You were once the bane of my existence ... and now, you are the center of it. Isla Crown has secured the love of two powerful rulers and broken the curses that plagued the six realms for centuries, but few know the true origins of her powers. Now, in the wake of a crushing betrayal, Isla finds herself hungry for distraction, preferring to frequent Lightlark's seductive haunts instead of embracing her duties as the newly crowned leader of two separate realms. Worse, her fellow rulers haven't ceded victory quietly, and there are others in Isla's midst who don't believe her ascent to power was earned. As certain death races toward Lightlark and secrets from the past begin to unravel, Isla must weigh her responsibility to her people against the whims of the most dangerous traitor of all: her heart.
The 6:20 Man is back, dropped by his handlers into a small coastal town in Maine to solve the murder of a CIA agent who knew America’s dirtiest secrets—can Travis Devine uncover the truth before his time runs out? When CIA operative Jenny Silkwell is murdered in rural Maine, government officials have immediate concerns over national security. Her laptop and phone were full of state secrets that, in the wrong hands, endanger the lives of countless operatives. In need of someone who can solve the murder quickly and retrieve the missing information, the U.S. government knows just the chameleon they can call on. Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine spent his time in the military preparing to take on any scenario, followed by his short-lived business career chasing shadows in the deepest halls of power, so his analytical mind makes him particularly well-suited for complex, high-stakes tasks. Taking down the world’s largest financial conspiracy proved his value, and in comparison, this case looks straightforward. Except small towns hold secrets and Devine finds himself an outsider again. Devine must ingratiate himself with locals who have trusted each other their whole lives, and who distrust outsiders just as much. Dak, Jenny’s brother, who’s working to revitalize the town. Earl, the retired lobsterman who found Jenny’s body. And Alex, Jenny’s sister with a dark past of her own. As Devine gets to know the residents of Putnam, Maine, answers seem to appear and then transform into more questions. There’s a long history of secrets and those who will stop at nothing to keep them from being exposed. Leaving Devine with no idea who he can trust... and who wants him dead.
Don't miss this New York Times bestselling "impossible to put down" (Buzzfeed) novel with deadly stakes, thrilling twists, and juicy secrets?perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out . Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why ? or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch ? and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
In Isabella Bradford's enthralling new trilogy, three noble brothers'London's most scandalous rakes'are about to do the unthinkable: settle down. Harry Fitzroy, Earl of Hargreave, is the first to meet his match and lose his heart . . . to a lady who's not all what he expected. As the eldest son of the Duke of Breconridge, Harry Fitzroy is duty-bound to marry'and marry well. Giving up his rakish ways for the pleasures of a bride's bed becomes a delightful prospect when Harry chooses beautiful Lady Julia Barclay, the catch of the season. But a fall from his horse puts a serious crimp in his plans. Abandoned by Julia before he can propose, the unlucky bachelor finds himself trapped in the country in the care of Julia's younger sister. Harry has never met a woman like Lady Augusta. Utterly without artifice, Gus is clever and capable, and seems to care not a fig for society. After a taboo kiss awakens passion that takes them both by surprise, Harry realizes he'd almost given his heart to the wrong sister. While London tongues wag, he'll use his most seductive powers of persuasion to convince the reluctant Gus that she belongs with him'as his equal, his love, his wife. From the Paperback edition.
With summer just weeks away, Chief of Police Jesse Stone is pretty tense-- and not just because Paradise, MA, is gearing up for the tourists. Stone finds himself dealing with car thefts, then murder, then someone who's come to town to remind him of his not-so-happy past as an L.A. cop. Fans mourning Parker's death will be happy to see that Brandman, who has written and produced numerous TV movies based on Parker's novels, has picked up where the best-selling author left off.
A slave bride of a Chinese laborer devotes herself to her husband's family, but when civil war in China brings wealth to the family, her happiness is endangered as her husband brings home a second wife.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In Ink and Bone , author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now, she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library?and rewrite history... With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good. Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart. Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library's deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London. But Jess's home isn't safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control... From the Hardcover edition.
"A rare gut-punch writer, full of grit and insight, who we will be happily reading for years to come." ?Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times bestselling author of the Orphan X series In this third high-octane thriller in the "seriously good" (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Past Tense ) Terminal List series, former Navy SEAL James Reece must infiltrate the Russian mafia and turn the hunters into the hunted. Deep in the wilds of Siberia, a woman is on the run, pursued by a man harboring secrets?a man intent on killing her. A traitorous CIA officer has found refuge with the Russian mafia with designs on ensuring a certain former Navy SEAL sniper is put in the ground. Half a world away, James Reece is recovering from brain surgery in the Montana wilderness, slowly putting his life back together with the help of investigative journalist Katie Buranek and his longtime friend and SEAL teammate Raife Hastings. Unbeknownst to them, the Russian mafia has set their sights on Reece in a deadly game of cat and mouse. In his most visceral and heart-pounding thriller yet, Jack Carr explores the darkest instincts of humanity through the eyes of a man who has seen both the best and the worst of it.
A decorated U.S. Marine reservist, LAPD officer Mike Valenzuela was badly wounded in the line of duty, but has found hope and healing in Virgin River. When he agrees to become the town's first cop, he does so knowing it's time he settled down. Twice divorced and the lover of too many women, he secretly longs for the kind of commitment and happiness his marine buddies have found, a woman who can tie up his heart forever. He finds that woman in Brie Sheridan, a Sacramento prosecutor who understands his drive to protect and serve. Virgin River becomes a safe haven for Brie after nearly losing her life at the hands of a crazed criminal. Mike will do anything to help Brie free herself from painful memories. Passionate, strong and gentle, he vows to give back to her what she's so selflessly given him, her heart, and with it, a new beginning.
Monarch. Mother. Murderer. Magnificent. You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offense against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot. When your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice. Acceptance or vengeance, infamy follows both. So you bide your time and force the gods' hands in the game of retribution. For you understood something long ago that the others never did. If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself. A blazing novel set in the world of ancient Greece and told through the eyes of its most notorious heroine, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, of love, and of an unforgettable queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.
From the author of Happiness for Beginner s comes an unforgettable audiobook about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances. Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she's worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fianc? she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment. In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fianc?, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there's her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there's Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won't let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect. How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best?a masterpiece of an audiobook that is both hopeful and hilarious; truthful and wise; tender and brave. Praise for How to Walk Away : "If you just read one book this year, read How to Walk Away ." ?Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop "Warm, witty , and wonderfully observed." ?Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of First Comes Love "I can't think of a blurb good enough for this novel... poignant, funny, heartbreaking. " ?Jenny Lawson, bestselling author of Furiously Happy
"Beautifully?vicious. Perfect for the fairytale reader who has always wanted the heroine to grow sharp teeth and bite Prince Charming."?Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights ? A darkly enchanting fantasy debut about a morally gray witch, a cursed prince, and a prophecy that ignites their fate-twisted destinies?perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and Serpent & Dove . Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased?and not always true?divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so- not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he?s crowned at the end of the summer?unless Violet does something about it. ? But when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus's love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom?all depending on the prince?s choice of future bride. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that?s growing between her and Cyrus. ? Violet?s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can't change her fate. And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom?or doom them all.
In this 13th Reacher novel, the former army MP confronts a possible suicide bomber on a nearly deserted Manhattan subway car--a confrontation that will lead him back to the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s and forward to the war on terrorism. It turns out that Susan Mark's life was critical to dozens of others in Washington, California, and Afghanistan ... from a former Delta Force operator now running for the U.S. Senate to a beautiful young woman with a story to tell, but can Reacher sort through their lies in time to save himself and help a woman police officer?
In the latest novel from #1 best-selling author Paulo Coelho, a woman attempts to overcome midlife ennui by rediscovering herself in a passionate relationship with a man who had been a friend in her youth. A woman in her thirties begins to question the routine and predictability of her days. In everybody's eyes, she has a perfect life: happy marriage, children, and a career. Yet what she feels is an enormous apathy...
New York Times bestselling author and co-founder/CEO of The Modern Elder Academy "reminds us all to savor the wisdom, self-knowledge, and joy that accompanies [the middle decades] of our lives" (Father Richard Rohr) and "provides a clear blueprint for creating the lives we want" (Gretchen Rubin) The midlife crisis is the butt of so many jokes, but this long-derided life stage has an upside. What if we could reframe our thinking about the natural transition of midlife not as a crisis, but as a chrysalis—a time when something profound awakens in us, as we shed our skin, spread our wings, and pollinate our wisdom to the world? In Learning to Love Midlife , Chip Conley offers an alternative narrative to the way we commonly think of our 40s, 50s and 60s. Drawing on the latest social science research, inspiring stories, and timeless wisdom, he reveals 12 reasons why life gets better with age. They include: The relief of "my body doesn't define me:" We finally grow comfortable in our own skin Stepping off the treadmill: We redefine what a successful life looks like The "Great Midlife Edit:" We let go of our emotional baggage, mindsets, and obligations that no longer serve us Growing whole: We begin to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves No matter where you are in your midlife journey, this perspective‑shifting guide will inspire you to find joy, purpose and success in the years that lie ahead—and how those years can be your best ones yet.
In this exhilarating new medical thriller by bestselling author Robin Cook, fan favorites Jack and Laurie are lured into the dark underbelly of hospital dangers when an internist dies mysteriously. Colleagues-turned-spouses Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton already have their plates full with demanding forensic pathology work and family pressures. The last thing they need is the sudden death of a colleague. Yet when Laurie’s apparently vital and healthy longtime friend Dr. Sue Passero dies mysteriously in the hopsital parking garage, an autopsy is required, and it falls uncomfortably under Laurie’s purview as the chief medical examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse. With his curiosity sparked by an inconclusive autopsy, the indefatigable Jack is compelled to resolve the case at hand, and sets out to investigate on-site at Manhattan Memorial Hospital, even though it means blatantly defying the Office of Chief Medical Examiner’s rules. What started out as an inquiry into Sue’s tragic passing soon turns into a deadly and dangerous chess game between Jack and the clever and deranged killer, who might just administer another lethal blow if Jack isn’t careful.
Staying busy is easy. Staying well rested-now there's a challenge. How can you keep your energy, happiness, creativity, and relationships fresh and thriving in the midst of never-ending family demands, career pressures, and the stress of everyday life? In Sacred Rest , Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a board-certified internal medicine doctor, reveals why rest can no longer remain optional. Dr. Dalton-Smith shares seven types of rest she has found lacking in the lives of those she encounters in her clinical practice and research-physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, creative-and why a deficiency in any one of these types of rest can have unfavorable effects on your health, happiness, relationships, creativity, and productivity. Sacred Rest combines the science of rest, the spirituality of rest, the gifts of rest, and the resulting fruit of rest. It shows rest as something sacred, valuable, and worthy of our respect. By combining scientific research with personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical next steps, Sacred Rest gives the weary permission to embrace rest, set boundaries, and seek sanctuary without any guilt, shame, or fear.
Narrated by Viola Davis In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever. This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn't always see me. As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you. Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.
To exonerate her best friend, one woman must mastermind a jewelry heist during the wedding of the season in this hilarious romantic-comedy caper from the author of The Dating Plan . Simi Chopra is on a bad-luck streak. She’s lost yet another job, her student loan debt won’t stop growing, her basement apartment is a certifiable flood zone, and now her best friend has been accused of stealing a multimillion-dollar diamond necklace. To put it lightly, she’s desperate for a break—that’s right when Jack waltzes out of the bushes and into her life. Jack is just as charming as he is mysterious. When he offers to help her find the missing necklace and steal it back, Simi jumps at the chance to clear her friend’s name and collect the substantial reward. But every good heist needs a crew. All she needs to do is transform a ragtag group of strangers into an elite heist crew, infiltrate a high-society wedding and steal the necklace from a dangerous criminal before the happy couple say "I do." Meanwhile the bride is keeping secrets, a detective with a slow-burn smile keeps showing up at her door, and the ultimate robbery might not be the wedding con, but the way Jack is stealing her heart.
The author of the New York Times bestseller You Are the Placebo , as well as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain , draws on research conducted at his advanced workshops since 2012 to explore how common people are doing the uncommon to transform themselves and their lives. Becoming Supernatural marries the some of the most profound scientific information with ancient wisdom to show how people like you and me can experience a more mystical life. Readers will learn that we are, quite literally supernatural by nature if given the proper knowledge and instruction, and when we learn how to apply that information through various meditations, we should experience a greater expression of our creative abilities; that we have the capacity to tune in to frequencies beyond our material world and receive more orderly coherent streams of consciousness and energy; that we can intentionally change our brain chemistry to initiate profoundly mystical transcendental experiences; and how, if we do this enough times, we can develop the skill of creating a more efficient, balanced, healthy body, a more unlimited mind, and greater access to the realms of spiritual truth. Topics include: Demystifying the body's 7 energy centers and how you can balance them to heal How to free yourself from the past by reconditioning your body to a new mind How you can create reality in the generous present moment by changing your energy The difference between third-dimension creation and fifth-dimension creation The secret science of the pineal gland and its role in accessing mystical realms of reality The distinction between Space-Time vs. Time-Space realities And much more...
The number one blockbuster selling phenomenon continues in the fourteenth Stephanie Plum adventure. America's favorite bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is back--and she's brought along her sidekicks Connie, Lula, and Grandma Mazur--for a non-stop action adventure that takes her throughout New Jersey, from Trenton, to the Jersey Shore, to Atlantic City, and beyond. Vice Captain Joe Morelli, Super Bounty Hunter, Ranger, and Bob the Dog are all along for the ride. There will be comic mayhem, hot sexual tension, plenty of junk food, exploding cars, pot roast with the Plum family, and a viewing at the Burg's premier funeral home.
Stephanie finds herself in over her head with a caper involving thrice stolen money, a racehorse, a car chase and a bad case of hives--not to mention her grandmother playing the slots in Atlantic City using the stolen money!
New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore "Uncle Sunny" Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it's up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in--not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because "just Stephanie's luck" the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail.
New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore "Uncle Sunny" Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it's up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in--not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because "just Stephanie's luck" the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail.
America's favorite bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, faces a notorious gang in Trenton who wants her dead. Morelli warns that she's in for trouble, and Stephanie doesn't disagree, but the gang won't let her bow out. With Ranger nowhere to be found, Stephanie has to go into hiding. Out of nowhere, she stumbles on to the secret location of Ranger's 'bat cave.'
Stephanie Plum is back in an all-new adventure from #1 bestselling author Janet Evanovich. This time Stephanie's in deep. To get to the bottom of the mess, she's going to have to keep things Top Secret.
In the heart of Trenton, N.J., a killer is out to make sure someone gets his just desserts. Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again . Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body?frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans. As fate would have it, Stephanie's mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who's putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It's going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It's also going to be hard to explain to Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs?who are naked and afraid?and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have "virtually no marketable skills," these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best. From the Hardcover edition.
In the heart of Trenton, N.J., a killer is out to make sure someone gets his just desserts. Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again . Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body?frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans. As fate would have it, Stephanie's mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who's putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It's going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It's also going to be hard to explain to Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs?who are naked and afraid?and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have "virtually no marketable skills," these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best. From the Hardcover edition.
It's four days before Christmas and things are not looking merry for fugitive apprehension agent Stephanie Plum. She must deal with a sexy stranger named Deisel in her apartment, an old toymaker who has skipped out on his bail, the Plum family holiday dinner, a bunch of nasty elves, and a variety of family crises.
"Fresh, surprising, and compulsively readable."? New York Times bestselling author Andrea Bartz A psychic on the verge of stardom who isn?t sure she believes in herself and a cynical journalist with one last chance at redemption are brought together by secrets from the past that also threaten to tear them apart. Psychic-medium Sylvie Young starts every show with her origin story, telling the audience how she discovered her abilities. But she leaves out a lot?the plane crash that killed her parents, an estranged adoptive family who tend orchards in rainy Oregon, panic attacks, and the fact that her agent insists she research some clients to ensure success. After a catastrophic reporting error, Thomas Holmes?s next story at the L.A. Times may be his last, but he?s got a great personal pitch. “Grief vampires” like Sylvie who prey upon the loved ones of the deceased have bankrupted his mother. He?s dead set on using his last-chance article to expose Sylvie as a conniving fraud and resurrect his career. When Sylvie and Thomas collide, a game of cat and mouse ensues, but the secrets they?re keeping from each other are nothing compared to the?mysteries and lies they unearth about Sylvie?s past. Searching for the truth might destroy them both?but it?s the only way to find out what?s real.
In this scrumptious cozy mystery from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joanne Fluke, baker Hannah Swensen is tempted by a highprofile tournament in Lake Eden that quickly turns deadly ... Embracing a sweet escape from her usual routine at The Cookie Jar, Hannah gets asked for her help in baking pastries at the local inn for a flashy fishing competition with big prizes and even bigger names. But the fun stops when she spots a runway boat on the water and, on board, the lifeless body of the event's renowned celebrity spokesperson ... Famed TV show host Sonny Bowman wasn't humble about his ability to reel in winning catches, and no one knew that better than his tragically overworked sidekick, Joey. Did Joey finally take bloody revenge on his pompous boss?or was Sonny killed by a jealous contestant? With goodies to bake and a mess of fresh challenges mixed into her personal life, it's either sink or swim as Hannah joins forces with her sister, Andrea, to catch a clever culprit before another unsuspecting victim goes belly up ... Features Over a Dozen Cookie and Dessert Recipes from The Cookie Jar!
In this irresistible mystery from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joanne Fluke, Hannah Swensen is at the center of a lively summer fest with fun for everyone in Lake Eden, Minnesota—including a cold-blooded murderer ... The Tri-County Summer Solstice Celebration has come to town, and even among local artisans, athletes, and marching bands, Hannah attracts fans of her own while serving lip-smacking pink lemonade desserts. But the mood sours when a body turns up, leading revelers to wonder if the festivities mark both the longestday of the year and the deadliest ... A retired professional MLB player has met a terrifying end—and, considering the rumors swirling about his past, the list of suspects could fill a small stadium. Among them could soon be Delores, Hannah's mother, who publicly held a grudge against the victim after he infamously dunked her in the tank at a previous county fair ... Now, with her mother's innocence on the line, a life-changing announcement at The Cookie Jar, and a plethora of desserts to bake, Hannah can't afford to strike out as she begins a dangerous investigation into the ruthless killer who's truly in a league of their own ... Features Over a Dozen Cookie and Dessert Recipes from The Cookie Jar!
Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mystery series has garnered widespread praise for its "delightful sleuth" (Publishers Weekly) and delicious recipes. In Fudge Cupcake Murder, Hannah Swensen has her hands full teaching a cooking class and running her bakery, The Cookie Jar. But when her brother-in-law is named the primary suspect in the murder of the town's sheriff, Hannah makes time to sniff around for the killer. The latest addition to this popular series includes 10 scrumptious new recipes.
Popular author Joanne Fluke continues her Hannah Swensen mystery series with this delightful mix of sweets and suspense. Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bake shop, finds that she spends more time as a sleuth than as a baker. This time she must solve the mystery behind who killed the local drugstore clerk.
The latest in the TikTok sensation and deliciously "swoonworthy" (Elena Armas, New York Times bestselling author) Maple Hills series follows two summer camp counselors who reconnect after a sizzling one-night stand. Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name. Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father's gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home. Russ knows breaking the camp's strict "no staff fraternizing" rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they can't put out?
Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until a chance meeting with a boy at cancer support group forces her to reexamine her perspective on love, loss, and life.
"The first rule is that you don't fall in love,' he said... 'There are other rules too, but that is the main one. No falling in love. No staying in love. No daydreaming of love. If you stick to this you will just about be okay.'" "A quirky romcom dusted with philosophical observations....A delightfully witty...poignant novel." ? The Washington Post Named one of the most anticipated books of 2018 by Entertainment Weekly , Esquire , HelloGiggles , and Bustle . Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history?performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life. So Tom moves back his to London, his old home, to become a high school history teacher?the perfect job for someone who has witnessed the city's history first hand. Better yet, a captivating French teacher at his school seems fascinated by him. But the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present. How to Stop Time tells a love story across the ages - and for the ages - about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.
From a distance, Michael and Joleen seem to have it all: a solid marriage, two exciting careers, and children they adore. But after twelve years together, the couple has lost their way and is edging toward divorce. Then the Iraq war starts. An unexpected deployment will tear their already fragile family apart, sending one of them into harm's way and leaving the other at home, waiting for news. When the worst happens, each must face their darkest fear and fight for the future of their family.
The world's greatest detective, Hercule Poirot—legendary star of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile—puts his little grey cells to work solving a baffling Christmas mystery. It's December 19, 1931. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool are looking forward to a much-needed, restful Christmas holiday, when they are called upon to investigate the murder of a man in a Norfolk hospital ward. Cynthia Catchpool, Edward's mother, insists that Poirot stay with her in a crumbling mansion by the coast, so that they can all be together for the festive period while he solves the case. As Poirot digs into the mystery, he discovers that the murdered man was a retired post office master, and by all accounts very well-liked. The local constabulary's investigation failed to uncover how someone could have entered a hospital room and killed him under the noses of the staff. Cynthia's friend Arnold is soon to be admitted to that same hospital, and his wife is convinced he will be the killer's next victim, though she refuses to explain why. With no obvious motive or suspect, Poirot has less than a week to solve the crime and prevent more murders, if he is to escape from this nightmare scenario and get home in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, someone else—someone utterly ruthless—also has ideas about what ought to happen to Hercule Poirot...
A definitive account of World War II by America's preeminent military historian World War II was the most lethal conflict in human history. Never before had a war been fought on so many diverse landscapes and in so many different ways, from rocket attacks in London to jungle fighting in Burma to armor strikes in Libya. The Second World Wars examines how combat unfolded in the air, at sea, and on land to show how distinct conflicts among disparate combatants coalesced into one interconnected global war. Drawing on 3,000 years of military history, Victor Davis Hanson argues that despite its novel industrial barbarity, neither the war's origins nor its geography were unusual. Nor was its ultimate outcome surprising. The Axis powers were well prepared to win limited border conflicts, but once they blundered into global war, they had no hope of victory. An authoritative new history of astonishing breadth, The Second World Wars offers a stunning reinterpretation of history's deadliest conflict.
The #1 New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Book of the Year, now a major motion picture. The debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. "Nothing is more addicting than The Girl on the Train. "? Vanity Fair " The Girl on the Train has more fun with unreliable narration than any chiller since Gone Girl . . . . [It] is liable to draw a large, bedazzled readership."? The New York Times "Marries movie noir with novelistic trickery. . . hang on tight. You'll be surprised by what horrors lurk around the bend."? USA Today "Like its train, the story blasts through the stagnation of these lives in suburban London and the reader cannot help but turn pages."? The Boston Globe " Gone Girl fans will devour this psychological thriller."? People EVERY DAY THE SAME Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life?as she sees it?is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. UNTIL TODAY And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? From the Trade Paperback edition.
In London's MI5 headquarters a scandal is brewing that could disgrace the entire intelligence community. The Downing Street superforecaster?a specialist who advises the Prime Minister's office on how policy is likely to be received by the electorate?has disappeared without a trace. Claude Whelan, who was once head of MI5, has been tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads him straight back to Regent's Park itself, with First Desk Diana Taverner as chief suspect. Has Taverner overplayed her hand at last? Meanwhile, her Russian counterpart, Moscow intelligence's First Desk, has cheekily showed up in London and shaken off his escort. Are the two unfortunate events connected? Over at Slough House, where Jackson Lamb presides over some of MI5's most embittered demoted agents, the slow horses are doing what they do best, and adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation ... There are bad actors everywhere, and they usually get their comeuppance before the credits roll. But politics is a dirty business, and in a world where lying, cheating and backstabbing are the norm, sometimes the good guys can find themselves outgunned.
London's Slough House is where the washed-up MI5 spies go to while away what's left of their failed careers. The "slow horses," as they're called, have all disgraced themselves in some way to get relegated here. Maybe they messed up an op badly and can't be trusted anymore. Maybe they got in the way of an ambitious colleague and had the rug yanked out from under them. Maybe they just got too dependent on the bottle?not unusual in this line of work. One thing they all have in common, though, is they all want to be back in the action. And most of them would do anything to get there?even if it means having to collaborate with one another.Now the slow horses have a chance at redemption. An old Cold War?era spy is found dead on a bus outside Oxford, far from his usual haunts. The despicable, irascible Jackson Lamb is convinced Dickie Bow was murdered. As the agents dig into their fallen comrade's circumstances, they uncover a shadowy tangle of ancient Cold War secrets that seem to lead back to a man named Alexander Popov, who is either a Soviet bogeyman or the most dangerous man in the world. How many more people will have to die to keep those secrets buried?
In this dazzling collection, Elin Hilderbrand offers nine delicious stories?prequels, sequels, and "missing chapters" from her cherished books?some of which have never been published, until now. Inside the collection, you'll find: Three years after Mallory Blessing's death (in 28 Summers ), her friends gather for another eventful Labor Day celebration on Nantucket in "The Sixth Wedding." The marriage at the heart of Beautiful Day enters uncertain territory when Margot Carmichael encourages her husband to reunite with his ex-girlfriend in "The Surfing Lesson." In "The Tailgate" the weekend of a Harvard/Yale football game recharts the course of "Matchmaker" Dabney Kimball's first?and abiding?true love. In "Summer of '79," the three Levin sisters reunite after a decade after the summer that changed everything. And more . . . With a foreword by Elin Hilderbrand about the writer's reluctance to leave treasured characters behind and a prefatory, "behind-the-scenes" note included with each story, this book answers the prayers of both new and seasoned readers everywhere who, like the Kirkus reviewer, "would rather be living in an Elin Hilderbrand novel."
Disgraced! Banished from polite society for bearinga child out of wedlock, Lady Eadyth ofHawks' Lair spends her days hidden undera voluminous veil, tending her bees.But when her son's detested father threatensto reveal the boy's true paternity and seizeher beloved lands, Lady Eadyth seeks ahusband willing to claim the child as his own. Eirik of Ravenshire is England's most virilebachelor, notorious for loving--and leaving--the most beautiful damsels in the land.Now a mysterious lady is offering him a vowof chaste matrimony in exchange forrevenge against his most hated enemy, andEirik simply cannot refuse. But the lustyknight's plans go awry when he finds himselfunable to resist Eadyth's myriad charms . . .and he succumbs to the sweet sting of thetarnished lady's love.
The New York Times bestselling historian makes his historical fiction debut with an explosive novel set during the Hundred Years' War. July 1346. Ten men land on the beaches of Normandy. They call themselves the Essex Dogs: an unruly platoon of archers and men-at-arms led by a battle-scarred captain whose best days are behind him. The fight for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe has begun. Heading ever deeper into enemy territory toward Crécy, this band of brothers knows they are off to fight a battle that will forge nations, and shape the very fabric of human lives. But first they must survive a bloody war in which rules are abandoned and chivalry itself is slaughtered. Rooted in historical accuracy and told through an unforgettable cast, Essex Dogs delivers the stark reality of medieval war on the ground – and shines a light on the fighters and ordinary people caught in the storm.
What would you change if you could travel back in time? Down a small alleyway in the heart of Tokyo, there's an underground caf? that's been serving carefully brewed coffee for over a hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers its customers something else besides coffee?the chance to travel back in time. The rules, however, are far from simple: you must sit in one particular seat, and you can't venture outside the caf?, nor can you change the present. And, most important, you only have the time it takes to drink a hot cup of coffee?or risk getting stuck forever. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the caf? in the hopes of traveling to another time: a heartbroken lover looking for closure, a nurse with a mysterious letter from her husband, a waitress hoping to say one last goodbye and a mother whose child she may never get the chance to know. Heartwarming, wistful and delightfully quirky, Before the Coffee Gets Cold explores the intersecting lives of four women who come together in one extraordinary caf?, where the service may not be quick, but the opportunities are endless.
"Working women today are better educated and more well qualified than ever before. Yet men still predominate in the corporate world. In The Confidence Code, Claire Shipman and Katty Kay argue that the key reason is confidence. Combining cutting-edge research in genetics, gender, behavior, and cognition--with examples from their own lives and those of other successful women in politics, media, and business--Kay and Shipman go beyond admonishing women to "lean in."Instead, they offer the inspiration and practical advice women need to close the gap and achieve the careers they want and deserve" -- from publisher's web site.
Now living in upstate New York, former LAPD lieutenant Peter Decker is plunged into a bizarre web involving academia, underworld crime, and calculating killers in this compulsive novel in New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman's beloved Decker and Lazarus series. Former LAPD lieutenant Peter Decker is relishing the quiet and slow pace of his new job with the Greenbury police department. The work is low stress and engaging, and it's been almost a year since the last murder in this sleepy upstate New York town. Then the body of a nude man is found deep within the woods, shattering Decker's peace. The death appears to be a suicide?a single shot to the head, the gun by his side. But until the coroner's ruling, the scene must be treated as a suspicious crime. Without any personal effects near the body, Decker must dig to uncover his identity, a task made difficult by the department's tight budget and limited personnel. Luckily, Decker gets some unexpected help when his friend and former Greenbury colleague Tyler McAdams calls, looking for a quiet place to study for his law finals. The investigation takes Decker and McAdams to Kneed Loft College, where they must penetrate the indecipherable upper echelons of mathematics and mathematical prodigies. Beneath the school's rarified atmosphere they discover a sphere of scheming academics, hidden cyphers?and most dangerous of all?a realm of underworld crime that transforms harmless nerds into cold, calculating evil geniuses. It will take all of Decker's experience and McAdams's brains to penetrate enigmatic formulas and codes and solve a dark, twisted crime devised by some brilliant and depraved masterminds.
"Anyone who's ever wanted to turn the page on their old life or felt the whispered promise of a new dream, and a fresh start will fall in love with Pamela Kelley's charming new novel." — New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews TWO LIFELONG FRIENDS. Jess loves her work as a high-profile lawyer in Charleston. But when her marriage implodes, she retreats to her childhood home on Cape Cod with her thirty-year-old daughter, Caitlin, hoping to regroup with her longtime best friend, Alison. ONE BOOKSHOP BY THE BAY. Alison's career has taken a hit after twenty years as an editor for the magazine Cape Cod Living. But when she learns her beloved bookstore on the Cape is looking for new ownership, a new dream starts to form. AND THE SUMMER THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING. As the two friends reopen the bookstore, they also open themselves up to the magic of second chances. "A wonderful multigenerational story about mothers, daughters, and friendship set in a quaint seaside town on Cape Cod. If you love talk of bookstores, delicious food and coffee shops, this one is for you!" —Rachel Hanna, author of the South Carolina Sunsets series A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
While visiting Houston, Texas, Mike and Kate tour the Johnson Space Center with an astronaut in the morning and at the Houston Astros' ball game that evening, the cousins search for the person who steals the astronaut's moonrock when he arrives at the stadium to sign autographs.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Washington Post best celebrity memoir of 2023 An Audible best celebrity memoir of 2023 "A timely, urgent portrait of working-class American women." —Gabrielle Union In her highly anticipated memoir Tell Me Everything , Minka Kelly shares a story as powerful as it is page-turning. Fans know her as the spoiled, rich cheerleader Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights or as the affluent, mysterious Samantha on the HBO megahit Euphoria . But as revealed for the first time in these pages, Minka Kelly's life has been anything but easy. Raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, Minka spent years waking up in strange apartments as she and her mom bounced around the country, relying on friends and relatives to take them in. At times they even lived in storage units. She reconnected with her father, Aerosmith's Rick Dufay, and eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she landed the role of a lifetime on Friday Night Lights . Now an established actress and philanthropist, Minka takes this next step in her career as a writer. She has poured her soul into the pages of this book, which ultimately tells a story of triumph over adversity, and how resilience and love are all we have in the end.
Elle Kennedy's next spicy and emotional romance in the blockbuster Avalon Bay series. College student Cassie Soul hasn't spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that's been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday...and maybe find herself a summer fling. On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay's fun-loving golden boy. Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he's always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she's not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he's ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone...only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time. And maybe even something more. As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they're about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.
The third book in the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes series. It is 1923. Mary Russell Holmes and her husband, the retired Sherlock Holmes, are enjoying the summer together on their Sussex estate when they are visited by an old friend, Miss Dorothy Ruskin, an archeologist just returned from Palestine. She leaves in their protection an ancient manuscript which seems to hint at the possibility that Mary Magdalene was an apostle?an artifact certain to stir up a storm of biblical proportions in the Christian establishment. When Ruskin is suddenly killed in a tragic accident, Russell and Holmes find themselves on the trail of a fiendishly clever murderer. A Letter of Mary is brimming with political intrigue, theological arcana, and brilliant Holmesian deductions.
Two years after they saw him die, the man they knew as Victor Helios lives on. Detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison; Victor's engineered wife, Erika 5, and her companion Jocko; and the original Victor's first creation, the tormented Deucalion, have all arrived at a small Montana town where their old alliance will be renewed--and tested--by forces from within and without, and where the dangers they face will eclipse any they have yet encountered.
"The dead don't talk. I don't know why." But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. He tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different. A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15. Today is August 14.
Rin's story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War?an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix?the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power. Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed Rin's homeland to its enemies. Her only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic. But neither the Empress nor the Dragon Warlord are what they seem. The more Rin witnesses, the more she fears her love for Nikan will force her to use the Phoenix's deadly power once more. Because there is nothing Rin won't sacrifice to save her country . . . and exact her vengeance.
The anti-rom-com debut collection that took Nigeria by storm, featuring twelve " bewitching and revelatory " (The New York Times) and " ridiculously entertaining " (Booklist starred review) stories about the perils and pitfalls of dating men in Lagos, from a rising star of Nollywood "Sharply observational, funny and profound, this book is dynamic sociological satire that is as universal as it is specific." —Bolu Babalola, author of Reese's Book Club pick and national bestseller Honey and Spice *INCLUDES A NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN SNEAK PEEK OF DAMILARE KUKU'S FORTHCOMING NOVEL* One night, you will calmly put a knife to your husband's private part and promise to cut it off. It will scare him so much that the next day, he will call his family members for a meeting in the house. He will not call your family members, but you will not care. You won't need them. In this remarkable short story collection, Damilare Kuku takes us deep into the heart of modern Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, and the lives of a collection of audacious women who cope with romantic difficulties by brilliantly turning the tables on the men who wrong them. One hardworking married woman calmly threatens sharp-edged revenge on her lazy, hypocritical husband. Another skillfully protects her own business interests by shielding her pastor-husband from allegations of cheating that may or may not be true. A group of wealthy wives deceived by their husbands join forces in a WhatsApp support group called the Virtuous Wives Guild. And a discerning dater fed up with Nigerian men makes a vow to date only oyibos before discovering that white men can act just as badly. A bestseller in Damilare Kuku's native Nigeria, Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad is a raunchy, satisfying, and outrageous read steeped in the chaos and allure of sub-Saharan Africa's largest city. It's also a love letter to Nigerian women: the women in these stories may be confronted at every turn with liars, scammers, and cheaters in their quests for love, but they always figure out how to come out victorious.
People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there. Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his black skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their trained cops. But when he delivers an occult page to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping. A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break? "LaValle cleverly subverts Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos by imbuing a black man with the power to summon the Old Ones, and creates genuine chills with his evocation of the monstrous Sleeping King, an echo of Lovecraft's Dagon...[ The Ballad of Black Tom ] has a satisfying slingshot ending." ?Elizabeth Hand for Fantasy & ScienceFiction "[LaValle] reinvents outmoded literary conventions, particularly the ghettos of genre and ethnicity that long divided serious literature from popular fiction." ?Praise for The Devil in Silver from Elizabeth Hand, author of Radiant Days
This program includes a bonus conversation between the author and narrator. A broken world. An overwhelming evil. A team of warriors ready to strike back. #1 New York Times -bestselling author Marie Lu is back with an adrenaline-laced novel about the lengths one warrior will go to fight for freedom and those she loves. Talin is a Striker, a member of an elite fighting force that stands as the last defense for the only free nation in the world: Mara. A refugee, Talin knows firsthand the horrors of the Federation, a world-dominating war machine responsible for destroying nation after nation with its terrifying army of mutant beasts known only as Ghosts. But when a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front to Mara's capital, Talin senses there's more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? What secrets is he hiding? Only one thing is clear: Talin is ready to fight to the death alongside her fellow Strikers for the only homeland she has left . . . with or without the boy who might just be the weapon to save?or destroy?them all. Loyalty is life. A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press
In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people. For decades, we've been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let's be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular Internet blog, Mason doesn't sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is?a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let's-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up. Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited?"not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek. There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them truly lead contented, grounded lives.
The highly anticipated inside look at the collapse of the Murdaugh dynasty by the celebrated investigative journalist and creator of the #1 hit Murdaugh Murders Podcast, Mandy Matney. Years before the name Alex Murdaugh was splashed across every major media outlet in America, local South Carolina journalist Mandy Matney had an instinct that something wasn't right in the Lowcountry. The powerful Murdaugh dynasty had dominated rural South Carolina for generations. No one dared to cross them. When Mandy and her reporting partner Liz Farrell looked closer at a fatal boat crash involving the storied family's teenage son Paul, they began to uncover a web of mysteries surrounding the deaths of the Murdaughs' long-time housekeeper and a young man found slain years earlier on a backcountry road. Just as their investigations were unfolding, the brutal double murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh rocketed Alex Murdaugh onto the international stage. From the newsroom to the courtroom, to the kitchen-table studio where Mandy recorded her #1 Murdaugh Murders Podcast, Blood on Their Hands is a propulsive true crime saga, an empathetic work of investigative journalism, and an excoriation of the "good old boy" systems that enabled a network of criminals.
Joyce Meyer has a knack for coining phrases-her fans call them Joyceisms-and one of her best loved is "Where the mind goes, the man follows." This was the basis for Battlefield of the Mind, and in her latest book, Meyer provides "power thoughts," bringing the reader to a new level of ability to use the mind as a tool to achievement. In POWER THOUGHTS, she outlines a flexible program to turn thoughts into habits, and habits into success ...
"What a wonderful writer?smart, wise, funny." ?Anne Lamott. Sometimes it's the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal...A murder...a tragic accident...or just parents behaving badly? What's indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what? Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads: Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She's funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. She's just turned forty?forty?! Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline's youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline's teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline's ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?). Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn't be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all. Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.
A NEW YORK TIMES WRITER TO WATCH A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system?the debut of a blazingly original voice that “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole” (Tommy Orange, best-selling author of There There ) Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent?which has more than doubled?and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed.?One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.?Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before.
New York Times bestselling author, Malcolm Nance, offers a chilling warning on a clear, present and existential threat to our democracy... our fellow Americans "Malcolm Nance is one of the great unsung national security geniuses of the modern era." ?Rachel Maddow To varying degrees, as many as 74 million Americans have expressed hostility towards American democracy. Their radicalization is increasingly visible in our day to day life: in neighbor's or family member's open discussion of bizarre conspiracy theories, reveling in the fantasy of mass murdering the liberals they believe are drinking the blood of children. These are the results of the deranged series of lies stoked by former President Donald Trump, made worse by the global pandemic. The first steps of an American fracture were predicted by Malcolm Nance months before the January 6, 2021 insurrection, heralding the start of a generational terror threat greater than either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. Nance calls this growing unrest the Trump Insurgency in the United States or TITUS. The post-2020 election urge to return to a place of "normalcy"?to forget?is the worst response we can have. American militiamen, terrorists, and radicalized political activists are already armed in mass numbers and regularly missed in the media; principally because Trump's most loyal and violent foot soldiers benefit from the ultimate privilege?being white. They Want to Kill Americans is the first detailed look into the heart of the active Trump-led insurgency, setting the stage for a second nation-wide rebellion on American soil. This is a chilling and deeply researched early warning to the nation from a counterterrorism intelligence professional: America is primed for a possible explosive wave of terrorist attacks and armed confrontations that aim to bring about a Donald Trump led dictatorship.
A stunning collection of new short stories originally commissioned by The New York Times Magazine as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, from twenty-nine authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danticat, and more, in a project inspired by Boccaccio's "The Decameron." When reality is surreal, only fiction can make sense of it. In 1353, Giovanni Boccaccio wrote "The Decameron": one hundred nested tales told by a group of young men and women passing the time at a villa outside Florence while waiting out the gruesome Black Death, a plague that killed more than 25 million people. Some of the stories are silly, some are bawdy, some are like fables. In March of 2020, the editors of The New York Times Magazine created The Decameron Project , an anthology with a simple, time-spanning goal: to gather a collection of stories written as our current pandemic first swept the globe. How might new fiction from some of the finest writers working today help us memorialize and understand the unimaginable? And what could be learned about how this crisis will affect the art of fiction? These twenty-nine new stories, from authors including Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danticat, and David Mitchell vary widely in texture and tone. Their work will be remembered as a historical tribute to a time and place unlike any other in our lifetimes, and offer perspective and solace to the reader now and in a future where coronavirus is, hopefully, just a memory. Table of Contents: "Preface" by Caitlin Roper "Introduction" by Rivka Galchen "Recognition" by Victor LaValle "A Blue Sky Like This" by Mona Awad "The Walk" by Kamila Shamsie "Tales from the LA River" by Colm T?ib?n "Clinical Notes" by Liz Moore "The Team" by Tommy Orange "The Rock" by Leila Slimani "Impatient Griselda" by Margaret Atwood "Under the Magnolia" by Yiyun Li "Outside" by Etgar Keret "Keepsakes" by Andrew O'Hagan "The Girl with the Big Red Suitcase" by Rachel Kushner "The Morningside" by T?a Obreht "Screen Time" by Alejandro Zambra "How We Used to Play" by Dinaw Mengestu "Line 19 Woodstock/Glisan" by Karen Russell "If Wishes Was Horses" by David Mitchell "Systems" by Charles Yu "The Perfect Travel Buddy" by Paolo Giordano "An Obliging Robber" by Mia Cuoto "Sleep" by Uzodinma Iweala "Prudent Girls" by Rivers Solomon "That Time at My Brother's Wedding" by Laila Lalami "A Time of Death, The Death of Time" by Juli?n Fuks "The Cellar" by Dina Nayeli "Origin Story" by Matthew Baker "To the Wall" by Esi Edugyan "Barcelona: Open City" by John Wray "One Thing" by Edwidge Danticat
With a unique style, Noire tantalizes readers with erotic tales and wildly entertaining urban dramas. Featuring one of her most unforgettable characters, Natural Born Liar follows the escapades of Mink LaRue?straight out of Harlem and looking to take a big step up in life. Mink's got a taste for fine living, and when her resemblance to a missing oil heiress gives her an opportunity to take up residence in a 20-room mansion, you better believe she's going to jump at the chance.
An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States 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. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her?from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it?in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations?and whose story inspires us to do the same.
Two hotel receptionists—and arch-rivals—find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way. It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through. The hotel won't stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel—and their jobs. As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there's more at stake here than the hotel's future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?
New York Times bestselling author B. A. Paris captivated psychological thriller readers everywhere with Behind Closed Doors . Now she invites you into another home full of heart-pounding secrets, in The Guest . Some secrets never leave. Iris and Gabriel have just arrived home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their closest friends, Laure, is in their house. The atmosphere quickly becomes tense as she oversteps again and again: sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture. Laure has walked out on her husband—and their good friend—Pierre, over his confession of an affair and a secret child. Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive of their friends, but as Laure's mood becomes increasingly unpredictable, her presence takes its toll. Iris and Gabriel's only respite comes in the form of a couple new to town. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past. Soon, secrets from all their pasts will unravel, some more dangerous than they could have known. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
“Nikki Payne skillfully spins the tale of a well-known Jane Austen classic and makes it entirely her own. Thoughtful, hilarious, and smolderingly steamy.”—Kristina Forest, author of The Partner Plot Two sisters roll up their sleeves to run a dilapidated inn but must learn to work with the locals in this deliciously spicy novel inspired by Sense and Sensibility. There’s never a good time to learn you are your father’s secret child—especially not at the reading of his will. With their father’s affairs laid bare and Nora’s sensible reputation in tatters due to a viral video scandal, she and her free-spirited sister have nothing left but a rustic inn in the middle of nowhere and each other. What’s more, they need to revamp the inn before Labor Day or they lose it all. Nora hasn’t even knocked the traveling dust off last season’s designer boots when she’s confronted with three problems: 1. She really should have watched more HGTV. 2. She hasn’t seen another Black person for miles. 3. A tall, dark stranger has already staked a claim on their property. Native Abenaki eco-tour guide Ennis “Bear” Freeman has seen hapless tourists come and go. When he spots two pampered city girls at his unofficial headquarters, he expects them to catch a flight out of the inhospitable coastal Maine backwoods within a week’s time. But Nora, turns out, is made of sterner stuff. And as she rolls up her sleeves to breathe new life into the inn, she unwittingly reignites a flood of emotions inside of Bear that he had very intentionally suppressed. Their connection is electric, their desire palpable. But Bear’s silence about his mysterious past might turn out to be the one thing that sends Nora packing.
[This book] is [an] account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played torturous, unpredictable games - games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." -Back cover.
Read by the author. Too often we've been taught to view our emotions with suspicion, seeing them as something to be suppressed, managed, or mastered. This isn't true. Emotions are not your enemy. Internal war is not your destiny. You were created to flourish. In this game-changing book, trauma therapist and mental health expert Dr. Anita Phillips reveals how embracing emotion is the key to living your most powerful life. Just as gardens thrive in good ground, the abundant life you've been seeking can only be grown in the soil of your heart. Blending faith, the latest discoveries in neurobiology, and her own research and work as a licensed therapist, Dr. Anita shows you how to cultivate a state of emotional well-being that can: strengthen your body and reverse the effects of trauma, calm anxiety and renew your mind, and unleash a new level of spiritual power in your life. This book will equip you with the tools you need to nurture a part of yourself that has been misunderstood for too long — your heart — setting you free to live just as the Creator intended. AUTHENTIC. FRUITFU L. POWERFUL Images and diagrams are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips returns with the next book in her Chicago Stars series where a successful sports agent and the sister of his biggest client engage in a take-no-prisoners battle of the sexes. Take one hard-driving sports agent... Throw in a failed chocolatier... And her superstar football player brother... Add a quirky pink and purple food truck... Then, to really screw things up, mix in a very unfortunate murder. Brett Rivers is the hottest sports agent in the business—fast and furious, swift and deadly. Failure? Not an option. Rory Garrett is—let's be honest—a disaster. She has a big heart, an empty bank account, a passion for making exquisite chocolate, and a huge inferiority complex from living in the shadow of Brett's most important client, her football legend brother. Brett and Rory should never have met, and they absolutely, positively should never have had to deal with the consequences of one stupid, drunken night...one disastrous lie...one career in jeopardy...one missing football player...and a very dead body. It's going to get messy...and dangerous...and heartbreaking...and sexy. To Rory, Brett represents skewed values and a devious mind. To Brett, Rory is forbidden fruit, off limits, do not disturb, and no entry—definitely no entry. A woman who has succeeded at nothing and a man who's succeeded at everything confront the challenge of their lives as they struggle with themselves and each other. When it comes to love—what price are any of us willing to pay to be simply the best?
The NEW, highly-anticipated Tortall Legend from Tamora Pierce, the #1 New York Times bestselling author who is legend herself, is a must-listen for any fantasy lover! Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate...fated for trouble... Arram Draper is on the path to becoming one of the realm's most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness?and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the "leftover prince" with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram's heart, Arram realizes that one day?soon?he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie. In the Numair Chronicles, listeners will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmal?n came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom's future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.
THE SELF-PUBLISHED PHENOMENON ?NOW FULLY REVISED AND EXPANDED I almost didn't publish Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It. Here I was, a CEO who'd fallen apart after his company failed, writing a book about how loving himself saved him. I thought I'd be a laughingstock and my career would be finished. But I stepped through the fears and shared my truth with the world. The book went viral. Amazing people all over bought copies for friends and family. For some, this book saved their lives. For others, it was the first time they ever loved themselves. Many readers reached out and asked questions. This taught me that, to create lasting impact, I had to go deeper. So, seven years later, here it is. All the questions I received, resolved. My intention is that by the time you finish this new edition, not only will you be committed to loving yourself, you'll know exactly how to do it. And, most importantly, how to make it last.
A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both. Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other. With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family," and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.
"Riveting, heart-wrenching, and full of Old Hollywood glamour, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most captivating reads of 2017." ? Buzzfeed "The epic adventures Evelyn creates over the course of a lifetime will leave every reader mesmerized. This wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet and her tumultuous Tinseltown journey comes with unexpected twists and the most satisfying of drama." ? PopSugar In this entrancing novel "that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all" ( Kirkus Reviews ), a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways. "Heartbreaking, yet beautiful" (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly ), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is "Tinseltown drama at its finest" ( Redbook ): a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means?and what it costs?to face the truth.
Demi-god Percy Jackson and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first Percy will discover a secret that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or a cruel joke.
The latest novel from the bestselling author of Dollface and What the Lady Wants takes us deep into the tumultuous world of 1950s Chicago where a female journalist struggles with the heavy price of ambition... Every second of every day, something is happening. There's a story out there buried in the muck, and Jordan Walsh, coming from a family of esteemed reporters, wants to be the one to dig it up. But it's 1955, and the men who dominate the city room of the Chicago Tribune have no interest in making room for a female cub reporter. Instead Jordan is relegated to society news, reporting on Marilyn Monroe sightings at the Pump Room and interviewing secretaries for the White Collar Girl column. Even with her journalistic legacy and connections to luminaries like Mike Royko, Nelson Algren, and Ernest Hemingway, Jordan struggles to be taken seriously. Of course, that all changes the moment she establishes a secret source inside Mayor Daley's office and gets her hands on some confidential information. Now careers and lives are hanging on Jordan's every word. But if she succeeds in landing her stories on the front page, there's no guarantee she'll remain above the fold....
In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America's cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation-that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation-the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments-that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day. Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as "brilliant" (The Atlantic), Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning, as millions of African Americans moved in a great historical migration from the south to the north. As Jane Jacobs established in her classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, it was the deeply flawed urban planning of the 1950s that created many of the impoverished neighborhoods we know. Now, Rothstein expands our understanding of this history, showing how government policies led to the creation of officially segregated public housing and the demolition of previously integrated neighborhoods. While urban areas rapidly deteriorated, the great American suburbanization of the post-World War II years was spurred on by federal subsidies for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans. Finally, Rothstein shows how police and prosecutors brutally upheld these standards by supporting violent resistance to black families in white neighborhoods. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited future discrimination but did nothing to reverse residential patterns that had become deeply embedded. Yet recent outbursts of violence in cities like Baltimore, Ferguson, and Minneapolis show us precisely how the legacy of these earlier eras contributes to persistent racial unrest. "The American landscape will never look the same to readers of this important book" (Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund), as Rothstein's invaluable examination shows that only by relearning this history can we finally pave the way for the nation to remedy its unconstitutional past.
A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers. Victor and Eli started out as college roommates?brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find?aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge?but who will be left alive at the end? In Vicious , V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question. "A dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. A killer from page one...highly recommended!" ?Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Marvel Universe vs The Avengers and Patient Zero One of Publishers Weekly 's Best Fantasy Books of 2013 At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
Set in late 16th-century Africa, India, Portugal, and Japan, The African Samurai is a powerful historical novel based on the true story of Yasuke, Japan's first foreign-born samurai and the only samurai of African descent—for readers of Esi Edugyan and Lawrence Hill. In 1579, a Portuguese trade ship sails into port at Kuchinotsu, Japan, loaded with European wares and weapons. On board is Father Alessandro Valignano, an Italian priest and Jesuit missionary whose authority in central and east Asia is second only to the pope's. Beside him is his protector, a large and imposing East African man. Taken from his village as a boy, sold as a slave to Portuguese mercenaries, and forced to fight in wars in India, the young but experienced soldier is haunted by memories of his past. From Kuchinotsu, Father Valignano leads an expedition pushing inland toward the capital city of Kyoto. A riot brings his protector in front of the land's most powerful warlord, Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga is preparing a campaign to complete the unification of a nation that's been torn apart by over one hundred years of civil war. In exchange for permission to build a church, Valignano "gifts" his protector to Nobunaga, and the young East African man is reminded once again that he is less of a human and more of a thing to be traded and sold. After pledging his allegiance to the Japanese warlord, the two men from vastly different worlds develop a trust and respect for one another. The young soldier is granted the role of samurai, a title that has never been given to a foreigner; he is also given a new name: Yasuke. Not all are happy with Yasuke's ascension. There are whispers that he may soon be given his own fief, his own servants, his own samurai to command. But all of his dreams hinge on his ability to protect his new lord from threats both military and political, and from enemies both without and within. A magnificent reconstruction and moving study of a lost historical figure, The African Samurai is an enthralling narrative about the tensions between the East and the West and the making of modern Japan, from which rises the most unlikely hero.
Nothing brings a family together like a murder next door. A lighthearted whodunnit about a grandmother-mother-daughter trio of amateur sleuths. Think: Gilmore Girls, but with murder. " Mother-Daughter Murder Night is the perfect mix of family drama and murder mystery." — Kellye Garrett, award-winning author of Like a Sister High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of: her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she's built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won't kill her before the cancer does. Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She'll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power. With Jack and Beth's help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they've always resisted: depend on each other.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they'd weigh more than 50 million metric tons--as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.
A renowned supermodel's world is torn apart in an instant, sending her on an unexpected journey of discovery in this masterful novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel. Véronique Vincent is a star. At age twenty-two, she is one of the most sought-after models in fashion, gracing the covers of magazines and walking the runways of haute couture shows across the globe. Yet, despite being the consummate professional, Véronique wants little of the glamorous life that modeling affords her. The beloved daughter of a hardworking single mother, she has always preferred spending time at home or with her kindhearted boyfriend to attending lavish parties. When a quick getaway presents a welcome break on the heels of Paris Fashion Week and before a Vogue cover shoot in Tokyo, Véronique is thrilled, eager to escape the mayhem of her busy schedule. Then, out of nowhere, a tragic explosion at Zaventem Airport in Brussels changes her life forever. The ruthless terrorist attack has the entire world on edge. Véronique finds herself hospitalized and alone, devastated to learn that the blast has killed both of the people she loved most. She is also forced to confront the harsh reality that she has been severely injured, her famous appearance forever altered. As she plunges into seclusion, the industry that once adored her believes she has fallen off the map. In truth, she is struggling to find herself again after losing everything, and to discover what truly matters in life. But her mother's will, accompanied by a letter Véronique never knew existed, reveals long-held secrets, introducing her to a world she hadn't even known was possible. As Véronique forges bonds old and new, she begins to see a light beyond the darkness she has come to inhabit, finding peace in opportunities to help others, and redefining for herself what beauty is and what it truly means to be beautiful. Danielle Steel presents a story of one woman's breathtaking perseverance in moving beyond tragedy to a life more meaningful than she could ever have imagined.
A Today Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick In a near-future northern settlement, the fates of a young woman, a professor, and a mysterious collective of researchers collide in this mesmerizing and transportive debut that "delivers its big ideas with suspense, endlessly surprising twists, and abundant heart" (Jessamine Chan, New York Times bestselling author). In remote northern Canada, a team led by a visionary American architect is breaking ground on a building project called Camp Zero, intended to be the beginning of a new way of life. A clever and determined young woman code-named Rose is offered a chance to join the Blooms, a group hired to entertain the men in camp—but her real mission is to secretly monitor the mercurial architect in charge. In return, she'll receive a home for her climate-displaced Korean immigrant mother and herself. Rose quickly secures the trust of her target, only to discover that everyone has a hidden agenda, and nothing is as it seems. Through skillfully braided perspectives, including those of a young professor longing to escape his wealthy family and an all-woman military research unit struggling for survival at a climate station, the fate of Camp Zero's inhabitants reaches a stunning crescendo. Atmospheric, fiercely original, and utterly gripping, Camp Zero is an electrifying page-turner and a masterful exploration of who and what will survive in a warming world, and how falling in love and building community can be the most daring acts of all.
When Harriet Gordon receives word from a friend about a tragic death, she and Inspector Curran are thrust into a web of family secrets that threatens to destroy them both in this all-new mystery from the author of Singapore Sapphire . Singapore, 1910 —Harriet Gordon has found fulfillment at last. Her young ward, Will, has settled into his new home with Harriet and her brother, Julian. And Harriet’s employment as a typist at the Straits Settlements Police Force has given her an intriguing way to occupy her time and some much-needed financial independence. But when her friend and employer, Inspector Robert Curran, is called to the scene of a brutal murder and Harriet is asked to comfort the victim’s family, her newfound sense of contentment is abruptly shattered. Sylvie Nolan, the new and much-younger wife of Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan, has been bludgeoned to death in her bedroom. The tightly knit military community in Singapore quickly closes ranks to hinder Curran’s investigation, and Harriet realizes that her friendship with the colonel’s sister might prove useful. But to get close enough to the family’s secrets, Harriet must once again face her painful past, and Curran is forced to dredge up some long-buried secrets of his own. And when more shocking deaths occur that all seem linked to Sylvie’s murder, Harriet and Curran discover that they too are in the sights of a callous killer. . . .
As a midwife in turn-of-the-century New York, Sarah Brandt has seen pain and joy. Now she will work for something more-a search for justice-in a case of murder involving one of New York's richest families.
From the bestselling, award-winning author of Memorial and Lot , an irresistible, intimate novel about two young men, once best friends, whose lives collide again after a loss. Cam is living in Los Angeles and falling apart after the love of his life has died. Kai's ghost won't leave Cam alone; his spectral visits wild, tender, and unexpected. When Cam returns to his hometown of Houston, he crashes back into the orbit of his former best friend, TJ, and TJ's family bakery. TJ's not sure how to navigate this changed Cam, impenetrably cool and self-destructing, or their charged estrangement. Can they find a way past all that has been said - and left unsaid - to save each other? Could they find a way back to being okay again, or maybe for the first time? When secrets and wounds become so insurmountable that they devour us from within, hope and sustenance and friendship can come from the most unlikely source. Spanning Los Angeles, Houston, and Osaka, Family Meal is a story about how the people who know us the longest can hurt us the most, but how they also set the standard for love. With his signature generosity and eye for food, sex, love, and the moments that make us the most human, Bryan Washington returns with a brilliant new novel.
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Literary Hub , PopSugar , LibraryReads , Booklist , and Library Journal " Big Summer is the perfect beach read." ? PopSugar "Friendship, weddings, and rich people being weird? Obviously I am in." ? Literary Hub "If you love Jennifer Weiner, you'll love this one." ? Kirkus Reviews, starred review The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the "nothing short of brilliant" ( People ) Mrs. Everything returns with an unforgettable novel about friendship and forgiveness set during a disastrous wedding on picturesque Cape Cod. Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn't spoken one word to Drue in all this time?she doesn't even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media?so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless. Drue was always the one who had everything?except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne's no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She's built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend's siren song. A sparkling novel about the complexities of female relationships, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.
"Fascinating. . . . Kiersten White has taken the best parts of the Arthurian legend and made them all her own."?Ren?e Ahdieh, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn series. A new fantasy series set in the world of Camelot that bestselling author Christina Lauren calls "brilliant," reimagining the Arthurian legend . . . where nothing is as magical and terrifying as a girl. Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution?send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name?and her true identity?is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot. To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old?including Arthur's own family?demand things continue as they have been, and the new?those drawn by the dream of Camelot?fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself? *THE FIRST BOOK IN THE CAMELOT RISING TRILOGY* "A rare and enviable mix of impeccable writing, heart-stopping action, lush scenery, and complex, relatable characters . . . brilliant!" ? New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren "Stunning. . . . will leave every reader hungry for more." ?Somaiya Daud, author of the Mirage series
New York Times bestselling author Jay Winik brings to life in gripping detail the year 1944, which determined the outcome of World War II and put more pressure than any other on an ailing yet determined President Roosevelt. It was not inevitable that World War II would end as it did, or that it would even end well. 1944 was a year that could have stymied the Allies and cemented Hitler's waning power. Instead, it saved those democracies?but with a fateful cost. Now, in a superbly told story, Jay Winik, the acclaimed author of April 1865 and The Great Upheaval , captures the epic images and extraordinary history as never before. 1944 witnessed a series of titanic events: FDR at the pinnacle of his wartime leadership as well as his reelection, the planning of Operation Overlord with Churchill and Stalin, the unprecedented D-Day invasion, the liberation of Paris and the horrific Battle of the Bulge, and the tumultuous conferences that finally shaped the coming peace. But on the way, millions of more lives were still at stake as President Roosevelt was exposed to mounting evidence of the most grotesque crime in history, the Final Solution. Just as the Allies were landing in Normandy, the Nazis were accelerating the killing of millions of European Jews. Winik shows how escalating pressures fell on an all but dying Roosevelt, whose rapidly deteriorating health was a closely guarded secret. Here then, as with D-Day, was a momentous decision for the president. Was winning the war the best way to rescue the Jews? Was a rescue even possible? Or would it get in the way of defeating Hitler? In a year when even the most audacious undertakings were within the world's reach, including the liberation of Europe, one challenge?saving Europe's Jews?seemed to remain beyond Roosevelt's grasp. As he did so brilliantly in April 1865 , Winik provides a stunningly fresh look at the twentieth century's most pivotal year. Magisterial, bold, and exquisitely rendered, 1944: FDR and the Year that Changed History is the first book to tell these events with such moral clarity and unprecedented sweep, and a moving appreciation of the extraordinary struggles of the era's outsized figures. 1944 is destined to take its place as one of the great works of World War II.