Penny Dreadful is a vampire, of the little known Gemini tribe. She is from the small town of Browman, which is located near to the larger university city of Oxrow, home of Charity Michaels and Libby Hall (of Curse-Breaker fame)... Penny gets involved, often against her best interests, in a number of strange and mysterious events. She just wants to survive school, now a fancy academy, and get a few A levels... Penny's sisters, Alison and Catherine are also drawn into the terrors that inhabit the small English town, will they survive the horror... History seems to want her to play a role in the events to come as many different factions are drawn into the spiralling whirlpool of events that could be another end of the world, which is really awful if it happens on a Tuesday...
A dark, twisty thriller about a centuries-old, ivy-covered boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft and two girls dangerously close to digging up the past. The dangerous romance and atmospheric setting makes it a perfect read for fans of dark academia. Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School. Perched in the Catskill Mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she's returned to finish high school. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds. Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway's past. The school doesn't talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She's determined to leave that behind now, but it's hard when Dalloway's occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won't let her forget. It's Ellis Haley's first year at Dalloway, and she has already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called method writer. She's eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can't shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity to help her research the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can't say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource. And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway—and herself.
Hannah Sinclair AND Judy Collins, together in the same book, being nice to each other. This surely is the end of days, again. The Stelline invasion deepens, their agent makes her move, changing history and destinies. Hannah and Judy fight back, the war for everything will end, hopefully with some of the universe left for everyone to live in. New heroes emerge to join the fight, while others fall - never to rise again. The universe may endure but it will be forever changed by the end of this chapter of its history...
"I was enthralled from the first chapter..." - Reader review Every secret has its price. When a seller of secrets is caught in a deadly conspiracy, she'll discover how high a price she's willing to pay to uncover the truth... Among the unsavory streets of Oedija, Airene and her unorthodox companions scrape a living as Finches, exposing lies and scandals for a scant profit. When Oedija's monarch dies suspiciously, Airene sees her chance to earn more than the next meal. Though her quest might prove fruitless, she risks everything to learn the truth of his death, hoping to make her fame and fortune. But the ruler's demise is just the first piece of the puzzle. Magic, long forbidden, reemerges in the face of revolution. War looms on the horizon. Ancient spirits awaken, hungry after their long slumber. And the secrets Airene reveals threaten to consume their world... From the author of the bestselling Legend of Tal series comes an enthralling epic fantasy filled with rumor hunters, secret societies, taboo magic, and a world-eating god. Read Whispers of Ruin, Book 1 of the epic fantasy series The Famine Cycle, to discover the secrets today! This title was previously published as City of Whispers. Content warning: Occasional strong language, innuendo, and violence PRAISE FOR WHISPERS OF RUIN "...Deftly blends political intrigue and tension between ruling powers, the mystic ability of the wardens, and the threat of war including the looming terror of a daemon god." - Readers' Favorite "...An excellent read for classic high fantasy lovers - if you grew up with 'Deltora Quest', wanted more from 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and love the darkness of 'Malazan Book of the Fallen', this is for you." - Reedsy Discovery "Loved this world of the finches." - Amazon review "A hard book to put down." - Amazon review "This book was so complex and layered. I loved the characters, the storyline and the paranormal aspects." - Amazon review Now an International Hot New Release! #1 in Greek & Roman Drama
This book offers a critical examination of certain ideas and values—such as remembering, forgiveness, story-telling through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, etc.—that under-gird the transitional practices and mechanisms of societies emerging from conflicts. It does so by making the survivors’ experience the supreme and ultimate judge of the legitimacy of such practices. While many scholars have dealt with these topics, this book provides a unique perspective on them by using personal stories, narratives and memoirs of the survivors as a checking point of the theoretical elaboration of these ideas and values. By means of an existential phenomenological analysis of the situation of survivors of gross human rights violations, the book assesses how many resources are still available to them, so that they can contribute to the processes of reconstruction and reconciliation of their societies. This analysis constitutes the background for reading the rest of the book, which challenges some assumptions and presumptions of transitional practices such as healing through truth-telling, or providing justice through reparations. It does so by presenting nuanced suggestions on the ways survivors can participate in the reconstruction-reconciliation processes, without jeopardizing their own well-being.
Pulitzer-winner Sebastian Smee relives the remarkable birth of Impressionism from the ashes of war Paris, January 1871 – the final, agonising days of the Franco-Prussian War. As the German army cements its advantage, shells rattle through the Left Bank. It is a bitterly cold winter; there is no fuel, no medicine, no food. The city’s poorer citizens have long turned to eating rats, cats and dogs. France has been brought to its knees. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas are trapped in the besieged city. Renoir and Bazille have joined regiments outside of Paris, while Monet and Pissarro fled the country just in time. Out of the Siege and the Commune, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. A feeling for transience – reflected in Impressionism’s emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things – would change art history forever. This is the extraordinary account of the ‘Terrible Year’ in Paris and its monumental impact on the rise of Impressionism.
"Everyone from Jalard knew what a bloodoath was. Legendary characters in the tales people told to their children often made such pacts with the gods. By drawing one's own blood whilst speaking a vow, people became 'Bloodsworn'. And in every tale where the oath was broken, the ending was always the same. The Bloodsworn died."It has been twelve years since The War of Ashes, but animosity still lingers between the nations of Sharma and Gavendara, and only a few souls have dared to cross the border between them.? The villagers of Jalard live a bucolic existence, nestled within the hills of western Sharma, and far away from the boundary which was once a warzone. To them, tales of bloodshed seem no more than distant fables. They have little contact with the outside world, apart from once a year when they are visited by representatives from the Academy who choose two of them to be taken away to their institute in the capital. To be Chosen is considered a great honour? of which most of Jalard's children dream.? But this year the Academy representatives make an announcement which is so shocking it causes friction between the villagers, and some of them begin to suspect that all is not what it seems. Just where are they taking the Chosen, and why? Some of them intend to find out, but what they discover will change their lives forever and set them on a long and bloody path to seek vengeance?
With brutal honesty and poetic urgency, Ananda Devi relates the tale of four young Mauritians trapped in their country's endless cycle of fear and violence. Eve out of Her Ruins is a heartbreaking look at the Mauritius tourists don't see, and an exploration of the construction of personhood at the margins of society.
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick "Adeyemi has sparked magic once again." —The New York Times After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too. Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But when the monarchy and military unite to keep control of Orïsha, Zélie must fight to secure Amari's right to the throne and protect the new maji from the monarchy's wrath. With civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart. Children of Virtue and Vengeance is the stunning sequel to Tomi Adeyemi's New York Times-bestselling debut Children of Blood and Bone, the first book in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy. Praise for Children of Virtue and Vengeance: “Electrifying . . . With this second book Adeyemi brings a new maturity and depth to the series. Her characters are no longer underdogs on a hero’s journey to return magic―now they are leaders who are suffering from the consequences and trauma of their previous quest.” ―The New York Times “Like its predecessor, Children of Virtue and Vengeance is fast-paced and unafraid to ask tough questions about the cyclical nature of oppression and the systems that enforce it.” ―TIME “Relentless even beyond its finish, this is a sure-fire hit.” ―Booklist, starred review - The Complete Legacy of Orïsha Series: Children of Blood and Bone (Book 1) Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Book 2) Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Book 3)