An enchanting debut fantasy novel... A young woman desperate to become a wizard despite her station and her gender, a troll trying to prove herself without her clan, and a human deserter find their paths colliding with the trail of a mysterious and arcane murderer.

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the...  more

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door… As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life. As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and small existence to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world...  more

It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and small existence to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession: an insect that may or may not exist -- the golden beetle of New Caledonia. When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her, the woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty in her tight-fitting pink suit and pom-pom sandals seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. But together these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations and delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.

In 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots to avoid frostbite, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life so he...  more

In 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots to avoid frostbite, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life so he won’t go insane. But on one ordinary day, all that changes: Valery’s university mentor steps in and sweeps Valery from the frozen prison camp to a mysterious unnamed town that houses a set of nuclear reactors and is surrounded by a forest so damaged it looks like the trees have rusted from within. In City 40, Valery is Dr. Kolkhanov once more, and he’s expected to serve out his prison term studying the effect of radiation on local animals. But as Valery begins his work, he is struck by the questions his research raises: why is there so much radiation in this area? What, exactly, is being hidden from the thousands who live in the town? And if he keeps looking for answers, will he live to serve out his sentence? Based on real events in a surreal Soviet city, and told with bestselling author Natasha Pulley’s inimitable style, The Half Life of Valery K is a sweeping new adventure for readers of Stuart Turton and Sarah Gailey.

Against a teeming canvas of Borgia politics, Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci come together to unmask an enigmatic serial killer, as we learn the secret history behind one of the most controversial works in the western canon, The Prince... When Pope Alexander dispatches a...  more

Against a teeming canvas of Borgia politics, Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci come together to unmask an enigmatic serial killer, as we learn the secret history behind one of the most controversial works in the western canon, The Prince... When Pope Alexander dispatches a Vatican courtesan, Damiata, to the remote fortress city of Imola to learn the truth behind the murder of Juan, his most beloved illegitimate son, she cannot fail, for the scheming Borgia pope holds her own young son hostage. Once there, Damiata becomes a pawn in the political intrigues of the pope’s surviving son, the charismatic Duke Valentino, whose own life is threatened by the condottieri, a powerful cabal of mercenary warlords. Damiata suspects that the killer she seeks is one of the brutal condottierri, and as the murders multiply, her quest grows more urgent. She enlists the help of an obscure Florentine diplomat, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Valentino’s eccentric military engineer, Leonardo da Vinci, who together must struggle to decipher the killer’s taunting riddles: Leonardo with his groundbreaking “science of observation” and Machiavelli with his new “science of men.” Traveling across an Italy torn apart by war, they will enter a labyrinth of ancient superstition and erotic obsession to discover at its center a new face of evil -- and a truth that will shake the foundations of western civilization.

Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a desired woman with choices of her own. What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the...  more

Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a desired woman with choices of her own. What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters? Ultimately, Mary’s journey is like that taken by every Austen heroine. She learns that she can only expect joy when she has accepted who she really is. She must throw off the false expectations and wrong ideas that have combined to obscure her true nature and prevented her from what makes her happy. Only when she undergoes this evolution does she have a chance at finding fulfillment; only then does she have the clarity to recognize her partner when he presents himself... and only at that moment is she genuinely worthy of love. Mary’s destiny diverges from that of her sisters. It does not involve broad acres or landed gentry. But it does include a man; and, as in all Austen novels, Mary must decide whether he is the truly the one for her.

The Freakonomics of math—a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows...  more

The Freakonomics of math—a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how terribly limiting this view is: Math isn?t confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do—the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It?s a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does “public opinion? really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer? How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician?s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman—minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia?s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can?t figure out about you, and the existence of God. Ellenberg pulls from history as well as from the latest theoretical developments to provide those not trained in math with the knowledge they need. Math, as Ellenberg says, is “an atomic-powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.? With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way. How Not to Be Wrong will show you how.

Summer has been kind to January—work has involved a lot of quiet research, she’s helped Ari revamp her wedding plans, and settled into a comfortable routine with Killian. That all comes to a screeching halt when autumn crashes in like a bull in a china shop. January finds herself...  more

Summer has been kind to January—work has involved a lot of quiet research, she’s helped Ari revamp her wedding plans, and settled into a comfortable routine with Killian. That all comes to a screeching halt when autumn crashes in like a bull in a china shop. January finds herself plagued with a frightening ghost when renovations literally uncover a skeleton in a hidden room. She must discover who the dead man was and why his skeleton is in her house before she can exorcise the spirit—not an easy task in itself. On top of that, at work an even more serious issue arises when Conjure Ink’s new client is killed by the Whatcom Devil—an urban legend come to life. And now, it’s stalking January. Can Conjure Ink manage to find and destroy the creature before it manages to claim January as its next victim?

SHE WAS CALLED BELLE FROM HELL. . . . As fierce and indomitable as any man, Isabelle of Langston rules the family lands with an iron hand after her father's death. But the brazen beauty meets her match in Hugh Fauconier, bold knight and rightful Saxon heir to Langston Keep. By the King's hand,...  more

SHE WAS CALLED BELLE FROM HELL. . . . As fierce and indomitable as any man, Isabelle of Langston rules the family lands with an iron hand after her father's death. But the brazen beauty meets her match in Hugh Fauconier, bold knight and rightful Saxon heir to Langston Keep. By the King's hand, he is made her husband. Hugh's virile prowess reveals to Belle the delicious pleasures of the flesh, as their turbulent days of verbal sparring melt into nights of erotic abandon. But a treacherous plot enslaves Hugh to the evil Vivienne d'Bretagne, a sorceress whose sexual magic is as powerful as it is dark. Discovering the castle lair where her husband is enchanted, Belle is caught, and rendered helpless by the twisted passion of Vivienne's brother, Guy. But not even her captor's devious ecstasy can destroy her will to free her beloved Hugh. . . .

An all-star urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and more . . . In this short story collection of courage, adventure, and magic, heroes—ordinary people who do the...  more

An all-star urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and more . . . In this short story collection of courage, adventure, and magic, heroes—ordinary people who do the right thing—bravely step forward.   But running toward danger might cost them everything. . . .    In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s “Little Things,” the pixie Toot-Toot discovers an invader unbeknownst to the wizard Harry Dresden . . . and in order to defeat it, he’ll have to team up with the dread cat Mister.   In #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs’s “Dating Terrors,” the werewolf Asil finds an online date might just turn into something more—if she can escape the dark magic binding her.   In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s “The Return of the Mage,” the Britlingen mercenaries will discover more than they’ve bargained for when they answer the call of a distress beacon on a strange and remote world.   And in #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s “Comfort Zone,” the necromancer Chloe Saunders and the werewolf Derek Souza are just trying to get through college. But they can’t refuse a ghost pleading for help.   ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY Annie Bellet * Anne Bishop * Jennifer Brozek * Kevin Hearne * Nancy Holder * Kerrie L. Hughes * Chloe Neill * R.R. Virdi    Little things / Jim Butcher The dark ship / Anne Bishop Comfort zone / Kelley Armstrong Train to last hope / Annie Bellet Fire hazard / Kevin Hearne Grave gambles / R. R. Virdi Silverspell / Chloe Neill Troll life / Kerrie L. Hughes The return of the mage / Charlaine Harris Vampires Karamazov / Nancy Holder The necessity of pragmatic magic / Jennifer Brozek Dating terrors / Patricia Briggs

Eccentric heiress Josephine Warrick is a notorious recluse - reigning over a crumbling pink mansion on a private island, she is rarely seen but often whispered about. So when Brooke Trappnell, a struggling young lawyer, is summoned to the island, she has no idea what's in store. As she...  more

Eccentric heiress Josephine Warrick is a notorious recluse - reigning over a crumbling pink mansion on a private island, she is rarely seen but often whispered about. So when Brooke Trappnell, a struggling young lawyer, is summoned to the island, she has no idea what's in store. As she listens to Josephine recount a story of old friendship, dark secrets, and a mysterious murder, it becomes clear that Brooke is there for two reasons: to help protect Josephine's beloved island, and to make amends with her old friends, the skinny-dipping, secret-keeping girls of the The High Tide Club. To fulfill a dying woman's last wish, Brooke must track down the descendants of Josephine's closest friends and bring them together for a reunion of women who've never actually met. But in doing so, Brooke uncovers a scandal that could make someone rich beyond their wildest dreams…or cause them to be in the crosshairs of a murderer.

Now a classic! The hilarious  novel of the healing arts that reveals everything your  doctor never wanted you to know. Six eager interns  -- they saw themselves as modern saviors-to-be.  They came from the top of their medical school class  to...  more

Now a classic! The hilarious  novel of the healing arts that reveals everything your  doctor never wanted you to know. Six eager interns  -- they saw themselves as modern saviors-to-be.  They came from the top of their medical school class  to the bottom of the hospital staff to serve a  year in the time-honored tradition, racing to answer  the flash of on-duty call lights and nubile  nurses. But only the Fat Man --the Clam, all-knowing  resident -- could sustain them in their struggle to  survive, to stay sane, to love -and even to be- doctors when their harrowing year was done. From the Paperback edition.

What happens when a villain becomes a hero? Mr. Hyde is trapped, locked in Dr. Jekyll?s surgical cabinet, counting the hours until his inevitable capture. As four days pass, he has the chance, finally, to tell his story?the story of his brief, marvelous life. Summoned to life by strange...  more

What happens when a villain becomes a hero? Mr. Hyde is trapped, locked in Dr. Jekyll?s surgical cabinet, counting the hours until his inevitable capture. As four days pass, he has the chance, finally, to tell his story?the story of his brief, marvelous life. Summoned to life by strange potions, Hyde knows not when or how long he will have control of ?the body.? When dormant, he watches Dr. Jekyll from a remove, conscious of this other, high-class life but without influence. As the experiment continues, their mutual existence is threatened, not only by the uncertainties of untested science, but also by a mysterious stalker. Hyde is being taunted?possibly framed. Girls have gone missing; someone has been killed. Who stands, watching, from the shadows? In the blur of this shared consciousness, can Hyde ever be confident these crimes were not committed by his hand? ?You may think you know Dr. Jekyll, but this Hyde is a different beast altogether."?Jon Clinch, author of Finn "Prepare to be seduced by literary devilry! Go back to Victorian times to find a very postmodern whodunit. Visceral prose, atmosphere you could choke on, characters who seem to be at your very shoulder."?Ronald Frame, author of Havisham "Hyde brings into the light the various horrors still hidden in the dark heart of Stevenson?s classic tale of monstrosity and addiction. Devious and ingenious, it is a blazing triumph of the gothic imagination."?Patrick McGrath, author of Asylum

It is a truth universally accepted that well-bred members of Society are not beleaguered with magic. For Elsabeth Dover and her sisters, that truth means living in a perpetual state of caution, never using their sorcerous gifts in public. Elsabeth chafes under the stricture, but not enough to...  more

It is a truth universally accepted that well-bred members of Society are not beleaguered with magic. For Elsabeth Dover and her sisters, that truth means living in a perpetual state of caution, never using their sorcerous gifts in public. Elsabeth chafes under the stricture, but not enough to risk the possibility of good marriages for her sisters...until she meets handsome, arrogant Fitzgerald Archer. Elsabeth, attracted to Archer's wit and offended by his manner, strives to keep her youngest, impetuous sister's use of magic in check so that their eldest sister, Rosamund, might find happiness with Archer's wealthy friend Mr Webber. But when Elsa fails to keep young Leopoldina in line, Archer's disapproval of the family taint means an abrupt end to Rosamund's hopes, and leads to a terrible discovery about the price of magic....

Queen of the Unknown The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.  Andi...  more

Queen of the Unknown The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.  Andi doesn't mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the day she meets a strange man riding, who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A country she'd thought was no more than legend -- until he claims her as its queen.  In a moment everything changes: Her father, the wise king, becomes a warlord, suspicious and strategic. Whispers call her dead mother a traitor and a witch. Andi doesn't know if her own instincts can be trusted, as visions appear to her and her body begins to rebel.  For Andi, the time to learn her true nature has come. . .

Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking, crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Marlow. Nothing ever happens in Marlow. That is, until Judith hears her neighbor shot while skinny-dipping in the Thames. The local police...  more

Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking, crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Marlow. Nothing ever happens in Marlow. That is, until Judith hears her neighbor shot while skinny-dipping in the Thames. The local police don't believe her story. It's an open and shut case, of course. Ha! Stefan can't be left for dead like that. Judith investigates and picks up a crew of sidekicks: Suzie the dogwalker and Becks the vicar's wife. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club. When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape...

A brilliantly illuminating portrait of Bombay and its people?a book as vast, diverse, and rich in experience, incident, and sensation as the city itself?from an award-winning Indian-American fiction writer and journalist.A native of Bombay, Suketu Mehta gives us a true insider?s view of this...  more

A brilliantly illuminating portrait of Bombay and its people?a book as vast, diverse, and rich in experience, incident, and sensation as the city itself?from an award-winning Indian-American fiction writer and journalist.A native of Bombay, Suketu Mehta gives us a true insider?s view of this stunning city, bringing to his account a rare level of insight, detail, and intimacy. He approaches the city from unexpected angles?taking us into the criminal underworld of rival Muslim and Hindu gangs who wrest control of the city?s byzantine political and commercial systems . . . following the life of a bar dancer who chose the only life available to her after a childhood of poverty and abuse . . . opening the doors onto the fantastic, hierarchical inner sanctums of Bollywood . . . delving into the stories of the countless people who come from the villages in search of a better life and end up living on the sidewalks?the essential saga of a great city endlessly played out.Through it all?as each individual story unfolds?we hear Mehta?s own story: of the mixture of love, frustration, fascination, and intense identification he feels for and with Bombay, as he tries to find home again after twenty-one years abroad. And he makes clear that Bombay?the world?s largest city?is a harbinger of the vast megalopolises that will redefine the very idea of ?the city? in the near future.Candid, impassioned, funny, and heartrending, Maximum City is a revelation of an ancient and ever-changing world.

Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher -- she can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing skill she hasn't yet mastered or embraced. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad, the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals....  more

Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher -- she can move objects with her mind, an embarrassing skill she hasn't yet mastered or embraced. After nearly killing her brother by accident, she joins the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad, the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals. This top-secret branch of the FBI combats ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters threatening humanity. With her teammates -- among them a handsome former-detective werewolf and an annoying Don Juan vampire who's dead-set on seducing her -- Beatrice investigates her first case. Disgustingly dismembered bodies have turned up, bearing bite marks of the undead. Someone -- or something -- is raising a horde of hideous, bloodthirsty zombies. Armed with Bette, her trusty machete, Beatrice takes on the master of the flesh-devouring corpses, who's guarding a horrifying secret . . . Featuring a team of monster hunters with unique paranormal abilities, the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series combines humor, suspense, and supernatural crime-fighting.

A sparkling second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion...   Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she’s still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother’s unsubtle...  more

A sparkling second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion...   Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she’s still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother’s unsubtle pleas to get married already. While Nada has a good job as an engineer, it’s a far cry from realizing her start-up dreams for her tech baby, Ask Apa, the app that launched with a whimper instead of a bang because of a double-crossing business partner. Nothing in her life has turned out the way it was supposed to, and Nada feels like a failure. Something needs to change, but the past is holding on too tightly to let her move forward. Nada’s best friend Haleema is determined to pry her from her shell…and what better place than at the giant annual Muslim conference held downtown, where Nada can finally meet Haleema’s fiancé, Zayn. And did Haleema mention Zayn’s brother Baz will be there?   What Haleema doesn’t know is that Nada and Baz have a past—some of it good, some of it bad and all of it secret.  At the conference, that past all comes hurtling at Nada, bringing new complications and a moment of reckoning. Can Nada truly say goodbye to once was or should she hold tight to her dreams and find their new beginnings?

Grace Tolliver, former probation officer and present owner of Pearl's antique lamp shop, located in a historic Cape Cod village, once again finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation. Grace and her employee, Bella Benson, find the lifeless body of Ben Walwyn when they are hiking near...  more

Grace Tolliver, former probation officer and present owner of Pearl's antique lamp shop, located in a historic Cape Cod village, once again finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation. Grace and her employee, Bella Benson, find the lifeless body of Ben Walwyn when they are hiking near Ben's house. Ben was Bella's godson and she prevails upon Grace to help her find the person who murdered him. The first detective on the scene is none other than Andre Cruz, the same detective that led the investigation into the death of a customer of the lamp shop, the previous winter. He is not too happy to find Grace once again at the scene of the murder. And, Grace is not too happy to find herself once again being interrogated by the handsome detective. Especially since they'd been involved in a romantic relationship that had not ended well. The last thing Grace wants is to get involved in the case. But, after someone desperately searching for a valuable antique lamp, missing since Ben's murder proves that they will do anything to get their hands on it, she vows to find the violent and relentless killer. Grace must face unimaginable danger in her quest to bring peace and safety back to the lives of those she cares about most.

The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house. On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has...  more

The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house. On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.

Science-Fiction Short Stories

Chemical Warfare?Casper, Johnny, and Gwinny are sure they'll never be happy again when their mother marries Jack, who is as mean as an ogre. To make matters worse, two obnoxious stepbrothers, Malcolm and Douglas, move in as well. No one -- except the parents -- seems happy. But when Jack gives a...  more

Chemical Warfare?Casper, Johnny, and Gwinny are sure they'll never be happy again when their mother marries Jack, who is as mean as an ogre. To make matters worse, two obnoxious stepbrothers, Malcolm and Douglas, move in as well. No one -- except the parents -- seems happy. But when Jack gives a chemistry set to each group of kids, bigger problems take over. These are, it turns out, not your average chemicals. In one hilarious experiment after another, the kids discover they can fly, switch bodies with one another, and even disappear. If only they could figure out how to undo all of this! Are one combustible stepfamily and two explosive chemistry sets a formula for disaster?

A National Book Award finalist and instant fantasy classic about the power of community, generosity, books, and baked goods, from the author of the beloved Newbery Medal winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods,...  more

A National Book Award finalist and instant fantasy classic about the power of community, generosity, books, and baked goods, from the author of the beloved Newbery Medal winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighborliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are. Then one day a child goes missing from the Orphan House. At the Mayor’s suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The Orphans know this can’t be: the Ogress, along with a flock of excellent crows, secretly delivers gifts to the people of Stone-in-the-Glen. But how can the Orphans tell the story of the Ogress’s goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst?

?Tillie Walden is the future of comics, and On a Sunbeam is her best work yet. It?s a ?space? story unlike any you?ve ever read, with a rich, lived-in universe of complex characters.? ?Brian K. Vaughan, Saga and Paper GirlsTwo timelines. Second chances. One love. A ragtag crew travels to the...  more

?Tillie Walden is the future of comics, and On a Sunbeam is her best work yet. It?s a ?space? story unlike any you?ve ever read, with a rich, lived-in universe of complex characters.? ?Brian K. Vaughan, Saga and Paper GirlsTwo timelines. Second chances. One love. A ragtag crew travels to the deepest reaches of space, rebuilding beautiful, broken structures to piece the past together.Two girls meet in boarding school and fall deeply in love?only to learn the pain of loss. With interwoven timelines and stunning art, award-winning graphic novelist Tillie Walden creates an inventive world, breathtaking romance, and an epic quest for love.

Private investigator Nikki Griffin is on a case. The reclusive matriarch of one of San Francisco’s wealthiest and most private families has been defrauded by a con-man, and her furious son enlists Nikki to find the money. And find the con-man, Dr. Geoffrey Coombs. Nikki isn’t a...  more

Private investigator Nikki Griffin is on a case. The reclusive matriarch of one of San Francisco’s wealthiest and most private families has been defrauded by a con-man, and her furious son enlists Nikki to find the money. And find the con-man, Dr. Geoffrey Coombs. Nikki isn’t a fan of men who hurt people. Quietly running her used bookstore by day, her secret mission, born of revenge and trauma, is to do everything she can to remove the innocent from dangerous situationsâۥand punish the men responsible. It seemed like a simple job, but as Coombs leads Nikki on a trail littered with deceptions, she realizes that he’s not the only one lying: no one involved is telling her the truth. As Nikki draws closer to Coombs and learns more about who he really is, she is taken aback to realize that she is starting to enjoy the chaseâۥand that the two of them might share more in common than she would like to admit. But while she closes in on Coombs, others are looking for him, too. As Nikki glimpses secrets that powerful people want to remain hidden, she begins to suspect that lives are in peril. From breathtaking cliffside resorts to the shady underworld of stolen cars, from drug-filled trailers to the city’s loftiest penthouses, Nikki slowly uncovers the deep rot at the center of the case. She is forced to make terrible choices about who to helpâۥand how to keep herself alive. If she can fit the pieces together in time, she just might be able to save them all.

A WOMAN ON A MISSION . . . My name is Vesper Quill. I used to be a lowly lab rat, toiling away in obscurity developing brewmakers and other household appliances. But thanks to my seer magic and my own ingenuity, I'm now a Regal lady and the head of a successful corporation. My mission?...  more

A WOMAN ON A MISSION . . . My name is Vesper Quill. I used to be a lowly lab rat, toiling away in obscurity developing brewmakers and other household appliances. But thanks to my seer magic and my own ingenuity, I'm now a Regal lady and the head of a successful corporation. My mission? To destroy the Techwave, the dangerous group that has stolen my designs and plans to weaponize them against the Imperium. But when my mission takes an unexpected turn, I'm once again surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life. Further complicating matters is Kyrion Caldaren, an arrogant Regal lord whose fate is bound to mine. Kyrion doesn't realize the two of us still have an unwanted connection that puts us both in grave danger . . . or does he? A MAN SURROUNDED BY ENEMIES . . . My name is Kyrion Caldaren. As the leader of the Arrows, the Imperium's elite fighting force, I've been tasked with tracking down and destroying the Techwave before they seize control of the Archipelago Galaxy. My other mission? Find a way to assassinate Lord Callus Holloway, the Imperium ruler who wants to take my psion power for his own. Holloway is also a threat to Vesper Quill, who haunts my thoughts, despite the broken bond and distance between us. When I realize Vesper is in danger, my priorities change, and I vow to use all my telepathic, telekinetic, and other abilities to help her. I will save Vesper from her enemies and mine -- even if I have to burn down the whole bloody galaxy.

One Final Mission. There is no time to rest for Eliza D Braun and Wellington Thornhill Books. The man who has haunted and hounded them since the fall of the Maestro?Doctor Henry Jekyll?is now on a killing spree, using bizarre, theatrical murders as a way to taunt their inability to capture him....  more

One Final Mission. There is no time to rest for Eliza D Braun and Wellington Thornhill Books. The man who has haunted and hounded them since the fall of the Maestro?Doctor Henry Jekyll?is now on a killing spree, using bizarre, theatrical murders as a way to taunt their inability to capture him. Of course, Books and Braun know this is a trap, so it falls on the Ministry's Finest to turn the tables on Jekyll and bring him to justice. As Wellington and Eliza pursue both man and monster, the House of Usher continue to push forward with Operation: Ragnarök. Agents Bruce Campbell and Brandon D Hill undertake the challenge of stopping the dark society in their tracks, unraveling a mystery that could plunge the world into chaos, despair, and a noticeable lack of Devon Cream Teas. The Ministry will not let this stand.

At fifteen, Georg comes upon a letter written to him by his dying father, to be read when he is old enough. Their two voices make a fascinating dialogue as Georg gets to know the father he can barely remember and is challenged by him to answer some profound questions. The central mystery of...  more

At fifteen, Georg comes upon a letter written to him by his dying father, to be read when he is old enough. Their two voices make a fascinating dialogue as Georg gets to know the father he can barely remember and is challenged by him to answer some profound questions. The central mystery of the book is the story of the Orange Girl, the elusive young woman for whom Georg's father searches in Orso and Seville, and who Georg finally realises is his mother. THE ORANGE GIRL is short and simply constructed, but it takes on some big questions about the meaning of life and the universe. It is imbued with the sense of awe and wonder that is Jostein Gaarder's hallmark. Although it is intended for teenagers, it is written in the unmistakable Gaarder way that reaches readers of every generation.

Named a Top Ten Science Book of Fall 2016 by Publishers WeeklyAlthough mammals and birds are widely regarded as the smartest creatures on earth, it has lately become clear that a very distant branch of the tree of life has also sprouted higher intelligence: the cephalopods, consisting of the...  more

Named a Top Ten Science Book of Fall 2016 by Publishers WeeklyAlthough mammals and birds are widely regarded as the smartest creatures on earth, it has lately become clear that a very distant branch of the tree of life has also sprouted higher intelligence: the cephalopods, consisting of the squid, the cuttlefish, and above all the octopus. In captivity, octopuses have been known to identify individual human keepers, raid neighboring tanks for food, turn off lightbulbs by spouting jets of water, plug drains, and make daring escapes. How is it that a creature with such gifts evolved through an evolutionary lineage so radically distant from our own? What does it mean that evolution built minds not once but at least twice? The octopus is the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien. What can we learn from the encounter? In Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith, a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver, tells a bold new story of how subjective experience crept into being?how nature became aware of itself. As Godfrey-Smith stresses, it is a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared. Tracking the mind?s fitful development, Godfrey-Smith shows how unruly clumps of seaborne cells began living together and became capable of sensing, acting, and signaling. As these primitive organisms became more entangled with others, they grew more complicated. The first nervous systems evolved, probably in ancient relatives of jellyfish; later on, the cephalopods, which began as inconspicuous mollusks, abandoned their shells and rose above the ocean floor, searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so. Taking an independent route, mammals and birds later began their own evolutionary journeys. But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess? Drawing on the latest scientific research and his own scuba-diving adventures, Godfrey-Smith probes the many mysteries that surround the lineage. How did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually ?think for themselves?? What happens when some octopuses abandon their hermit-like ways and congregate, as they do in a unique location off the coast of Australia?By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind?and on our own.

Philip K. Dick's searing metaphysical comedy of death and salvation is a tour de force of panoramic menace and unfettered slapstick, in which the departed give business advice, shop for their next incarnation, and run the continual risk of dying yet again.

Author Tessa Bailey is back in Napa Valley with this hilarious rom-com about a down-on-her-luck heiress who suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand... only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate. After losing her job and her...  more

Author Tessa Bailey is back in Napa Valley with this hilarious rom-com about a down-on-her-luck heiress who suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand... only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate. After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him—and kiss him, in equal measure.  August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around... and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted August's dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults. Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways—assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There’s just one thing they didn’t account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

Two families, in two centuries, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it... How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end up destitute? Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and...  more

Two families, in two centuries, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it... How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end up destitute? Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and have nothing to show for it but debts and an inherited brick house that is falling apart. The magazine where Willa worked has folded; the college where her husband had tenure has closed. Their dubious shelter is also the only option for a disabled father-in-law and an exasperating, free-spirited daughter. When the family’s one success story, an Ivy-educated son, is uprooted by tragedy he seems likely to join them, with dark complications of his own. In another time, a troubled husband and public servant asks: How can a man tell the truth, and be reviled for it? A science teacher with a passion for honest investigation, Thatcher Greenwood finds himself under siege. His employer forbids him to speak of the exciting work just published by Charles Darwin. His young bride and social-climbing mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his worries that their elegant house is unsound. In a village ostensibly founded as a benevolent Utopia, Thatcher wants only to honor his duties, but his friendships with a woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor threaten to draw him into a vendetta with the town’s powerful men.

New insights from the science of science   Facts change all the time. Smoking has gone from doctor recommended to deadly. We used to think the Earth was the center of the universe and that the brontosaurus was a real dinosaur. In short, what we know about the world is constantly changing.   ...  more

New insights from the science of science   Facts change all the time. Smoking has gone from doctor recommended to deadly. We used to think the Earth was the center of the universe and that the brontosaurus was a real dinosaur. In short, what we know about the world is constantly changing.   Samuel Arbesman shows us how knowledge in most fields evolves systematically and predictably, and how this evolution unfolds in a fascinating way that can have a powerful impact on our lives.   He takes us through a wide variety of fields, including those that change quickly, over the course of a few years, or over the span of centuries.

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have...  more

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon. But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place. As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty -- and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death. Owlcrate Exclusive edition

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters...  more

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters -- James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna -- join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote -- and perhaps not even to live -- the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Trixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Doctor Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West -- and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing -- down to number...  more

Trixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Doctor Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West -- and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing -- down to number four. Trixie will do anything to get her name ranked over Ben's, including give up sleep and comic books -- well, maybe not comic books -- but definitely sleep. After all, the war of Watson v. West is as vicious as the Doctor v. Daleks and Browncoats v. Alliance combined, and it goes all the way back to the infamous monkey bars incident in the first grade. Over a decade later, it's time to declare a champion once and for all. The war is Trixie's for the winning, until her best friend starts dating Ben's best friend and the two are unceremoniously dumped together and told to play nice. Finding common ground is odious and tooth-pullingly-painful, but Trixie and Ben's cautious truce slowly transforms into a fandom-based tentative friendship. When Trixie's best friend gets expelled for cheating and Trixie cries foul play, however, they have to choose who to believe and which side they're on -- and they might not pick the same side.