Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world. The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country's throne. To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is determined to irradicate the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south. Into this cauldron of brewing disaster comes the mysterious Gorhaut mercenary Blaise, who takes service with Bertran and averts an attempt on his life. The revelation of Blaise's lineage and a claim for sanctuary by his sister-in-law sets the stage for a brutal clash between the two cultures. Intertwined is the tale of a young woman troubadour whose role suggests the sweep of the drama to come.

How far would you be willing to go to save those you love? Rain is a young woman trying to rebuild herself after years of drug addiction and abuse. Ten years ago, at age sixteen, she gave up her baby after the father, her first love, dies in Iraq. Now, three years clean and on the way to a job interview, Rain borrows a pair of reading glasses from an old lady on a Brooklyn train. The lenses are cracked and through the crack she catches a glimpse of a little boy running and screaming. The boy looks so much like Rain’s dead lover. Like their son must look now. Rain realizes that the glasses give her quick glimpses of her lost son, Dylan, who needs her to find him. Dylan is important to our damaged, hopeless world. But he’s in terrible trouble because evil creatures - the Shadow People - are trying to corrupt and destroy him. If Dylan dies, then hope dies. But how does a recovering junkie fight supernatural monsters? And how far will one woman go to save her lost son?

The hotly anticipated ninth novel in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series finds Gin Blanco on a dangerous mission to rescue a friend.When I say you’re a dead man, take that literally. To me, killing people is like a day at the salon: cut and dry. Well, more like rinse and repeat when you moonlight as the assassin the Spider. But my last spa day ended redder than my freshly painted nails after a twisted Fire elemental and his goons kidnapped my close friend Sophia Deveraux and nearly killed her sister Jo-Jo in the process. Up Ashland’s most dangerous mountains, and deep into the heart of its blackest woods—I’ll track these thugs no matter where they take Sophia. It doesn’t matter what kinds of elemental magic they try to throw at me, my Ice and Stone powers can take the heat and then some. I will get Sophia back, over their dead bodies. Because anybody that hurts Gin Blanco’s family becomes a body.

Protecting Chicago from the dark side of life can be an exhausting job, especially when you're in high school. So when the girls of St. Sophia's start gearing up for Sneak, their fall formal, Lily decides to take a break from fighting to get ready for the event. But when a Reaper unexpectedly crashes the party prep and Lily's firespell fails, she realizes that she has a much bigger problem than a full social calendar...

When seventeen-year-old Lexi Matthews learns she was the result of genetic manipulation, she is forced to trust new classmate Jack DeWeese to teach her what they were designed to do before the wrong people discover their unnatural abilities.She was created for a purpose so revolutionary, someone was willing to kill for it.Seventeen-year-old Lexi Matthews keeps two secrets from her elite boarding school classmates—she’s the daughter of a famous and controversial geneticist, and she can influence people’s thoughts.But after new student Jack DeWeese heals her broken arm with an anything-but-simple touch, he forces Lexi to face a new reality—her abilities reach much further than speaking to the minds of others.After Lexi’s father goes missing and she receives threatening emails, she can’t decide whether to fall into Jack’s arms or run and hide.As Lexi seeks answers to what she and Jack are, she discovers a truth more unsettling than anything her science books can teach. And letting Jack into her life of secrets is not only a threat to her very existence, but it just might break her heart wide open.

The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren’t much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s not there to chatter, she’s there to hone her craft as the world’s most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she’ll be lucky to leave the desert alive.

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation. Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

Yelena, the heroine of Maria V. Snyder's stunning debut novel Poison Study, is on her way to her ancestral homeland of Sitia to be reunited with her family and to learn more about her magical powers. An order of execution hangs over her head should she ever return to Ixia. But her true love, Valek, quickly learns that an assassin has taken it upon himself to make sure Yelena doesn't reach her destination. As Ixia's chief of security, and a highly skilled assassin himself, can Valek track down the killer in time to save Yelena's life?

A new season approaches. . . . Now that Kallik and Yakone have decided to join Toklo and Lusa on the rest of their journey home, the four bears head toward warmer territories. Spring is coming, and Toklo and Lusa are overjoyed to be away from the ice, surrounded by green forests and flowing rivers once again. But the forest brings unique challenges for the polar bears, Kallik and Yakone. As they struggle to continue on, they know that each step is taking them farther from the ice. Have they made a mistake, straying from their natural home? Soon Toklo also grows desperate to leave the struggles of their journey behind. As the group pushes toward the mountains where brown bears roam, Toklo must decide whether to see the quest through to the end . . . or to start a new life on his own.

A mysterious stranger enters Skylar’s inner circle, destroying her precarious peace. She begins college amid new secrets, emerging powers, fresh dangers, and a potential stepfather. In New Olympus, a hidden dwelling place for descendants of the gods, she finally gets answers. But can she trust them? Skylar and the Grand family must work together with these descendants to discover the key to their rescue from the evolving, evil vultures of Hades. As the threat increases, Skylar must learn to control her newfound powers and decide who to trust before it’s too late.

"She discovered a dark secret, witnessed a murder and fled into the night fearing for her life. Three years later, Cassie is still hiding from her past, haunted by a dream lover and fighting to control a terrifying beast that seems to grow stronger each day. When Bryan, pack Beta, appears to claim her, Cassie is forced to face the truth of her existence. Innocence, betrayal, greed and love collide with ancient werewolf laws in... The Finding. Third book in The Law of the Lycans series by Nicky Charles. Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages."

From the author of Bloodring comes its thrilling follow-up, set a century after the apocalypse and portraying a world in the throes of an ice age - and a never-ending battle among seraphs, demons, and humans.... Living among humans in a postapocalyptic ice age, neomage Thorn St. Croix has learned to count on her friends, but she's lost count of her enemies. She is a source of both fear and fascination for the people of Mineral City. Her powers can save them from the forces of evil, but can also attract demon spawn and succubae. And fighting on her own turf nearly gets Thorn and those she holds dear killed. But Thorn's ultimate test awaits deep under the snow-covered mountains beyond the village, where an imprisoned fallen seraph desperately needs her help. There, hidden in the hellhole, the armies of Darkness assemble to ensure that this subterranean rescue will be Thorn's final descent....

Every eleven years, Earth's senior wizards hold the Invitational: an intensive three-week event where the planet's newest, sharpest young wizards show off their best and hottest spells. Wizardly partners Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan, and Nita's sister, former wizard-prodigy Dairine Callahan, are drafted in to mentor two brilliant and difficult cases: for Nita and Kit, there’s Penn Shao-Feng, a would-be sun technician with a dangerous new take on managing solar weather; and for Dairine, there's shy young Mehrnaz Farrahi, an Iranian wizard-girl trying to specialize in defusing earthquakes while struggling with a toxic extended wizardly family that demands she perform to their expectations. Together they're plunged into a whirlwind of cutthroat competition and ruthless judging. Penn's egotistical attitude toward his mentors complicates matters as the pair tries to negotiate their burgeoning romance. Meanwhile, Dairine struggles to stabilize her hero-worshipping, insecure protégée against the interference of powerful relatives using her to further their own tangled agendas. When both candidates make it through to the finals stage on the dark side of the Moon, they and their mentors are flung into a final conflict that could change the solar system for the better . . . or damage Earth beyond even wizardly repair.

The second volume of The Dalemark Quartet continues the story of the mythical land of Dalemark, and the four people chosen to reunify the divided lands.

Who is waiting in the cave? Case #4: Elysium The Jenolan Caves Ghost Tour sounded like the perfect weekend for a ghost hunter. But I didn't realize I was letting myself in for a whole lot more than just a haunted hotel and endless family squabbles. Something was our trail. Something vicious, mysterious, and very, very smelly...