Thrust into an unknown, unwanted situation, most would feel panic, fear anger and fall into chaos. Erik and Rugrat are not immune to those feelings, but they have stepped into chaos so many times, it is simply a different challenge. Two weeks ago, Erik lost his legs and his arm. Today he got a message. "You have been randomly selected to join the Ten Realms. One may choose to ascend the Ten Realms, thereupon making a request to the Gods of the Realms. Only those who are Level 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 may ascend to the next realm. Fortune favors the strong!” For a retired combat medic and Marine Recon sniper, the Ten Realms offer a clear challenge and sense of purpose that they had only found on the battlefield. How much trouble can you get into in a new realm?
A realm aside from our own is the center of the realities, home to every spectrum of magic. From the beautiful to the terrible, it was all held in delicate balance by the Eternal Emperor and his immortal children. For 10,000 years, the empire was the bastion that protected the sentient races from the darkness, but the revolution, and the War of the Gods has changed all that.... Jax is a pretty regular guy, has a job he tolerates, a girl he kinda, sorta loves...and he fights creatures from the UnderVerse in his sleep, leaving him covered in horrific scars when he wakes up. When his brother vanishes and five years later he's kidnapped as well, he's given a stark choice by his asshat of a father: Go to the UnderVerse in reality, travel to the capitol of that ruined realm at the center of reality, and open a portal for the Noble Houses to return home...or die. Slowly. That's the good news. The bad is that he has to survive the arena first, to prove his right to go. Twelve will enter, only one can leave....
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
The Battlefield Realm: A realm where sects rise and fall. Where the ground trembles under the feet of fighters from the higher realms. Where riches are gained, and empires lost. This is where Erik and Rugrat must go if they want to increase their strength, to increase the strength of Alva. They say that fortune favors the bold. This is the Ten Realms. To the victor go the spoils. The Fourth Realm will change their lives…or end them.
A long standing family curse. Two feuding families. Can love turn both of their lives around? Jason Corwin knows he should resist his attraction to Lauren Perkins. After all, it was one of her ancestors who came up with the curse that has plagued every Corwin male to misery and the single life. But after one night of mind-blowing sex with his supposed—and very seductive—enemy, he can't bring himself to stay away. All Lauren wants is to sell her late grandmother's old house and leave the past behind forever. But that's not an easy thing to do with gorgeous contractor Jason Corwin whispering sweet, sexy somethings in her ear. About staying. Can she be the lucky break that Jason needs? Correct Series Order: Lucky Charm Lucky Streak Lucky Break *Each book stands alone!
After accidentally injuring his neighbor, Matt Sprouts thinks he has "the Curse,” a hometown myth that ruins middle schoolers’ lives. To defeat the Curse, Matt decides he needs to solve the mystery—and FAST!—but that’s not easy to do when you’re entering middle school, keeping track of your little brother, trying to defeat the best soccer team, and oh yeah, not breaking any more toes. Twelve-year-old Matt Sprouts is in big trouble. He didn't mean to hurt his neighbor Jenna with that awesome martial arts move—it just happened! Blame it on morning cartoons or Jenna's lack of coordination. Anyways, getting grounded is the worst thing that could happen, right? Wrong. After the incident spirals into a series of downright unfortunate events, it's decided that Matt has contracted "the Curse," a hometown myth that has ruined the lives of middle schoolers before him. And as if the Curse weren't enough, entering sixth grade proves to be just as mysterious—there's a strange girlfriend, wacky teachers, and . . . c'mon, can Matt's toes stop breaking PLEASE?! Matt decides to take matters into his own hands. Now he just has to break the Curse . . . before all his bones break. "Funny, heartwarming, and impossible to put down, this book is a must-read for anyone trying to survive the perils of middle school." – Dustin Brady, bestselling author of Trapped in a Video Game, World's Worst Time Machine, the Leila and Nugget Mysteries, and Escape from a Video Game "Matt Sprouts is the next star of middle-grade comedy! Matt Eicheldinger expertly draws from his life to create this heart-warming and fun illustrated series." – Jarret Krososzka, New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award Finalist "This is the kind of book that makes a kid stay up past their bedtime, reading with a flashlight under the blanket.” – Nina Hamza, bestselling author of Ahmed Azis's Epic Year
From #BookTok phenomenon and New York Times bestselling author of the YA fantasy novel, Lightlark, the second book in this fast-paced middle grade series steeped in Colombian mythology and full of adventure, perfect for fans of Aru Shah and the End of Time and Percy Jackson. In this tale Tor, Engle, and Melda must stop a band of cursed pirates from taking over their home. Tor is adjusting to life with the Night Witch's powers, with his best friends Engle and Melda by his side. But when a mysterious girl named Vesper washes ashore claiming a band of cursed pirates is on their way to Emblem Island, life changes fast. Vesper is from an underwater city that was destroyed by the terrible Calavera pirates and she warns Tor that his village is next. To stop the pirates, Tor, Engle, and Melda join Vesper on the hunt for the famed Pirate's Pearl, an ancient relic that would give them complete control of the high seas. But the journey is perilous, filled with legendary sea creatures that are determined to see them fail. To save his village and everyone he loves, Tor must accept his new abilities—and use them—in the race to find the pearl. You'll love Curse of the Forgotten City if you're looking for: Summer reading for tweens and teens ages 11-14 Multicultural books for children (especially Latinx books) Stories based on fascinating mythology Your next favorite fantasy series for girls ages 9-12 Praise for Curse of the Night Witch: A Seventeen.com Most Anticipated Book of Summer! A Zibby Owens Summer Reading Pick on Good Morning America! "Debut author Aster takes inspiration from Colombian folklore to craft a rousing series opener that's both fast-paced and thrilling. As her protagonists face off against a host of horrors, they learn the value of friendship and explore the possibility of changing one's fate in a world where destiny is predetermined."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review "Worthy of every magical ounce."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest-this time with Rens dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tigers Curse. Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGERS QUEST brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.
Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy-tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom.
With the third realm new challenges arise. Erik searches for Old Hei while Rugrat deals with his broken mana system. For both, their path takes them towards the alchemist association's trial. They didn't mean to get into trouble, they swear, but in the ten realms trouble is not far behind the duo. They'll have to fight across the third realm to complete the alchemist association's trial. All isn't peaceful in the first realm as Alva and Vermire will face one of their greatest challenges yet. Chaos or creation, there's no knowing what might happen in the ten realms.
