Love

      Angela Carter
     Love

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY AUDREY NIFFENEGGER Love is Angela Carter's fifth novel and was first published in 1971. With surgical precision it charts the destructive emotional war between a young woman, her husband and his disruptive brother as they move through a labyrinth of betrayal, alienation and lost connections. This revised edition has lost none of Angela Carter's haunting power to evoke the ebb of the 1960s, and includes an afterword which describes the progress of the survivors into the anguish of middle age.

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    Grave Secret

      Charlaine Harris
     Grave Secret

Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver must face their family’s troubled past in this gripping mystery from #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris.Taking a break from looking for the dead, Harper and Tolliver decide to visit the two little girls they both think of as sisters. But as they travel to Texas, memories of their horrible childhood resurface...   To make matters worse, Tolliver learns his father is out of jail and trying to reestablish contact with other family members. Tolliver wants no part of the man—but he may not have a choice in the matter. Soon, family secrets ensnare them both, as Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister, Cameron, so many years before. And what she finds out will change her world forever.

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    Dark Frost

      Jennifer Estep
     Dark Frost

I've seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I'm supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I'm just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me--again. Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects--and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I'm also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can't use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me--and I'm in for the fight of my life.

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    Bound to Shadows

      Keri Arthur
     Bound to Shadows

In the darkness, demons come out to play . . . and someone must bring their sins to light. Part vampire, part werewolf, Riley Jenson knows what can happen when vamps don't play well with others. But she's never seen anything like this: a series of brutal murders surrounding the latest hot spot for vampire-human hookups—and the victims aren't just killed, they're beheaded. Now Riley is launching into action, toying with a seductive—and highly suspicious—club owner, and finding herself in the middle of another mystery: women being killed one by one without a trace of violence. For Riley, solving multiple cases—in a world going mad with human and vampire passions—would have been tough enough. Instead, she has two jealous lovers on her hands: Kye Murphy, the amber-eyed werewolf who makes Riley's wolf blood howl—and Quinn, the cool, elegant vamp who has over a thousand years' experience at fulfilling women's desires. While she's busy juggling these two sexy beasts, Riley's detective work takes a stunningly violent turn. Finding a murderer is now a matter of life and death. Especially since the killer has long since found her. . .

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    Thunder and Lighthing

      Gerrard Wllson
     Thunder and Lighthing

A childhood story, from a long time ago, when I lived in Sunbury on Thames. It was as a hot summer’s day, so hot the tar on the road had begun to melt. Seated in a hot, steamy classroom, while our teacher went on and one about why we should understand and get our young heads around algebra, I listened to the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance...As I waited impatiently for the bell to ring, to signal the end of the school day, the thunderous rumblings in the distance grew steadily louder. With each passing minute, the sky became darker and darker, until it was so dark day had almost turned into night. Undaunted by the prospect of having to endure a full-blown thunderstorm on my way home, I listened for the bell to ring. It was late, the school bell was late, I was sure of it. Then it rang, it rang so loud I almost jumped off my chair, in fright.

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    When Life Gives You Lemons

      Ashlynn Elliott
     When Life Gives You Lemons

When life gives you Lemons, DON'T make Lemonade! That's what Gina thinks. Why? When everything went wrong, she made lemonade to try to fix things. But guess what? That just made everything worse!A man of the written word, he has made himself a name in the literary community in the year 2035. But someone has dared to plagiarize his work. When he confronts the culprit, he learns that it was not a person but a computer programmed to replicate his identity. Trapped on all sides by an encroaching world of technology, he tires to escape in any way he can. When he can't do it, he acts out violently against the machines. They become the focus of his rage, and he tries to rally the world to his mission: to save humanity from itself.

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    The World of Poo

      Terry Pratchett
     The World of Poo

From Snuff: 'Vimes' prompt arrival got a nod of approval from Sybil, who gingerly handed him a new book to read to Young Sam. Vimes looked at the cover. The title was The World of Poo. When his wife was out of eyeshot he carefully leafed through it. Well, okay, you had to accept that the world had moved on and these days fairy stories were probably not going to be about twinkly little things with wings. As he turned page after page, it dawned on him that whoever had written this book, they certainly knew what would make kids like Young Sam laugh until they were nearly sick. The bit about sailing down the river almost made him smile. But interspersed with the scatology was actually quite interesting stuff about septic tanks and dunnakin divers and gongfermors and how dog muck helped make the very best leather, and other things that you never thought you would need to know, but once heard somehow lodged in your mind.'

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    Death Is a Lonely Business

      Ray Bradbury
     Death Is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury, the undisputed Dean of American storytelling, dips his accomplished pen into the cryptic inkwell of noir and creates a stylish and slightly fantastical tale of mayhem and murder set among the shadows and the murky canals of Venice, California, in the early 1950s. Toiling away amid the looming palm trees and decaying bungalows, a struggling young writer (who bears a resemblance to the author) spins fantastic stories from his fertile imagination upon his clacking typewriter. Trying not to miss his girlfriend (away studying in Mexico), the nameless writer steadily crafts his literary effort--until strange things begin happening around him. Starting with a series of peculiar phone calls, the writer then finds clumps of seaweed on his doorstep. But as the incidents escalate, his friends fall victim to a series of mysterious "accidents"--some of them fatal. Aided by Elmo Crumley, a savvy, street-smart detective, and a reclusive actress of yesteryear with an intense hunger for life, the wordsmith sets out to find the connection between the bizarre events, and in doing so, uncovers the truth about his own creative abilities.

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    Corrigan Fire

      Helen Harper
     Corrigan Fire

The Blood Destiny series has sold over 100,000 copies. Now read the events of the first book, Bloodfire, from the point of view of the predatory Lord Alpha. Corrigan may have only just started in his role as Head of the Brethren, the de-facto rulers of the country's shifters, but it's already clear he's not going to be in for an easy ride. Between brutal deaths in both Cornwall and London to deal with, alongside a certain curious were-hamster who has far more strength, power and mouth than should be possible, he's got his hands full. He thought his greatest desire was to modernise the shapeshifter world - but he may have been very mistaken...

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    Path of Destruction

      Drew Karpyshyn
     Path of Destruction

Once the Sith Order teemed with followers. But their rivalries divided them in endless battles for supremacy. Until one dark lord at last united the Sith in the quest to enslave the galaxy—and exterminate the Jedi. Yet it would fall to another, far more powerful than the entire Brotherhood of Darkness, to ultimately realize the full potential of the Sith, and wield the awesome power of the dark side as never before.

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    Black Powder War

      Naomi Novik
     Black Powder War

In this final book of Novik's series, Captain Will Laurence and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are ordered to escort and protect a precious cargo of valuable dragon eggs from Istanbul to England. Original. “A splendid series.”–Anne McCaffrey“Naomi Novik has done for the Napoleonic Wars what Anne McCaffrey did for science fiction: constructed an alternate reality in which dragons are real in a saga that is impressively original, fully developed, and peopled with characters you care about.”–David Weber, author of the Honor Harrington seriesAfter their fateful adventure in China, Capt. Will Laurence of His Majesty’s Aerial Corps and his extraordinary dragon, Temeraire, are waylaid by a mysterious envoy bearing urgent new orders from Britain. Three valuable dragon eggs have been purchased from the Ottoman Empire, and Laurence and Temeraire must detour to Istanbul to escort the precious cargo back to England. Time is of the essence if the eggs are to be borne home before hatching.Yet disaster threatens the mission at every turn–thanks to the diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien, who blames Temeraire for her master’s death and vows to ally herself with Napoleon and take vengeance. Then, faced with shattering betrayal in an unexpected place, Laurence, Temeraire, and their squad must launch a daring offensive. But what chance do they have against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?

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    A Million Worlds With You

      Claudia Gray
     A Million Worlds With You

A million universes. A million dangers. One destiny. The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud since she first traveled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation. Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done to him, but despite Marguerite’s efforts to help, Paul may never be the same again. So it’s up to Marguerite alone to stop the destruction of the multiverse. Billions of lives are at stake. The risks have never been higher. And Triad has unleashed its ultimate weapon: another dimension’s Marguerite—wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead. In the conclusion to Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed. It’s a battle of the Marguerites…and only one can win.

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    Letters to Jenny

      Piers Anthony
     Letters to Jenny

In February 1989, science fiction writer Piers Anthony, author of the Xanth series, received a moving letter. It came from a woman whose daughter, Jenny, was in a coma as a result of severe injuries caused by a drunk driver. She asked Anthony to write to Jenny, an avid fan of his, in the hope that a letter from him would evoke some response. Her request resulted in a series of warm, supportive, and humorous letters written weekly from Anthony to Jenny. These were read to the patient by her mother. The original letters Anthony wrote between February 1989 and 1990, reproduced here along with Anthony’s comments, reveal the author’s wit, humanism, and social conscience. Jenny has come out of her coma, but is still confined to a wheelchair. Anthony also named a character in his next Xanth novel after Jenny, whose limited but definite physical responses to his letters indicated how important they were to her.

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    Echoes of Betrayal

      Elizabeth Moon
     Echoes of Betrayal

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder, and a finger of suspicion points in a shocking direction. Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli grapples with unrest among his own nobility after granting the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien—who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman. The controversial decision and its consequences put the king’s claim to the throne in peril. But even greater danger looms. A dragon’s wild offspring are sowing death and destruction, upsetting the ancient balance of power. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.

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    The Secret Country

      PAMELA DEAN
     The Secret Country

What happens when your fantasy world turns real...? Each vacation for the past nine years, cousins Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura have played a game they call the “Secret”—and invented, scripted world full of witches, unicorns, a magic ring, court intrigue, and the Dragon King. In the Secret, they can imagine anything into reality, and shape destiny. Then the unbelievable happens: by trick or by chance, they actually find themselves in the Secret Country, their made-up identities now real. The five have arrived at the start of their games, with the Country on the edge of war. What was once exciting and wonderful now looms threateningly before them, and no one is sure how to stop it… or if they will ever get back home. "An intricate sparkling web of intrigue and magic. One of me very favorites.”—Patricia C. Wrede, author of Dealing with Dragons

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