A woman defies expectations—including those of an arrogant earl—in the first regency romance in New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter's Fairbourne Quartet. Despite the limits of her sex, Emma Fairbourne intends to run her late father's prestigious London auction house. Of course, she's not addlepated enough to do it openly and scare away her wealthy collectors. Instead, she and her friend concoct a deception, hiring a handsome and charming front man who will do her bidding... All would have proceeded smoothly—if it weren’t for the maddening interference of Darius, the arrogant Earl of Southwaite, who was her father’s “silent partner”. Darius has no interest in running an auction house—and he's certainly not interested in allowing the lovely Miss Fairbourne to run it either, her ludicrous scheme notwithstanding. But headstrong Emma is like no other lady he has ever encountered, refusing to follow his dictates. Holding his temper in check, Darius decides to attack on a different front. There is another way to achieve her surrender, one far more pleasurable for both of them...
Like any classic, this powerful, moving, and, often, even funny story of the “Same Sex” men of the planet Ki becomes more relevant with time. Right-wing politicians up to their same old tricks, people excluded from the American dream, guns going off at the wrong time—also flying blue monkeys and good witches, Perry Brass has re-envisioned Oz as a far off, mythical planet where queer men marry and raise families, wage bloodthirsty wars, and partake whenever they can, in the love of angels. Welcome to Ki, a beautiful distant tribal planet where the boy Enkidu had been promised to Greeland, an older hunter, in the spirit of the Agreement which, centuries ahead of gay marriage on Earth, bonded pairs of Same-Sex men for life. To control the often violent population of tiny Ki, its inhabitants were divided into three interlinking groups: The nature-centered Same-Sex men of the swamp forests; the warlike Off-Sexers of the dry plains with their obedient wives and daughters; and the Sisters of Ki, renegade women who controlled the planet through the powerful temple of the Goddess Ki Herself. The Same-Sex men of Ki are endowed with a special third testicle, called “the Egg of the Eye.” The third Egg produces its own sperm or “seed.” Exchanging seed from the third Egg is at the heart of Same-Sex bonding. Seed produces intense, mystical visions, and can travel through space on its own and replicate itself—therefore providing certain Same-Sex men from Ki the abilities for space and time travel. To replicate themselves, a pair of Same-Sexers is allowed to impregnate an Off-Sex woman with their combined seed. This is controlled by the Sisters of Ki, who limit the number of Same-Sex men on their small planet and even pick the woman, bringing her into their Temple for the rite of impregnation, since the male couple is not allowed to know her. A year after giving birth, the woman must surrender her son to the Sisters who will deliver him to the male couple who fathered him. Same-Sex offspring are always male, since one man’s sperm produces the third Egg itself; the other’s, the dominant physical characteristics of the boy child. The child has to be given up as the woman’s husband, usually an Off-Sex warrior, is permitted, by the Agreement of the Planet, to kill the boy if he remains in his house longer than one year. In the midst of Enkidu and Greeland’s first sexual encounter in the beautiful forests of Ki, a young Off-Sex warrior surprised them, threatening to kill Greeland and take Enkidu a prisoner. Instead, the very strong Greeland killed the warrior and was charged—by some accounts unjustly—with his murder. Later, it is learned that Ert, this handsome but headstrong warrior, was the son of Ertan, chief of the Off-Sexers, whose wife Candra—it is also revealed—was actually Enkidu’s mother. As punishment for Greeland’s crime, the Sisters of Ki declared that Enkidu must be taken from Greeland, stripped of his Egg, and be made to live with the Off-Sexers as their servant. To escape this punishment, Woosh, a wizard from the mysterious enclave of the Blue Monkeys, sent Greeland and Enkidu to Earth, using his magic and the powers of their third Eggs. On Earth, Greeland and Enkidu took over the identities and bodies of two men: Cold, handsome Wright and his sensitive lover, Allan. The two men were charged with the mission to send back to Ki an Earth “same sex” man, to take Enkidu’s place with the Off-Sexers who have never seen him. Greeland, as Wright, succeeded in sending back his friend George Marshall, who lusted for Wright but truly loved Allan. On Ki, George, hulking, hairy, a man few would find conventionally attractive, gave himself the mysterious name Enhursag, “Lord of the Mountain,” dating back to the strange, ancient Sumerian heritage of Kivian Same-Sexers. This connection with another planet’s past, lost in the mists of time, was finally revealed on Earth to Wright and Allan. On Earth as Wright, Greeland cast off his natural Same-Sex shyness, and taking on an Earthly personality became manipulative, sexually aggressive, hungry for power, and ruthless. On returning to the shimmering forests of Ki, Greeland brought back his egotistical needs to the Same-Sex enclaves from which he came, believing that only he could control the destiny of his beautiful, fragile planet. Circlesis the next book in the chronicle of Ki, a place where the need for balance controls all, where individuals are at the beck of the Agreement, and where Same-Sex love is part of a culture, powerful and eternal. The book has an amazing appeal in this age of a divided America, of a Donald Trump lusting for power in the midst of lies, and of gay men trying once more to define their position on Earth.
"Your life isn't over." My dad says this. "I mean, YOUR life isn't over. Beyond the kids. You'll go on living, doing things. This isn't it." I know, I assure him. I have the kids. They need me. They're my life now. "OK," he replies, then grunts—more of a brief hum. He only hums when he thinks I'm full of shit. Shockingly single. Amy Biancolli's life went off script more dramatically than most after her husband of twenty years jumped off the roof of a parking garage. Left with three children, a three-story house, and a pile of knotty psychological complications, Amy realizes the flooding dishwasher, dead car battery, rapidly growing lawn, basement sump pump, and broken doorknob aren't going to fix themselves. She also realizes that "figuring shit out" means accepting the horrors that came her way, rolling with them, slogging through them, helping others through theirs, and working her way through life with love and laughter. Amy Biancolli is an author and journalist whose column appears in the Albany Times Union. Before that, Amy served as film critic for the Houston Chronicle where her reviews, published around the country, won her the 2007 Comment and Criticism Award from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association. Biancolli is the author of House of Holy Fools: A Family Portrait in Six Cracked Parts, which earned her Albany Author of the Year. Amy lives in Albany, New York, with her three children.
ALICE FEENEYS NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER “Boldly plotted, tightly knotted—a provocative true-or-false thriller that deepens and darkens to its ink-black finale. Marvelous.” —AJ Finn, author of The Woman in the Window My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me: 1. I’m in a coma. 2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore. 3. Sometimes I lie. Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?
. . .the loves and losses of three best friends amidst beautiful northern pines, white sandy beaches and red rock cliffs. Barb Dimich presents the second story in the heart-gripping Apostle Islands Trilogy set along Lake Superior´s South Shores. With a lifetime pact, Michelle, Nicole and Katharine reunite to learn their private obstacles are connected to a rash of serial killings. One by one, each will rediscover the true meaning of friendship. Madeline´s Jewel A short abusive marriage stripped Michelle Callihan of self-respect and nearly bankrupted her Island business. Eighteen months of hiding out in hard work and preserving the Apostle history, Michelle gradually learns how to cope with her downfalls and defeat. . .until an uncompromising architect wants to change the island´s history she loves more than life. Chained events turn wicked with the discovery of another dead sixteen-year-old girl and the return of Michelle´s violent ex. He´s demanding a payoff from the divorce. As if the ongoing murders and an estranged family aren't enough, Michelle´s buried fears ignite when police evidence points to her ex as the serial killer now he´s after her. When the architect begins to understand, it´s his strong will and tenacity that become the driving force that may or may not rescue Michelle from her demons.
This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world. #1 New York Times Bestseller -- named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, Buzzfeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider.
WINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
Serious Mental Illness, Homelessness, Drug and Alcohol Addiction, and the role of the family begin to speak of the journey of a thousand drinks and drug fests found inside this book. Some could be solved with a single choice. Some would haunt forever. Read this harrowing tale to find out the dreaded story of one woman’s journey through all of it.
2017 Winner of the Sunburst Award Society's Copper Cylinder Adult Award 2017 Canada Reads Finalist 2017 Locus Award Finalist for Science Fiction Novel Category 2017 Sunburst Award Finalist for Adult Fiction 2017 Aurora Awards Finalist for Best Novell Madeline Ashby's Company Town is a brilliant, twisted mystery, as one woman must evaluate saving the people of a town that can't be saved, or saving herself. "Elegant, cruel, and brutally perfect, Company Town is a prize of a novel." —Mira Grant, New York Times Bestselling and Hugo-Award nominated author of the Newsflesh series New Arcadia is a city-sized oil rig off the coast of the Canadian Maritimes, now owned by one very wealthy, powerful, byzantine family: Lynch Ltd. Hwa is of the few people in her community (which constitutes the whole rig) to forgo bio-engineered enhancements. As such, she's the last truly organic person left on the rig—making her doubly an outsider, as well as a neglected daughter and bodyguard extraordinaire. Still, her expertise in the arts of self-defense and her record as a fighter mean that her services are yet in high demand. When the youngest Lynch needs training and protection, the family turns to Hwa. But can even she protect against increasingly intense death threats seemingly coming from another timeline? Meanwhile, a series of interconnected murders threatens the city's stability and heightens the unease of a rig turning over. All signs point to a nearly invisible serial killer, but all of the murders seem to lead right back to Hwa's front door. Company Town has never been the safest place to be—but now, the danger is personal. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
She's the serious, studious type. He's the class clown. Will working together in an ice-cream van be enough to sweeten things up? Madeline is determined to escape the life of her childhood – watching her mother working two jobs just to cover the bills, missing out on all the fun activities her classmates got to enjoy. She's at college, for the qualification, and the freedom it will give her. She's certainly not going to be blind-sided by an attractive yet irritating jerk who thinks the sole purpose of college, and life in general, is partying. Jarrett's had a life of ease. His parent's wealth has ensured he's never had to worry about his future, and he's never thought beyond the sun, sand, and parties he'd always enjoyed. But then his parents threatened to cut off his allowance if he didn't go to college, where he finds himself attracted to a beautiful but boring classmate, who seems to think the library is the place to be. When Summer break comes around, Madeline and Jarrett think they can avoid each other, but life has other plans.
