Two years after his parents' sudden disappearance, Ben Greenwood stumbles upon a cryptic letter that could shed some light on their whereabouts. But before he can track them down, he'll need to find the mysterious organization that sent the letter: The Royal Institute of Magic. To succeed, Ben will have to navigate a land filled with fantastic creatures and Spellshooters, where magic can be bought and sold, to unravel an ancient family secret that could hold the key to defeating an evil the Institute has been fighting for the last five hundred years.
Spellswords, Wardens, Traders, Scholars, Diplomats - the five departments of the Royal Institute of Magic an apprentice must master to become a full member. Ben Greenwood has no idea what to expect when he begins his apprenticeship, but he quickly realises his family history is going to make life difficult. On his very first day, a Shadowseeker - a mysterious and dangerous dark elf - surfaces, and Ben suspects the dark elves might be trying to capture him again in an effort to flush out his parents. When Ben renews his own search for his parents, he soon discovers they are closing in on a piece of Queen Elizabeth's legendary armour - the only weapon strong enough to defeat the dark elf king once and for all - but it is guarded by something even more deadly than a Shadowseeker. A race against time ensues, with Ben desperate to warn his parents they're walking into a death-trap, while somehow completing the first level of his apprenticeship and securing his place at the Royal Institute of Magic. The Shadowseeker is the second book in the Royal Institute of Magic series.
Miss Elizabeth Knight received an unexpected legacy upon her uncle’s death: a collection of occult books. When one of the books begins talking to her, she discovers an entire world of female occultist history opened to her—a legacy the Royal Occult Society had purposely hidden from the world. However, the magic allowing the book to speak to Miss Knight is fading and she must gather a group of female acquaintances of various talents. Together, they’ll need to work to overcome social pressures, ambitious men, and tyrannical parents, all to bring Mrs. Egerton, the book ghost, back.
Tension is high at the Royal Institute of Magic, as the Directors of each of the Departments - Spellswords, Wardens, Traders, Scholars and Diplomats - work together with their allies to push back the dark elf invasion, led by King Suktar. But Ben Greenwood knows the truth: the only real way they are going to win is if he and the Guardians do the unthinkable and infiltrate the heart of the dark elf homeland - ending the evil king's rule once and for all. As if that wasn't enough, a new power has come into play. Queen Elizabeth was aware of it all those years ago, and she predicted it would continue to influence their mission to the bitter end: the High Council. As if that wasn't enough, a new power has come into play. Queen Elizabeth was aware of it all those years ago, and she predicted it would continue to influence their mission to the bitter end: the High Council.
Ben's double life continues at the Royal Institute of Magic. To most, he's a talented apprentice and an exceptional spellshooter, but Ben is also a Guardian, responsible for uniting Elizabeth's Armour, the only artefact powerful enough to overthrow the evil dark elves. With two pieces of the armour secure, finding the third may be Ben's toughest challenge yet. His only clue is a magical key, a tenuous link to a legend called the Silver Dwarf. With the dark elves slowly conquering the Unseen Kingdoms, Ben races against time to gather the pieces of armour and unite the Guardians entrusted with them. If that wasn't hard enough, new challenges and old enemies await him at the Institute, and his friendship will be tested like never before.
Ben Greenwood is continuing his apprenticeship at the Royal Institute of Magic, hoping things will be slightly less complicated now that he has advanced to the second grade. Fat chance. Coupled with the sterner challenges that the second grade brings, there is also the small matter of the impending dark elf invasion, making life at the Institute even busier than usual. Ben is the only one who can stop them, by finding Elizabeth's Armour and its Guardians. Ben has retrieved one piece of the Armour - the boots - but the rest remain hidden. He has just one clue, which could lead to Elizabeth's Helm: an old black and white photo given to him by the Master of Apprentices. Ben must split his time between his apprenticeship and searching for the helm, before the dark elves strike and all hell breaks loose. The Protectors is the third book in the Royal Institute of Magic series.
Time is running out for Ben Greenwood - not as an apprentice for the Royal Institute of Magic, but as the Head Guardian, secretly responsible for uniting Queen Elizabeth's Armour. The dark elves are coming and the only chance of stopping them is to find the last Guardian and the final two pieces of the armour. They will be difficult to find and heavily protected, as they are the most important of all. To make matters worse, Ben's only clue to their whereabouts comes from a particularly unreliable and dangerous source. With the dark elves massing an army and looking increasingly likely to begin their invasion, Ben faces a race against time to find the last Guardian and unite the final pieces of Elizabeth's Armour. But that isn't his only challenge - he will soon be forced to make a critical decision involving his closest friends, and even his oldest enemies, that might make or break the entire mission.
During the childhood years of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the most famous women who ever lived, a young governess helped shape her into the icon the world knows today. In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents is that she bring some doses of normalcy into their sheltered and privileged lives. At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral, Marion defies stuffy protocol to take the princesses on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth’s. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses the trauma of the Abdication, the glamour of the Coronation, the onset of World War II. She steers the little princesses through it all, as close as a mother. As Hitler’s planes fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is present when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip, her future husband. But being beloved confidante to the Windsor family comes at huge personal cost. Marriage, children, her own views: all are compromised by proximity to royal glory. In this majestic story of love, sacrifice and allegiance, bestselling novelist Holden brings to life the early years before Queen Elizabeth II became monarch. “This captivating page-turner whisks readers back in time to Buckingham Palace in 1933…A majestic story that delves into the incredible life of Queen Elizabeth II before she took her place on the throne.”—Woman’s World
Sukie braves the twists and turns of the spooky Poe Annex at the New-York Circulating Material Repository to untangle ancient family secrets, find hidden treasure, and help the ghosts who are haunting her house.
Even the Queen of England has to get up and groomed to greet the day Get up, Elizabeth! It’s time for the future queen to get out of bed, scrub her face with almond paste, brush her teeth with soot, comb the tangles out of her unruly red hair, get dressed, and sit still while her ruff is sewn on and her sleeves are pinned. It’s rough rising and shining every day—for queens and kids alike.
