These are not the mild-mannered maidens of your childhood. These are fallen princesses and fierce women with no recollection of who they are, where they came from, or how they arrived in a mysterious town called Everafter. All they know is that they've been sentenced to a stretch in a half-way house by a malicious judge with an ax to grind. They've been stripped of their freedom, their kingdoms, and their true loves. Now, they have nothing left to lose. Snow White is the newest parolee to arrive at Granny's House for Girls. It isn't long before she learns that her housemates harbor secrets, and that the mansion itself is a meandering enigma. She stumbles upon forbidden doorways, ghostly passages, and walls that seem to breathe. Determined to find out what’s really happening inside those old walls, Snow embarks on a dangerous discovery mission. Not everyone is thrilled about her nosing around. In fact, there are some who would kill to keep the secrets that the house—and its occupants—hold.

    The newest hero is Alice Goodenough, an 18-year-old junior from Washington High School. While her friends spent their summer working and having fun, Alice found herself doing battle with creatures most human beings don't even realize exist. A giant snake. A blood-sucking prince. A terrifying half-man, half-hedgehog. Dastardly dwarfs intent on mind-controlling everyonewho uses a cell phone.Now, senior year has begun. With it comes a new challenge at school, where bullies have grown bolder and classes more challenging. As if that's not enough, Alice must face off against a collection of Corrupted who all share a terrible secret, one that might awaken a creature capable of doing untold damage. To uncover the secret, Alice will have to face off against a man-eating lizard, a bloodthirsty sea captain, and a mysterious wizard who can see into the future ...This book contains the following episodes:Episode Four: The Orphanage of DoomAfter facing off with the dreaded dwarf named Sam Grayle, Alice finds her dreams plagued by two separate visions. In one, she's floating through a massive mansion filled with old, dusty furniture and drafty windows. Shadows dance across the wall. Children cry out in terror. A mysterious animal growl echoes through the halls.In her second dream, a terrible smoke-like creature roams the streets of Minneapolis, feeding off human victims while it plots a terrible revenge that threatens to have far-reaching consequences. Alice must decide which dream to pursue: does she foil the smoke-creature's plot or try to rescue the children from an unseen evil?Episode five: Blood and ThunderUpon making a surprising discovery in a Corrupted's lair, Alice finds herself torn between her responsibilities as the hero and her desire to live a normal life. She's been granted a unique opportunity to leave the entire world of the hero behind. But before she can make her ultimatechoice, her nightmares return ...A ship is coming. And aboard that ship is one of the most terrifying Corrupted creatures Alice has faced yet. In order to face her foe, Alice will have to do without the help of her scorned friend, Br'er Rabbit.At school, a miraculous recovery by the star of the baseball team prompts more questions, all of them bringing Alice back to that fateful encounter at the orphanage of doom. To make matters worse, a school bully has taken his terrorizing too far, a friend is in trouble, and the mysterious ship in Alice's nightmare holds a terrible secret ...Episode six: The Order of the Golden DragonThree mysterious golden coins. What is their purpose? Alice must find out, and in order to do so, she will need to use all of the skills she's learned so far. She cannot fail. Failure means a fate worse than death.Agnim the Mage haunts her dreams, using his terrible black magic to plague Alice with nightmares. Once a character in the Grimms' fairy tales, his magical powers have grown stronger and stronger the more Corrupted he has become. He has foreseen a cataclysmic event that could mean the end of the world, and only the hero stands in his way. But in order to stop him, Alice will have to find him. And soon. Before Agnim steals her sanity and destroys her mind.Agnim knows her weakness. He knows her fears. He controls her dreams. He is the most dangerous Corrupted Alice has ever faced. There is no guarantee she can defeat him.In these trying times, only one thing is certain:The Golden Dragon will awaken.Bonus material:The Lost Journal of Eugene WashingtonAssorted fairy tales by the Brothers GrimmA Legacy of Red

    Snowdenaelikk, half-blood conjuror and smuggler, cares less about history than the silver she can win with sharp metal and sharper wits. But when the local legion blames her for burning a village, an outlander with a sense of honor intervenes, and Snow finds herself tangled in politics and an unwelcome partnership.Snow and her new partner, Veiko, together with the legion scout Dekklis, uncover a conspiracy that will destroy the Republic from within. It seems that the goddess is back from wherever dead gods go. She has not forgotten the Republic, and she wants revenge.Loyal Dekklis will do anything to save the Republic, and Snow reluctantly agrees to help—until she realizes that “anything” means sacrificing Veiko. Now Snow must decide whether her partner’s life is worth betraying her allies and damning the Republic to war.

    Exile Ronne tes Arhi fights for her own survival and for what once made the Empire great-honor-wherever she can find it. Even in an outcast barbarian warrior. A story of resurgent magic, adventure, and epic battle by the author of The Last Mage Guardian and the Sequoyah trilogy.

    The series, based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among noble families for control of the Iron Throne of Westeros. The series will debut on April 17, 2011.

    

    Based on the Tamil Original Vikramaadityan Kadaigal. All the 24 riddles/stories that the Betal narrated to King Vikramaadityan. Also included is the story of the origin of the Betal - Who is the Betal? How did he/she become a Betal? What is its redemption?

    Like the character, Miley lives a dual life: normal teenager by day and superstar by night. Miley has conquered television, music, and movies--and she's still in high school! What's next for America's favorite teen star?

    

    Sort of."It was his pheromones that did it. With one sniff, sex researcher Leigh Fromm recognizes that any offspring she might have with the mysterious stranger would have a better-than-average chance of surviving any number of impending pandemics.But when Leigh finds out that the handsome “someone” at her great aunt’s wake is Prince Roman Habsburg von Lorraine of Austria, she suddenly doubts her instincts—not that she was intending to sleep with the guy. The royal house of Habsburg was once completely inbred, insanity and impotency among the highlights of their genetic pedigree. (The extreme “bulldog underbite” that plagued them wasn’t called the Habsburg Jaw for nothing.)It doesn’t matter that his family hasn’t sat on a throne (other than the ones in their Toilette) since 1918, or that Austria is now a parliamentary democracy. Their lives couldn’t be more different: Roman is routinely mobbed by paparazzi in Europe. Leigh is regularly mocked for having the social skills of a potted plant. Even if she suddenly developed grace, charm and a pedigree that would withstand the scrutiny of the press and his family, what exactly is she supposed to do with this would-have-been king of Austria who is in self-imposed exile in Denver, Colorado?

    Working, drinking, falling in love: the rhythm of her vivid and complicated life there is set against a background hum of darkening news reports from which she deliberately turns away.As a new relationship becomes increasingly claustrophobic, and the discussions of impending political crisis are harder to avoid, she starts to dream of water; of escaping entwining tentacles through deep blue seas. She sets out to the other side of the globe to find that vision of freedom, and to decide who she wants to be when she returns.But when she arrives at her destination, she finds instead that the world, and life, she left behind no longer exists.Starting at the end and eventually returning there, with alternate chapters set Before and After, THE STRANDING is a story of how to make a life, what it is to be a woman, and what remains when everything we know is stripped away.

    Instead, she was given superhuman strength. Chiara and her twin brother each received a blessing at birth. Thanks to a mistake, she was saddled with extraordinary strength. Certain that men couldn’t desire a girl who could lift a horse with one hand, she vowed to keep her power a secret. As a petite girl, she had no problem appearing to be ordinary. But when bandits start terrorizing her town and a handsome stranger accidentally learns of her secret, Chiara finds herself facing the very crisis she's been trying to avoid.

    Explore twelve tales of Faerie…and discover its paradox--both close and inaccessible--peopled with heroes, rogues, and ciphers.•A modern dragon who desires more than mere gold,•A troll who longs for the kiss of sunlight on his skin,•A teenage driver who discovers that her driving test is going to be far more difficult than anyone expected,•A gargoyle who yearns to safeguard not only a church but a young girl as well,•And a woman who bargains for Faerie help—only to be confronted with a cost that is more than she can bear to pay.Come join them.

    The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn’t be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena’s concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades.Originally published in 2014. Look for Pam Jenoff’s new novel, The Woman with the Blue Star, an unforgettable story of courage and friendship during wartime.Read these other sweeping epics from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff.The Lost Girls of ParisThe Orphans TaleThe Diplomat’s WifeThe Kommandant’s GirlThe Last Summer at Chelsea BeachThe Ambassador's Daughter

    Ten New York Times, USA Today or Internationally bestselling authors bring you their twist on the holidays using some of your favorite characters in STARS ARE BRIGHTLY SHINING . This collection includes: "Heart of Thanks" by Paula Quinn -  ‘Tis the season of miracles, and when Elysande MacPherson begins falling in love with the son of her father's worst enemy, she's going to need one. A very big one. "The Hope of Love" by Meara Platt - Felicity Billings, raised as an orphan, has always hoped for a family of her own. Will her wish come true when she takes a tumble and Wellesford's handsome doctor comes to the rescue? "A Christmas Kiss for the Highlander" by Collette Cameron - A prisoner of his past, Quinn Catherwood scorns heritage and kin. Skye Hendron cherishes family and traditions, and she offers him freedom and a future…but can he pay the price? "Christmas Heart" by Mary Lancaster - A quarrel with her husband sees the Duchess of Alvan travelling to her parents’ home for Christmas. But the road is blocked by snow and there is no room at the Hart Inn… "Starlight Night" by Alexa Aston - A child from the streets. A couple with love in their heart. A warm, wonderful Christmas. "One Beastly Christmas" by Sydney Jane Baily - A frigid Christmas Eve, an infuriated husband, and beloved family members gone missing. Forlorn Lady Lindsey needs a holiday miracle, or maybe three! "Warming Winter's Heart" by Elizabeth Ellen Carter - Julian Winter has had his heart broken a time of two. And he's tired of his well-meaning family trying to set him up with yet another vapid debutante. His attitude to attending a winter house party is frosty indeed until he meets fellow guest Caroline, a widow with a young son. As Christmas draws near Julian finds there is warmth in Winter's heart, after all. "A Bunch of Mistletoe" by Lynne Connolly - When Matilda, chaperone and aunt to the most scandalous family in London, takes a tumble from a tree, she's rescued by the most unlikely saviour. Toplofty stickler Harold, the Duke of Trensom, is more than annoyed to find Matilda on his property. Worse when he finds himself falling for her. "A Solitary Candle" by Avril Borthiry - Lost in a winter storm, a cold-hearted man is drawn to a flicker of light in the darkness. Will he find the warmth he seeks? "A Merry MacNaughton Mishap" by Aubrey Wynne - When Calum MacNaughton rescues a rival clan member from an icy drowning, he is unexpectedly rewarded with the clansman’s most precious possession. Now Calum has until Twelfth Night to convince her to stay. From Dragonblade to you, we wish you a very happy holiday season! (Note: This collection will be approx. 500 pages)