His only hope for survival is to partner with an alien Artificial Intelligence named Alyssa. She is the brain of the most improbable star ship Gus has ever seen, part ancient sailing ship, part incredible star-faring vessel. But there is a catch. Alyssa’s first priority is to finish an epic yacht race that started twenty-eight thousand years ago. THE WORLD IS CAPTURED BY THE ALIEN DRAMA Every day Gus sends a video love letter to his wife via the lifeboat’s one-way subspace signal where it is automatically posted on YouTube. Few people care until another lifeboat crashes with two young women aboard, both of them celebrities. Their fame turns Gus into a worldwide phenomenon; everyone watches the three castaways fight to carve a life from the tiny island life even though they have little hope of rescue. When disaster threatens, Gus and the girls have no choice but to resurrect the crippled galleon. Their impossible task is to sail Alyssa across an alien sea and then fly her across unimaginable galactic reaches. WHEN ALYSSA FINALLY AGREES TO HELP, SPACE PIRATES STRIKE On live television, the public watches helplessly when a ship of vicious murderers attack the three survivors. The world grieves when the now-famous exiles go silent. At least until Earth's Space Navy reports they are under attack by a ship that is beyond imagination.

    From the delicate cream cheeses of Kurdsburg to the Hopes-of-Heaven pastries of Chouxville, each was so delicious that people wept with joy as they ate them.But even in this happy kingdom, a monster lurks. Legend tells of a fearsome creature living far to the north in the Marshlands... the Ickabog. Some say it breathes fire, spits poison, and roars through the mist as it carries off wayward sheep and children alike. Some say it's just a myth...And when that myth takes on a life of its own, casting a shadow over the kingdom, two children — best friends Bert and Daisy — embark on a great adventure to untangle the truth and find out where the real monster lies, bringing hope and happiness to Cornucopia once more.Features full-colour illustrations by the young winners of The Ickabog competition.

    Shoshana is engaged to the last single Walsh brother, the Walshes are Washington's version of the royal family. As Shoshana begins her ascent from a nobody to a socialite she has one nagging problem. She finds herself developing feelings for a man so charming that he's impossible to shake from her thoughts. This man is a big part of her new life. She figures that she can admire him from a distance until something leads her to believe that the feelings are not one-sided. With her wedding date quickly approaching, she desperately tries to resolve these feelings by ignoring them. Exploring this love will threaten her existence as a Walsh, but willing them to go away proves more difficult than she'd anticipated.Sometimes the most impossible love is best left alone and sometimes it's not. Will she do the expected and become Mrs. Walsh or risk everything on an unexpected spark?A popular chick lit novel and beach read: perfect for a day at the beach, a plane ride, or curling up with a great book.

    First, it vanishes from Dhikilo’s parents’ conversation at breakfast, then from the road signs outside and from her school dinners. Soon the local dentist and the neighbor’s dalmatian are missing, and even the Donkey Derby has been called off.Though she doesn’t know why, Dhikilo is summoned to the home of her old history teacher Professor Dodderfield and his faithful Labrador, Nelly Robinson. And this is where our story begins.Set between England and the wintry land of Liminus, a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures, D (A Tale of Two Worlds) is told with simple beauty and warmth. Its celebration of moral courage and freethinking is a powerful reminder of our human capacity for strength, hope and justice.

    But when they become engaged, Max’s father insists on a ‘left-handed marriage’, a custom among the German aristocracy in cases where the bride does not have the required pedigree. This means that, although Diana will be Max’s lawful wife, neither she nor their children will have any claim to Max’s eventual title or wealth. Deeply in love, Max and Diana agree to these terms and the newlyweds dazzle from Ascot to the Riviera and host lavish skiing parties at their estate in the Alps. However, as the dark clouds of war gather across Europe, Diana becomes concerned by her loving husband’s unpredictability and what she suspects are sinister secrets beneath his family’s glamorous lifestyle. When war is declared Diana finds herself caught between two sides, as her own Anglo-Irish family are fighting for the British and Max is an officer in the German army. Diana, refusing to leave her beloved husband, becomes a figure of mistrust in Germany and is portrayed as a treasonous woman in the British press. When Max is reported missing presumed dead, Diana is rejected by his family. Widowed, penniless, her reputation in tatters and her own family in Ireland destroyed by the war, Diana sets out to rebuild her life. *** A. O’Connor once more draws us irresistibly into the past and spins an extraordinary tale that holds us spellbound. Here again is that mixture of impeccable research and powerful storytelling that made The House and The Secrets of Armstrong House bestsellers

    From Tehran to Melbourne, a powerful memoir of survival.Scattered Pearls opens in pre-revolutionary Iran, where Sohila Zanjani grew up under the threat of violence, intimidation and control at the hands of her father. Resolving never to tread in the footsteps of her mother and her grandmother, both survivors of domestic abuse, Sohila tried to find a new life for herself on the other side of the world. But to her horror she discovered that living with her father had been gentle in comparison to the reality of her new married life.Spanning more than a hundred years, Scattered Pearls tells the true stories of Sohila, her mother and her grandmother, and the injustice and abuse meted out by the men in their lives. It is a story of cultural misogyny in both Iran and Australia, and of an ongoing search for a loving, equal relationship.Along the way the book provides a glimpse into the lives of ‘ordinary’ Iranians and the power of the Persian culture. It’s also a confronting insight into what can go on behind closed doors – even in an ‘advanced’ society.But at its heart, Scattered Pearls is a story of resilience and personal growth, and of allowing the future to blossom in spite of the damage of the past. It is one of optimism, courage, and love and hope.This is the story of three women, but it carries with it the stories of an entire culture.

    Beneath the town’s cheerful façade, however, Bleak Creek teens live in constant fear of being sent to the Whitewood School, a local reformatory with a history of putting unruly youths back on the straight and narrow—a record so impeccable that almost everyone is willing to ignore the suspicious deaths that have occurred there over the past decade.At first, high school freshmen Rex McClendon and Leif Nelson believe what they’ve been told: that the students’ strange demises were all just tragic accidents, the unfortunate consequence of succumbing to vices like Marlboro Lights and Nirvana. But when the shoot for their low-budget horror masterpiece, PolterDog, goes horribly awry—and their best friend, Alicia Boykins, is sent to Whitewood as punishment—Rex and Leif are forced to question everything they know about their unassuming hometown and its cherished school for delinquents.Eager to rescue their friend, Rex and Leif pair up with recent NYU film school graduate Janine Blitstein to begin piecing together the unsettling truth of the school and its mysterious founder, Wayne Whitewood. What they find will leave them battling an evil beyond their wildest imaginations—one that will shake Bleak Creek to its core.

    The details are exquisite and take one back to beloved books of childhood such as Little House on the Prairie while at the same time providing full grown-up fare for history buffs. Wry humor and insights are deftly woven throughout, making the reader smile precisely because the author is not trying to do anything but authentically tell her story. And a wonderful story it is.” Kate Turpin

    Sawyer had been training his whole life to make the cut to be considered a warrior when his plans go astray, Sawyer is found to have magic. While the talent is not unheard of in Haven it becomes clear Sawyer is much better than his well bred peers, when war starts looming many will find out why Sawyer is the Mage of Mages.

     While the characters are fictional, the battle was very real and when it was over 70 Americans were killed in action, 420 were wounded and 633 North Vietnamese were confirmed dead. Matthew Kendal, a pastor’s youngest son from a white middle-class California background, enlists in the army and volunteers for service in Vietnam to avenge his brother’s death; a Green Beret sergeant killed in 1968. During training Matthew becomes close friends with John Adams, a tough-skinned Afro-American youth from the poorer neighborhoods right outside our nation’s capital, and Jose Martinez, a street wise Chicano from East Los Angeles. Together they experience the rigors of Airborne training and journey to Vietnam to become Screaming Eagles, of the 101st Airborne. Placed in 2nd Squad, the story follows the actual events surrounding D Company during the intense battle for Hill # 937, which would later be known as the “Battle for Hamburger Hill”.

    His last memory is putting the landing gear down. The NTSB and news media blame him and the deceased first officer Ned Partin for the accident that killed thirty-eight, and burned or severely injured ten. Bill knows from experience flying with Ned that they would have prevented the accident. While recovering from his debilitating injuries, Bill investigates why data that would exonerate him has disappeared. Why hasn’t the NTSB figured out there was something wrong with the rudder? And why does his airline’s management thwart his attempts to prove he shouldn’t be blamed? Those who caused the accident will go to extreme lengths to assure Bill does not uncover their secret agenda.

    And then, very suddenly and without warning, there were three. Even though the fourth person hadn't made any noise at all in several months, the room got very quiet when she was gone. For a long time after that, we sat in silence, in the dark, each of us wondering what this meant for her and for us, and which of us would be the next in the box.NEVER GET IN THE CARFor years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the 'Never List': a list of actions to be avoided, for safety's sake, at all costs. But one night, they failed to follow their own rules.NEVER GO OUT ALONE AFTER DARKSarah has spent ten years trying to forget her ordeal. But now the FBI has news that forces her to confront her worst fears.NEVER TAKE RISKSIf she is to uncover the truth about what really happened to Jennifer, Sarah needs to work with the other women who shared her nightmare. But they won't be happy to hear from her. Because down there in the dark, Sarah wasn't just a victim.NEVER TRUST ANYONE

    She was a young slave girl. He was an African warrior purchased at a slave auction with the intent he would father a new breed of stronger slave. Despite all odds, a language barrier and the disapproval of her family and friends, the two fight for a life together.

    She spends most of her job traveling from city to city, training staff members on how to use the company system. She’s great at her job, but she’s struggling to find a balance between work and home life. Determined to create a more stable environment, through email she asks her boss to cut down her traveling, but he refuses. She’s never met the man, but already she can’t stand him. It’s at a conference not long after that she ends up in bed with a handsome stranger, only to find out that it was her boss. What happens when you’ve slept with the enemy? Find out in this steamy employee, billionaire boss romance by Alicia Beckton of BWWM Love.

    Walter Lavender Jr. is a master of finding. A wearer of high-tops. A maker of croissants. A son keeping vigil, twelve years counting. But he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Silenced by his motor speech disorder, Walter’s life gets lonely. Fortunately, he has The Lavenders—his mother’s enchanted dessert shop, where marzipan dragons breathe actual fire. He also has a knack for tracking down any missing thing—except for his lost father. So when the Book at the root of the bakery’s magic vanishes, Walter, accompanied by his overweight golden retriever, journeys through New York City to find it—along the way encountering an unforgettable cast of lost souls. Steeped in nostalgic wonder, The Luster of Lost Things explores the depths of our capacity for kindness and our ability to heal. A lyrical meditation on why we become lost and how we are found, from the bright, broken heart of a boy who knows where to look for everyone but himself.