"The Blueprint is an astounding work, an unflinching portrait of misogyny and racism in a speculative world terrifyingly close to our own. Rae Giana Rashad chronicles the generational ghosts of womanhood, and how we understand ourselves through the stories of those we come from, in a way I've never read before. A remarkable new talent, and a timeless literary voice."-Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing dystopian novel set in an alternate United States-a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences of their profound power imbalance. Solenne Bonet lives in Texas where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman's occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne finds solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who'd been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in 1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naïve, finds herself entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows. Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to U.S. politicians and planters, this speculative fiction novel, The Blueprint, unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation's most unprotected: a Black girl.

She betrayed him. Now, he's back to claim everything-including her. Gabriel Grimm was supposed to be dead. Once, he was the golden heir-untouchable, unstoppable-until a scandal shattered his world, leaving his name in ruins and his body in a shallow grave. But Gabriel didn't die. He disappeared, forging himself into something harder, colder, unbreakable. And now, after years in the shadows, he's ready to take back what was stolen. Starting with her. Isabella Hart was everything to him. His love. His salvation. And the woman who stood by while her father destroyed him. Now, she's at the heart of the empire he's about to dismantle. But taking down her father isn't enough. Gabriel wants Bella, too. Ruined. Broken. His. She swears she wasn't part of the betrayal. That she fought for him. That the past isn't what he believes. But Gabriel stopped believing in love the day he died. Now, he only believes in vengeance. Yet every time he touches her, the past comes roaring back. The hunger. The need. The lie he tells himself-that breaking her will make him whole again. But if he's wrong, then claiming her won't be his triumph... it will be his downfall. And her undoing. The Beast is a vengeful, twisted, and all-consuming billionaire romance featuring a ruthless antihero risen from the dead, an intense enemies-to-lovers battle, a dangerous game of control, and a love that was never meant to survive. This book contains explicit content and is intended for mature readers only.

2015 Audie Award Finalist for Thriller/Suspense In his most ambitious work yet, New York Times bestseller James Lee Burke tells a classic American story through one man's unforgettable life. In 1934, sixteen-year-old Weldon Avery Holland happens upon infamous criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after one of their notorious armed robberies. A confrontation with the outlaws ends with Weldon firing a gun, unsure whether it hit its mark. Ten years later, Second Lieutenant Weldon Holland barely survives the Battle of the Bulge, in the process saving the lives of his sergeant, Hershel Pine, and a young Spanish prisoner of war, Rosita Lowenstein—a woman who holds the same romantic power over him as the strawberry blonde Bonnie Parker, and is equally mysterious. The three return to Texas where Weldon and Hershel get in on the ground floor of the nascent oil business. In just a few years' time Weldon will spar with the jackals of the industry, rub shoulders with dangerous men, and win and lose fortunes twice over. But it is the prospect of losing his one true love that will spur his most reckless act yet—one inspired by that encounter long ago with the outlaws of his youth. A tender love story and pulse-pounding thriller, Wayfaring Stranger is a sprawling historical epic full of courage and loyalty and optimism and good-heartedness that reads like an ode to the American Dream (Benjamin Percy, Poets & Writers).

Laura Lippman, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Most Dangerous Thing, I'd Know You Anywhere, and What the Dead Know, returns with an addictive story that explores how one man's disappearance echoes through the lives of the wife, mistress, and daughters he left behind. When Felix Brewer meets Bernadette ?Bambi? Gottschalk at a Valentine's Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative?if not all legal?businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi's comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes. Though Bambi has no idea where her husband?or his money?might be, she suspects one woman does: his mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she's left to join her old lover?until her remains are eventually found. Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto ?Sandy? Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women. And at the center is the missing man Felix Brewer. Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.

'Grace Draven is an inspirational pillar of the romantasy genre! She's a magician at crafting stunning stories that blend incredible world-building with deeply emotional love stories' Carissa Broadbent**NOW INCLUDES A BRAND-NEW BONUS CHAPTER**He was her first love. Now, he's the enemy. And her only hope . . .Disaris, a farmer's daughter gifted with the talent for deciphering dangerous secrets, has become the weapon of assassins and the coveted prize of an army. To save her sister, she's married a monster, burying her past and her feelings for the boy she once loved amid the chaos of a war-torn kingdom.Bron, a powerful battle mage known as the Moon Raven, never forgot the girl with whom he'd grown up. When he finds her buried in the rubble of a fallen citadel, he doesn't see a captive — he sees his first love.But the Disaris he knew is gone, replaced by a desperate woman bound by a deadly vow to a brutal husband who will never let her go. Forced into a treacherous escape across enemy lines, Bron must decide: will he remain the loyal soldier of the kingdom, or will he burn the world down to keep the promise he made to a young girl under a winter moon?A slow burn fantasy romance for fans of The Serpent and the Wings of Night and The Bridge Kingdom.Tropes: Childhood Friends to Lovers; Second Chance Romance; Forced Proximity; Who did this to you?; Touch her and you die;

Two women, two cursed contracts, and a romance that could burn down heaven and hell. Mercedes Midnight is a reaper in debt with exactly one year left before hell comes to collect. Lucy Corvine, the devil's daughter and revered professor, is imprisoned by a contract she never agreed to. For nine long years, Midnight scoured graveyards and grimoires for a loophole, while Lucy wore a gilded smile and dreamed of revolt... Until a chance encounter sparks a pact neither of them can afford to break. When Midnight claws her way into Finis Academy, she and Lucy strike a perilous bargain: Lucy will train Midnight to win the academy's coveted demon favour and Midnight will break Lucy's contract. But this is no simple deal. Not when a secret cult is scheming to resurrect a fallen angel and the city is veering toward celestial war. They're going to have to trust each other... not easy when they're both hiding dangerous secrets. Harder still when stolen glances in candlelit libraries ignite a forbidden desire neither woman can resist. Now, they must decide: shatter the contract... or surrender to a love that damns them both. One year. One soul. One impossible choice-their love or their own damnation. This is a dark and very steamy lesbian demon romance featuring forbidden professor-student tension, dark academia vibes, soul-reaping bargains, morally grey heroines, found family, gothic campuses, and ruthless devils. 18+ readers only.

In New York Times bestselling author Sara Holland's new novel, Break Wide the Sea, a young woman cursed with a fatal heartbreak-induced sickness must race against time to find a cure and protect her family legacy from the ancient finfolk that would destroy it, the fiancé that would kill her for it, and the boy who would love her if she forsook it. In the treacherous waters surrounding Kirkrell, sailors hunting magic whales live in fear of the finfolk--bloodthirsty sea fae who sink ships and curse bloodlines. Nineteen-year-old Annie, as heir to the city's preeminent whaling company, is determined to carry on her parents' life's work. But she keeps a secret from everyone: she's cursed to transform into a monster, with scales spreading up her arms and claws growing from her fingertips. Her fiancé August offers comfort, but their love falls apart when Annie discovers his plan to take over the company. Desperate, Annie makes a deal with Silas Price, a young captain rumored to be half-finfolk. He says he knows how to break the curse - but only if Annie promises to stop the practice of whaling forever. As Annie, August and Silas sail north, Annie wrestling with her family's legacy, the threat of the finfolk and August's ambitions increasingly force her to put her trust in Silas. Yet Silas has secrets of his own, and they might be the most dangerous of all.

The multimillion-copy bestselling phenomenon and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.'One of the greatest storytellers of our time' – Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads SingSoon to be a major motion picture, Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale has captured the hearts of millions of readers becoming a number one bestseller across the world. It is a heart-breakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the endurance of women.'I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I'd like to be known'This story is about what it was like to be a woman during World War II, when women's stories were all too often forgotten or overlooked . . . Vianne and Isabelle Mauriac are two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals and passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path towards survival, love and freedom in war-torn France.It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.'A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival' – Kate Morton, author of Homecoming'Movingly written and plotted with the heartless skill of a Greek tragedy, you'll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob' – Daily Mail'I loved The Nightingale . . . great characters, great plots, great emotions, who could ask for more in a novel?' – Isabel Allende, bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea'A gripping tale of family, love, grief and forgiveness' – Sunday ExpressThe Nightingale has sold more than 4 million copies globally, TIME, February 2021

Former investment banker Johan Golding - Joe to his friends - is the newest member of the Hartley and Edwards Investigations team . And he's thrilled to be shadowing Kitt Hartley , librarian-turned-top sleuth, and her right-hand woman Grace Edwards ; even if it means adjusting to the low-level madness that seems to reign in the Hartley and Edwards offices. But Joe finds himself thrown in at the deep end when a man known as Ralph Holmes goes missing on the outskirts of Carlisle. Police are refusing to investigate, as his disappearance seems voluntary, but his niece, Carly Lewis, is determined to find out what really happened. As Kitt, Grace and Joe begin to investigate, they deduce there might be more to this disappearance than meets the eye. Drawn into a web of international conspiracies and possible murder, they need to find out who Ralph Holmes really was - and who he was working for. In their most dangerous case yet, the team are in a race against the clock to uncover the truth, before anyone else gets hurt . . . HEAR WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE KITT HARTLEY MYSTERY SERIES 'All the Kitt Hartley series are amazing' 5* reader review 'Helen Cox is my queen of Miss Marple' 5* reader review 'I love Kitt' 5* reader review 'One of my favourite series' 5* reader review 'Make yourself a pot of tea and enjoy this escape from real life for a while' 5* reader review 'Brilliant!' 5* reader review

Mercury Carter is a deliveryman and he takes his job very seriously. When a parcel is under his care, he will stop at nothing to deliver it directly to its intended recipient. Not even, as in the current case, when he finds a crew of violent men at the indicated address that threaten his life and take the woman who lives there hostage. That's because Carter has special skills from his former life as a federal agent with the postal inspection service, skills that make him particularly useful for delivering items in circumstances as dangerous as these. After Carter dispatches the goons sent to kill him, he enters a home besieged by criminals-but the leader of the gang escapes with attorney Rachel Stanfield before the mailman can complete his assignment. With Rachel's husband Glenn in tow, Carter takes off in pursuit of the kidnapper and his quarry, hunting them across Indiana, up to Chicago, and into small-town Illinois. Along the way, he slowly picks off members of the crew and uncovers a far-reaching conspiracy and a powerful crime syndicate, all in service of his main objective: to hand the package over to Rachel. Carter has never missed a delivery and isn't about to start now. Introducing a new lone-wolf protagonist to rival Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Steve Hamilton's Nick Mason, and Gregg Hurwitz's Evan Smoak, The Mailman is a pulse-pounding series opener with captivating action and enough thrills to leave readers anxiously awaiting the next installment.

He keeps his emotions on a tight leash, but she can see the desire burning in his eyes... Timur Amurov has one purpose in life: protect his family at all costs. With lethal skills honed from a violent upbringing, Timur is a leopard shifter who sees any newcomers as possible threats-and the petite blond barista who his sister-in-law, Evangeline, has hired to work in her bakery is definitely hiding something. While Timur still needs to determine if Ashe is an enemy, he does know that she is the only woman whose presence has ever truly calmed the beast roaring inside of him. Ashe Bronte is well aware she has a type: sexy, gorgeous and dangerous as hell. Despite the fact that Timur is all those things and more, Ashe is in San Antonio for reasons that do not involve getting wild with a ruthless leopard-and she cannot afford to make any mistakes. But Timur has ignited something deep within her, and although she knows she should keep her distance, every move she makes has her craving for a taste . . . Praise for #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan and her Leopard novels 'Heart-stopping action. Crazy sexy-time scenes. Tender emotions.' Harlequin Junkie 'Hot-blooded . . . intense and thrilling . . . you don't want to miss it!' Joyfully Reviewed 'With a Feehan novel you know you will get well-developed characters and...a dose of sizzling sexuality...an unbeatable mix.' RT Book Reviews

'. . . seethes with love and brutality, violence and hope . . . a remarkable and timely story of the bonds between women' Sabaa Tahir 'An incredibly important and empowering read' Natasha Ngan _____________________________________________ THE RESISTANCE STARTS HERE. No one speaks of the grace year. It's forbidden. We're told we have the power to lure grown men from their beds, make boys lose their minds, and drive the wives mad with jealousy. That's why we're banished for our sixteenth year, to release our magic into the wild before we're allowed to return to civilisation. But I don't feel powerful. I don't feel magical. Tierney James lives in an isolated village where girls are banished at sixteen to the northern forest to brave the wilderness - and each other - for a year. They must rid themselves of their dangerous magic before returning purified and ready to marry - if they're lucky. It is forbidden to speak of the grace year, but even so every girl knows that the coming year will change them - if they survive it... A critically acclaimed page-turning feminist dystopia about a young woman trapped in an oppressive society, fighting to take control of her own life. 'Beautiful, devastating, and deeply moving' Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of Internment and Love, Hate & Other Filters 'A visceral, darkly haunting fever dream of a novel . . . I couldn't stop reading' Libba Bray, New York Times bestselling author of The Diviners and A Great and Terrible Beauty

The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club pick and BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick. For readers of Circe and The Handmaid's Tale, Kiran Millwood Hargrave's The Mercies is inspired by real historical events - a story about the strength and courage of women. 'Dark, dramatic and full of danger' - Daily Mail The storm comes in like a finger snap . . . 1617. The sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a vicious storm. A young woman, Maren, watches as the men of the island, out fishing, perish in an instant. Vardø is now a place of women . . . Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet has been summoned to bring the women of the island to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In her new home, and in Maren, Ursa encounters something she has never seen before: independent women. But where Ursa finds happiness, even love, Absalom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs . . . A story about how suspicion can twist its way through a community, about a love that could prove as dangerous as it is powerful. ' Gripping ' - Madeline Miller, author of Circe ' Took my breath away ' - Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring 'A beautifully intimate story of friendship, love and hope' - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain 'Something rare and beautiful' - Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel 'Chilling and page-turning' - The Times

Return to the immersive, lush, and dreamlike world of the instantly bestselling dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning as the aftermath of their first discovery pulls Effy and Preston on a final adventure and brings their haunting love story to its end in this stunning sequel and final book in the duology. All stories come to an end. Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll. But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university-and soon the entire nation-is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin's legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories? With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king-visions that start to follow him even in waking. As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his. Are dreams ever truly just dreams?

A beautiful collectible edition containing the fifth and sixth historical romance novels of the beloved Bridgerton series by New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn. To Sir Phillip, With Love In this charming epistolary romance, Sir Phillip knew that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he'd proposed, figuring that she'd be homely and unassuming, and more than a little desperate for an offer of marriage. Except . . . she wasn't. The beautiful woman on his doorstep was anything but quiet, and when she stopped talking long enough to close her mouth, all he wanted to do was kiss her . . . and more. When He Was Wicked In every life there is a turning point. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. But that was then...Now Michael is the earl and Francesca thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his painful unrequited love, until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms, and this friends to lovers romance proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets . . . A stunning collectible edition containing the 5th and 6th novels in #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn's beloved Bridgerton series. This edition features: · gorgeous sprayed edges · intricate foil iconography · ribbon bookmark · beautiful endpapers See these beloved stories come to life on screen in Bridgerton, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix.

'Packed with passion ... a love story full of charm, music and soul-mates ... a classic E L James combo of the sweet and erotic with the perfect ending for romantics. I think it's her best by far!' - Milly Johnson, The Sun _______________ T he thrilling new romance from E L James, author of the phenomenal #1 bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he's never had to work and he's rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family's noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It's a role he's not prepared for and one that he struggles to face. But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who's recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she's an alluring mystery, and Maxim's longing for her deepens into a passion that he's never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he's been hiding secrets of his own? From the heart of London through wild, rural Cornwall to the bleak, forbidding beauty of the Balkans, The Mister is a roller-coaster ride of danger and desire that leaves the reader breathless to the very last page.

France, 1918. The war has torn the world apart, but for two remarkable women, the battlefields of Picardy become the stage for something history never anticipated. Agnès de Saint-Aubin is a baroness with a surgeon's steady hands and nerves of steel. In a world where no woman has earned a place at the frontline, she claims one anyway - tending the wounded in a fragile makeshift hospital until German forces break through the doors. A dangerous secret shadows her every step, and only her American colleague can steady the storm rising around her. Countess Madeleine de Dragoncourt answers to no one's expectations. When occupying forces threaten to swallow her ancestral château whole, she launches a bold plan to reclaim it - part instinct, part audacity, entirely her own. In the process she finds herself entangled with a British officer who unsettles her resolve and awakens something far more perilous than war. Bound by an unlikely friendship and driven by a courage their world never asked of them, Agnès and Madeleine write their own rules in an age that hadn't yet imagined women like them. Long after the guns fall silent, what they built - in defiance, in love, in sacrifice - will pass to the next generation, when their daughters rise to face a darkness of their own. In Picardy's Fields is the standalone prequel to The Resistance Girl Series - an intergenerational saga of extraordinary women across two world wars, perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and Martha Hall Kelly.

Original, intelligent and beautifully written. . . alive with period detail.'DAILY MAIL'A gem of a book.'ELODIE HARPER, THE WOLF DEN TRILOGY'Such a joy.'JO BROWNING WROE, A TERRIBLE KINDNESS'Utterly transporting, piercingly honest and intimate.'INGRID PERSAUD, LOVE AFTER LOVEBlackpool, 1938. Miss Margaret Finch - a rather demure young woman - has just begun work in a position that relies on her discretion and powers of observation. Then, her path is crossed by the disgraced Rector of Stiffkey (aka Harold Davidson), who is the subject of a national scandal.Margaret is determined to discover the truth behind the headlines: is Davidson a maligned hero or an exploiter of the vulnerable? But her own troubles are never far away, and Margaret's fear that history is about to repeat itself means she needs to uncover that truth urgently.This deeply evocative novel ripples with the tension of a country not yet able to countenance the devastation of another war. Margaret walks us along the promenade, peeks into the baths and even dares a trip on the love boat in this, her first seaside summer season, on a path more dangerous than she could ever have imagined.Readers are loving The Misadventures of Margaret Finch:***** 'Fascinating. The novel perfectly captures Blackpool in its heyday. . . you will not be able to put this down'***** 'Absolutely loved this!'***** 'A wonderful blend of fact, fiction and history to make a fascinating story'***** 'Engaging and captivating, I'm going to miss Margaret et al enormously.

Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review  Publisher's Weekly   Buzzfeed   Entertainment Weekly   Time   Wall Street Journal   Bustle   Elle   The Economist   Slate   The Huffington Post  The St. Louis Dispatch   Electric Literature Featured in the New York Times selection of "15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century"  A beautiful, unsettling novel about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting metamorphosis of a soul   Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams invasive images of blood and brutality torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself.    Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.

She died for a crown. The grave gave her back. Now the world will regret it. Betrayed by the man she loved, sacrificed to an ancient curse, and buried beneath a kingdom built on lies, the Queen was supposed to be dead. Instead, she awakens beneath the earth, claimed by a forgotten god older than history itself. But death changed her. The woman who entered the grave is gone. What emerged is something far more dangerous. As kingdoms crumble, armies of the dead rise, and ancient gods awaken from their prisons, a war unlike any before begins. Haunted by betrayal, consumed by vengeance, and bound by a love that refuses to die, she must choose between destroying the kingdom that betrayed her or saving the world that abandoned her. Yet the deeper she ventures into the darkness, the more terrifying the truth becomes. The curse was never the enemy. The crown was never the prize. And death was never the end. Filled with forbidden love, devastating betrayals, ruthless revenge, immortal gods, cursed kings, dark magic, heart wrenching sacrifice, and breathtaking twists, Crown Me Dead is an unforgettable dark fantasy romance that will leave you breathless long after the final page. For readers who crave powerful heroines, morally gray kings, gothic kingdoms, enemies to lovers tension, and epic romantasy on a truly grand scale, this is the story you will not be able to put down. Some queens inherit crowns. Others return from the grave to claim them.