The empire of Elesthene once spanned a continent, but its rise heralded the death of magic. It tore itself apart from within, leaving behind a patchwork of kingdoms struggling to rebuild. But when a new dictator, the ambitious and enigmatic Imperator Elgar, seizes power in the old capital and seeks to recreate the lost empire anew, the other kingdoms have little hope of stopping him. Prince Kelken of Reglay finds himself at odds with his father at his country's darkest hour; the marquise of Esthrades is unmatched in politics and strategy, but she sits at a staggering military disadvantage. And Issamira, the most powerful of the free countries, has shut itself off from the conflict, thrown into confusion by the disappearance of its crown prince and the ensuing struggle for succession.Everything seems aligned in Elgar's favor, but when he presses a band of insignificant but skilled alley-dwellers into his service for a mission of greatest secrecy, they find an unexpected... Views: 35
Can playing hockey help a street kid get his life back?After his mom dies, and the landlord kicks him out, 12-year-old Jonathan faces the loneliness and danger of life on the streets — until he meets Lewis. Lewis takes him under his wing and leads him to his new home among a group of kids living in an abandoned underground shopping mall who call themselves the "Undergrounders." Now renamed "Mouse," Jonathan runs errands, delivers packages and panhandles for food money.An escape from this life underground comes to him in the form of hockey gear. Stolen hockey gear, but hockey gear nonetheless. He suits up and heads to the community rink, where he befriends regular kids who welcome him into their game and onto their team. He agrees, knowing he can never tell them about being homeless.Playing hockey makes him feel like a kid again, but keeping his double life a secret proves to be more difficult and dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Views: 35
S. J. Parris returns with the next Giordano Bruno mystery, set inside Queen Elizabeth's palace and steeped in period atmospherics and the strange workings of the occult. It is the year of the Great Conjunction, when the two most powerful planets, Jupiter and Saturn, align — an astrological phenomenon that occurs once every thousand years and heralds the death of one age and the dawn of another. The streets of London are abuzz with predictions of horrific events to come, possibly even the death of Queen Elizabeth. When several of the queen's maids of honor are found dead, rumors of black magic abound. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the crimes. While Dee turns to a mysterious medium claiming knowledge of the murders, Bruno fears that something far more sinister is at work. But even as the climate of fear at the palace intensifies, the queen refuses to believe that the killer could be someone within her own court. Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to give the queen the proof she needs without putting her, England, or his own life in danger? In this utterly gripping and gorgeously written novel, S. J. Parris has proven herself the new master of the historical thriller. Views: 35
Hijinks galore among the deliriously funny ad men and women in this electronic epistolary novel e's wickedly hilarious crew from the Miller Shanks Ad Agency is back with more office shenanigans. The staff has moved on to Meerkat360, a sleek and self-consciously hip boutique agency, where they are joined by a fresh cast of industrial-strength nutjobs. Through e-mails, texts, and blog entries they pitch ad campaigns—Estée Lauder's new Margaret Thatcher perfume, anyone?—mangle love lives, and barely navigate office and family politics. Armed with the acid wit of e upgraded with the full arsenal of modern cyber tools, e2 leaves you rolling on your cubicle floor and snorting vile vending-machine coffee out of your nostrils. Views: 35
It begins as a simple missing persons case—a young MMA fighter's mother has mysteriously disappeared. But as New Orleans private eye Chanse MacLeod starts digging around, he discovers that she is the leader of a group fighting the powerful Archdiocese of New Orleans over the closing of two churches. As the trail leads from corrupt church officials to powerful real estate developers to the world of cage fighting, Chanse soon realizes there are a lot of powerful people who want to make sure she stays gone—and don't have a problem with getting rid of a pesky gay private eye. Views: 35
A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again--under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself--she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the... Views: 35
This is the fascinating story of the dream of a completely new aircraft, a hybrid of the plane and the rigid airship - huge, wingless, moving slowly through the lower sky. John McPhee chronicles the perhaps unfathomable perseverance of the aircraft's sucessive progenitors Views: 35
Little time has passed since the horror known as Miranda turned Rowan Gant's and his wife Felicity O'Brien's lives into a nightmare, and still her evil continues to affect them on levels unimagined. Fighting to cope with the lingering aftereffects and once again achieve normalcy, the resilient duo find themselves embroiled in another murder investigation with all too familiar implications. Views: 35
The Ghost of the Chattering Bones The Alden children knew there was a mystery at Eton Place, but they had no idea there would be a ghost there, too! A family friend believes there is a valuable piece of jewelry hidden on her property, but she only has one clue to help them find it. Will they find the treasure, or will the ghost of the Chattering Bones scare them away first? The Creature in Ogopogo Lake The Aldens are visiting Grandfather's friend Abby in Peachland, Canada—home of the mysterious lake monster called Ogopogo. When the children learn that Abby must sell her resort unless she can attract more business, they decide to help. But someone or something is trying to get in their way. Can they save the resort? The Vampire Mystery Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny meet Mr. Hudson, a local author who is best known for his novel about a vampire. But rumors of a real vampire are going around town—a vampire who haunts the graveyard behind Mr. Hudson's... Views: 35
When two gorgeous, popular witches clash over a man, it's magical mayhem in this conclusion to the Life's a Witch trilogy!It's been a trying year for teen witch Hadley Bishop—she led her coven into battle against the Parrishables and lost her mother in a surprise attack. Now that the Parrishables and their leader, Samuel Parris, have been defeated, Hadley is looking forward to a relaxing, love-filled summer with boyfriend Asher Astley. Hadley's summer plans take an unexpected turn though when she and her coven head off to a witchy summer intensive. Once there, Hadley immediately finds herself in a power struggle with Brooklyn Sparks. Like Hadley, Brooklyn is gorgeous and popular, but she's also...Asher's ex-girlfriend?! As if this news isn't enough to rattle Hadley, there are rumors of a rogue witch in the woods, and someone is playing dangerous pranks around camp. Hadley suspects that Brooklyn is behind the pranks, but is she willing to risk... Views: 35
Emma Rose is SO not famousSo how did she score inside information on the most talked-about party of the year? Because Emma is secretly the hottest new fashion designer—Allegra Biscotti—and hired to whip up a Sweet Sixteen dress for the guest of honor. Wait...fashion emergency! How can she create a fiercely fashionable dress and keep her secret? There's only one solution: Emma must go undercover—as her own intern!But when Emma feels the pressure by her BFF to explain how she got an invite from the in-crowd and an ultra-fabulous fashion internship—just when Jackson finally starts paying attention to her—she knows she has to make it work......or will it all come apart at the seams? Views: 35
Sworn virgin, instrument of the god’s vengeance—helpless in her target’s arms. Sequel to Heart of the Volcano Maya, leader of the temple maenads, has learned nothing but contempt for the weakness of her human body. She lives for the ritual that transforms her into maenad form, ready to administer the vengeance of the volcano god. Killing a fugitive shifter is not just her duty, but her delight—until, against all odds, he captures her, trapping her in her worst nightmare. Her vulnerable, easily controlled human form. Marked for destruction by his forbidden gifts, empath and shifter Philos fled the city years ago to become a warrior for persecuted people like him. Now he has the enemy at his mercy—a maenad desperate to regain her power. But when they touch, he finds his empathic power not so much a gift as a terrible danger. To his people, and his heart. Gradually, Maya realizes Philos is not a monster deserving of death. Yet even as she hesitantly offers to help in the war against the priests, she can risk no more than the bare beginnings of friendship with the man she was supposed to kill. Anything more, and she will forever lose access to the power she cannot bear to live without… Warning: Contains violence, deadly spider-venom, sex that gets interrupted at the last minute, sex that doesn’t get interrupted at the last minute, and plenty of not-your-usual shape-shifters. Views: 35
