A promise is binding, a sworn oath. Once given it cannot be taken back, or so Althea believed. After she promises her father she will marry Captain Grindall, a man her mother has chosen, Althea finds herself caught in a treacherous conspiracy that reaches further than she could have suspected. As the French Revolution winds down across the Channel and Bonaparte seizes power, Althea finds herself drawn to the Duke of Argyll and begins to question the integrity of her heart. Meticulously researched, the reader will be taken through the social whirl of early Regency London, provincial life in Perth, Scotland, and into the world smuggling along the Kent Coast.
DIVDIVA special three-in-one edition of Caroline B. Cooney’s riveting Vampire’s Promise Trilogy/divDIV In Deadly Offer, Althea hates high school. In middle school, she had a group of friends to hang out with. She was on the softball team, took gymnastics, and won ribbons for horseback riding. But high school is horrible for Althea. She doesn’t make the cheerleading squad. Her group of friends splits apart to form new cliques, and Althea is left to sit alone at lunch. That is, until she discovers a vampire living in the attic tower of her family home. A vampire who can make her dreams come true: a spot on the cheerleading squad; popularity; a boyfriend. All the vampire wants in return is a small sacrifice, and Althea is in too deep to back out now./divDIV In Evil Returns, Devnee hopes her new room in an attic tower will make her romantic—beautiful, popular, and even happy. But the tower feels inexplicably creepy, especially because its windows are tightly shuttered. On Devnee’s very first night in her new room, weird things start to happen. A disembodied hand appears outside her window. Devnee’s shadow detaches from her body and starts wandering the edges of her new room by itself. On her first day at her new high school, Devnee finds herself intensely wishing her life were different. And when someone—something—arrives in her tower room to make that wish come true, Devnee’s best intentions at starting a new life take a dark turn./divDIV In Fatal Bargain, there is a creepy, shuttered attic tower in the town’s run-down, old, abandoned mansion, and it’s the perfect place to have a spooky party. At least, that’s what Randy thinks when he invites his five friends for a night of scary fun. But the night gets more terrifying than anyone anticipated when Roxanne feels a long sharp fingernail brushing her bare neck, with no one near enough to touch her. Then Randy sees a shadow gathering—a cape without a person inside. Lacey immediately senses the presence of a vampire in the tower. She doesn’t understand how, but she knows it in her bones, in her soul, as if from another life in an ancient time: Vampire./divDIV/div/div
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED AND KIRKUS REVIEWS • With deeply moving human drama, nail-biting suspense—and bold speculation informed by a degree in physics—C. A. Higgins spins a riveting science fiction debut guaranteed to catapult readers beyond their expectations. Serving aboard the Ananke, an experimental military spacecraft launched by the ruthless organization that rules Earth and its solar system, computer scientist Althea has established an intense emotional bond—not with any of her crewmates, but with the ship’s electronic systems, which speak more deeply to her analytical mind than human feelings do. But when a pair of fugitive terrorists gain access to the Ananke, Althea must draw upon her heart and soul for the strength to defend her beloved ship. While one of the saboteurs remains at large somewhere on board, his captured partner—the enigmatic Ivan—may prove to be more dangerous. The perversely fascinating criminal whose silver tongue is his most effective weapon has long evaded the authorities’ most relentless surveillance—and kept the truth about his methods and motives well hidden. As the ship’s systems begin to malfunction and the claustrophobic atmosphere is increasingly poisoned by distrust and suspicion, it falls to Althea to penetrate the prisoner’s layers of intrigue and deception before all is lost. But when the true nature of Ivan’s mission is exposed, it will change Althea forever—if it doesn’t kill her first. Praise for Lightless “Gripping . . . sci-fi flavored with a hint of thriller.”—New York Daily News “[A] measured, lovely science-fiction debut [that is] more psychological thriller . . . contained, disciplined, tense . . . The plot is compulsive. . . . Lightless is the first of a planned series, and you can’t help looking forward to learning what’s next.”—The New York Times “Lightless is full of suspense and fun as hell to read.”—BuzzFeed “Absolutely brilliant . . . This is science fiction as it is meant to be done: scientific concepts wedded to and built upon human ideals.”—Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of the October Daye series “The stakes in this story are high—life and death, rebellion and betrayal—and debut novelist Higgins continually ratchets up the tension. . . . A suspenseful, emotional story that asks plenty of big questions about identity and freedom, this is a debut not to be missed.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A taut, suspenseful read.”—Tech Times “Lightless is an exercise in lighting a very slow fuse and building the tension to an unbearable pitch while making us guess just how apocalyptic the ultimate explosion will be. . . . It is a high-wire act, a wonderment, and a fine accomplishment from a name we’ll be seeing again.”—Sci Fi
“The story I am to tell you, are words that should never be told to anyone. Songs of despair and anguish – nothing more than silent screams from a secret world that was once sickened by all; has now risen up to rule our society. Like so much of my existence and those like me, our story begins at the moment of inception – the inauguration of the brotherhood, and carried forward through the curvature of our pain.” - The girl in the yellow dress A dystopian fantasy set within a society barren of any reason.
Althea, Devnee, and Lacey all bargain with a vampire for popularity, beauty, and freedom, but are faced with the consequences of their deals when the vampire chooses his victims.
A big, rewarding novel about art, politics, family, terrorism, courage, and happiness. Promise Whittaker, the diminutive but decisive acting director of the National Museum of Asian Art, is pregnant again--and that's just the beginning of her difficulties. Her mentor, the previous director, suddenly walked away from his job with no explanation, and now is on a dig somewhere in the Taklamakan desert. Her favorite curator has dropped their newest treasure, a bowl once owned by Thomas Jefferson, during the ceremony celebrating its acquisition. Another colleague, desperate for a son, has been embezzling from the museum to pay for her fertility treatments. And her far too handsome, far too elusive ancillary director is clearly up to no good. Confronting challenge after challenge at work and at home, Promise is one of the most offbeat, original, winning characters in recent fiction. The Bowl Is Already Broken is all brains, all soul, and all heart--brimming with ideas, provocative, and deeply satisfying.
This book is not necessarily a Christian book; it's a "human Book." We all find ourselves on planet earth. We've been taught that our mother and father bought us into this world, and we must be successful, rich, and happy. We are taught life is short, and we must make the most of it. We spend most of our life chasing what the world teaches us as success. Unknown to most humans, it did not begin with your mother and father. It begins with an omnipotent, omnipresent, all-powerful, almighty, self-existing God. Before the world was, he is. God the creator has a relationship with every single human being on this planet. Whether they believe in him or not, or call him by another name, he is still Daddy to all creation. Jesus is Father God, and in him we all live, move, and have our existence. Jesus is the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the Wing Beneath My Wing, the Light of this Word, our Friend, our Father, our Sustainer, and he totally understands all of us. We are trying to understand him. We all want to know him more, but the only door to God's heart is true humility. Every human being must humble themselves daily and recognize that there is one greater than us, whether you love him or not. He's running the show. Jesus cannot be vetoed! Every human is unique in their own. This book is my life story. My journey a journey that was not planned by me. Did I have a journey planned? Oh yes. That path was fashion, being rich and successful, having two children, being married to my first love, and having a beautiful life with lots of joy and happiness. I was on that path until the Creator showed up, and I said yes! Yes! I did not know I could say no to the Creator--it's God! How am I gonna say no God? I like my path better--absolutely not. There is only one way, and its God's way. Cry, yell, scream, curse, say the F word--whatever you do, he's not moved by it. But follow him. After meeting Jesus in 1997 and saying yes, that path began to change, and my life took a drastic turn for the worse and was no longer going in the direction I worked so hard for. It was taking on a life of its own, and it wasn't pretty. If it was pretty, I would have been happy. My life became like a movie, and I was in the front row watching my life spin out of control, and at the same time, I was the main character. My life was now embarrassing to me. What breaks you and what breaks me is different. This book is my journey to find true intimacy with Jesus, and if I truly knew the cost and all I was going to endure, well, that is why it's a journey. And thank God I'm still here to tell my story because if it was up to my strength, I would have died in 2004. That was one of my many low and grave states. There is so much we learn in our journey, and looking back, I wish I did this and that. But the truth is, I did the best I could. For years I felt like I was naked on a cross with one million fiery hot swords piercing through my body; and everyone I looked to, to take me down from the cross actually add another spear. Those spears stayed in my soul until I no longer felt them; then they were no longer an issue. The Savior of my soul is my sustaining power. God kept me, God healed me, God taught me, God loves me, God stood by me even when I was failing him and was miserable. He never gave up on me, and I know he will see me to my promised land or, if I die, forever living in eternity with him. 122
