The year is A.D. 793; Jack and his sister have been kidnapped by Vikings and taken to the court of Ivar the Boneless and his terrifying half-troll wife; but things get even worse when Jack finds himself on a dangerous quest to find the magical Mimir's Well in a far-off land, with his sister's life forfeit if he fails. Other threats include a willful mother Dragon, a giant spider, and a troll-boar with a surprising personality -- to say nothing of Ivar the Boneless and his wife, Queen Frith, a shape-shifting half-troll, and several eight foot tall, orange-haired, full-time trolls. But in stories by award-winner Nancy Farmer, appearances do deceive. She has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than "Just say no to pillaging."

Gavin tells Delilah he’s hers—completely—but whatever lives inside that house with him disagrees. After seven years tucked away at an East coast boarding school, Delilah Blue returns to her small Kansas hometown to find that not much has changed. Her parents are still uptight and disinterested, her bedroom is exactly the way she left it, and the outcast Gavin Timothy still looks like he’s crawled out of one of her dark, twisted drawings. Delilah is instantly smitten. Gavin has always lived in the strange house: an odd building isolated in a stand of trees where the town gives in to mild wilderness. The house is an irresistible lure for Delilah, but the tall fence surrounding it exists for good reason, and Gavin urges Delilah to be careful. Whatever lives with him there isn’t human, and isn’t afraid of hurting her to keep her away.

When raven shifter Riley Porter was given sanctuary by the Phoenix Pack, she let them believe she had left her flock. Reluctant to divulge the secrets of her past, she was still embraced as family. Only Tao Lukas, the protective and passionate Head Enforcer of the pack, was resistant to the enigmatic shifter. Until Riley started to arouse in him something other than suspicion. Tao doesn’t trust lone shifters, especially ones so guarded—and tempting. But the sexual tension between them is making them both come undone, and vulnerable to more than desire. All Tao wants is for Riley to stay with him and to trust him with the truth of her past. As Riley’s mysteries come to light, so does a danger that threatens not only her life but the safety of the entire pack. For Tao, keeping Riley safe means keeping her close—forever—as his mate.

When Araminta throws cold water over her best friend, Wanda, to disperse a crowd of panicked bats, it s decided Araminta has been helpful one too many times, and she is packed off to boarding school. On arrival, Araminta is surprised to discover that Gargoyle Hall makes her home, Spook House, seems positively cosy. Strange moans and clanks echo down the corridors and the two head girls are equally creepy. Most of the other pupils have been scared away, but Araminta senses that something or someone is behind the menace.With the help of best friend Wanda and Uncle Drac s prize bat, she is going to do something about it!"

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive. Shades of Magic series 1. * A Darker Shade of Magic 2. * A Gathering of Shadows 3.* A Conjuring of Light *

What - did you think all vamps were pale, thin and brooding? Don't I wish. Gloriana St. Clair is an eternally "full-figured" vampire-she just happened to be bloating when a sexy Scotsman sank his teeth into her. She and said Scot- Angus Jeremiah Campbell III, aka Jeremy Blade-have been on and off again for centuries, currently off. A couple hundred years has taught them how to press each other's buttons-in good ways and bad. Glory's headed for Austin and a new business venture: Vintage Vamp's Emporium. After all, she loves clothes, and she is an antique. Only problem is, there's a billionaire techno-freak vampire hunter on the loose. Blade's in total he- vampire mode, and wants Glory to move in with him so he can "protect" her. But it's time for this vamp to explore her own powers.

Someday when you least expect it, you just might find yourself adrift and searching for answers. Whether your wayward soul be stranded in a thicket of dense woodlands or in a bramble of your own clever imagination is unimportant; what is important however is that when the time comes, you remember the lessons of this tale and rejoice in the mystery that is life itself.Lost deep within the darkness of a haunted forest, Francisco “Kid Cisco” the tree dweller, Felonious “Fel” the honorable thief, and Courtney “Court” the roguish jester must somehow find their way back to their beloved home, the town of Castleton in the land of New Earth, or risk lapsing into a state of permanent dementia. But despite the hardships they encounter along the way, their wanderings just might yield some enlightening answers to the questions that we all ask. So please join me my friends and perhaps maybe you too will find what it is that every man and woman searches for.

Royal twins Eric and Koral must go against their father, and return magic. To delay could mean the end of the lands as they know it.Nearly 500 years ago, the War of Wizards almost destroyed the world of Melarandra. The Order of Maget was created to ensure this never occurred again. For five centuries, they have destroyed any creature, or human, who possessed magical abilities. Even as this went on, a prophecy had foretold magic's return.Royal twins Koral and Eric Traven had been told since they were children the prophecy pertained to them. The prophecy told both were needed to complete the task of returning magic, but Eric had other ideas. Always wanting to go down in history as a great hero, he planned to do it alone. Now, as their sixteenth birthday approached, the betrayal which the prophecy had foretold has occurred, setting everything into motion. Eric has gone off on his own, leaving Koral to scramble to find him. If they do not achieve the task set before them together, magic would return chaotic, and destroy the world as they know it.Now, with the help of Gillock, a wizard from the old days, and beings that are no longer supposed to exist, Koral sets out into the Central Lands. Time is already against her and she wonders if she will find her brother in time. And more importantly, before the Order does.

It's Temperance Hall's big day - her chance to exact revenge and ruin some lives. Just the kind of thing she relishes. But when all the skeletons in her closet converge in a tragic car wreck, only her mind-reading chauffeur understands the full significance of this life-changing event.This slipstream short story may leave you with second thoughts about . . . your thoughts.After a tragic accident, football superstar Joel Harper finds himself rolling his wheelchair into a new school in a strange town. Soon he's making friends of misfits, taking lessons in Iron Maiden, and dodging a ruthless bully with a penchant for switchblades. Little is he aware, something ancient and wounded has awoken deep beneath the tiny mountain community, and all of Honaw will know its pain."Classic horror and true romance . . . Barnett's writing is pure poetry, and this one is his goriest, grittiest yet," Sarah Wathen - YA Books Central

Alexander Cold and Nadia Santos reunite for their final adventure in Isabel Allende's celebrated trilogy. This time they are heading to the blazing plains of Kenya, where Alex's grandmother Kate is writing an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches the camp in search of companions who have mysteriously disappeared. As the group investigates, they discover a clan of Pygmies and a harsh world of corruption, slavery, and poaching. Alexander and Nadia must trust in the strength of their totemic animal spirits as they launch a spectacular struggle to restore freedom to the Pygmies and return leadership to its rightful hands.

While trying to teach her adopted daughter, Reema, how to work with molten glass, Opal receives a letter from Master Magician Zitora Cowan requesting Opal's immediate help. Zitora resigned from the Sitian Council over two years ago to search for her lost sister, and no one has heard from her since. The letter is probably a trick, but Opal refuses to pass up the opportunity to help her mentor, who may be in genuine trouble. Good thing Opal isn't that easy to fool. With her two soldier friends Nic and Eve providing backup, the three travel to a small town in the Jewelrose Clan. But can they rescue the Master Magician without being caught in the same trap?

How does a foul-mouthed angel end up as the last hope for all of Heaven and Earth? When Seraph Emma is maimed and tossed from Heaven by a rogue angel who's taken charge, she fears she'll never be allowed to return. Tasked with the impossible job of showing the self-loathing (and not even human!) Jason his worth, Emma is sure she's doomed to fail. Meanwhile, having wormed his way into Heaven, the corrupt Everett has trapped God in Hell and has designs on unleashing evil everywhere. Fortunately, if there's one thing Emma can't do (in addition to minding her language), it's give up. Determined to save Jason and get back to Heaven-even if it means going to Hell-Emma's plan is simple yet impossible: trick the Devil to save God. What she doesn't count on is the devotion and, well, humanity she finds in Jason; the spirit, hidden compassion, and raw sex appeal within the Devil; and the vulnerability of her own heart. With the help of two unlikely allies, she'll wage the battle for Heaven. But will Emma be sidetracked by a new sort of heaven along the way? What's truly more dangerous? Falling from Heaven, or falling in love? Debra Anastasia has twisted a fast-paced tale of intimate relationships with literally universal impact. Rich with humor and electrified by attraction, this novel offers a playfully off-beat take on the good and evil that make up the world.

There is a place that shouldn’t exist. But does. And there are creatures that shouldn’t exist. But do. Welcome to a land where all of your dreams and nightmares are very real—and often deadly. Welcome to Everworld. Senna. The one and only reason David, Christopher, April and Jalil find themselves in a place that is magical and terrifying and wonderful all at once. Senna is also the reason they can’t get back to their own world. It seems she only shows up when she wants to be found. And she always disappears. At the moment, Senna is the least of their problems. Now they have to make a choice: Outsmart the dragon that killed Galahad—or die. And the odds of David and the others surviving by themselves aren’t very good. But they’ve met some Everworld residents that might be willing to help for a price: Senna.

*“What sort of thing are you?” asked the little creature. “I’m a moomintroll,” answered Moomintroll, who had had time to feel brave again. “And this is my mother…”* And so, for the very first time, we meet the young Moomin, Moominmamma and Sniff as they search through forest and flood for long lost Moominpappa, last seen wandering with the Hattifatteners. Along the way, in a series of delightful adventures, they encounter Hemulens, stranded kittens and the blue-haired Tulippa. The Moomins and the Great Flood was the original Moomin story, published in Finland in 1945. A rediscovered gem, it offers an extraordinary glimpse into Tove Jansson’s unique vision, featuring beautiful sepia watercolours as well as the pen and ink drawings that would become her trademark.