Tag: Contemporary Fiction

Kiera Vandyer told herself she’d only agreed to this scheme for the money, that nothing else had drawn her to this venture, but you can’t lie to the truest parts of yourself. For sixteen years, she’s hidden her burning curiosity for magic, knowing that one misstep would mean certain death at the hands of Atterah’s merciless leaders: the all-powerful Ruling Board.

Just when Kiera is on the cusp of securing a stable future for herself and her mother, a cruel twist of fate forces her to commit the worst possible infraction. She trespasses over the border into Etabon, the last refuge for magic on Atterah. Once within, her rare form makes her a target for the warden of the site. To escape the warden and conceal her crime from the Ruling Board, Kiera must use her strange new powers to battle for her freedom… or die trying.

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The near future. Tens of thousands of species are going extinct every year. And a whole industry has sprung up around their extinctions, to help us preserve the remnants, or perhaps just assuage our guilt. For instance, the biobanks: secure archives of DNA samples, from which lost organisms might someday be resurrected… But then, one day, it’s all gone. A mysterious cyber-attack hits every biobank simultaneously, wiping out the last traces of the perished species. Now we’re never getting them back.

Karin Resaint and Mark Halyard are concerned with one species in particular: the venomous lumpsucker, a small, ugly bottom-feeder that happens to be the most intelligent fish on the planet. Resaint is an animal cognition scientist consumed with existential grief over what humans have done to nature. Halyard is an exec from the extinction industry, complicit in the mining operation that destroyed the lumpsucker’s last-known habitat.

Across the dystopian landscapes of the 2030s—a nature reserve full of toxic waste; a floating city on the ocean; the hinterlands of a totalitarian state—Resaint and Halyard hunt for a surviving lumpsucker. And the further they go, the deeper they’re drawn into the mystery of the attack on the biobanks. Who was really behind it? And why would anyone do such a thing?

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An exclusive collection featuring the four novels of Julia Quinn’s Georgian-set Bridgerton prequel series, following the close friends and neighbors of the charming, powerful Bridgerton family—the Rokesbys.

In her inimitable style – full of wit, wisdom, gossip, and romance – Julia Quinn introduces the charismatic Rokesby brothers as they maneuver through the scrutiny of London’s high society and secure matches worthy of their station – and their hearts. Adored by millions of fans worldwide, these timeless stories will transport you to a world of propriety, passion, and mischief—and love.

In these four books, you will meet:

Billie Bridgerton and George Rokesby, family friends who cannot stand the sight of each other, in Because of Miss Bridgerton.

Cecilia Harcourt and Edward Rokesby, the handsome—and amnesiac—best friend of Cecilia’s brother, in The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband.

Poppy Bridgerton and Captain Andrew James Rokesby, a reckless privateer for the Crown, in The Other Miss Bridgerton.

Georgina Bridgerton and Nicholas Rokesby, childhood friends forced to marry to avoid social ruin, in First Comes Scandal.

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Popular advice columnist Wendy Wise has been skillfully advising the women who write to her seeking help for four decades, so why are her own daughters’ lives such a mess? Clementine, the working mother of a six-year-old boy, has just discovered that she is actually renting the Queens home that she thought she owned, because her husband Steve secretly funneled their money into his flailing start-up. Meanwhile, her sister Barb has overextended herself at her architecture firm and reunited semi-unhappily with her cheating girlfriend.

When Steve goes MIA and Clementine receives an eviction notice, Wendy swoops in to save the day, even though her daughters, who are holding onto some resentments from childhood, haven’t asked for her help. But as soon as Wendy sets her sights on hunting down her rogue son-in-law, Barb and Clementine quickly discover that their mother has been hiding more than a few problems of her own…

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Attorney Calvin Dexter hangs his shingle in a quiet New Jersey town, has a reasonably successful practice, and takes the hills strong while triathlon training. But Dexter is no ordinary lawyer… On Sundays, he reads the paper and shuffles around his dark, empty house, trying to forget about a life he has lost forever.

Until, of course, Dexter reads something in the papers that sends him the necessary signal. Until one of the handful who know of Dexter’s other life tries to contact him. For in a world that has forgotten right and wrong, few can settle a score like Cal Dexter can.

But the game is changing, and this time CIA agent Kevin McBride must find a way to stop Dexter before his quest for vengeance throws the world into chaos.

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Iconic author Ira Levin’s Edgar Award–winning debut novel set a new standard in the art of psychological suspense. A modern classic published to rave reviews, and twice adapted for the screen, A Kiss Before Dying is a darkly thrilling, twisting tale of criminal psychopathy.

Known for his looks and charm, a young man obsessed with wealth and status will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He sets his sights on a beautiful and innocent college student named Dorothy, intent on marrying her for her family’s money. But when Dorothy becomes pregnant, his careful plans start to unravel, and he begins to take cold, calculating, and drastic measures to protect his future.

A Kiss Before Dying, told from multiple points of view, has thrilled millions of readers with its perfectly constructed plotting and is an acknowledged masterpiece of crime fiction.

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A gorgeous, moving memoir of how one of America’s most innovative and respected journalists found his voice by coming to terms with a painful past.

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow mines the compelling poetry of the out-of-time African-American Louisiana town where he grew up — a place where slavery’s legacy felt astonishingly close, reverberating in the elders’ stories and in the near-constant wash of violence.

Blow’s attachment to his mother — a fiercely driven woman with five sons, brass knuckles in her glove box, a job plucking poultry at a nearby factory, a soon-to-be-ex husband, and a love of newspapers and learning — cannot protect him from secret abuse at the hands of an older cousin. It’s damage that triggers years of anger and searing self-questioning.

Finally, Blow escapes to a nearby state university, where he joins a black fraternity after a passage of brutal hazing, and then enters a world of racial and sexual privilege that feels like everything he’s ever needed and wanted, until he’s called upon, himself, to become the one perpetuating the shocking abuse.

A powerfully redemptive memoir that both fits the tradition of African-American storytelling from the South, and gives it an indelible new slant.

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There’s nothing wrong with being a wallflower. Not to Emmaline Bluewater, anyway. Emma may have been born into witch society, but her days of trying to fit in where she doesn’t belong are over—they ended seven years ago, when the man she’d hoped to marry left town without a word. She’s much happier now, living a delightfully mundane human life in Chicago and running her bar, Toil and Trouble.

Until Bastian Truenote walks through the door and announces that he wants her back.

Bastian had his reasons for leaving—even if he can’t tell Emma what they are. Now, to win Emma’s heart, he’s got to face down an adorably goofy dog familiar, a best friend who’s all too eager to hit him with a carefully aimed hex, and a woman who’s far from the meek witch he remembers.

Magical contracts aren’t easily broken, but as far as Emma’s concerned, not even a marriage of convenience will have her falling under Bastian’s spell again…

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Achievement can be learned. It’s a muscle, and once you learn how to flex it, you’ll be able to meet life’s challenges and fulfill your goals, Bernard Roth, Academic Director at the Stanford school contends.

In The Achievement Habit, Roth applies the remarkable insights that stem from design thinking—previously used to solve large scale projects—to help us realize the power for positive change we all have within us. Roth leads us through a series of discussions, stories, recommendations, and exercises designed to help us create a different experience in our lives. He shares invaluable insights we can use to gain confidence to do what we’ve always wanted and overcome obstacles that hamper us from reaching our potential.

The brain is complex and is always working with our egos to sabotage our best intentions. But we can be mindful; we can create habits that make our lives better. Thoughtful and powerful The Achievement Habit shows you how.

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It is 1666, one year after plague has devastated England. Young widow Cecilia Thorowgood is a prisoner, trapped and isolated within her older sister’s cavernous London townhouse. At the mercy of a legion of doctors trying to cure her grief with their impatient scalpels, Cecilia shows no sign of improvement. Soon, her sister makes a decision born of desperation: She hires a new physician, someone known for more unusual methods. But he is a foreigner. A Jew. And despite his attempts to save Cecilia, he knows he cannot quell the storm of sorrow that rages inside her. There is no easy cure for melancholy.

David Mendes fled Portugal to seek a new life in London, where he could practice his faith openly and leave the past behind. Still reeling from the loss of his beloved friend and struggling with his religion and his past, David is free and safe in this foreign land but incapable of happiness. The security he has found in London threatens to disappear when he meets Cecilia, and he finds himself torn between his duty to medicine and the beating of his own heart. He is the only one who can see her pain; the glimmers of light she emits, even in her gloom, are enough to make him believe once more in love.

Facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, David and Cecilia must endure prejudice, heartbreak, and calamity before they can be together. The Great Fire is coming—and with the city in flames around them, love has never felt so impossible.

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An irresistible, deftly observed novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Modern Lovers, about the secrets, joys, and jealousies that rise to the surface over the course of an American family’s two-week stay in Mallorca.

For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.

This is a story of the sides of ourselves that we choose to show and those we try to conceal, of the ways we tear each other down and build each other up again, and the bonds that ultimately hold us together.

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That was until a handsome man came into the salon I worked at, needing my help.

Jackson Mason was as handsome as he was charming, and his five-year-old niece was just as adorable. She melted my heart instantly, and soon, I looked forward to our nightly hair appointments as I taught him how to care for her hair. Losing her mother a few weeks ago was hard, but her uncle seemed to have everything handled.

That was until he came in one night, extremely grumpy and in need of help again. But this time, it wasn’t her hair that he needed assistance with. When he offered me a job as his new administrative assistant, I couldn’t believe it.

But being in such close proximity to him on a daily basis proved challenging. Neither of us was in a position to act on the chemistry that flowed so easily between us, but our bodies didn’t seem to get that message.

With three little girls looking to us to make this Christmas merry and bright, we couldn’t afford to let our feelings get in the way. Even if we got caught under the mistletoe and everyone encouraged us to kiss.

There was too much on the line, and one little mistake could easily ruin everything.

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Wedding planner Jenna Bell doesn’t panic when the groom is a no-show to the ceremony – even though he is her former high school sweetheart and this wedding is the small town’s event of the year. However, when he turns up dead and she is falsely accused… well, yeah, now it’s the time to panic.

Jenna’s mother, Maddie, puts her cozy mystery writing skills to use to try to clear her daughter’s name, stepping on by-the-book Chief of Police Jackson Bradley’s toes in the process. No matter how enticing he finds her, he doesn’t want this writer-turned-amateur-sleuth interfering with his murder investigation.

With nearly all of Hemlock, North Carolina, picking sides and the town’s own Gossip Brigade churning out the rumors, Maddie discovers the mystery isn’t very cozy when it hits this close to home.

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Ava Briscoe wants nothing more than for her children and the family’s pineapple business to flourish. When a dark secret comes to light, more than her steadfast resilience is tested.

Christel is picking up the pieces after a painful divorce. She’s found solace in the family business. But a bitter discovery soon shakes the once-steady foundation under her feet.

Katie is a wife and mother with a full plate. She yearns for purpose but her efforts to make her dreams come true falter when she learns nothing is at it seems.

Aiden makes his living rescuing people on the island of Maui. When facing life’s changes, can he rescue his own family when it matters most?

Shane believes life is a party, but sometimes life hands out more than a good time—fun crashes to an end and growing up is no longer an option.

Come along on the journey… with all the messy wonder, humor, pain and ultimate hope of this heartwarming family as they grapple with an uncertain future and learn they can face anything, as long as they do it together.

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