"He could have everything here, and the price is so small. Why would he want to go back out into that cold, unforgiving world?"It's simple, really. Zay has a roof over his head, food in his stomach, no bills or jobs to worry about, and he gets to lie around all day. It should be the perfect life for him, and it would be... if it wasn't for the fact that he has to play the role of a two-legged "puppy" for his captor and his captor's little. Zay's unwillingness to accept his new life breeds doubt and discontent in Cammy, who's longed for an end to his loneliness. Even though they should be bonding, the distance between them seems larger than ever. Cammy wants Zay to see how fortunate he is, but will it be Cammy who has his own revelations instead?
When he agreed to take the fall for his pack leader's failed attempts to help the Rebellion, Jace knew he wouldn't live long enough to regret it. However, instead of the noble end he envisioned for himself, the werewolf finds himself at the mercy of a witch and his depraved games. Though he clings to his conviction that he can withstand anything his new master can dish out, it isn't long before he realizes pride has no place in his life as the pet of the controlling Elias Ivers.###Now that supernatural beings have seized control of the world, life has become a struggle for the humans who once held power. Witches, vampires, and werewolves determine the fate of every single human, but their moral compasses have long since been shattered. Rebels, free humans, and slaves all share dreams of hope, mercy, love, and more. But with their fate so uncertain, survival isn't enough... and they may have to sacrifice what is nearest and dearest to them if they want to change their lives.
MAGIC RULES. WE SERVE. In a darkly fantastical debut set in modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them. This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit. Have a quick ten years. . . . Look for all three books in the mesmerizing Dark Gifts trilogy: GILDED CAGE • TARNISHED CITY • BRIGHT RUIN Praise for Gilded Cage “Beautifully characterised and compellingly plotted, Gilded Cage is an impressive debut.”—The Guardian “Exquisitely wicked . . . a lavishly opulent, yet brutally vivid, alternate England which subtly questions modern beliefs . . . If ever there was a speculative fiction book that captured the zeitgeist of an era this is it.”—SFFWorld “An alternate modern-day England where enticing drama and social unrest mix with aristocratic scandal and glamorous magic . . . conjuring up the specters of Les Misérables and Downton Abbey . . . an absorbing first installment that presages an intriguing new fantasy series.”—Kirkus Reviews “Gilded Cage is a heart-pounding combination of dark magic, political revolution, and forbidden romance that had me addicted from the first page!”—Danielle L. Jensen, USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Trilogy “Devious and deliciously dark with lashings of magic, mystery, and mayhem, this juggernaut of a book will keep you hanging on by your fingernails until the very last page.”—Taran Matharu, New York Times bestselling author of the Summoner series “A dark and intriguing vision of an alternate, magic-drenched Britain, Gilded Cage kept me up long into the night.”—Aliette de Bodard, author of The House of Shattered Wings
How China’s economic development combines a veneer of unprecedented progress with the increasingly despotic rule of surveillance over all aspects of life Since the mid-2000s, the Chinese state has increasingly shifted away from labor-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing to a process of socioeconomic development centered on science and technology. Ya-Wen Lei traces the contours of this techno-developmental regime and its resulting form of techno-state capitalism, telling the stories of those whose lives have been transformed—for better and worse—by China’s rapid rise to economic and technological dominance. Drawing on groundbreaking fieldwork and a wealth of in-depth interviews with managers, business owners, workers, software engineers, and local government officials, Lei describes the vastly unequal values assigned to economic sectors deemed “high-end” versus “low-end,” and the massive expansion of technical and legal instruments used to measure and control workers and capital. She shows how China’s rise has been uniquely shaped by its time-compressed development, the complex relationship between the nation’s authoritarian state and its increasingly powerful but unruly tech companies, and an ideology that fuses nationalism with high modernism, technological fetishism, and meritocracy. Some have compared China’s extraordinary transformation to America’s Gilded Age. This provocative book reveals how it is more like a gilded cage, one in which the Chinese state and tech capital are producing rising inequality and new forms of social exclusion.
The must-read new bold and immersive West African-inspired fantasy series, as featured on Cosmo, Bustle and Book Riot. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice, perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. "Namina Forna Could Be The Toni Morrison Of YA Fantasy." Refinery 29 Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman's worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold - the colour of impurity, of a demon - she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed... "An enthralling debut. The Gilded Ones redefines sisterhood and is sure to leave readers both inspired and ultimately hopeful." Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Caraval "Haunting, brutal, and oh-so-relevant. This book will suck you into a world where girls bleed gold, magic fills the air, and the real monsters hide behind words instead of claws." Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin "The Gilded Ones is a fierce, unflinching fantasy that marks Forna as a debut to watch." Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken
A Gilded Cage This captivating novel takes you on a thrilling journey of two young rebels, Evie and Alex, who defy the confines of their privileged world. Fueled by a shared passion for invention and a yearning for social justice, they challenge the status quo of a ruthless industry controlled by a powerful, manipulative figure. Their journey is fraught with obstacles – hidden agendas, public scrutiny, and the constant threat of sabotage. But their love and unwavering commitment to their ideals serve as a beacon of hope, inspiring them to fight for a future where innovation benefits everyone. Unveiling the truth about a corrupt system, they embark on a daring mission to expose the lies and exploitation that have kept the working class trapped. Through ingenious inventions and strategic alliances, Evie and Alex rewrite the narrative, empowering workers and paving the way for a more equitable future. This page-turning novel explores themes of love, rebellion, social responsibility, and the power of challenging the status quo. It's a story that will resonate with readers who believe in the power of innovation to create a better world.
Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (2003), and the only Iranian to receive a Nobel Prize in any field, releases a new memoir in April 2011 entitled The Golden Cage: Three Brothers, Three Choices, One Destiny. The book is a fascinating, contemporary autobiographical story of how Iran came to be the nation it is today. The timeliness of her writing is all the more important with daily breaking news of democracy arising in the region. As she says of her new publication, “History is best described through life stories that are told in simple ways by appealing to what human beings hold in common, the love of life and country.” She is a remarkable woman because of her keen intellect, but even more so because of her inbred commitment to, and understanding of, egalitarianism. It is honest to interpret this to mean she is a fierce advocate for women's and children's rights. In addition to focusing on bringing democracy to Iran, she is a visionary in having foreseen what we are now witnessing in the Middle East and foreseeing the same to be inevitable throughout the world for all dictatorships. Dr. Ebadi attributes this in part to the spread of technology, which allows those imprisoned by governments to see how the free world lives. Naturally, the oppressed choose free will. She also believes the innate human spirit to be a driving force behind the inevitability of democracies. Of central importance in Dr. Ebadi's message about Iran and Islam is that she is a moderate. She believes Islam and democracy are compatible. Dr. Ebadi loves peace and abhors violence. In between those two ends, lays a middle ground in which she deftly works to persuade world leaders and the world population to better understand her homeland. A place where she describes the people as a simmering kettle -- bubbling to the top is her voice and those of others calling for Iran's democratization. Clearly this has made her an enemy of the current Iranian regime. She was out of the country when those ruling Iran further attacked in June 2009, compelling her to begin a life in exile. She would face certain arrest and imprisonment were she to return home. For now, she believes it is best to remain living in exile and to continue speaking out around the world, advocating peacefully for all people to be free from oppression. Her new book, The Golden Cage, and companion public speaking itinerary, are crucial parts of her plan.
I'll kidnap her before she says I do.ADRIANShe's sweet, innocent, beautiful, and she's going to be mine no matter what.Mafia princess Marzia De Luca made me a promise when we were children.She broke that promise. Now it's time to teach her a lesson.Marzia thinks she's going to celebrate her arranged marriage at a masked ball.But this party is the perfect opportunity for me to kidnap her.It's time for me to show her that my love... means pain.MARZIASince I was a little girl, I've been in love with him - dark, twisted, menacingly handsome Adrian Bernardi.But my father, the mafia don, decided I'd marry someone else.Except I don't want to marry the other man. I only want Adrian.I pray for help, asking Adrian to save me.But saving me means taking everything from me.Adrian's Vengeance is the first book of the Mafia Heirs series. Adrian and Marzia's story begins in Broken Promises. This is a dark mafia romance.
Murder! Mobsters! Detective series! Crime-drama! A touch or two of romance! Homicide Detective Lyle Odell and the entire Mohawk City police team and Odell’s trusted civilian friends return in a new adventure, and this time around; Odell and the team risk their careers, and maybe even their lives, as they face off with a powerful mobster boosted by a faction of the Russian network of organized crime operating in America. Mr. Ivan Petrov is powerful, handsome, and charismatic, and extremely wealthy. He is also the seemingly untouchable kingpin for the operation of the Russian mob in New York State. Petrov was on the top of the world, untouched, never challenged, until, suddenly, a beautiful young woman with ties to Mr. Petrov shows up deceased in a swimming pool in an exclusive apartment complex owned by Mr. Ivan Petrov. “It is just an accident,” the powers to be proclaimed. “An unfortunate tragedy.” Mohawk City in upstate New York is known as “Sin City” for its share of crime, grit, and generally, all round shady characters constantly lurking in the shadows of the streets within the city. When the great Mohawk City police homicide detective Lyle Odell is mysteriously wayward and sidelined for a “health issue” during a sensitive potential homicide investigation, his protégé, Junior Detective Miles Bradford, is suddenly thrust into the midst of the investigation. When Junior Detective Bradford declares the death of the beautiful young woman found in the swimming pool, a homicide, under rather weak evidence and questionable circumstances, it causes a ripple of doubt and mayhem within the Mohawk City Police Department and the political factions in the state hierarchy. The situation puts Captain Connor Moore, the frontline police officer for the Mohawk City Police Department, on the hot seat. Without his heralded and legendary detective heading up the case, the unpopular ruling of a homicide by a junior detective on what appears to be an accident causes waves of concern and uneasiness within the department and within the state politics. After all, Ivan Petrov is a very powerful and connected man! When the faithful friend of Lyle Odell, Police Lieutenant George Grundy rallies the police team and the friends of Lyle Odell, and he throws support to Junior Detective Bradford and Grundy jumps into the fray, Homicide Detective Lyle Odell rises from the ashes of despair, supports Junior Detective Miles Bradford and his conclusions, and makes sense of the impossible case. Suddenly, the tide is turned; Ivan Petrov is on the hot seat, as the Odell-led team closes in on the trail and Petrov’s power, and his criminal empire is challenged and on the brink of collapse! What ensues is a game of cat and mouse between the assembled team led by the genius of Detective Lyle Odell and the powerful crime family of Ivan Petrov. Which team will prevail? Plucked out of the pages of the novel “O'Malley” by his creator, Homicide Detective Lyle Odell proved to be a hugely popular character with readers. In “O’Malley,” the good detective helps the principal character solve the mysteries of his past and the brutal homicide of a fellow police officer. The character proved to so popular with readers that Paul John Hausleben created a series of novels starring the eccentric, systematic, hard-drinking, gumshoe Homicide Detective Lyle Odell. Here in this latest Detective Lyle Odell novel, the author weaves an exciting murder mystery and crime drama mixed with his usual unforgettable characters, and proves once again why Odell’s creator earned the title of “The Master Storyteller.” Grab your copy today!
"No one will ever look past these scars."Once a popular singer, Griffin lost everything to a fire. Society cast him aside when it became clear he was no longer handsome. Sure that no one will ever see beyond the scars that have ruined half of his body, he turns to desperate measures to find companionship."How can I do anything but surrender?"Kidnapped because of his looks, Ryder is delivered to Griffin to become anything his master wants him to be. He is repeatedly forced to choose between humiliation and worse. Each time he obeys Griffin, a piece of him breaks away. Can he truly refuse when every option is worse than the next?In this psychological drama, two men struggle with their definitions of what society labels beauty as opposed to a beast... and they learn that the true definition of beauty might not be as clear as they'd thought.
