Abandoned by her mother at age seven, Ivy is a new single mother who must cope with financial difficulties and a demanding infant.

    As a hundred-year storm descends on Los Angeles, Birdy's not the only one looking for answers to the city's vanishing population. A wheelchair-bound Army veteran watches the world from his apartment window, and what he sees terrifies him. An LA detective has two missing patrol cops, a bloody crime scene, but no bodies. A desperate mother will stop at nothing in her search to find her missing daughter. But the storm that holds California in its grip also provides the perfect cover for an even greater threat; an ancient and terrible evil that stalks the city's residents, mercilessly hunting them within their homes and on the flooded streets. Together, the survivors must fight to escape their drowning city and the creatures that now roam freely under the cover of perpetual darkness.

    Vladimir's Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa's spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice . . . every heartache, every betrayal, every sacrifice, and so much more!

    The misunderstandings caused by language recur throughout the book: contemplating what "yes" means in different cultures; watching Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" with a husband who grew up in the Philippines and never saw The Patty Duke Show; misreading another poet's title "The Difference Between Pepsi and Coke" as "The Difference Between Pepsi and Pope" and concluding that "Pepsi is all for premarital sex. / The Pope won't stain your teeth." Misunderstandings also abound as characters mingle with others from different classes. In "Cockroaches," a father-in-law refers to budget-minded American college students backpacking in Europe as cockroaches, not realizing his daughter-in-law was once, not so long ago, such a student/roach herself.With welcome levity and refreshing irreverence, The Star-Spangled Banner addresses issues of ethnicity, class, and gender in America.

    And when they do, there's only one place to send them. Tor Cliff is an asylum for the most insane and dangerous vampires. Run more like a prison than an asylum, and ruled over by doctors who themselves seem crazier than their patients, Tor Cliff is widely regarded as one of the most hellish places in existence. Kidnapped and sent to Tor Cliff, Abby Hart soon learns that someone is trying to get to the secret hidden in her mind. Teaming up with the mysterious Madeleine Le Compte, Abby tries to escape, only to discover that something even more dangerous is lurking in the forest beyond the asylum's walls.

    The city is theirs to enjoy as Jack struggles to pursue a writing career and Chloe works downtown, applying herself to the world of high finance. While Jack aspires to be the perfect husband, his own self-doubts and Chloe's office flirtations cast shadows. Jealousy and misbehavior undermine their notions of themselves and of each other, and their lives take on uncomfortable parallels with the volatile, chaotic existence of their raffish, menacing neighbors. In the intense heat of one Chicago summer, Jack and Chloe's marriage roils into a queasy chemistry of vanity, lust, and greed. Thompson writes with piercing insight and emotional truth, setting off literary fireworks.

    When his all-too-human lover is found murdered on the eve of the coven's annual Four Hundred Ball--a celebration meant to usher in a new era in vampire society, and to mark the re-unification of the Coven after decades of unrest and decay--Oliver is devastated.Now, not only is he trying to create a new world order for the immortal elite, he's the prime suspect and is stalked by the newly installed head of the vampire secret police. Because according to the new rules, vampires who take human life can now be executed. Burned.How can an immortal sentenced to die fight back? He has to find the killer--and the answers lie deep in vampire lore.

    R. Ward | Summary & Analysis This is a Summary & Analysis of The Shadows. Bestselling author JR Ward’s The Shadows continues the current tendencies of modern vampire fiction as TrezLath and iAm, as well as their friends and associates, stumble into and through romance. Their stumblings produce politically charged results that speak to the arcane bureaucracies associated with vampiric depictions since Rice and White Wolf and permit the kind of open violence to be expected of super-strong, long-lived, intelligent predators stalking the nights of a world not unlike that of readers. J. R. Ward’s The Shadows, continues the Black Dagger Brotherhood series into its thirteenth volume. In its main storylines, TrezLath and iAm both find their ways into romances that manage to reinforce their fraternal bonds. The former seeks to escape a predetermined stud-duty in no small part because of his falling into a love he ultimately loses, which the latter unexpectedly finds himself in love with a lover initially promised to another. Several other plot threads seem to flow from earlier volumes and suggest future works in the series, both in terms of personal investment and of political intrigue. This companion to The Shadows also includes the following: • Book Review • Story Setting Analysis of The Shadows • Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel • Details of Characters & Key Character Analysis • Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed • Thought Provoking /or Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs • Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols… • And Much More! This Analysis of The Shadows fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.

    Like Polaroids framing the years of a troubadour and family man afflicted with an excess of self-awareness, these are stories without any clear good guys or bad guys. Instead, in each of these vignettes, you will find dysfunctional humans trying to do their best and bouncing off each other in the process.

    On the fifth anniversary of the show’s hotly debated series finale, in 2007, Vanity Fair releases a 20,000-word e-book, the untold, behind-the-scenes story of The Sopranos. With this oral history, expanded from the article in the magazine’s April 2012 issue, The Sopranos cast and crew—from creator David Chase and James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano), to Edie Falco (Carmela Soprano) and Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi)—give their unexpurgated thoughts on the show’s ambiguous ending and the possibilities of a Sopranos movie. Sam Kashner and Jim Kelly lead readers through the writers’ room where Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter cut their teeth, through the grueling shooting schedules during which the late Nancy Marchand (Tony Soprano’s mother, Livia), behind the cameras, slapped herself with pepperoni to try to lighten the mood, and through the “whackings” of Big Pussy, Adriana La Cerva, and Bobby “Bacala.” The book discusses the show’s soundtrack (which ranged from Bruce Springsteen to Britney Spears, from Journey to The Rolling Stones) and influences (from Goodfellas to The Three Stooges) and, above all else, how much it is the creation of a singular genius, David Chase. Much more than a show about the Mafia, The Sopranos is an American cultural phenomenon—as much about the domestic family as the Mob family—that succeeded against all odds. As Edie Falco recalls, “After we shot the pilot, David [Chase] said, ‘Well, that was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, no one will ever watch this show, but you guys have been great.’ And that was the end. Or so we thought.”

    But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.

    What he craves is red gold—human blood. After being held captive as a blood slave to a female vampire for years, he has finally escaped. Unchained at last, he follows his nose to the nearest blood bank to sate his hunger.ER nurse Erin Hamilton expects just another busy night shift…until she finds a gorgeous stranger vandalizing the hospital blood bank. Though her logic tells her to turn him in, she’s pulled by stronger and unfamiliar emotions to protect the man who seems oddly infatuated with her scent. Chemistry sizzles between them, but Dante, plagued by nightmares of his time in captivity, fears he won’t be able to control himself…especially when he discovers a secret she doesn’t even know she’s hiding.

    Now together in one volume, the fifth and sixth books of the Morganville Vampires series show that defeating Bishop is a task that's going to take some serious skill....LORD OF MISRULEIn Morganville, violent black clouds promise a storm of devastating proportions. As student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against the elements - both natural and unnatural - the unexpected happens: Morganville's vampires begin to vanish one by one. Discovering why leads Claire to one last choice: Swear allegiance to Bishop - or die....CARPE CORPUSAn underground resistance is brewing in Morganville. In order to contain it, Bishop vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants - the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules after having such a taste of power?

    One girl in all the world to find them where they gather and to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. From the first vampire staking to the last glimpse of Sunnydale, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a genre-busting hit, attracting millions of fans worldwide. Even now, two decades later, Buffy the Vampire Slayer still plays a role in shaping an entire generation of media. Just in time for the show’s twentieth anniversary, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Watcher’s Guides have been compiled into one hardcover collector’s edition for the first time! Inside, you’ll find all the best content from Volumes 1–3 of the original Watcher’s Guides, as well as exclusive new content, including never-before-seen interviews with the cast and crew.

    There was no denying what it looked liked to my long-time assistant and now I had to trust her not to blow things up with Harper and I. I needed to fix this. I was going to fix this, even if it meant losing my top client, the woman I was caught kissing. Mason seems distant. He’s been secretive and I’m beginning to wonder how much Natalie has to do with Mason’s change of heart. She’s hot, she’s cold, but even more importantly, she’s out to get me. Connected Hearts, The Series. Harper Browning has it all, but it didn’t come without struggles. She’s put it all behind her and turned over a new leaf with her extremely romantic, good-looking and billionaire matchmaker boss, Mason Asher, but not to the liking of his personal assistant and right-hand girl. Mason Asher is known for his ability to find a match for anyone, including the hundreds of wealthy clients that pay him handsomely for his services. But when he makes a promise to Harper’s best friend, Avery Gains, he’s taken on more than he can handle and now risks not only losing his business, but Harper’s love too. Connected Hearts is the follow-up series to It Takes Two and can be read as a stand-alone series or you can follow along from the start by downloading the complete series. *** Connected Hearts is a steamy romance ideal for fans of J.S. Scott, Katy Evans, Lauren Blakely and MS Parker.