Hawaii

      James A. Michener
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Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener brings Hawaii’s epic history vividly to life in a classic saga that has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1959. As the volcanic Hawaiian Islands sprout from the ocean floor, the land remains untouched for centuries—until, little more than a thousand years ago, Polynesian seafarers make the perilous journey across the Pacific, flourishing in this tropical paradise according to their ancient traditions. Then, in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries arrive, bringing with them a new creed and a new way of life. Based on exhaustive research and told in Michener’s immersive prose, Hawaii is the story of disparate peoples struggling to keep their identity, live in harmony, and, ultimately, join together. Praise for Hawaii “Wonderful . . . [a] mammoth epic of the islands.”—The Baltimore Sun “One novel you must not miss! A tremendous work from every point of view—thrilling, exciting, lusty, vivid, stupendous.”—Chicago Tribune “From Michener’s devotion to the islands, he has written a monumental chronicle of Hawaii, an extraordinary and fascinating novel.”—Saturday Review “Memorable . . . a superb biography of a people.”—*Houston Chronicle* From the Trade Paperback edition.

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    Jason and Medeia

      John Gardner
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A mythological masterpiece about dedication and the disintegration of romantic affection In this magnificent epic poem, John Gardner renders his interpretation of the ancient story of Jason and Medeia. Confined in the palace of King Creon, and longing to return to his rightful kingdom Iolcus, Jason asks his wife, the sorceress Medeia, to use her powers of enchantment to destroy the tryrant King Pelias. Out of love she acquiesces, only to find that upon her return Jason has replaced her with King Creon’s beautiful daughter, Glauce. An ancient myth fraught with devotion and betrayal, deception and ambition, Jason and Medeia is one of the greatest classical legends, and Gardner’s masterful retelling is yet another achievement for this highly acclaimed author.  

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    Dreamfall

      Amy Plum
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Cata Cordova suffers from such debilitating insomnia that she agreed to take part in an experimental new procedure. She thought things couldn’t get any worse...but she was terribly wrong. Soon after the experiment begins, there’s a malfunction with the lab equipment, and Cata and six other teen patients are plunged into a shared dreamworld with no memory of how they got there. Even worse, they come to the chilling realization that they are trapped in a place where their worst nightmares have come to life. Hunted by creatures from their darkest imaginations and tormented by secrets they’d rather keep buried, Cata and the others will be forced to band together to face their biggest fears. And if they can’t find a way to defeat their dreams, they will never wake up.

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    Emerald City

      Jennifer Egan
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These eleven masterful stories – the first collection from acclaimed author Jennifer Egan – deal with loneliness and longing, regret and desire. Egan’s characters – models and housewives, bankers and schoolgirls – are united by their search for something outside their own realm of experience. They set out from locations as exotic as China and Bora Bora, as cosmopolitan as downtown Manhattan, or as familiar as suburban Illinois to seek their own transformations. Elegant and poignant, the stories in Emerald City are seamless evocations of self-discovery. From the Trade Paperback edition.

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    The Old Dragon of the Mountain's Christmas

      S. E. Smith
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Born prematurely, Christoff wasn’t as big or as strong as his older brother or the other younglings in the village. Unable to fit in, he does the best he can, helping his father and mother on their farm. His life changes when the mountain near their farm awakens. Believing he is the only one who can quiet it, he retreats to the mountain to watch over the village that shunned him. A hermit for centuries, he dreams of the day he can move on to his next life; a life that he hopes will give him a chance of finding his true mate. He knows his time has come when the mountain begins to tremble again. What he doesn’t expect is a group of younglings who suddenly appear in the hopes of saving a thing called Christmas. When the mountain erupts, he never expects to awaken on a strange planet light years away, or to meet an unusual woman who sees beneath his deformity to the warrior hidden within. Can the love of a special woman and her family heal Christoff’s tortured soul? Find out what happens when the Goddess Aikaterina gives The Old Dragon his very own special Christmas.

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    The Devil Who Tamed Her

      Johanna Lindsey
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Ophelia Reid is an incomparable beauty with a reputation for starting rumors and spreading them. Having purposely wrecked her engagement to Duncan MacTavish, a future marquis, which her social-climbing father arranged, Ophelia wants to return to London's marriage mart and make her own choice of a wealthy husband. But on her journey home, something unexpected happens.... The heir to a dukedom, Raphael Locke, Viscount Lynnfield is -- in spite of his disinterest in marriage -- the most sought-after young lord in England. He instantly disliked Ophelia when she caused a scandal to avoid marriage to his friend MacTavish, but having comforted her in a tearful moment, he begins to wonder if she's not all bad. So when MacTavish claims that Ophelia will never be anything but a spiteful beauty, Rafe bets his friend that he can turn her into a kindhearted lady who will one day make a good match, just not with him. With her parents' blessing, Rafe commandeers Ophelia's coach and whisks her -- chaperoned, of course -- to his remote estate in the countryside. There, as he tries to show his furious, sharp-tongued "guest" the error of her ways, he discovers the surprising reasons for her bad behavior. Soon his daily lessons with Ophelia take effect and he finds himself irresistibly attracted to her. When Rafe champions the new and improved Ophelia's re-entry to London society, marriage proposals pour in. Only then does Rafe start to wonder whether he hasn't gone and fallen in love with Ophelia himself.

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    The Spirit Ring

      Lois McMaster Bujold
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Fiametta Beneforte dreamed of making beautiful and enchanted "objets d'art, " but alas her magician-goldsmith father was more likely to have her scrub the kiln than study magic. After all, it was a waste to train a mere daughter beyond the needs of the moment.Thur Ochs dreamed of escaping the icy mines of Bruinwald. But the letter from his brother Uri arranging his apprenticeship to Master Beneforte was not the only force that drew him over the mountains to the Duchy of Montefoglia... A betrayal at a banquet plunges Thur and Fiametta into a struggle against men who would use vile magic for vile ends. Needs of this desperate moment will require all their wits, all their talents, and all their courage, if they are to rescue both Montefoglia and the souls of those they most love.

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    New Beginnings

      Victoria Schwab
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Meet a guardian angel like no other, from a writer like no other. Bold rising star, Victoria Schwab, makes her whimsical, inspiring, and clever middle-grade debut. At a first glance, Aria seems like your average twelve-year-old girl. She has coppery hair, colored shoelaces, and a passion for cupcakes. But there's more to Aria than meets the eye. She can dream things into existence, use her own shadow like a door, and change the world in small, important ways. Aria is a guardian angel. She's been sent here to earn her wings. But to do that, she'll have to help three different girls. Aria's first mission is Gabby Torres. Gabby's always been quiet, but ever since her brother got sick, she's barely said a word.When a new school offers her a fresh start, Gabby wants badly to be someone new, but she quickly learns it's hard to make friends while keeping half her life a secret. And then Aria shows up. Aria, who knows exactly what to say and do to make Gabby feel better. Will she be able to help Gabby find her voice? And will Gabby still trust Aria when she finds out exactly what she is?

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    The Clue of the Dancing Puppet

      Carolyn Keene
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At the Van Pelt estate, home of a local acting troupe called the Footlighters, a mysterious dancing puppet haunts the grounds. From the moment Nancy, Bess, and George arrive at the mansion, the dancing puppet mystery is further complicated by the Footlighters’ temperamental leading lady and a Shakespearean actor. Nancy’s search of the mansion’s dark, musty attic for clues to the weird mystery and an encounter with two jewel theft suspects add perplexing angles to the puzzle. This book is the original text. A revised text does not exist.

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    The Boy Who Lost Fairyland

      Catherynne M. Valente
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When a young troll named Hawthorn is stolen from Fairyland by the Red Wind, he becomes a changeling – a human boy -- in the strange city of Chicago, a place no less bizarre and magical than Fairyland when seen through trollish eyes. Left with a human family, Hawthorn struggles with his troll nature and his changeling fate. But when he turns twelve, he stumbles upon a way back home, to a Fairyland much changed from the one he remembers. Hawthorn finds himself at the center of a changeling revolution--until he comes face to face with a beautiful young Scientiste with very big, very red assistant. Time magazine has praised Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland books as "one of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century." In this fourth installment of her saga, Valente 's wisdom and wit will charm readers of all ages.

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    The Lovers * Dark Is the Sun * Riders of the Purple Wage

      Philip José Farmer
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From a multiple Hugo winner and Science Fiction Grand Master: Three mind-bending stories featuring future worlds, space travel, and aliens. Author Philip José Farmer blasts into space, races into the future, and travels back in time in three astoundingly original and thrilling science fiction adventures. The Lovers: Linguist Hal Yarrow catches a lucky break with an assignment on planet Ozagen, allowing him to escape the theocracy on thirty-first-century Earth. But he can’t shake Pornsen, his gapt—something like a personal guardian angel—who harangues him for even the slightest wrongdoing. Yarrow submits to Pornsen’s constant chaperoning, until he meets Jeannette Rastignac. She’s not his wife, his faith says any contact with her is sin, and there are other, odder warnings about Jeannette. But Yarrow’s in love . . . Dark Is the Sun: Fifteen billion years in the future, the Earth is cooling and dying. All the planet’s life forms have wildly mutated, civilization is primitive, and the sun is cold and black. Deyv, a young member of the Turtle Tribe, is on the hunt for his stolen soul egg, which has been purloined by the thieving creature Yawtl. Without his egg, he won’t be able to mate, so Deyv and his companions set out on a quest, leading them across a continent, through many wonders and terrors, to the lair of a mysterious off-worlder who may hold the key to an escape from their rapidly perishing planet. Riders of the Purple Wage: This Hugo Award winner introduces Chib, a young artist hiding out from the IRS in the ultimate welfare state, a society where everyone receives the same wage from birth and stays connected through a personal video device called “fido.” Chib must win a grant at his next art show—or he’ll be shipped to another society as part of a government exchange program. But his tendency toward provocation and blasphemy may be his undoing. Showcasing the epic range of Farmer’s imagination, these varied tales are brilliant, provocative, and endlessly entertaining.

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    The Captive Series Bundle

      Erica Stevens
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The first five books in the #1 bestselling Captive Series. Book 1, Captured. Taken from her beloved family and woods, Aria’s biggest fear is not the imminent death facing her, but that she will be chosen as a blood slave for a member of the ruling vampire race. Aria’s world is turned upside down when a vampire named Braith steps forward to claim her. He delays her execution, but Aria knows it’s only a matter of time before he drains her, and destroys her. Aria is determined to hate the prince, but his strange kindness, and surprising gentleness astonish her. Torn between her loyalties to the rebellion, and her growing love for her greatest enemy, Aria struggles to decide between everything she has ever known, and a love she never dreamed of finding. Book 2, Renegade. Though she is free of the palace, rescued from her position as a blood slave, Aria is haunted by the memories of Braith, the prince that betrayed her and shattered her heart. Every day is a struggle to get through, and the only solace she is able to find is with Max, her best friend, and fellow captive. Aria slowly begins to salvage the broken parts of her wounded spirit by throwing herself into the wonder of the woods she had so greatly missed. Her world is thrown into a tailspin again though when a marauding group of vampires destroy the caves she had found temporary shelter in. Scattered about the forest, seeking to stay hidden and find her family, Aria is stunned when Braith, the monster that savaged her heart, reappears. Book 3, Refugee. Whispers, rumors, and horror stories abound about The Barrens and the strange creatures that lurk within them. Determined to find the remaining vampires that stood against his father in the war, Braith knows that it’s dangerous to enter the inhospitable land, but that they must if they are to have a chance at gaining allies to help overthrow the king. Aria is fearful of entering into the land she’s heard nothing but cautionary tales about, but she’s determined to help Braith locate the vampires that may help them with their cause. She is fascinated and amazed by the world they uncover within. However, the more immersed they become in a world, the more she realizes that it won’t be the war, or even the king that will eventually tear her and Braith apart. It will be her. Book 4, Salvation. Imprisoned by Caleb and at the mercy of the king, Aria is determined not to let them break her. Tormented by the loss of Aria, Braith is forced to choose between his need to rescue her, and the impending rebel war he’s been chosen to lead. Fighting against the darkness which threatens to drag him into its tempting depths, Braith struggles not to become like the one thing he hates the most, his father. Faced with their own separate challenges, Aria and Braith must come to terms with who they are, what they want, and the likelihood that they can never be together as the inevitable war looms on the horizon. A war that all of them will fight but not all of them will survive. Book 5, Redemption. A year has passed since the war against Jack’s father. Having left the palace behind in order to ensure that the outer towns are obeying the new laws, Jack struggles to come to terms with the grief that drove him from the palace in the first place. That is, until he encounters Hannah. Growing up in the small town of Chippman, Hannah had long ago accepted the fact that she would never leave. When Jack walks into her life, she quickly realizes that not everything is what she’d believed it to be. Knowing that Jack will reject her if he learns the truth about her, Hannah struggles to fight her growing attraction to him. For though the town of Chippman seems normal, its residents harbor secrets that they’ve taken great pains to keep hidden.

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    All About Mia

      Lisa Williamson
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One family, three sisters. GRACE, the oldest: straight-A student. AUDREY, the youngest: future Olympic swimming champion. And MIA, the mess in the middle. Mia is wild and daring, great with hair and selfies, and the undisputed leader of her friends – not attributes appreciated by her parents or teachers. When Grace makes a shock announcement, Mia hopes that her now-not-so-perfect sister will get into the trouble she deserves. But instead, it is Mia whose life spirals out of control – boozing, boys and bad behaviour – and she starts to realise that her attempts to make it All About Mia might put at risk the very things she loves the most.

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    Grace Doll

      Jennifer Laurens
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Grace Doll had everything a girl could want: Fame. Fortune. Beauty. Everything except her freedom. So when a powerful movie producer forces an experimental treatment on Grace--one that's purported to make beauty immortal--she stages her own death to escape him. With the help of trusted friends, Grace slips into hiding. She's forever flawless. Forever young, and forever pursued by her past. But when a stranger arrives on her doorstep, holding the key to a life she thought she'd left behind, Grace must decide between the safety she's known...and embracing the role she was born to play.

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    Adelaide, the Enchantress

      Kay Hooper
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Addie Delaney was racing for her life, for enough money to make a cherished dream come true, when the only man who'd ever stirred her blood challenged her to resist him. The beguiling jockey, whose voice could tame animals and whose touch could bewitch men, astonished Sane Marston with her beauty and fragility-and her strength. The American horse breeder who was known as the sleekest, sexiest Thoroughbred in racing circles felt he'd go out of his mind if he couldn't run his fingers through her flaming hair, and caress the velvet softness of her skin. Addie reveled in Shane's savage need, and echoed his demands with wild pleasure, but she ached at denying him what he desired most -- her promise to give up the danger of the track. Could he believe that giving his love kept her safe in his heart forever?

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    The Au Naturel Girls

      Bawdy Bloke
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Chauvinistic Adam Hodson, has the experience to remember when his new rented house catches fire and he is moved into a house of liberal, female nudists. As he struggles fully adapt, it is not just Adam who has to learn as the girls have to adjust to his own foibles, weaknesses, and those of his violent, racist friend.This book contains some mature language and some discretion is advised.Chauvinistic Adam Hodson, has the experience to remember when his new rented house catches fire and he is moved into a house of liberal, female nudists. As he struggles fully adapt, it is not just Adam who has to learn, as the girls have to adjust to his own foibles, weaknesses, and those of his violent, racist friend.Join Sarah, the sharp-witted primary school teacher, Tabitha, the pregnant girl and Natalie, the assertive Operations Manager as they get a conservative Adam to embrace their lifestyle while hiding secrets from others. The book is divided into around 75 small scenes to make it ideal for short journeys or where the reader is likely to be interrupted. This is a romantic story although it does contain some mature language and discretion is advised.

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    Cold Stairs

      Mark Petersen
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Winner of an Honorable Mention Virginia Tech Literary Award, this story takes place in Eastern Kentucky and is based on what might have been a true ghost story. I consider this to be my best finished piece, and I look forward to your feedback. Enjoy!What if you found out your whole life was a lie, and that was after you were turned into a vampire?"I don't know what blood tastes like to a human. I'd never even licked a tiny drop of it from a pricked finger, let alone suck on a bleeding cut. Now it's my only food source." Meet teenage runaway Ellie. She's snarky, witty, funny, and has issues with her mother, just like any other 17-year-old girl.She's also a vampire.Days before her 18th birthday, the mysterious and handsome immortal Christian, turned her into a creature that she loathes, forcing her to leave her old life behind forever and move to London. Thrust into the supernatural world, full of magic and danger, Ellie doesn't want to be a killer.She doesn't even like to drink blood.But Christian wasn't completely honest about why he'd taken a romantic interest in her, and he wasn't the only one keeping things from her, either.Her mother was hiding the same secret.Truth is: Ellie was never an ordinary teenager, and now, she's no ordinary teen vampire. When she discovers why she's not like others of her kind, why she protects humans instead of hunting them, she realises that her life is about to change all over again.And the world as she knows it will never be the same...Poison Blood, Book 2: Absolution is also free to download and answers some of the questions raised in Book 1, while asking many more...What Readers Said About Poison Blood, Book 1: Revelation'What great book' 5-stars~ B&N Nook Review'This is definitely not a soppy vampire romance! As usual with Neha Yazmin's novels, things are never as they seem.' 5-stars~ Amazon UK Review'Awesome. This was great, couldn't put it down.' 5-stars~ iBooks Australia Review'I am definitely hooked on the Poison Blood series. This is a character-driven story. Neha's characters' depths are what drive her stories, each with their hidden secrets.' 5-stars~ Smashwords ReviewBook Details:Length: A 29,000-word paranormal urban fantasy novel with added bonus contentGenre: Teen & YA Paranormal Romance / YA Vampire Romance / Teen Paranormal Fantasy / YA Urban Fantasy / Young Adult & Teen Science Fiction & Fantasy / Fantasy Romance / Paranormal Urban Fantasy / Supernatural Romance / Supernatural & Fantasy Mood: Dark / Humorous / Coming of ageContent: No violence / No explicit sex scenes / No eroticaAudience: For Teens / Young Adults / New Adults / AdultsRecommended for: Readers that love all things vampires, slayers and witches!This book is suitable for fans of Twilight, The Mortal Instruments and A Shade of Vampire and readers that love all things related to the Chosen One, vampires, slayers and witches!

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    Reality Check

      John Foltin
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Brian and Samantha were two people who were unlucky in love. That was, until they met on the set of a reality movie. Now, their luck has finally changed. Will they fall in love? Will they find someone else on their stay? Or are they doomed to relive their past?A light yet thought provoking sci-fi adventure. "Dwarg" is a "Whisp" from a non-physical world, who is on a mission to stop Humans sending rockets into the Aura. He becomes an entity of a young and dying Aggie who accepts him. Dwarg infuses her with health, wisdom and maturity. With her aunt, they go on an adventure to France to solve a puzzle of a painting by Vincent van Gogh and learn more of his life and the story of his ear. Dwarg realizes that there are alien viruses landing on the planet and infecting Humans in different ways. Aggie, his host, is from the Abenaki nation and Dwarg is fascinated by the rituals of that culture. Aggie graduates from the University of Oklahoma at age 11 and participates in an exclusive experiment utilizing the LHC (which she cleverly used to sent Dwarg back to his own non-physical world).

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    Rebels

      Richard Alonzo
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Anobar far out on the Galactic rim was meant to be a new colony, a new beginning, free from the mistakes of the past. Till the Malstrom Corporation seized control in a hostile takeover and subjugated their world. Now a small band of rebels lead by a mysterious hooded stranger must fight against overwhelming odds to discover the secret that lies beneath its surface and use it to gain their freedom.Anobar far out on the Galactic rim was meant to be a new colony, a new beginning, free from the mistakes of the past. Till the Malstrom Corporation seized control in a hostile takeover and subjugated their world. Now a small band of rebels lead by a mysterious hooded stranger must fight against overwhelming odds to discover the secret that lies beneath its surface and use it to gain their freedom.Locked in a bitter struggle with their arch nemesis Jasper, ruthless in his application of Malstrom's corporate liturgy 'no mercy or compassion for the weak only the spoils of victory for the strong as it was meant to be', they must travel deep beneath the surface of the planet to unlock its secrets.What is the Malstrom Corporation really after? Who are the shadowy cult know only as the Brethren and how can a man with no past secure their future?

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