Is it possible to have it all?   Alice Brown has just landed her dream job as property manager at Davenport Manor, a British stately home. It's only a nine-month contract to cover maternity leave, but it's the boost up the career ladder she needs. On her first day, Alice finds her boss, Jeremy Davenport, in a compromising position. Jeremy and his best friend Ethan Hayes, Head of Security at Davenport Manor, turn the situation around and give her an ultimatum. Faced with the possibility of losing her job, Alice agrees to their indecent proposal.   When the dust settles and Alice has time to think, she realises perhaps it isn't such a bad thing after all. But what happens when Alice thinks she's falling for both men?

It is a rare talent, and only she can care for the Inn's herd. She feeds them, gathers their eggs, and tends to their injuries. But Mella dreams about the dragons of legend, even though hardly anyone believes they still exist. Dragons are small farm animals, not huge fire-breathing monsters. Everyone knows that.Until one day changes everything.A Knight of the Order of Defenders arrives at the Inn. Signs of the mythical dragons have led him there, he says. Then a simple errand takes Mella through the forest, where she stumbles across a dragon's egg—and faces the true, terrifying dragon guarding it. On the spot, Mella vows to get the egg safely to the fabled Hatching Grounds. She must leave her home for the first time, and she finds an unlikely companion in the Defender's squire, Roger.For Mella and Roger, this one day is the beginning of an adventure. Where will it take them?

For Rhia was bound to the Spirit of Crow, gifted with the foresight of Death's approach and doomed to the isolation of one feared and set apart. There must always be one whose magic can ease the passage of the people of Asermos to the Other Side. But to be the guide her people require, to truly know the depth of her gift--her curse--Rhia must surrender herself to the wisdom of the Great Forest...and drink deeply of Death itself. And though two powerful men stand ready to aid her, even to love her, the Aspect of Crow demands unthinkable sacrifices from one who walks its path.

Vlog star Renard Grant has nothing to prove: he's got a pretty face, chiseled body, and two million adoring video subscribers. Plus the scars on his chest and a prescription for testosterone. Because Ren is transgender: assigned female at birth, living now as male. He films his transition and shares it bravely with the world; his fans love his honesty and positivity. But Ren has been living a double life. Off-camera, he's Cane, the muscle-bound enforcer for social justice vigilante group Black Iris. As Cane, he lets his dark side loose. Hurts those who prey on the disempowered. Indulges in the ugly side of masculinity. And his new partner, Tamsin Baylor, is a girl as rough and relentless as him. Together, they terrorize the trolls into silence. But when a routine Black Iris job goes south, Ren is put in the crosshairs. Someone is out to ruin his life. He's a bad boy, they say, guilty of what he punishes others for. Just like every other guy: at...

The boys are back, and just in time for Season 3 of the Hap and Leonard TV series, starring Michael K. Williams (The Wire) and James Purefoy (Altered Carbon).Hap Collins looks like a good 'ol boy, but his lefty politics don't match. His buddy, Vietnam veteran Leonard Pine, is even more complicated: black, conservative, gay . . . and an occasional arsonist. With Hap and Leonard on the job, small-time crooks all on the way on up to the Dixie Mafia are extremely nervous.Everyone's favorite ass-kicking Texan duo are further immortalized in this expanded collection of tall tales, slick nonfiction, and two full-length novellas.

Edgar Award–nominated author Mindy McGinnis delivers a dark and riveting contemporary YA novel that blends the unflinching honesty of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak with the relentless pacing and alternating perspectives of Gone Girl. A stunning, unforgettable page-turner.Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn't feel bad about it.Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can't be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna's body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher's kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.As their senior year unfolds, Alex's darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on...

A glimpse into the melting pot of reputations and rumours in the twilight years of communism in Albania, as the morning's orthodoxies become heresies by dinner-time, and everyone must step nimbly to keep out of jail. The fragile nature of political realities in present-day China too, is summed up.From Publishers WeeklySet in the mid-1970s, as the alliance between Albania and Communist China unravels, this subversively inventive satire traces the impact of the zigzagging Albanian party line on the personal lives of a group of friends and associates. These include a jittery Albanian diplomat in Beijing, his jealously insecure wife, an establishment novelist who confronts "the void inside him" and a civil servant who writes an "autocritique" castigating himself for his petty-bourgeois mentality. A Kafkaesque subplot concerns an army officer who's arrested, apparently for refusing to obey an order. Albanian novelist Kadare ( The Palace of Dreams ), who lives in France, sketches a devastating portrait of Mao Zedong as a megalomaniac whose goal is "the brainwashing of the human race." Historical figures like Zhou Enlai and genocidal Cambodian leader Pol Pot appear intermittently in an elliptic narrative spliced with dreams, officers' coerced confessions and short-short stories. China, depicted as a dystopia where simple human relations are stultified and surveillance is a way of life, becomes a mirror image of Albania through Kadare's mordantly ironic vision. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalUnder communism, foreign relations between a smaller country and the huge country that serves as its "host" affect the day-to-day lives of many individuals, especially in the smaller country. An Albanian by birth now living in France, Kadare (The Palace of Dreams, LJ 9/1/93) shows how Albania's relationship with China affects the life of Silva Dibra, a government employee, wife, and mother. The endless succession of her days seem to blend together as Silva worries about her husband, Gjergi, who makes sudden and frequent trips to China, and her brother, Arian, who is in the military. She also thinks constantly about her dead sister, Ana. Through Silva, we learn the thoughts of too many other characters: her husband, daughter, brother, co-workers, endless friends, Chairman Mao, Zhou En-lai, and a stream of other Chinese bureaucrats. There are some good, funny ideas here, and a number of chapters would work effectively as short stories. Strung together, however, they create what is essentially a plotless novel that strains the reader's interest.Olivia Opello, Onondaga Cty. PL, Syracuse, N.Y.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Sophomore slump? Fuhgeddaboutit. In his second thriller about FBI criminologist Patrick Bowers, James delivers the caffeinated plot twists and intriguing characterizations that made The Pawn a welcome addition to the suspense genre. In this installment, Bowers is called to San Diego to investigate a rash of fires, but he begins to suspect that a seemingly random kidnapping and suicide may be related to the arson attacks. As Bowers digs deeper, he uncovers a chilling biotech conspiracy. Fans of CSI and Law & Order will enjoy the police work and forensics, but this jacked-up read feels more like an explosive episode of 24; it's a wild ride with a shocking conclusion. (Aug.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From the Inside FlapSpecial Agent Patrick Bowers is about to uncover the military's darkest secret . . . and his own dark past.While investigating a series of baffling fires in San Diego, Special Agent Patrick Bowers is drawn into a deadly web of intrigue where nothing is as it appears to be. With a killer on the loose and one of the world's most deadly devices missing, Bowers is caught in a race against time to stop a criminal mastermind's trap before it closes around the people he loves.Full of fast-paced action and mind-bending plot twists, The Rook is an adrenaline-laced page-turner that will hold you captive until the very end.

With the fall of the ancient Thallonian Empire, civil war threatens the planet of Zondar. The arrival of the U.S.S Excalibur is greeted with relief and celebration by the anxious populace, and Captain Mackenzie Calhoun, fresh from his cataclysmic escape form the Thallonian throneworld, is acclaimed as their prophesied savior. But one believer's messiah is another's blasphemer -- and a prime candidate for martyrdom. When Captain Calhoun is captured, Lieutenant Commander Burgoyne must find him before an alien fleet launched a holy war against the Federation!

SUMMARY: Jennifer Murdley, a homely fifth-grader who would give anything to be beautiful, accidentally stumbles into a magic shop and purchases a very ugly toad. The toad, it turns out, can talk and ends up getting Jennifer into the worst trouble of her life. This madcap, head-spinning adventure is also a thought-provoking story about the nature of true beauty. “An unusually felicitous blend of lighthearted wit and imaginative plotting.”-Kirkus Reviews

Don’t tell me it’s terrifying. Terrify me.Filled with grief, Jules Belleno rarely leaves the house since her husband’s death while on duty as a police officer. Other than the reviews Jules writes on her blog, she has little contact with the outside world.But one day when she ventures out to the local grocery store, Jules bumps into a fellow customer . . . and recognizes him as her favorite author, Patrick Reagan. Jules gushes and thoroughly embarrasses herself before Regan graciously talks with her.And that’s the last thing she remembers—until she wakes up in a strange room with a splitting headache. She’s been kidnapped. And what she discovers will change everything she believed about her husband’s death . . . her career . . . and her faith.About the AuthorRene Gutteridge is the author of nineteen novels including Listen, Possession, the Storm series, the Boo series, the Occupational Hazards series, and the novelization of the movie The Ultimate Gift. Rene and her husband have two children and live in Oklahoma.

The next book in the thrilling, chilling New York Times bestselling series!With no way into the McMartin house's magical paintings, and its three guardian cats reluctant to help, Olive's friend Morton is still trapped inside Elsewhere. So when Rutherford, the new oddball kid next door mentions a grimoire--a spellbook--Olive sees a glint of hope. If she can find the McMartins' spellbook, maybe she can help Morton escape Elsewhere for good. Unless, that is, the book finds Olive first. The house isn't the only one keeping secrets anymore . . .Review“Middle grade writing as it should be.”(Minneapolis Star Tribune )“A suspenseful read that leaves plenty of room for the next title in the series.”(School Library Journal )“A delightful tale filled with magic, adventure, danger and . . . [the] challenges of growing up.”(MonstersandCritics.com )“As Harry Potter fever takes over . . .The Books of Elsewhere is a great series for young readers who are interested in the world of spells, witches, potions and magic—plenty of fun, action and thrills.”(Examiner.com )“The Books of Elsewhere just blew me away.”(New Richmond News ) About the AuthorJacqueline West, a two-time Pushcart nominee for poetry, lives in Red Wing, Minnesota.

New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins writes a ravishing addition to an exciting series of romances touched by magic as old as time.A properly raised young lady rebels against the restrictions of both society and family when she meets a dark, dangerous, and wildly passionate man as they both fight to resist their forbidden love ... and the seductive pull of an ancient magic.Miss Charlotte Harrington knows what's expected of her. Properly raised and newly reminded of her duties after the unexpected death of her far-more-perfect twin sister, Charlotte is resigned to wedding the son of a near neighboring land owner and live a sedate and proper, respectable life. But Charlotte's high spirits will not be contained and she yearns deeply for a life of adventure, excitement, and love.When wild and untamed Marco di Rossi arrives at Nimway Hall, commissioned to carve a masterpiece for the family home, he finds himself instantly drawn to the far-from-subdued...

THIS IS A SERIAL NOVELLA SERIES! THIS IS PART ONE OF FOUR. BOOKS ARE RELEASED EVERY THREE WEEKS. Sisters Audrey and Liv Westing find that living on the edge turns out to be a bit different than what they thought. This singing duo hoped to be discovered as the next big thing while fumbling through their turbulent existences. Each one is struggling to come to terms with their addictive personalities, a trail of destructive relationships, and the consequences of every misstep they unknowingly take. When they attract the eye of a deadly but powerful Cartel family, Liv’s flighty decisions send the sisters spiraling into a world of sketchy music deals, sexy assassins and unfathomable demands from those who want nothing more than to own every piece of them. In a place where love will kill, it demands a steep price which may be too high to keep Audrey and Liv’s fragile world from a swift crash and burn…