After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.
To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.
In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.
Openly Straight is an award-winning novel about being out, being proud, and being ready for something else.
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer, he's won skiing prizes, and he likes to write. And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased. He goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. While that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret—not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate break down, meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story, and most of all, he falls in love with Ben... who doesn't even know that love is possible.
This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate feeling different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.
A fallen boxer. A woman with a broken dream. A competition...
He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting... Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I've ever met in my life.
He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I've never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong—but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents...
But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.
I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.
If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?
Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith is an exhilarating and heart-wrenching young adult debut novel that follows seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd. With her parents away, Kiri plans to immerse herself in her music and win Battle of the Bands with her bandmate and best friend, Lukas, hoping that he will finally see her as more than a friend.
However, her summer takes a drastic turn when she receives a phone call from a stranger who claims to have belongings from her deceased sister, Sukey. This revelation propels Kiri into a tumultuous journey of self-discovery that reopens old wounds and unveils new mysteries.
As Kiri navigates through love, loss, and the chaos of being alive, she experiences a summer filled with music, madness, heartbreak, and unexpected joy. Wild Awake delves into the essence of what it means to be alive, capturing the messy glory of life's experiences.
Ah yes, hello! You there! Standing in the bookstore looking at the book! Yes, I would like to have a word with you, if I might.
Hello.
OK, maybe I need a few more words, such as, perhaps, thank you for picking up the book. You are half-way to saying, "Yes, I think I would like to read this book," which is a very nice thing for you to say.
You see, as the author of this book, the more people who pick it up and glance at this hopefully humorous blurb (my publisher told me earlier today that I needed to write a blurb, and advised it would be good to make it funny. I am doing my best, Tc.) the more people will hopefully decide to purchase it, and if that happens, you will be happy because you will have possession of a hilarious bit of writing (my book). I will be happy because writers write so readers can read. And Tc will be happy because the whole point of agreeing to publish The World According to Crash - Miscellaneous Stuff & Stuff is, well, to sell books.
So let's make the world a happier place all around and purchase, read, and hopefully write a rockin' review of The World According to Crash - Miscellaneous Stuff & Stuff.
Thank you for your time.
Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She's seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one.
Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she's spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude's fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas?
Jude tells herself it's strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude's defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she's speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong?
Jude may have taken an oath, but she's beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.
The Rosie Project is narrated by Don Tillman, a socially awkward genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love. Don Tillman is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand and whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is not wired for romance. When an acquaintance suggests that he would make a "wonderful" husband, Don is initially shocked. Despite his skepticism, he cannot deny the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, leading him to embark upon The Wife Project.
In a methodical, evidence-based manner, Don seeks to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Yet he meets Rosie Jarman, who embodies all these disqualifying traits. Rosie is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent, and on a quest of her own to identify her biological father. As they collaborate on The Father Project, Don's Wife Project takes a back seat, and an unlikely relationship develops, challenging the genetically minded professor to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.
The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel that captures the heart of anyone who has ever tenaciously pursued life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.
First published in 1962, J.G. Ballard's mesmerizing and ferociously prescient novel imagines a terrifying future in which solar radiation and global warming have melted the polar ice caps and Triassic-era jungles have overrun a submerged and tropical London. Set during the year 2145, the novel follows biologist Dr. Robert Kerans and his team of scientists as they confront a surreal cityscape populated by giant iguanas, albino alligators, and endless swarms of malarial insects. Nature has swallowed all but a few remnants of human civilization, and, slowly, Kerans and his companions are transformed—both physically and psychologically—by this prehistoric environment.
Echoing Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness—complete with a mad white hunter and his hordes of native soldiers—this "powerful and beautifully clear" (Brian Aldiss) work becomes a thrilling adventure and a haunting examination of the effects of environmental collapse on the human mind.
I'm writing this because you begged. You know how I love the begging. In fact, you probably know too many things and know them far too well.
Who am I? Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out. I was a whore in my youth, a killer since my adolescence, and a monster as a man. I am the man who kidnapped Livvie. I am the man who held her in a dark room for weeks. But, most importantly, I am the man she loves. She loves me. It's quite sick, isn't it?
Of course, there's more to our story than can be surmised in a few short sentences, but I'm at a loss for justifying my behavior back then. I assume if you're reading this, I don't need to make those justifications. You've already made your own.
You're reading this because you want to know about the rest of the story. You want to know what happened that warm summer night in September of 2010, the night I met Livvie at The Paseo. It was the night my life changed all over again. It didn't happen exactly as Livvie said. She's been very kind to me in the retelling of our story. The truth is far more...complicated.
From the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Half of a Yellow Sun, the story of two Nigerians making their way in the U.S. and the UK, raising universal questions of race, belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for identity and a home.
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time.
Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion--for each other and for their homeland.
Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller by Koushun Takami, is a profound allegory of survival in a world where youths are forced into a deadly game. This controversial novel, first published in Japan and criticized for its violent content, quickly became a bestseller and a cultural phenomenon.
The story unfolds on a deserted island, where a class of junior high school students is subjected to a brutal authoritarian program. Each student is armed and ordered to kill their classmates until only one survivor remains. This ruthless game of survival is a stark reflection of a dog-eat-dog society and explores the lengths to which individuals will go to stay alive.
Adapted into a hit movie, Battle Royale has earned its place as a contemporary Japanese pulp classic and is now available to the English-speaking world, capturing the imaginations of readers with its gripping narrative and moral dilemmas.
In a bold move to give disenfranchised Slayers a meaningful societal role (with pay), Kennedy recruits Buffy to act as bodyguard for high-profile clientele. But unlike the other recruits, Buffy struggles to abandon her Slaying instincts and looks for demony threats where none lie (much to Kennedy's dismay). So it's only natural that her first job is to protect a tech mogul who just so happens to be running from demon assassins!
Collects Buffy Season 9 #11–#15.
Brynne Bennett is living the good life. An American art student at the University of London and part-time photographic model, she’s putting her life back on track with school and lots of hard work. When ultra successful London businessman, Ethan Blackstone, buys her nude portrait, he isn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer. He wants Brynne in his bed and makes plans to keep her there no matter what. His dominant nature captivates and ensnares despite the demons she carries inside her.
But there are secrets in this relationship. Huge ones. Can Ethan free Brynne from the past that has marked her? Will Brynne let him or will the specters tormenting her resurface to destroy them both…
Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids in the Pacific Northwest. He's living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he's madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.
With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life's complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what's important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.
Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen's experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.
A brilliant debut novel that brings to life an abandoned hospital where a tough-minded doctor decides to harbor a hunted young girl, with powerful consequences.
In the final days of December 2004, in a small rural village in Chechnya, eight-year-old Havaa hides in the woods when her father is abducted by Russian forces. Fearing for her life, she flees with their neighbor Akhmed—a failed physician—to the bombed-out hospital, where Sonja, the one remaining doctor, treats a steady stream of wounded rebels and refugees and mourns her missing sister. Over the course of five dramatic days, Akhmed and Sonja reach back into their pasts to unravel the intricate mystery of coincidence, betrayal, and forgiveness that unexpectedly binds them and decides their fate.
With The English Patient's dramatic sweep and The Tiger's Wife's expert sense of place, Marra gives us a searing debut about the transcendent power of love in wartime, and how it can cause us to become greater than we ever thought possible.
Two days before a father gives his daughter away in an all-American east coast wedding. Two days for a seemingly safe world of wealth and privilege to unravel.
59-year-old patriarch Winn Van Meter is heading for his family's retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days this sanctuary will be overrun with relatives and friends as Winn prepares to marry off his daughter Daphne to Greyson Duff.
Winn has never really understood his daughters. Daphne is pleased to be settling down with a fine match, even though she's heavily pregnant at her own wedding. Her sister Livia has foolishly allowed her heart to be broken by Teddy Fenn, the son of her father's oldest social rival.
The Van Meters have gathered to celebrate, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust seep through the cracks in the revelry. Winn, having spent his life following the rules of the east coast upper crust, must now confront his failings, desires, and humanity.
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
From the Christian Crusades to the war in Afghanistan, the Vampire Origins series seamlessly weaves historical fact with vampire fiction. Exploring the origins of five very different vampire tribes - Strigoi, Cambion, Strix, Nosferatu and Bretonnian - the series opens with Book 1 of the Strigoi series; Project Ichorous.
He slaughtered 30,000 in one night in Jerusalem and impaled 100,000 more in Romania in the 1400s. Now Vlad has discovered a way to enslave humans and rule the world - and this time, the death toll will be catastrophic. Only one thing can put an end to his plans - a Strigoi human. And Vlad will stop at nothing to eradicate every last one.
Scarlett Fraser has no idea she's the very thing Vlad is hunting, or that the castle her dad is renovating is ground zero for Vlad's Ichorous Project and his plans for world domination. She can stop Vlad and save the world but she must stay human long enough to do so. As Scarlett is about to discover, staying human is a lot easier said than done.
CHANGE FOR THE BETTER! Learn to create world-class logistics and supply chains in any industry using kaizen's seven main principles. At a time when businesses are restructuring to become more competitive, Kaizen in Logistics and Supply Chains is at the forefront of this journey--and can point you in the right direction to help your company in implementing innovative production and logistics systems and changing its culture for the better.
Based on the themes of Masaaki Imai's bestseller, Gemba Kaizen, considered the "bible" of the quality/management movement, this new work provides the first highly detailed explanation of how to create world-class logistics and supply chains regardless of industry. It includes more than 200 photographs, flow diagrams, value stream maps, and tables--and features a case study that illustrates how a company became more competitive by successfully implementing kaizen principles. There's never been a better guide to lead your company's quest for improvement.
KEY FEATURES: Explanation of how the seven main kaizen principles can be applied to transform world-class logistics and worldwide supply chains; Prerequisites for implementing these systems, including stabilization and change management activities; Concrete steps to implementing kanban systems, internal and external logistics loops, design flow production lines, and supermarket systems; Detailed real-world case study to illustrate successful implementation of the book's theories, and scorecards so readers can evaluate their progress in practice. Foreword by Masaaki Imai, Founder and Chairman of the Kaizen Institute, and author of the bestseller Gemba Kaizen.
There is an unseen world of good and evil where nightmares are fought and hope is reborn. Enter The Door Within.
Aidan Thomas is miserable. Within two weeks, Aidan’s life is completely uprooted as his parents move the family across the country to care for his ailing grandfather. The quiet but imaginative Aidan is struggling with attending a new school and fitting in with a new group of friends. But when he begins having nightmares and eerie events occur around his neighborhood, Aidan finds himself drawn to his grandfather's basement—where he discovers three ancient scrolls and a mysterious invitation to another world.
No longer confined to the realm of his own imagination, Aidan embarks on an adventure where he discovers a long-fought war between good and evil. With the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, Aidan faces Paragory, the eternal enemy with unfathomable power. Will Aidan be willing to risk everything and trust the unseen hand of the one true King?
Seventeen-year-old Kari meets Neil Mars. "Neil as in Armstrong and Mars…as in Bruno." A boy who beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy Kari has ever had. But she knows she can’t get close to him. Not ever. Because that would mean telling him everything. Coming clean.
Kari can’t bear the idea of changing the way Neil looks at her. Like she’s the only girl in the world. His reverence is something too precious to lose. Perhaps even at the cost of losing him. But Kari doesn't know why Neil calls her his ‘Angel’ and when she finds out, she realizes what love is all about: Boundless joy, unending longing, and a lot of heartache.
I left everything I knew behind. But it was worth it. He was worth it.
No one thought an ordinary girl like me would last two minutes living with the Amish, not even me. There are a lot more rules and a lot less freedom, and I miss my family and the life I once had.
Worst of all, Noah and I aren't even allowed to see each other. Not until I've proven myself. If I can find a way to make it work, we'll be NOAH & ROSE together forever.
But not everybody believes this is where I belong.
Steal My Sunshine is a poignant tale set against the backdrop of a sweltering Melbourne heatwave. The protagonist, Hannah, finds her family life warping into something unrecognizable, filled with fear and uncertainty. The story delves deep into Hannah's struggle to address the issues plaguing her family, a task that seems monumental for someone who feels invisible and powerless.
Hannah's journey for solace leads her to two people who appear to have a grasp on the true essence of life: her rebellious best friend, Chloe, and her unconventional grandmother, Essie. Hannah's faithfulness to both is put to the test as she grapples with her growing attraction to Chloe's older brother and a harrowing secret from Essie that casts a new light on the family's disarray.
Amidst the personal turmoil, Steal My Sunshine also uncovers a distressing chapter of Australia's history—the enforced adoptions that compelled 'wayward girls' and single mothers to relinquish their babies. This practice, sanctioned by churches and hospitals, continued for many years, and its devastating effects are only now being recognized.
With a narrative that intertwines Hannah's personal conflicts and the broader societal issues, the novel is a testament to resilience and self-belief in the face of adversity and historical injustice.
Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau, a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life.
While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells’s prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing “smarter” human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick’s adventures on Dr. Moreau’s island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.
In this final installment of the bestselling fantastical “TO LIVE” trilogy, Shawn Michals morphs into a new guise, that of Rusty Loury, a former hero to millions who flees back to his home island from Los Angeles and tries to bury his past not only as his persona as Shawn Michals but as a name he has never known. Yet a mysterious woman, Bina, locates him and coaxes him into the present, and in doing so forces him to find revolution, evolution, and aspects of himself previously thought lost and buried. The unfolding events affect both Rusty Loury and also the island upon which he knows as home. He is called upon to lead, and must find within himself the will to launch a surge of action against not only the powers that are stifling freedoms of the island’s inhabitants, but also his own personal abandon to choose. What fantasy will this wanderer accept in the end? Either path leads to a way to dance about this fantasy we all may live. Open this book. It’s a risk worth taking.
Zones of social abandonment are emerging everywhere in Brazil's big cities—places like Vita, where the unwanted, the mentally ill, the sick, and the homeless are left to die. This haunting, unforgettable story centers on a young woman named Catarina, increasingly paralyzed and said to be mad, living out her time at Vita.
Anthropologist João Biehl leads a detective-like journey to know Catarina; to unravel the cryptic, poetic words that are part of the "dictionary" she is compiling; and to trace the complex network of family, medicine, state, and economy in which her abandonment and pathology took form. As Biehl painstakingly relates Catarina's words to a vanished world and elucidates her condition, we learn of subjectivities unmade and remade under economic pressures, pharmaceuticals as moral technologies, a public common sense that lets the unsound and unproductive die, and anthropology's unique power to work through these juxtaposed fields.
Vita's methodological innovations, bold fieldwork, and rigorous social theory make it an essential reading for anyone who is grappling with how to understand the conditions of life, thought, and ethics in the contemporary world.
Angel's quest to resurrect Giles has brought an old friend to London—Willow! Tensions run high as these two confront the loss of Giles, but before blood can be shed, Willow has a proposition. She'll help Angel on his quest if he'll help her find magic. To do that, she'll need Connor to get them into Quor'toth, a hell dimension where magic runs deep.
This volume collects issues #11–#15 and ties into the events in Buffy Season 9. Christos Gage takes Willow to other worlds!
Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things. Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak.
And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind. When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?
After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he's living in his office. Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry -- known to her friends as the Cuckoo -- famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that.
The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man. You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.
In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood. She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever—and possibly end human and vampire existence.
There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago—and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time. Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.
In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program. Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.
Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.
Stephanie Plum has a whole lot of trouble on her doorstep. Her Uncle Fred has disappeared and Grandma Mazur is convinced he's been abducted by aliens. Meanwhile, Cousin Vinnie has asked her to bring in the vertically challenged Randy Briggs who's jumped bail. But instead of coming quietly, he has taken up residence in Stephanie's closet.
The mysterious man called Bunchy is trailing Stephanie in the hope of tracking down Fred. And Benito Ramirez is back from jail, quoting Scripture and vowing to introduce Stephanie to God - face to face. Thankfully Joe Morelli, the irresistible cop, is still around to give her the odd sleepless night - though now he faces tough competition from the enigmatic Ranger...
Kylie Galen's life hasn't been the same since her world was turned upside-down in Born at Midnight, Shadow Falls #1, and now an epic conclusion to her journey—not to mention a tough choice between two guys!—is brewing in Chosen at Nightfall.
When Kylie Galen left Shadow Falls, she thought it was the hardest decision of her life. Heartbroken and separated from everyone she loves, she has to embrace her abilities and what it means to be a chameleon. But as Kylie's journey comes to a close, she must return to the camp that started it all... and she must finally chose between the two boys who love her. The werewolf who broke her heart when he chose his pack over her, and the half-fae who ran from their intense attraction before they ever really had a chance. For Kylie, everything will finally be revealed and nothing will ever be the same.
A guy walks into a bar car and...
From here, the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved.
Sedaris remembers his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants), his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant), and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered Pygmy.
With Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris shows once again why his work has been called hilarious, elegant, and surprisingly moving.
Quintana of Charyn marks the climactic conclusion of Melina Marchetta's epic fantasy trilogy, The Lumatere Chronicles. In this final installment, the story continues with Froi, who has been separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect. As he travels through Charyn, he is on a quest to find Quintana, the mother of Charyn's unborn king, and to build an army that will secure the child's right to rule.
Amidst the backdrop of impending war that threatens to engulf the lands, including Lumatere, Froi is faced with a conflict of loyalty between his family and his country. With the help of those he holds dear, Froi's journey is one of self-discovery and redemption, as he seeks to right the wrongs and bring peace to a divided world.
The intertwining of bloodlines, politics, and love that began in Finnikin of the Rock and continued in Froi of the Exiles reaches its engrossing climax in this tale of power, heartbreak, and the enduring strength of love. Marchetta's mastery of character and world-building shines in this unforgettable adventure, where the personal and political collide in a narrative rich with complex, deeply human characters.
In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt and Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surrounding Florence, Italy.
In 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in front of their 14th century farmhouse had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. Preston, intrigued, meets Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to learn more.
This is the true story of their search for—and identification of—the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. And then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston has his phone tapped, is interrogated, and told to leave the country. Spezi fares worse: he is thrown into Italy's grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. Like one of Preston's thrillers, The Monster of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide—and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.
Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. Brie's life ends at sixteen: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul... who just might hold the key to her forever after. With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?
One by one, people are mysteriously disappearing from a small Maine town. Four months ago, a ruthless murderer killed two people and kidnapped three more, including Danny Sullivan's sister, who barely escaped. Unfortunately, so did the killer, vanishing without a trace into the vast wilderness. When the police fail to find his sister's captor, Danny returns to Maine to hunt him down.
He begins his search with another survivor, bed and breakfast owner Mandy Brown, but her refusal to cooperate raises Danny's suspicions. What is the beautiful innkeeper hiding? Mandy Brown has a secret. But sexy Danny Sullivan, his relentless questions, and the desire that simmers between them threaten to expose the truth. A revelation that puts her family in danger. As more people disappear, it becomes clear the killer is planning another ritual—and that he's circling in on Mandy.
No Kidding, comedy writer Henriette Mantel, along with Jennifer Coolidge, tackles the topic of actually not having kids. This fascinating collection features a star-studded group of contributors—including Margaret Cho, Wendy Liebman, Laurie Graff, and other accomplished, funny women—writing about why they opted out of motherhood.
Whether their reasons have to do with courage, apathy, monetary considerations, health issues, or something else entirely, the essays featured in the pages of No Kidding honestly (and humorously) delve into the minds of women who have chosen what they would call a more sane path.
Hilarious, compelling, and inspiring, No Kidding reveals a perspective that has too long been hidden, shamed, and silenced—and celebrates an entire population of women who have decided that kids are just not right for them.