But after a scandal-laden departure from his last job at a royal court, he's now hiding out in a rural inn, making himself useful to his attractive landlady in all sorts of ways that don't actually involve paying rent......until a summons from the mysterious and dangerous White Library shakes up his life all over again. His landlady, it turns out, has secrets of her own. Now Hrabanic and Julia will have to confront both of their pasts - and if they're going to have any hope of survival, they'll need both Hrabanic's sword arm and Julia's magical training.It's time for them to become experts at the art of deception.

    But it’s hard for a blossoming machinist like herself to fit in with proper society, and she’d much rather be tinkering with her tools than at a hoity-toity party any day.When Rivka stumbles into a laboratory run by the powerful Balthazar Cody, she also discovers a sinister plot involving chimera gremlins and the violent Arena game Warriors. The innocent creatures will end up hurt, or worse, if Rivka doesn’t find a way to stop Mr. Cody. And to do that means she will have to rely on some unexpected new friends.

    In six stories and the novella, Bounty, Saunders introduces readers to people struggling to survive in an increasingly haywire world.

    He's shocked, I'm embarrassed, my sister is mortified, and my brother-in-law is rolling around on the ground laughing his butt off. But the more I get to know Robert—and now that I know what a DILF is—I’m thinking my first impression was correct, and he's definitely a dad I'd like to, well, you know.Robert: I can't get involved with a woman when I have an impressionable little girl at home who is my everything. But Lilly is not only my best friends sister, but she's the first woman I can't resist. Can I risk my heart to her and protect my little girl's at the same time? Girl Dads are a special breed…This Father’s Day meet 16 single dads who will gladly hold up the world for their little girls. Whether fending off bad guys or braiding hair, they show up Every. Single. Day. Ready to do anything it takes to show their daughters how a good man treats a woman. Bonus? There’s room aplenty in those big strong arms—and those hearts of gold—for the right woman who can love on their babies too, and bring a fiercely protective #GirlDad straight to his knees.

    The only way to get her back is for Lucretia to climb the rickety fire escape of their Queens tenement and crawl through the window of apartment 6D, portal to a vast shadowland of missing kids ruled by a nightmarish family of mutants whose designs on the children are unknown. Her search for Sunny takes Lucretia through a dark fantasyland where she finds lush forests growing from concrete, pigeon-winged rodents, and haunted playgrounds. Her quest ultimately forces her to confront the most frightening specter of all: losing, forever, the thing you love the most. Lucretia and the Kroons is a dazzlingly imaginative adventure story and a moving exploration of the power of friendship and the terror of loss. This all-new novella serves as the perfect companion piece to The Devil in Silver, a thrillingly suspenseful work of literary horror that continues the story of Lucretia.

    In the original Tor.com story Any Way the Wind Blows, New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire presents a sweet tribute to Manhattan's iconic Flatiron building--celebrating the longtime home of Tor Books as the publisher bids farewell for new office space.Composed of travelers from nine different parallel dimensions, the Cartography Corps crew aboard the airship Stalwart Trumpet of Glory descends on the New York City in our universe to collect and preserve artifacts from the legendary turn-of-the-twentieth century landmark Flatiron building.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    A Louisiana farmer sees the image of Christ appear on the freezer door and questions the meaning of faith. In a Maine resort town, Miss Langevin, a spinster who could write a book on disappointment, now gets a chance to help another woman escape it. And in the title story, a science teacher's modest dreams and painful memories erode his existence like water entering stone.

    Andre Dubus treats his characters--a bereaved father stalking his son's killer; a woman crying alone by her television late at night; a devout teenager writing in the coils of faith and sexuality; a father's story of limitless love for his daughter--with respect and compassion. He turns fiction into an act of witness.

    On his way to the store he meets Konrath's obnoxious private eye Harry McGlade, co-star of the Lt. Jack Daniels thrillers.Horrific violence, bad jokes, and lots of name calling soon ensues. Some sex, too, but not between the main characters.

    A story about an architect on Earth commissioned to create (via long distance) a masterwork with materials from the last abandoned Martian colony, a monument that will last thousands of years longer than Earth, which is dying.

    But the passionate, independent Rhoda begins to realize that life is more than her comfortable, secure existence would suggest. As Rhoda strains against the confinements of home and family, she becomes reckless, flinging herself on a rebellious course toward destruction.

    "Be your own boss," they said, "It'll be fun," they said.Now I'm stretched even more thin.The one or two weekends a month she sees her mom is not enough for her, or for me.My business, and Daphne, both need more attention.If I could only find someone to help out with driving, cooking, light cleaning. Then I'd have more time for fun.That's when my brother Diego introduces me to Lindsay.And I realize that my heart is also in need of attention. Her attention.LindsayI have six months left to finish my graduate degree, and a few months to study for certifications.And then I'll start my life, look for love, have fun, all that stuff.I'm lucky to have a graduate stipend to pay my bills, but it's not enough to cover the cost of certifications.My brother sets me up with a seemingly perfect gig: A part time 'nanny' / father's helper.The problem is, the dad and his daughter: They're perfectly adorable.And I can't help but fall in love with them both.Am I taking this job for the right reasons?Girl Dads are a special breed…This Father’s Day meet 16 single dads who will gladly hold up the world for their little girls.Whether fending off bad guys or braiding hair, they show up Every. Single. Day. Ready to do anything it takes to show their daughters how a good man treats a woman.Bonus? There’s room aplenty in those big strong arms—and those hearts of gold—for the right woman who can love on their babies too, and bring a fiercely protective #GirlDad straight to his knees.One Night Stand with the Girl Dad by Tarin LexClimbing the Girl Dad Mountain Man by Sara HazelGirl Dad's a Rising Star by Ember DavisSecond Chance with the Girl Dad by Elsie JamesTrading Favors with the Girl Dad by Piper CookTaming the Girl Dad by Khloe SummersHealing the Girl Dad by Fern FraserSmitten with the Girl Dad by Carly KeeneRocked by the Girl Dad by Mazzy KingFix Me Up with the Girl Dad by Scarlett WoodsBest Friends with the Girl Dad by Kali HartEmployed by the Girl Dad by Ava PearlPlaying Around with the Girl Dad by Kameron ClaireFalling for the Girl Dad by Jade BayRomancing the Girl Dad by Andrea MarieFlirting with the Girl Dad by Sadie King

    From the author of the award-winning novel Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic comes an eponymous novella and three stories that range fluidly across time, tenderly exploring the act of writing and the moment of creation when characters come alive on the page; the lifetime consequences that can come from a simple act; and the way our lives play across the world, marking language, image and each other.Thirteen Ways of Looking is framed by two author’s notes, each dealing with the brutal attack the author suffered last year and strikes at the heart of contemporary issues at home and in Ireland, the author’s birth place.Brilliant in its clarity and deftness, this collection reminds us, again, why Colum McCann is considered among the very best contemporary writers.

    She and her husband Liviu are teachers in their twenties, living under the repressive regime of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the Socialist Republic of Romania in the 1970s. But after her brother-in-law defects, Alina and Liviu fall under suspicion and surveillance, and their lives are suddenly turned upside down--just like the glasses in her superstitious Aunt Theresa's house that are used to ward off evil spirits.But Alina's evil spirits are more corporeal: a suffocating, manipulative mother; a student who accuses her; and a menacing Secret Services agent who makes one-too-many visits. As the couple continues to be harassed, their marriage soon deteriorates. With the government watching--and most likely listening--escape seems impossible . . . until Alina's mystical aunt proposes a surprising solution to reduce her problems to a manageable size.Weaving elements of magic realism, Romanian folklore, and Kafkaesque paranoia into a gritty and moving depiction of one woman's struggle for personal and political freedom, Bottled Goods is written in short bursts of "flash fiction" and explores universal themes of empowerment, liberty, family, and loyalty.

    As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible. It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love—for finding yourself. Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep into these rarely seen, magical hours. Full contributor list: Brandy Colbert, Kathleen Glasgow, Maurene Goo, Tiffany D. Jackson, Amanda Joy, Nina LaCour, Karen M. McManus, Anna Meriano, Marieke Nijkamp, Laura Silverman, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters, Francesca Zappia