Evelyn's camping trip takes a surprising turn when she gets caught in the woods during a wicked snowstorm. After a handsome stranger comes to her aid, Evelyn is quick to follow his lead. Soon, she realizes something unusual about the strange man. After he leads Evelyn into a world of everlasting winter, a chain of events is set in motion, forever changing her life. What she doesn't realize is that the greatest discovery of all lies within herself... something that has been slumbering inside her all along.
An historical novel based around two main characters, Gumshu and Grundwell, who are born into humble beginnings and then rise to become heads of highly successful business empires in the coal and woollen industries. Set in and around the Forest of Dean in the English county of Gloucestershire in the early 1600s, the story also gets a strong maritime flavour through the introduction of the two as evolving ship owners whose vessels ply the southern coasts of England, Wales, Ireland, and beyond. The opening chapters recount the secretive and bizarre circumstances surrounding their birth; the emergence of the two from childhood through to the time of their marriages to Maisey and Sophie, together with a traumatic incident that triggers personal revelations, with the most shocking of consequences. The commercial progression and financial successes in the middle of the novel are interspaced with adventure, drama, passion, humour, love, and poignant intimate moments for the two men, their families, and the peripheral characters that emerge with the development of the story. The ensuing chapters narrate a near-catastrophic financial collapse of one of the businesses, the Spinning Wheel, whilst the coal business of Hawk Mines goes from strength to strength under Gumshu and his eldest daughter's stewardship, supervised by the sensual but intuitive Maisey. The slightly mythical closure of the book introduces younger characters that take the story forward, whilst at the same time disclosing a highly emotional discovery to the two central characters.
I was born to the name of Rachel Weatere in the year 1684, more than three hundred years ago. The one who changed me named me Risika, and Risika I became, though I never asked what it meant. I continue to call myself Risika, even though I was transformed into what I am against my will. By day, Risika sleeps in a shaded room in Concord, Massachusetts. By night, she hunts the streets of New York City. She is used to being alone. But now someone is following Risika. Someone has left her a black rose, the same sort of rose that sealed her fate three hundred years ago. Three hundred years ago Risika had a family -- a brother and a sister who loved her. Three hundred years ago she was human. Now she is a vampire, a powerful one. And her past has come back to torment her. This atmospheric, haunting tale marks the stunning debut of a promising fourteen-year-old novelist.
The yearly attendance with Queen Brilliance of Rise is upcoming, and wouldn’t you know it, Fiona is dreading it. All human page turners assembled together in one place is not for the faint of heart. Between the tangled politics of home and facing her overbearing mother, she counts herself lucky it’s only for a few days. But this year, the Queen presses Fiona with an unexpected request—find the mythical Guardian of Restless Rise. Can she discern true intentions amid obscured agendas? Is the Queen’s desire sincere or does she, or the enigmatic Painted Edge, seek control over the Guardian’s power? Fiona soon finds herself joined by a sharp-tongued gentleman whose verbal sparring belies an undercurrent of something more. Can he be trusted or is he another hidden player? Amid schemes and betrayals, Fiona must piece together palace intrigues and myths to discover if the Guardian truly exists.
The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem! Over 1 million copies of the Three-Body Problem series sold in North America PRAISE FOR THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM SERIES: “A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times • “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Fascinating.”—TIME • “Extraordinary.”—The New Yorker • “Wildly imaginative.”—Barack Obama • “Provocative.”—Slate • “A breakthrough book.”—George R. R. Martin • “Impossible to put down.”—GQ • “Absolutely mind-unfolding.”—NPR • “You should be reading Liu Cixin.”—The Washington Post The Dark Forest is the second novel in the groundbreaking, Hugo Award-winning series from China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion-in just four centuries' time. The aliens' human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth's defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he's the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead. The Three-Body Problem Series The Three-Body Problem The Dark Forest Death's End Other Books by Cixin Liu Ball Lightning Supernova Era To Hold Up the Sky The Wandering Earth A View from the Stars At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Mystical Mushrooms defines the beauty of mushrooms by focusing on their magical connections and symbolic meanings through folkloric tales and superstitions throughout the world. Go for a walk in the woods on any given summer day and you may find yourself surrounded in fungi galore as they lay nestled among the ferns and trees. After a rainstorm, peek out in your backyard and you may see tiny spores sprouting from the grass, forming what is known as a fairy ring. Mushrooms grow in all shapes, sizes, and colors and—depending on where you live—you might find some that are conducive to magic practice. Mystical Mushrooms enters this realm, exploring the magical properties, mythological connections, and symbolic qualities of the fungi that so intrigue us. Author Mandie Quark takes you on a journey through the mystical universe of mushrooms. From Buddhist traditions to the concept of fairy rings, Quark reveals how mushrooms have long been entwined with the supernatural in art, literature, and religion. This includes topics surrounding: Magical History Spells Symbolism Spirituality Coupled with stunningly depicted artwork, Mystical Mushrooms explores the qualities of over 75 species of mushroom, displaying a range of compelling subjects surrounding the true power of these fabulous fungi.
The realm of Andomhaim has been reunited, with a true High King ruling in Tarlion once more. But it is far too late. The host of the Frostborn marches to war, bringing terror and death in their wake, and a weakened Andomhaim is not strong enough to defeat them. Only the sword of the Dragon Knight has the power to drive back the Frostborn, and it is calling to Ridmark Arban. But the sword devours anyone bold enough to wield it…