It is a story of of redemption, as she overcomes the challenges of living with her fragile mother in Rotney, a brutal, East End slum where she attends the notorious comprehensive school, Rotney High, with all its perils and ugliness. Antonia’s life changes when she meets an American war hero and performance magician, who restores her confidence and gives her a stone with magical properties to protect her at the cost of his own safety. The Sunshine Stone looks at how, despite the worst circumstances, there is always hope if you are prepared to fight for your future and to accept help from any quarter it might present itself, however unlikely.

    

    From Hades and Persephone to Kali, from Loki to Inanna, this anthology explores retellings of myths across cultures and civilizations. Featuring award-winning and critically acclaimed writers such as Seanan McGuire, Naomi Novik, Rebecca Roanhorse, JY Yang, Alyssa Wong, Indrapramit Das, Carlos Hernandez, Sarah Gailey, Ann Leckie, John Chu, Ursula Vernon, Carmen Maria Machado, Stephen Graham Jones, Arkady Martine, Amal El-Mohtar, Jeffrey Ford, and more, The Mythic Dream is sure to become a new classic.

    The name I was given some 30,000 years ago, when I was born in a Paleolithic settlement in the region that is now called Germany-- the name my father gave me shortly after I was voided, bloody and howling, from my mother's womb-- is Gon." So begins the saga of the immortal Gon, a 30,000 year old vampire. This, the first volume of his memoirs, recounts his human life in Paleolithic Germany alongside his companion Brulde and his two wives Eyya and Nyala, and details the fearsome events that lead to his transformation from man to undying monster.

    Barnum's American Museum as the real Fiji mermaid. However, leaving the museum may be harder than leaving the sea ever was.Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn't bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.P. T. Barnum was looking for marvelous attractions for his American Museum, and he'd heard a rumor of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. He wanted to make his fortune, and an attraction like Amelia was just the ticket.Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he's determined to hold on to his mermaid.

    Trouble is brewing in Karibu and Gogo Maya and her leopard are about to make matters worse. Their risky ‘switching’ trick has jettisoned them right out of the secret realm, sucking a teenager from the ordinary world into the mess they left behind them.Ethan Flynn is pretty useless in the African bush but at least he knows how to do CPR . . . and that’s when he finds out you shouldn’t do it on a witch. The one he just rescued from drowning says she switched places with his cousin and now Ethan has sucked up all her magical powers, leaving her too weak to switch back again. It must be true. Joe has vanished into thin air, Ethan’s feeling all unhinged, and the old woman’s leopard is communicating its thoughts straight into his head. . . . alarming thoughts about teaming up with fearsome characters and traveling into dark places; disturbing thoughts about Joe in terrible danger unless Ethan learns to use the magic in time to rescue him.That’s if Ethan himself can survive . . .

    This excerpt from The Hazel Wood—Melissa Albert's fiercely stunning contemporary fantasy perfect for fans of The Magicians—contains the first six chapters.Everyone is talking about The Hazel Wood!“Thoroughly, creepily captivating.” —Kristin Cashore, author of Graceling and Jane, Unlimited “This book is pure imagination candy.” —Stephanie Garber, author of Caraval “Destined to be a classic.” —Kami Garcia, author of The Lovely Reckless “Absolutely breathtaking.” —Seanan McGuire, author of Every Heart a Doorway “Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny.” —Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places “Unlike anything else I’ve ever read before.” —Evelyn Skye, author of The Crown’s Game “A part of me will never leave The Hazel Wood.” —Heidi Heilig, author of The Girl from Everywhere “An elegant dark fairy tale, full of the power of story.” —Kat Howard, author of Roses and Rot

    Defying the new.The making of a legend—and a truly innovative re-imagining of Robin Hood. Rob of Loxley and his older sister Marion have been groomed from birth to take their parents’ places within the Old Religion. Despite this, when Rob finds an injured nobleman’s son in the forest, neither he nor Marion understand what befriending young Gamelyn could mean for the future of their beliefs. Already the ancient spirits are fading beneath the iron of nobleman’s politics and the stones of Church subjugation. More, the druid elders warn that Rob and Gamelyn are cast as sworn adversaries, locked in timeless and symbolic struggle for the greenwood’s Maiden. Instead, in a theological twist only a stroppy dissident could envision, Rob swears he’ll defend the sacred woodland of the Horned God and Lady Huntress to his last breath—if his god will let him be lover, not rival, to the one fated as his enemy.But in the eyes of Gamelyn’s Church, sodomy is unthinkable... and the old pagan magics are an evil that must be vanquished. ------ With a truly original take on the Robin Hood legends, this historical fantasy series sets Robin the outlaw archer as a queer, chaotic-neutral druid; Marion as pagan queen who is sister but not wife, and their consort a Christian--and thusly conflicted--nobleman.

    Robert Cargill—part Neil Gaiman, part Guillermo Del Toro, part William S. Burroughs—that charts the lives of two boys from their star-crossed childhood in the realm of magic and mystery to their anguished adulthoodsThere is another world than our own—one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares—where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same.Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish. But while Ewan and Colby left the Limestone Kingdom as children, it has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies argue metaphysics with foul-mouthed wizards, and monsters in the shadows feed on fear, you can never outrun your fate.Dreams and Shadows is a stunning and evocative debut about the magic and monsters in our world and in our self.

    Cassidy, the best-selling author of Spilt Milk: A Collection of Stories, continues the story of some of the characters that first appeared in Spilt Milk. Everyone believes in their own version of reality. Will the past deeds of Caleb, Joy, and George come back to haunt them? Discover realities on the spectrum between normal and fantasy. Earlier experiences shape the present and future. Choices change lives. • Can a murderer decide to stop killing? • Can a woman regain the confidence she had in her twenties? • Can a lonely man find the perfect companion? Welcome to the world of Curious Reality. Are any of your realities curious?

    Maas Collection 5 Books Set includes titles in this collection :- Tower of Dawn, Empire of Storms, Heir of Fire, Crown of Midnight, Queen of Shadows. Description:- Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass) Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since Aelin shattered the glass castle, since Chaol's men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken. Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass) The long path to the throne has just begun for Aelin Galathynius. As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear. Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass) Bloodthirsty for revenge on the two men responsible for destroying her life, and desperate to find out if the prince and his captain are safe, Celaena returns to Rifthold, the seat of so much evil. She has accepted her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. Heir of Fire: 3 (Throne of Glass) Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien's only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan's Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Crown of Midnight: 2 (Throne of Glass) Eighteen-year-old Celaena Sardothien is bold, daring and beautiful - the perfect seductress and the greatest assassin her world has ever known. But though she won the King's contest and became his champion, Celaena has been granted neither her liberty nor the freedom to follow her heart.

    And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.

    Until one day his desperate mother sells him to the mysterious Master of Mordew. The Master derives his magical power from feeding on the corpse of God. But Nathan, despite his fear and lowly station, has his own strength – and it is greater than the Master has ever known. Great enough to destroy everything the Master has built. If only Nathan can discover how to use it. So it is that the Master begins to scheme against him – and Nathan has to fight his way through the betrayals, secrets, and vendettas of the city where God was murdered, and darkness reigns… … WELCOME TO MORDEW – THE FIRST IN A MONUMENTAL NEW TRILOGY FROM THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR, ALEX PHEBY

    He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He is Grimnir, and he is the last of his kind--the last in a long line of monsters who have plagued humanity since the Elder Days.Drawn from his lair by a thirst for vengeance against the Dane who slew his brother, Grimnir emerges into a world that's changed. A new faith has arisen. The Old Ways are dying, and their followers retreating into the shadows; even still, Grimnir's vengeance cannot be denied.Taking a young Christian hostage to be his guide, Grimnir embarks on a journey that takes him from the hinterlands of Denmark, where the wisdom of the ancient dwarves has given way to madness, to the war-torn heart of southern England, where the spirits of the land make violence on one another. And thence to the green shores of Ireland and the Viking stronghold of Dubhlinn, where his enemy awaits.But, unless Grimnir can set aside his hatreds, his dream of retribution will come to nothing. For Dubhlinn is set to be the site of a reckoning--the Old Ways versus the New--and Grimnir, the last of his kind left to plague mankind, must choose: stand with the Christian King of Ireland and see his vengeance done or stand against him and see it slip away?Scott Oden's A Gathering of Ravens is an epic novel of vengeance, faith, and the power of myth.