Fiction
Blood Spirits
Sherwood Smith
Before last summer, I was just a normal grad student from California, but then I went to Europe to track down my grandmother's family and my life changed forever.Mistaken for Ruli, a runaway princess who, it turned out, was actually my cousin, I was drugged, abducted, and taken to Dobrenica, a tiny and very unusual little kingdom in Eastern Europe.The handsome man who kidnapped me was Alec, Ruli's fiance, the man who was slated to rule Dobrenica. Like so many things in this odd little kingdom, their marriage would have a magical component―for when certain members of two royal lines married at a particular point in time, Dobrenica...vanished.The solution should have been simple, right? Find Ruli and bring her home. Except Ruli didn't want to come home. Alec and Ruli disliked each other, and to complicate matters further, Alec and I...well, I've always been a romantic at heart.In the end we all did the "right thing." Brokenhearted yet resolute, I returned to America, but I just couldn't seem to forget Alec or Dobrenica.But then I learned that though Ruli and Alec had married, Dobrenica was still in our world. Still in my world. The magic had failed, and no one knew why.So back I went, but my trip became even more dangerous than it was the first time. I expected personal conflict and politics, even sword fighting. I was also prepared for Dobrenica's ever-present specters. But I was not prepared for murder, mystery, or the chillingly real presence of the undead.
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Stone Girl
Alyssa Sheinmel
She feels like a creature out of a fairy tale; a girl who discovers that her bones are really made out of stone, that her skin is really as thin as glass, that her hair is brittle as straw, that her tears have dried up so that she cries only salt. Maybe that's why it doesn't hurt when she presses hard enough to begin bleeding: it doesn't hurt, because she's not real anymore.Sethie Weiss is hungry, a mean, angry kind of hunger that feels like a piece of glass in her belly. She’s managed to get down to 111 pounds and knows that with a little more hard work—a few more meals skipped, a few more snacks vomited away—she can force the number on the scale even lower. She will work on her body the same way she worked to get her perfect grades, to finish her college applications early, to get her first kiss from Shaw, the boy she loves, the boy who isn’t quite her boyfriend. Sethie will not allow herself one slip, not one bad day, not one break in concentration. Her body is there for her to work on when everything and everyone else—her best friend, her schoolwork, and Shaw—are gone. From critically acclaimed writer Alyssa B. Sheinmel comes an unflinching and unparalleled portrayal of one girl’s withdrawal, until she is sinking like a stone into her own illness, her own loneliness—her own self.
Book Details
Recommended Books
Heart of Stone
M. Welsh
After a wonderful summer of sailing, Verity Gallant just wants life to stay the same forever. But as she should know by now, not everything in life turns out as we would like. The land is shifting beneath the ancient harbour town of Wellow, causing mysterious caves to appear in cliff faces, terrifying rock falls, and dangerous landslides. And the earth isn't the only thing crumbling . . . Verity is thrilled that Jeb has returned, but their feelings for each other threaten her friendship with Henry and Martha.Verity and her friends are embroiled in a tale of evil, intrigue, and lost love, as a powerful force works its way towards Wellow, hell-bent on putting an end to all happiness. The Heart of Stone is the key, and the race is on to find it.
Book Details
Recommended Books
Watchman William: Ghost Detective
Diana Shaw, Mike Phillips
Young readers follow clues as they read about the adventures of William, the former night watchman of Hardleigh Manor who is also a ghost, and his young friend Thomas as they solve a variety of mysteries.
Book Details
Recommended Books
Steal That Base!
Eric Wight, Kurtis Scaletta
Chad’s got the summertime blues: his parents want him to be home by midnight (no extra innings) and eat healthier (no corn dogs). His friend, Abby, has bobblehead issues. And then there’s pinch hitter Sammy Solaris. But Sammy has problems of his own. He has a big swing but is too slow. If he can’t speed up his running and stealing, he’ll be off the team. There’s got to be something Chad can do to save the day . . . with a little help from Dylan, a baseball card, and that porcupine!
Book Details
Recommended Books
Don't You Wish
Roxanne St. Claire
When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father--and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school. In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire--if usually absent--father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie.So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?The choice isn't as simple as you think.
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Templeton Twins Have An Idea
Jeremy Holmes, Ellis Weiner
Suppose there were 12-year-old twins, a boy and girl named John and Abigail Templeton. Let's say John was pragmatic and played the drums, and Abigail was theoretical and solved cryptic crosswords. Now suppose their father was a brilliant, if sometimes confused, inventor. And suppose that another set of twins—adults—named Dean D. Dean and Dan D. Dean, kidnapped the Templeton twins and their ridiculous dog in order to get their father to turn over one of his genius (sort of) inventions. Yes, I said kidnapped. Wouldn't it be fun to read about that? Oh please. It would so. Luckily for you, this is just the first in a series perfect for boys and girls who are smart, clever, and funny (just like the twins), and enjoy reading adventurous stories (who doesn't?!).
Book Details
Recommended Books
City of Night
Michelle West
THe Hosue War is the story of the battle for control of the most powerful of the ruling Houses in the Essalieyan Empire -- House Terafin. But it is also the tale of Jewel Markess. Rescued from her precarious existence as an orphan in the slums of the capital city, Averalaan, by Rath -- a recluse whose family is powerful within House Terafin -- Jewel is gathering together children less fortunate than herself, creating her own den.But now times are truly desperate within Averalaan's hundred holdings. Street children are disappearing, theft and violence are increasing, and even Jewel's den is finding it hard to make ends meet.They've been living on their own for some time, but Rath is still their mentor and continues to sell items they find in the ancient undercity hidden beneath the streets of Averalaan. Then suddenly, Rath orders them to avoid the undercity. Yet Rath himself refuses to heed the warnings of Jewel's seer dreams. Instead, he allies with the mages of the Order of Knowledge in a secret war against demonic foes, knowing he'll be targeted for death -- or worse. In a last attempt to protect Jewel and her den-kin, he provides a note of introduction to the head of House Terafin -- Rath's sister, whom he'd sworn never to contact. For only withing the well-guarded Terafin manse will the den stand any chance of escaping the unnatural forces reaching out to claim them....
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Diviner
Melanie Rawn
Bestselling author Melanie Rawn's triumphant return to high fantasy.The only survivor of royal treachery that eliminates his entire family, Azzad al-Ma'aliq flees to the desert and dedicates himself to vengeance. With the help of the Shagara, a nomadic tribe of powerful magicians, he will finally be able to take his revenge - but at what cost?
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Warriors of Estavia: Book 3 The Shining City
Fiona Patton
"Expert world builder"* Fiona Patton concludes The Warriors of Estavia saga. *Midwest Book Review With the three children of prophecy-the seers Spar and Graize, and the warrior Brax-now grown, and the young God Hisar ready to stake his claim to a place in the pantheon of Anavatan, a time of chaos and change is fast approaching. For only if sworn enemies Spar and Graize can come together as Hisar's priests will the God stand any chance of surviving the coming battles with both the hungry spirits seeking to devour him, and the war with the mortal invasion fleet, which is even now sailing for Anavatan.
Book Details
Recommended Books