreverent, intimate and profound, Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he's lived, the challenges he's faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.

This story focuses on Lisbeth's sister, Felicia, who is attending school in San Diego. She is hoping to begin studies to become a Grigori. She begins to age more appropriately and naturally and even has a bit of romance. She discovers more about her mother's side of the family and it's not good news.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story.

Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy with TJ Klune's signature "quirk and charm" (PW) about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Struggling with an unhappy marriage, her writing career and health, and matters of faith, Joy Davidman begins writing to well-known author, C.S. Lewis (Jack). Joy and Jack are both writers and poets and experience a robust and heartfelt correspondence through which they develop a warm and intellectual friendship.

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is a poetic novel about a real telephone booth in Otsuchi, Japan, a rural town decimated by the 2011 tsunami. Known as the “Wind Phone,” the disconnected rotary telephone allows grieving family members to speak, in a way, to loved ones who have passed on.

In the best tradition of The Radium Girls, Moore recounts the stunning true account of a woman who fought back against a tyrannical husband, a complicit doctor, and nineteenth-century laws that gave men shocking power to silence and confine their wives.

The Moment of Lift is about the women who have inspired Melinda, starting with her own mother, through her colleagues at Microsoft, and continuing today with the amazing scientists, farmers, educators, and leaders she meets through her work with our foundation.

Deep in the territory controlled by the Others-shape-shifters, vampires, and even deadlier paranormal beings-Vicki DeVine has made a new life for herself running The Jumble, a rustic resort. When she decides to host a gathering of friends and guests for Trickster Night, at first everything is going well between the humans and the Others. But then someone arrives dressed as Crowbones, the Crowgard bogeyman. When the impostor is killed along with a shape-shifting Crow, and the deaths are clearly connected, everyone fears that the real Crowbones may have come to The Jumble-and that could mean serious trouble.

Portrait of a Thief is part heist and part Chinese American experience. It takes five college students from different Chinese American backgrounds and gives them the chance to steal five fountainheads stolen from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing for a wealthy Chinese CEO.

Soleil Bijoux Garcia is a healer who has lost everything. She exists in a world of desolate aloneness . . . till the day she finds herself face-to-face with a lethal stranger. The animal who is her other half knows this man, but her memories are tattered fragments.

The book tells of teenager Vicky Austin and her struggle to understand life and significance in the universe as she deals with her dying grandfather, while at the same time finding true romantic love.

Meet Blue. A muddy country road is no match for this little pick up--that is, until he gets stuck while pushing a dump truck out of the muck. Luckily, Blue has made a pack of farm animal friends along his route. And they're willing to do whatever it takes to get their pal back on the road.

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she's uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery's mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about.

Suspicion has fallen on Widowland, the run-down slums where childless women over fifty have been banished. Rose is given the dangerous task of infiltrating Widowland to find the source of the rebellion before the Leader arrives in England for the Coronation ceremony of King Edward VIII and Queen Wallis.

In the best tradition of The Radium Girls, Moore recounts the stunning true account of a woman who fought back against a tyrannical husband, a complicit doctor, and nineteenth-century laws that gave men shocking power to silence and confine their wives.

A fiery feminist fantasy tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman's place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.

Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe is a coming of age story about a young foster kid who is afraid to break down her walls and let people in. After being removed from the custody of her mentally ill mother, our main character, Jess, has been passed around from family to family.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story.

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different--and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Tempest's family runs a business, Secret Staircase Construction, which specializes in constructing houses with secret passageways, sliding bookcases, and hidden entrances, and on the site of her father's latest job she discovers Cassidy's body inside a wall that's been sealed for decades.

The first novel in a captivating three-book series about modern womanhood, in which a young Black woman must rely on courage, laughter, and love—and the support of her two longtime friends—to overcome an unexpected setback that threatens the most precious thing she's ever wanted.

Two young Black women, Nella and Hazel, meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing. While working together at Wagner Books, they've only just started swapping natural hair-care tips when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to office darling, and leaves Nella in the dust.

Electra McDonnell and her family earn their living outside the law. Breaking into the homes of the rich and picking the locks on their safes may not be condoned by British law enforcement, but with World War II in full swing, Uncle Mick's locksmith business just can't pay the bills anymore.

Night Bird Calling is the story of Lilliana escaping domestic violence and possible commitment to an asylum, her wanting to help other women and girls caught in the same terrible situation and changing the stigma around abuse.

"Almost Famous" meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this funny, wise, and tender novel about a fourteen-year-old girl’s coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her strait-laced family and the progressive family she nannies for—who happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.

Harrow is a supernatural thriller set in an alternate history where witchcraft is real but has been outlawed. Three estranged sisters in 1893 New Salem must band together to use illicit magic to save a world that has no use for independent women, and even less for witches.

Flavia, an 11-year-old with a chemistry lab, finds a corpse in a cucumber patch and applies the detective skills she learned plotting against her older sisters. This debut mystery by a Canadian author won the 2007 Crime Writer Association's Debut Dagger Award.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal and yet a world away. Jane Neal, a long-time resident of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more but Gamache smells something foul this holiday season…and is soon certain that Jane died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died: a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now, four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, 29-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who?

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Quentin Coldwater enrolls at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy to be trained as a magician, where he discovers that the magical world from his favorite childhood book is real and poses a danger to humanity.

Set in 1890s Malaysia, this is the story of seventeen-year-old Li Lan, whose quiet life with her father is dramatically altered when he returns one evening with a proposition for her. The wealthy and powerful Lim family want Li Lan to marry their son - the only problem is, he's dead. Will she be able to unravel the strange secrets of the ghost world and escape to the land of the living, before her would-be husband traps her there forever?

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she's come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she's already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamourous family's mansion.

Young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and, to win her love, vows to bring her a star they see fall from the night sky. It is an oath that sends him over the town's ancient wall and into the mysterious land of Faerie - a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining . . .

Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear.

42 9th graders are sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various weapons. An explosive collar is fitted around their neck. If they break a rule, the collar explodes. Their mission: kill each other and be the last one standing. The last survivor is allowed to leave the island. If there is more than one survivor, the collars explode and kill them all.

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America's children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

The Cruel Prince follows Jude Duarte. After witnessing her parent's murder as a child, she was taken by their killer to Elfhame, and raised with her sisters among the fey. She is desperate to prove herself and find a place in a society that despises mortals. The youngest Prince, Cardan, has other plans.

After surviving a devastating shark attack, the last person Emma wants to see haunting the halls of her high school is the mysterious boy she met on her beach vacation. But try as she might, Emma can't seem to escape Galen, nor can she find an explanation for the powerful connection she feels when she's around him.

When Sunshine and her adoptive mother move to Ridgemont, Washington from Austin, Texas, an oppressive, wet cold settles upon Sunshine. Everything is gray and creepy and stale. Almost immediately, she begins to experience mysterious noises, cries, giggling. It quickly becomes clear that someone is haunting their home.

ixteen-year-old Kylie Galen wants to believe it was a case of wrong place, wrong time that landed her in the Shadow Falls Camp for juvenile delinquents. She'd rather focus on big issues like her grandmother's death, her parents' divorce, and her ex-boyfriend's betrayal.

Just a stone's throw from London lies the manor house of the illustrious Phantomhive earldom and its master, one Ciel Phantomhive. Earl Phantomhive is a giant in the world of commerce, Queen Victoria's faithful servant...and a slip of a twelve-year-old boy. Fortunately, his loyal butler, Sebastian, is ever at his side, ready to carry out the young master's wishes. And whether Sebastian is called to save a dinner party gone awry or probe the dark secrets of London's underbelly, there apparently is nothing Sebastian cannot do. In fact, one might even say Sebastian is too good to be true...or at least, too good to be human...

She knows Simone doesn't mean any harm and that her mimicry is only sincere admiration. Until she discovers how far Simone's obsession has gone. It is then that Simone's entire world begins unraveling, and dreadful secrets from her past are exposed with no warning. Secrets that she'll do almost anything to protect.

A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making--from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

In Sister Friends Forever, we meet Serena, Michelle, Kenya and Lynette who have been friends since childhood. They have been there for each other through crucial times in their lives but each of the friends are about to face situations that will either bring them apart or knit them even closer together.

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America--the first African American to serve in that role--she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments.

His buried past resurfaces when his estranged sister becomes alarmingly ill and his youngest child, twelve-year-old Curtina, becomes the kind of problem daughter whom he never imagined she could be. This is only the beginning.

The Light We Carry deals with uncertainty in the world such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Obama describes times where she felt uncertain or out of place such as being a rare African American undergraduate at Princeton in the 1980s or becoming the first African American First Lady of the United States.

Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.

Morning Star is a 2016 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the third in his Red Rising trilogy. Morning Star picks up as the lowborn Darrow escapes capture and resumes his campaign against the tyrannical Sovereign of the Society.

THE MAIDENS tells an elegant and atmospheric story of secret societies and murder at a university. Grieving widow Mariana Andros' life is turned upside-down one evening when she receives a fateful call from her niece, Zoe, a student at Cambridge University.

Dark Places is a mystery novel by Gillian Flynn published in 2009. The novel deals with class issues in rural America, intense poverty and the Satanic cult hysteria that swept the United States in the 1980s.

The novel follows a group of people—store manager Basil, and employees Amy and Ruth Anne—who stay overnight at ORSK to investigate strange acts of vandalism. The book particularly focuses on Amy, who is unhappy because she views her work at ORSK as an unfulfilling dead-end job.

Lore Olympus is a graphic novel that loosely follows the myth of Persephone's abduction by the god of the underworld, Hades. The graphic novel combines ancient Greek mythology and ancient customs with a contemporary setting to create something brand new.

The Giver is a morally driven and interesting story about a young boy called Jonas who lives in a society free of crime and sadness. At the age of 12, children are assigned their jobs, which they will train for and do for the rest of their lives. Everything is chosen; from your parents to your partner.

This gorgeous, atmospheric tale follows the story of Olivia Prior – a young girl living at Merilance School for Girls. Her mother disappeared and she has spent her days being taunted by the other girls at the school. When a mysterious letter arrives from Olivia's Uncle, she is sent to Gallant – the Prior family estate.

Award-winning actress Drew Barrymore shares funny, insightful, and profound stories from her past and present told from the place of happiness she's achieved today. Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years.

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

How to Sell a Haunted House is a very strange haunted house story. The synopsis appears to promise something quite traditional. After their parents' death, Mark and Louise learn their house is haunted as they prepare to sell it. To sell the house, they must get rid of whatever entity haunts it.

This post-apocalyptic tale follows Gabriel De León, the infamous last Silversaint: a warrior who fights against the darkness in a world where the sun has been dimmed and Vampires walk the earth, preying endlessly on humanity. Don't expect any sparkling here.

Red Rising is a 2014 dystopian science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, and the first book and eponym of a series. The novel, set in the future on Mars, follows lowborn miner Darrow as he infiltrates the ranks of the elite Golds. Red Rising has received generally positive reviews.

American Gods is an examination of American obsession and identity. The premise of Gaiman's American Gods is scintillating: Old gods, forgotten in the United States, are losing power to new gods like Technology and Media, and a war is brewing between the two factions.

Dark Places is a mystery novel by Gillian Flynn published in 2009. The novel deals with class issues in rural America, intense poverty and the Satanic cult hysteria that swept the United States in the 1980s.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes focuses on Coriolanus Snow, who fans first met as President Snow, during Panem's tenth Hunger Games, about 64 years prior to The Hunger Games. It follows Coriolanus as he prepares to mentor District 12's female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird.

Shizuka Satomi is the world's best violin teacher, known for coaching virtuosos who meet tragic ends. Years ago, she struck a deal with a demon that she would deliver seven souls to hell. To do this, she coaches ambitious violin students, then offers them fame and renown in exchange for their souls.

Ayesha at Last is a romantic comedy about marriage, love, and family in the Muslim culture. The plot loosely mirrors Pride and Prejudice but also incorporates elements of Shakespeare and other literature. The main characters, Ayesha and Khalid are not the typical characters who appear in commercial fiction.

Ocean's Echo is a stand-alone space adventure about a bond that will change the fate of worlds, set in the same universe as Everina Maxwell's hit debut, Winter's Orbit.

A Memory Called Empire is a 2019 science fiction novel, the debut novel by Arkady Martine. It follows Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire, as she investigates the death of her predecessor and the instabilities that underpin that society.

As agents Red and Blue travel back and forth through time, altering the history of multiple universes on behalf of their warring empires, they leave each other secret messages — at first taunting, but gradually developing into flirtation then love.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

Set in an alternate China, She Who Became the Sun is a fantastical, genderqueer retelling of the founding of the Ming dynasty. The story follows the female monk, Zhu Chongba, from childhood to early adulthood, as she assumes her dead brother's identity and fights to claim his destiny as her own.

The book tells the story of Maia, a young man of mixed Elven and Goblin heritage, who unexpectedly becomes Emperor of the Elflands, and has to contend with the court's byzantine power structure as well as racial and social tension in his realm.

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

The story follows Lazlo Strange, a war orphan and librarian in the world of Zosma who undergoes an expedition to the mystic lost city of Weep but discovers it is more than he believed it to be.

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.

20 years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it... who will it be? Why, Maleficient of course!

When teens mysteriously develop powerful new abilities, they are declared a threat by the government and detained. One of the most powerful young people, Ruby, escapes from her camp and joins a group of runaways who are seeking a safe haven.

Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survives―and thrives―because the residents' many secrets stay just that―secret. But what happens when these secrets start to come out? Overnight, no one is safe. It's not a question of if your secret will come out―but when.

Blaze of Memory tells the story of Devraj Santos, the director of Shine, and Katya, a damaged Psy with amnesia. Ekaterina, aka Katya, is dropped off at the headquarters of Shine unconscious, starved and abused. She doesn't remember who she is or what happened to her except in nightmares she can't remember upon waking.

In Project Hail Mary, Ryland Grace wakes up from a coma with a bunch of tubes sticking out of him (including that spot where the sun don't shine) and realizes that he has no memory of what happened — and eventually, through a bit of complicated science, realizes and remembers that he's the sole survivor of a mission ...

Some corpses lie undisturbed longer than others. But when Lady Emily discovers a body hidden in plain sight amongst the ruins of Pompeii, she sets in motion a deadly chain of events that ties her future to the fate of a woman whose story had been lost for nearly two thousand years.

In this engrossing and gripping fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, an inn owner and her friends must find a killer-before it's too late.... Crowbones will gitcha if you don't watch out!

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research.

During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize: the bones of the Magi who once paid homage to a newborn savior . . . a treasure that could reshape the world.

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut. In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy.

The Chemist is Stephenie Meyer's new book, about a former government torturer who is now on the run from her handlers who want her dead. But when they bring her on for one last job, promising to leave her alone if she cooperates, she decides it's worth the risk.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood.

My Sister, the Serial Killer Summary. The book revolves around two sisters, Ayoola and Korede, and their complex relationship in Lagos, Nigeria. Ayoola is a stunning young woman who is notorious for killing her lovers and Korede is a nurse who always covers up Ayoola's crimes.

Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice.
When Theseus, the Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. But will Ariadne's decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Becoming (2018) tells the story of Michelle Obama, née Robinson. Born to loving parents in a working-class Chicago neighborhood, she grew into a strong, independent woman, who just happened to meet and fall in love with a man named Barack Obama.

In the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin's theory of natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.

Eleven-year-old Owen Meany, playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire, hits a foul ball and kills his best friend's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; he believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul is both extraordinary and terrifying.

Between her eclectic new tenants and the sudden return of her son, Nan gets a taste of what life is like when you have someone to care for besides yourself. But just as she starts to happily settle in to her new existence, the arrival of a visitor from her past threatens to turn everyone's lives upside down...

Liza is drowning in the daily stress of family life. The last thing she needs is her mother jetting off on a wild holiday, making Liza long for a solo summer of her own. Martha is having a quarter-life crisis. Unemployed, unloved and uninspired, she just can't get her life together.

Vinegar Girl, a novel by Anne Tyler, is a loose retelling of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Set in modern-day Baltimore, it follows twenty-somethings Kate and Pyotr as they plan a marriage of convenience.

The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surviving humans gather into factions that are each led by a personification of either good or evil and seem fated to clash with each other.

It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband.

A restless golden boy and a girl with a troubled past navigate a love story that may be doomed before it even begins. The Kingsley family is practically American royalty, beloved for their military heroics, political service, and unmatched elegance.

Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives, and the lives of the people they love.

Something Wilder follows Lily, the daughter of well-known treasure hunter Duke Wilder. While a childhood of neglect left Lily uninterested in treasure hunting, when her father passes away and leaves her with nothing, she uses his coveted maps to guide tourists through the canyons of Utah on staged treasure hunts.

John Grisham's newest legal thriller takes you inside a law firm that's on shaky ground. Mark, Todd, and Zola came to law school to change the world, to make it a better place. But now, as third-year students, these close friends realize they have been duped.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Emphasising the importance of listening, reflecting and allowing time to come to terms with difficult emotions, it demonstrates how to find positive ways to move forward. The tale encourages children to explore strategies to manage turbulent feelings, helping them to develop their emotional intelligence.

A Wrinkle in Time is the story of Meg Murry, a high-school-aged girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O'Keefe to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.

It takes the events of one turbulent year—the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she is black—to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood.

Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear.

The story follows the events leading up to the rape of 15-year-old girl Maya Andersson by the star junior hockey player Kevin Erdahl, and the consequences for Maya and Kevin, the players, their families, friends, and the community which has a long-standing reputation as a hockey town.

Winter Santiaga, the 17-year-old daughter of big-time drug dealer Ricky Santiaga, is spoiled and pampered, intoxicated by the power of her name and her sexuality. Riding high on the trade, Santiaga moves the family out of the Brooklyn projects to a mansion on Long Island where things start to disintegrate.

Practical Magic follows Owens sisters Gillian and Sally as they live their lives. They grow up in a town in Massachusetts where their family is shunned by the entire town. It is believed that the women in their household are responsible for every terrible (or even mildly inconvenient) thing that happens.

As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

RAZORBLADE TEARS centers around a seemingly random act of violence that sets off an inescapable chain reaction for two fathers. When their sons are murdered in a drive-by shooting, Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee team up to avenge their untimely death.

Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron endured a lifetime of hatred. His human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Brought back against his will, he became the sole defender of mankind. For centuries, he has fought for our survival and hidden a past he never wants revealed.

Graveminder is a 2011 Gothic mystery novel by Melissa Marr. The novel was released on May 17, 2011 by William Morrow and Company and follows a young woman that returns to her hometown to discover that she is expected to fill the supernatural shoes of her now deceased grandmother.

A Court of Silver Flames follows Nesta and Cassian as they deal with the blazing fire between them while they face their haunting pasts, battle monsters and find acceptance and healing in each other's arms, amidst battle and betrayal.

Hidden Valley Road (2020) tells the remarkable story of the Galvin family of 12 children, half of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Remarkably, the Galvins went on to become one of our best hopes for understanding the biological nature of this often misunderstood mental illness.

A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her. They must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited with each other. Based on the William Goldman novel "The Princess Bride" which earned its own loyal audience.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough ... not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Outlander is a historical fantasy novel by Diana Gabaldon first published in 1991. Initially set around the time of the Second World War, it focuses on nurse Claire Beauchamp, who travels through time to 18th-century Scotland, where she finds adventure and romance with the dashing Jamie Fraser

Tiel is at a gas station store when an armed couple robs the cashier and orders all the customers to the floor. The girl goes into labor and Tiel realizes that she has a huge story on her hands. A tense standoff begins as the FBI and Russell Dendy wait outside. Tiel learns that Sabra and Ronnie are more afraid of her father-who plans to put the baby up for adoption-than of the FBI and would rather die together than surrender and be kept apart. Now it is more than just a story to Tiel as she fights to prevent these two kids from becoming a tragedy.

LuAnn Tyler is a single parent striving to escape a life of endless poverty. Then a mysterious Mr Jackson makes her an offer he thinks no one can refuse: a guarantee to be the winner of the $100 million lottery. But LuAnn won't do it.

The Inferno is about the poet's journey into Hell. Guided by the poet Virgil, Dante descends through the Nine Circles of Hell, eventually arriving at the center where Satan himself resides. After escaping Hell, Dante and Virgil will go on to Purgatory and then Dante will go on to Heaven.

Kellen Tavadon, son of the Arch-Mage Lycaelon, thought he knew the way the world worked. His father, leading the wise and benevolent Council of Mages, protected and guided the citizens of the Golden City of the Bells. Young Mages in training-all men, for women were unfit to practice magic-memorized the intricate details of High Magic and aspired to seats on the council.

In the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale.... Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella--until fate took that future away from her, and she set out to make a new life for herself.

Follows the adventures of Talia as she trains to become a Herald of Valdemar in the first book in the classic epic fantasy Arrows trilogy Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.

The most highly -- anticipated novel of Mercedes Lackey's amazing career, Brightly Burning marks the glorious return to her best-selling Valdemar series -- with an untold legend as moving as it is thrilling....

New York Times andUSA Today bestselling author Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels featuring three resourceful heroines and three different takes on the modern world and on magics both modern and ancient.

In Marion Zimmer Bradley's masterpiece, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot's court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king's rise and schemed for his fall. From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us.

As Lew Alton--returned home to the world of his birth after decades spent in exile as the Darkovan representative to the Terran Senate--wrestles with the dark shadows from his past, his daughter Marguerida's psychic Gifts warn her of impending danger. But danger to whom? Her husband Mikhail, as powerful head of the Hastur Doman is her most obvious worry, for many would stand to gain from his demise.

Epic in its sweep and peopled by the remarkable women who have always inhabited Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword of Avalon expands the legendary saga that has enchanted countless readers over the years and is sure to please Bradley's loyal readership and anyone who loves wonderfully told stories of history, myth, and fantasy.

Kevin Wilson's bestselling third novel, Nothing to See Here, is the story of 28-year-old Lillian Breaker who accepts a job at a Tennessee mansion to look after—and hide from public view—two ten-year-old twins who burst into flames when they get agitated.

Bunny follows Samantha, an MFA student at Warren University and a loner in her fiction writing cohort. That is, until the clique of girls, who move together as one and call each other “Bunny,” invite her to their off-campus workshop one night, and reality begins to blur for her.

For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything―and everyone―at a safe distance. When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she's ever had.

et in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a shattering novel about a young woman caught between allegiance to community and a dangerous passion. Amid daily reports of violence, Cushla lives a quiet life with her mother in a small town near Belfast, teaching at a parochial school and moonlighting at her family's pub.

The novel is a story of how a woman named Aomame begins to notice strange changes occurring in the world. She is quickly caught up in a plot involving Sakigake, a religious cult, and her childhood love, Tengo, and embarks on a journey to discover what is "real".

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

Based on the 1996 Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, "Alias Grace" tells the story of young Grace Marks, a poor Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who is accused and convicted of the 1843 murder of her employer and his housekeeper. Stablehand James McDermott is also convicted of the crime.

I Was Better Last Night bares the inner life of this eccentric nonconforming child from his roots in 1952 Brooklyn, to the experimental worlds of Andy Warhol and the Theatre of the Ridiculous, to the gay rights movements of the seventies and the tumultuous AIDS crisis of the eighties, through decades of addiction, ...

In an ordinary suburban house, on a lovely tree-lined street, in the middle of 1970s America, lived the five beautiful, dreamy Lisbon sisters, whose doomed fates indelibly marked the neighborhood boys who to this day continue to obsess over them. A story of love and repression, fantasy and terror, sex and death, memory and longing. It is at its core a mystery story: a heart-rending investigation into the impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence.

Roy's debut novel, it is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" prevalent in 1960s Kerala, India. The novel explores how small, seemingly insignificant things shape people's behavior and their lives.

Creepy and unsettling, Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone is about a village of the damned, the mouth to Hell, located in what was West Germany after World War 2. Hemmersmoor is the town and its young people are as depraved as their parents and ancestors. No one ever prospers here.

It is about two 13-year-old best friends, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, and their nightmarish experience with a traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern home, Green Town, Illinois, on October 24th. In dealing with the creepy figures of this carnival, the boys learn how to combat fear.

Practical Magic follows Owens sisters Gillian and Sally as they live their lives. They grow up in a town in Massachusetts where their family is shunned by the entire town. It is believed that the women in their household are responsible for every terrible (or even mildly inconvenient) thing that happens.

A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution--from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality--and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.

Published in 1975, Ragtime changed our very concept of what a novel could be. An extraordinary tapestry, Ragtime captures the spirit of America in the era between the turn of the century and the First World War.

Gravity's Rainbow centers around the production and dispatch of V-2 rockets, specifically concerning American soldier Tyrone Slothrop, whose erections seem to predict where the rockets will strike. The main themes in the novel are technology, power, identity, and paranoia.

The Book Of Imaginary Beings is an encyclopaedic collection of fictions, presenting an inexhaustive set of 116 alphabetically-organised entries on fantastic, phantasmagoric creatures from around the world—from Chinese, Greek, and Norse mythology and Hindustani folklore to the annals of Pliny and the writings of C.S.

A successful professional man wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest for an offence which is never explained. The mysterious court which conducts his trial is outwardly co-operative, but capable of horrific violence. Faced with this ambiguous authority, Josef K. gradually succumbs to its psychological pressure.

It is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most unforgettable and enduring characters in literature.

The Devil Finds Work is a book-length essay by writer James Baldwin. Published in 1976, it is both a memoir of his experiences watching movies and a critique of the racial politics of American cinema.

On vacation with his girlfriend, Ingeborg, the German war games champion Udo Berger returns to a small town on the Costa Brava where he spent the summers of his childhood. Soon they meet another vacationing German couple, Charly and Hanna, who introduce them to a band of locals--the Wolf, the Lamb, and El Quemado--and to the darker side of life in a resort town.

The recent publication by New Directions of five Lispector novels revealed to legions of new readers her darkness and dazzle. Now, for the first time in English, are all the stories that made her a Brazilian legend: from teenagers coming into awareness of their sexual and artistic powers to humdrum housewives whose lives are shattered by unexpected epiphanies to old people who don't know what to do with themselves. Clarice's stories take us through their lives--and ours. From one of the greatest modern writers, these stories, gathered from the nine collections published during her lifetime, follow an unbroken time line of success as a writer, from her adolescence to her death bed.