It’s 2019: Charlie’s tightly contained Wellington life with her grandson Tommy is interrupted by the unexpected intrusions of Tommy’s first girlfriend, Jenna, and the father he has never known, Jim. The year turns, and everything changes again.Loop Tracks is a major New Zealand novel, written in real time against the progress of the Covid-19 pandemic and the New Zealand General Election and euthanasia referendum.‘Loop Tracks is an urgent and unexpected novel about freedom and responsibility – about a woman forced to wear her solitary and unsupported choice as a puzzling mistake, and about the very present past that she must face to help her family and herself.’ —Elizabeth Knox‘This fictional inter-generational story will speak to a wide readership about the choices that are important for our future.’ —Dame Margaret Sparrow

    But when her son Ian turns up on her doostep with the unexpected consequence of a brief fling, she feels she has no choice but to take the baby into her life. Cephas's arrival is the latest of many challenges Cecilia has to face. There is the matter of her cancer, for a start, an illness shared with her novelist friend Helen. Then there is Helen herself, whose observations of Cecilia's family life reveal a somewhat ambivalent attitude to motherhood. Meanwhile Tim, Cecilia's husband, is taking self-effacement to extremes, and Ian, unless he gets on with it, will throw away his best chance at happiness.Cecilia, however, does not have to manage alone. In a convent in Hastings sits Sister Diana Clegg who holds the ties that bind everyone not only to each other, but to strangers as yet unmet. As events unfold and as the truth about Cephas is revealed, we are invited to look closely at madness, guilt, mortal dread and the gift of resilience. No one will remain unchanged.'Frank, courageous and entertaining. I felt better for reading it'Margaret Drabble

    Especially when the person who’s supposed to be keeping an eye out for the bad guys is stuck in his own 15-year-old body. And it’s 1964: when you’re both 15 and your parents don’t want you spending time alone, how are you going to save your lives? SFRevu called this story “one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had in a long time.”In four interlinked short stories, Temporal Interventionists Tom and Pam meet cute, then work together to solve some of history’s greatest mysteries. Discover the real origin of the Spanish Flu. Learn why a massive and mysterious explosion in 1908 happened to occur in the world’s least-inhabited region. Consider the possibility that the development of ironclad warships by both the South and the North at the exact same time during the American Civil War might have been more than coincidence. And why don’t we know exactly who fired the Shot Heard Round the World, the lone gunshot that started the American Revolution?In “Joan,” Kate is a time-traveling researcher who’s gotten a little too close to Joan of Arc both in time and emotionally. With no distance, scientific or otherwise, what will happen when she has a chance to rescue Joan from being burnt at the stake? Our journey through time concludes with “Crow’s Feat,” when a skeptical writer goes back to Elizabethan England to discover the true author of Shakespeare’s plays.BORROWED TIME is the second in a series of short story collections from Jack Campbell.

    78 days, 14 hours and 40 minutes earlier he set off from the same point, beginning his attempt to circumnavigate the world in record time. Covering more than 18,000 miles and cycling through some of the harshest conditions one man and his bicycle can endure, Mark made history. He smashed two Guinness World Records and beat the previous record by an astonishing 45 days. Around the World in 80 Days is the story of Mark’s amazing achievement - one which redefines the limits of human endurance. It is also an insight into the mind of an elite athlete and the physical limits of the human body, as well as a kaleidoscopic tour of the world from a very unique perspective; inspired by Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel, Mark begins his journey in Paris and cycles through Europe, Russia, Mongolia and China. He then crosses Australia, rides up through New Zealand and across North America before the final 'sprint finish' thorough Portugal, Spain and France, all at over 200 miles a day. This is the story of a quite remarkable adventure, by a quite remarkable man.

    But with war looming and an accident that could cost him his freedom, Elwin finds himself fleeing for his life and evading the Guardians of Life. The Guardians think Elwin guilty of the most grievous of crimes, and as he trains the gifts of his bloodline, he will discover a secret from long in his past.

     This eBook bundle includes the final four titles in the compelling Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer: The Lost Colony, The Time Paradox, The Atlantis Complex, and The Last Guardian. As the series comes to its conclusion, the entire human race is in grave danger. Who will lead the fight to save the world from total destruction?

    

    An indecent proposal. How can a girl resist?Struggling barista Katie Bloom doesn’t even know who Jesse Mayes is until she inadvertently wins the coveted role of sex kitten in his hot new music video.But by the time she’s in bed with him, she knows his reputation.Love maker. Heartbreaker. As it turns out, pretending to fall in love is incredibly sexy…And falling in love for real, with a man she promised not to fall for?Irresistible.DIRTY LIKE BRODYAn angsty, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, featuring a broody, overprotective hero, a heroine tortured by the mistakes of her past, and a long overdue second chance.She was all he ever wanted, even when she broke his heart…Growly and gorgeous band manager Brody Mason has been aching for his friend’s little sister, Jessa Mayes, since they were just kids. By the time they’d grown up, she’d broken his heart.Then she ripped it right the f*ck out.Now Jessa’s doing the one thing she swore she’d never do. She’s coming home.As a bridesmaid in her brother’s rock star wedding, she’ll come face-to-face with the mistakes of her past.Including the sexy, surly, heartbroken one.It definitely won’t be easy.Love this intense never is.A DIRTY WEDDING NIGHTA flaming-hot, four-story collection about what happens when a bunch of dirty-minded party guests are stranded overnight at a remote, glamorous wedding... and the clothes start coming off.What would a wedding night be without s*x… and lots of it?Rock star Jesse Mayes just married his dream girl, Katie Bloom, at an epically romantic wedding.Love and lust are in the air, and the newlyweds aren’t the only ones in the mood… A Dirty Vow When the groom carries his bride off to their luxury honeymoon cabin to celebrate in naked privacy, their dirtiest—and most swoon-worthy—vows to each other really begin. A Dirty Secret A freezing, midnight skinny dip leads to a steamy, lustful shower, a flower defiled by foreplay, and a secret marriage on the verge of being discovered. A Dirty Lie A mysterious alpha reconnects with a former-lover-turned-enemy over a bottle of tequila, torrid memories, and a flaming, revengeful reunion by firelight. A Dirty Deal A mischievous bad boy proposes an irresistible friends-with-benefits solution to a naked, heartbroken friend. What could go wrong?

    In What Makes the Great Great, the author explores the strategies and thought processes of successful African-Americans. Through dozens of interviews and the inspirational stories of people like John H. Johnson, Publisher of Ebony magazine, Condoleeza Rice, Provost of Stanford University, and Ann Fudge, President of Maxwell House Coffee, Dr. Kimbro outlines the nine strategies that determine success.According to Dr. Kimbro, being great depends on a commitment to making dreams come true: "All high achievers make choices, not excuses." He believes we all have the seeds of greatness in us, and his book gives readers the tools to discover and nurture those seeds, showing hem how to motivate themselves to master every aspect of their lives.

     The Void Wraith are not yet ready to begin their war against the Milky Way. Experiments must be conducted. DNA mapped. Slaves created. They move cautiously, their agents infiltrating the governments of every major race. But every invasion leaves clues, clues that one OFI officer has stumbled across. Stations are disappearing. Whole populations, gone seemingly overnight. Command Nolan convinces the Office of Fleet Intelligence to dispatch him to investigate. He discovers something far more sinister and far reaching than he imagined. Along the way he'll sacrifice his career, his relationship, and his faith in the Unified Earth Fleet.

    Until the day he heard something so astonishing that he had an epiphany: rather than quashing rare or bizarre sounds, we should be celebrating these sonic treasures.This is the story of his investigation into the mysteries of these Sonic Wonders of the World. In the Mojave Desert he finds sand dunes that sing. In France he discovers an echo that tells jokes. In California he drives down a musical road that plays the William Tell Overture. In Cathedrals across the world he learns how acoustics changed the history of the Church.Touching on physics, music, archaeology, neuroscience, biology, and design, Cox explains how sound is made and altered by the environment and how our body reacts to peculiar noises – from the exotic sonic wonders he encounters on his journey, or the equally unique and surprising sounds of our everyday environment.In a world dominated by the visual, Sonic Wonderland encourages us to become better listeners and to open our ears to the glorious cacophony around us. Listen to a selection of astonishing sounds here: https://soundcloud.com/sonicwonderland

    Mistake number one. Then I agreed to do a job for the Hidden Council. Definitely mistake number two. Now I've lost count of my bad choices, same as I have the bodies, as they're piling up faster than a troll after free chalk. As I get to grips with this new magic I've been gifted, the city remains under a spell of violence, and it's down to yours truly to deal with it. But I'm a noob at this job, ill-prepared and with my own personal demons to fight. My hunger is taking hold as the vampire nature encroaches, the need to feed impossible to resist, and my inherited magic is so volatile it's practically splitting me apart. Nevertheless, blood is being spilled and heads are getting cracked, so I must be doing something right. I'm Kate. First Vampire Enforcer. I think I might actually be good at this.

    

    Rivalries and Romance. Elizabeth had intended to tell no one about Mr. Darcy's proposal. At length, she confided in her dearest sister, Jane. It was meant to be their secret, but secrets have a way of getting found out. What happens when Mrs. Bennet learns that her headstrong daughter has refused the hand of a second respectable man in less than six months? Darcy is determined to put his disastrous proposal to Miss Elizabeth Bennet behind him by filling the empty space in his life that can only be occupied by a wife. A chance meeting with Elizabeth at Pemberley gives him pause. Elizabeth may be the only woman in his heart, but she is not the only woman in his life. Will Darcy adhere to his original plan to find another, or will he follow his heart?

    Old friends, their lives are interwoven in a comfortable pattern of school runs and Sunday golf, barbecues and shared holidays.Until Nina Cort returns to the cathedral city of her childhood. Rich sophisticated and newly widowed, Nina is an exotic thread in the pattern, whose intrusion reveals a web of hidden flaws.In the course of a year from which none will emerge unscathed, the five families and Nina discover that you can never truly know the fabric of other people's marriages. Perhaps not even of your own...