Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan: the four powers of the world, all once great and mighty, now yielding to the effects of centuries of war. A King of Oak and a Queen of Yew sit on the thrones of the land--the King is a drunken lout, the Queen a magical schemer. Ash and Rowan are nearly dead, their totem trees in the sacred square withering away to nothing. Allis falling into place for the power-hungry Queen Ysa, who will stop at nothing to ensure the continuation of her line. Only one thing may stand in her way: a long-ago prophesy that Daughter of Ash will one day rise again to reclaim her rightful place on the throne. But deep in the swamps, in the care of the witch-healer all need and all fear, there is a young girl-woman who can not be the witch's daughter; a girl who by virtue of her beauty and elegance, and simmering power, can only be a Daughter of Ash, the one who will rise to fulfill the prophecy--and the destiny of her birthright.
Winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award Jeanne Chatel has always dreamed of adventure. So when the eighteen-year-old orphan is summoned to sail from France to the wilds of North America to become a king's daughter and marry a French settler, she doesn't hesitate. Her new husband is not the dashing military man she has dreamed of, but a trapper with two small children who lives in a small cabin in the woods. With her husband away trapping much of the time, Jeanne faces danger daily, but the bravery and spirit that brought her to this wild place never fail her, and she soon learns to be truly at home in her new land.
La Rochelle France, 1661. Fierce Protestant Isabelle is desperate to escape persecution by the Catholic King. Isabelle is tortured and harassed, her people forced to convert to the religion that rules the land. She risks her life by helping her fellow Protestants, which is forbidden by the powers of France. She accepts her fate - until she meets a handsome Catholic soldier who makes her question everything. She fights off an attack by a nobleman, and the only way to save herself is to flee to the colony of Canada as a Daughter of the King. She can have money, protection and a new life - if she adopts the religion she's spent a lifetime fighting. She must leave her homeland and the promises of her past. In the wild land of Canada, Isabelle finds that her search for love and faith has just begun. Based on the incredible true story of the French orphans who settled Canada, Daughter of the King is a sweeping tale of one young woman's fight for true freedom. Kerry Chaput brings the past to life, expertly weaving a gripping saga with vivid historical details. Jump back in time on a thrilling adventure with an unforgettable heroine.
Winner of a Betty Trask Award Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize Longlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize The Spider King's Daughter is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet set against the backdrop of a changing Lagos, a city torn between tradition and modernity, corruption and truth, love and family loyalty. Seventeen-year-old Abike Johnson is the favourite child of her wealthy father. She lives in a She lives in a sprawling mansion in Lagos, protected by armed guards and ferried everywhere in a huge black jeep. But being her father's favourite comes with uncomfortable duties, and she is often lonely behind the high walls of her house. A world away from Abike's mansion, in the city's slums, lives a seventeen-year-old hawker struggling to make sense of the world. His family lost everything after his father's death and now he runs after cars on the roadside selling ice cream to support his mother and sister. When Abike buys ice cream from the hawker one day, they strike up an unlikely and tentative romance, defying the prejudices of Nigerian society. But as they grow closer, revelations from the past threaten their relationship and both Abike and the hawker must decide where their loyalties lie.
Winner of the Nebula Award and now a major motion picture: “A luminous, radiant novel” (Ursula K. Le Guin, author of the Earthsea series). During the late seventeenth century, Louis XIV’s natural philosopher and explorer, Father Yves de la Croix, does what no one has done for four hundred years: he brings a living sea monster to land. Thus begins a stunning fantasy, a journey into science and superstition, and an alternate history in which Yves and his sister, Marie-Josèphe—a lady-in-waiting with her own finely tuned intelligence and insatiable curiosity—struggle to learn from and protect the sea woman. As Marie-Josèphe translates the sea woman’s songs into stories, she hopes to stave off the creature’s inevitable execution—for Louis XIV believes the wondrous being holds the secret to the immortality he craves, a twisted obsession that will force brother and sister to choose between their conscience and their loyalty to king and country . . . The basis for the movie starring Pierce Brosnan, The King’s Daughter is “a dazzling and spirited evocation of the passions, intrigues, and preconceptions of the age, along with a dandy pair of misfit, star-crossed lovers: an enchanting slice of what-if historical speculation” (Kirkus Reviews). “A wonderful book! Adventure, love, history, magic.” —Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of Outlander “A plot that sings, enchanting romance, and a depth of insight into human nature.” —SF Site “A marvelous alternative-history fable about greed and goodness, power and pathos set at the 17th century court of Louis XIV, France’s glittering Sun King . . . [McIntyre’s] imaginings enliven her history with wonder, but, as in the best fantasy, they serve less to dazzle by their inventiveness than to illuminate brilliantly real-world truths—here, humanity’s responses, base and noble, when confronting the unknown.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Combines two demanding genres, with some remarkable twists unlike anything I’ve seen before. It is a science fiction story of first contact with an alien race, but told in a setting more often associated with fantasy. It is also historical romance at its best, the type of meticulously researched work that brings another era to life. McIntyre infuses it all with her marvelously unique style.” —Catherine Asaro, award-winning author Previously published as The Moon and the Sun
A groundbreaking collection of experimental short fiction by award-winning Syrian author and Booker International Prize for Arabic Fiction nominee Shahla Ujayli, A Bed for the King’s Daughter uses surrealism and irony to examine such themes as women’s agency, the decline of collective life and imagination under modernity, and the effects of social and political corruption on daily life. In “The Memoir of Cinderella’s Shoes,” Cinderella uses her famous glass slipper as a weapon in order to take justice into her own hands. In “Tell Me About Surrealism,” an art history professor’s writing assignment reveals the slipperiness of storytelling, and in “Merry Christmas,” the realities of apartheid interfere with one family’s celebration. Through twenty-two short stories, Ujayli animates—with brevity and inventiveness—themes relevant to both the particularities of life in the Arab world and life outside it.
A 2021 Foreword INDIES Award Winner in Romance and Finalist in Fantasy A 2022 Benjamin Franklin Award Runner-Up in Best New Voice: Fiction “The heat and romance of the desert, the push and the pull of Emel’s desperation, and the magic and humanity of a caustic jinni make Daughter of the Salt King an irresistible ride.” —Amy Harmon, New York Times bestselling author “This riveting debut novel will leave readers eagerly awaiting Thornton’s future works.” —Booklist A girl of the desert and a jinni born long ago by the sea, both enslaved to the Salt King—but with this capricious magic, only one can be set free. As a daughter of the Salt King, Emel ought to be among the most powerful women in the desert. Instead, she and her sisters have less freedom than even her father's slaves . . . for the Salt King uses his own daughters to seduce visiting noblemen into becoming powerful allies by marriage. Escape from her father’s court seems impossible, and Emel dreams of a life where she can choose her fate. When members of a secret rebellion attack, Emel stumbles upon an alluring escape route: her father’s best-kept secret—a wish-granting jinni, Saalim. But in the land of the Salt King, wishes are never what they seem. Saalim’s magic is volatile. Emel could lose everything with a wish for her freedom as the rebellion intensifies around her. She soon finds herself playing a dangerous game that pits dreams against responsibility and love against the promise of freedom. As she finds herself drawn to the jinni for more than his magic, captivated by both him and the world he shows her outside her desert village, she has to decide if freedom is worth the loss of her family, her home and Saalim, the only man she’s ever loved. For readers who enjoy epic desert fantasies and forbidden romance like The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury, The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh, and Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.
A 17-year-old pirate captain INTENTIONALLY allows herself to get captured by enemy pirates in this thrilling YA adventure from debut author Tricia Levenseller.
In this allegorical tale, Katie's parents, who are poor farmers, tell her that she is really a princess and must learn to be kind and moral so that one day she will return to her father, the king, in his Crystal Palace.
The daughter of one of the most powerful mobsters in America describes growing up amidst the glamour and tragedy of 1940s, 50s and 60s Las Vegas and recounts knowing Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano and Frank Sinatra as a child.
