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“Bloody, unapologetic, and wild … I loved it!” —Naomi Krupitsky, New York Timesbestselling author of The Family “The Cursed Friend grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go … a magnetic coming-of-age story” —Laura Spence-Ash, bestselling author of Beyond That, the Sea For readers of Adriana Trigiani, Susan Meissner, and Elena Ferrante, an unbreakable, life-changing friendship will lead two young girls from different worlds to rebel against the injustice they face in 1930s Italy It is 1936, and in the small Italian city of Monza, on the pebbled bank of the Lambro, two frantic girls scramble to bury a body—the dead son of the city’s most prominent fascist. Soon, they will find their fierce friendship put to the ultimate test. A year earlier, Francesca Strada, the well-mannered daughter of a bourgeois family, dreams of a life beyond provincial conformity. From afar she spies on Maddalena, the town’s rebellious outcast—whom neighbors call “the Cursed One”—and whose indomitable spirit fascinates her. Then, one day, escaping the vigilant eye of her parents, Francesca finds herself caught in her first-ever lie while trying to protect Maddalena. Soon, the two are inseparable. Maddalena teaches Francesca to defy animals, to overcome her fear of blood, and to recognize her body as something alive and present. But as tensions escalate and an atmosphere of suspicion, corruption, and discontent settles over the town, the friends become increasingly aware that as girls, they’re not as free as they wish to be. Confronted by a vicious act of violence, Maddalena and Francesca must rely on each other to defend what they have forged together. Set against the backdrop of the Abyssinian War, The Cursed Friend is a timeless tale of female friendship, navigating loss and adolescence, and finding the courage to speak out against the silence of a harsh, uncompromising world. -
“Don’t miss it. This is a great one!” – Stephen King Soon to be an Amazon TV series I am the legion of the night … He appears in the darkness like a ghost, made of shadows and fear–the Midnight Man. He comes for the parents but leaves the children alive, tiny witnesses to unspeakable horror. The bedroom communities of Los Angeles are gripped with dread, and the attacks are escalating. Still reeling from her best friend’s close call in a bombing six months ago, FBI behavioral analyst Caitlin Hendrix has come to Los Angeles to assist in the Midnight Man investigation and do what she does best–hunt a serial killer. Her work is what keeps her going, but something about this UNSUB–unknown subject–doesn’t sit right. She soon realizes that this case will test not only her skills but also her dedication, for within the heart of a killer lives a secret that mirrors Caitlin’s own past. Hesitancy is not an option, but will she be able to do what must be done if the time comes? Tense and impactful, Edgar Award winner Meg Gardiner’s latest UNSUB thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat until its riveting conclusion. -
In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut, the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne. Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate. Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic. Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers. Even cheat her way into his cold heart. But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm. -
Possessed by the demon of Misery, Cameo isn’t allowed to experience joy. If she dares, her memory is wiped clean. With no other recourse, she sneaks into a land more fantastical than any fairytale, determined to find the one man with the key to her redemption. Lazarus the Cruel and Unusual rules his kingdom with unwavering focus: to build his army and annihilate his enemies. Nothing distracts him—until Cameo. He is relentless in his quest to make her smile…and seduce her into his bed. As dark forces conspire against them, threatening to destroy the fragile bond they’ve forged, the once-calm Lazarus grows crazed. Every heart-stopping kiss and wicked touch causes Cameo to teeter on the brink of happiness. But if she falls, she risks forgetting him forever… -
A searing Lords of the Underworld tale by New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter, featuring a beastly prince and the wife he will wage war to keep He is ice… Puck the Undefeated, host of the demon of Indifference, cannot experience emotion without punishment, so he allows himself to feel nothing. Until her. According to ancient prophecy, she is the key to avenging his past, saving his realm and ruling as king. All he must do? Steal her from the man she loves—and marry her. She is fire… Gillian Shaw has suffered many tragedies in her too-short life, but nothing could have prepared the fragile human for her transition into immortality. To survive, she must wed a horned monster who both intrigues and frightens her…and become the warrior queen she was born to be. Together they burn. As a rising sense of possession and obsession overtake Puck, so does insatiable lust. The more he learns about his clever, resourceful wife, the more he craves her. And the more time Gillian spends with her protective husband, the more she aches for him. But the prophecy also predicts an unhappily-ever-after. Can Puck defeat fate itself to keep the woman who brought his deadened heart back to life? Or will they succumb to destiny, losing each other…and everything they’ve been fighting for? -
Even with a step-by-step plan, these fake fiancés might accidentally fall for each other in this hilarious, heartfelt romantic comedy from the author of The Marriage Game. Daisy Patel is a software engineer who understands lists and logic better than bosses and boyfriends. With her life all planned out, and no interest in love, the one thing she can't give her family is the marriage they expect. Left with few options, she asks her childhood crush to be her decoy fiancé. Liam Murphy is a venture capitalist with something to prove. When he learns that his inheritance is contingent on being married, he realizes his best friend's little sister has the perfect solution to his problem. A marriage of convenience will get Daisy's matchmaking relatives off her back and fulfill the terms of his late grandfather's will. If only he hadn’t broken her tender teenage heart nine years ago… Sparks fly when Daisy and Liam go on a series of dates to legitimize their fake relationship. Too late, they realize that very little is convenient about their arrangement. History and chemistry aren't about to follow the rules of this engagement. -
A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s—and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good. Back in 2004, The Daydreams had it all: a cast of innocent-seeming teenagers acting and singing their hearts out, amazing ratings, and a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that steamed up fan fiction forums. Then, during the live season two finale, it all imploded, leaving everyone scrambling to understand why. Afterward, the four stars went down very different paths. Kat is now a lawyer in Washington, DC. Liana is the bored wife of a famous athlete. Noah, the show’s golden boy, emerged unscathed and is poised to become a household name. And Summer, the object of Noah’s fictional (and maybe real-life) affections, is the cautionary tale. But now the fans are demanding a reunion special. The stars all have private reasons to come back: forgiveness, revenge, a second chance with a first love. But as they tentatively rediscover the magic of the original show, old secrets threaten to resurface—including the real reason behind their downfall. Will this reunion be a chance to make things right? Or will it be the biggest mess the world has ever seen? No matter what, the ratings will be wild. -
Yume Kitasei’s The Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins with a lethal explosion that leaves the survivors questioning the loyalty of the crew. They left Earth to save humanity. They’ll have to save themselves first. It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect. Asuka already felt like an impostor before the explosion. She was the last picked for the mission, she struggled during training back on Earth, and she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left. With the crew turning on each other, Asuka is determined to find the culprit before they all lose faith in the mission―or worse, the bomber strikes again. -
In this tense, atmospheric novel where shadows flit across each page, Laura Creedle unfolds a story about legends,paranoia, and the horror that hides just below the surface. A must-read for fans of Rory Power and Cheryl Isaacs! When April Fischer was five, the voice from the well told her to fly. Ever since April survived the strange and brutal massacre at the Copperton mine twelve years ago, she has been in the spotlight. At first, as the subject of internet urban legend. Then, as a horror movie inspiration. And most frighteningly, as the darling of a cult that believes that on her seventeenth birthday she will come into universe-altering power. April has unanswered questions about what really went down at the mine—most of all, what happened to her father, the foreman on the drill site, who disappeared on that day. Until the week before her birthday, when she is given a collection of documents and the words He’s alive. As April uncovers more about her childhood at the mine, the cultists’ beliefs don’t feel as impossible as she once thought, and she begins to hope that she truly can bring her father back. But even though she never wants to go near the edge of the open-pit mine again, there are forces in Copperton who want to see her fail . . . or watch her fly. -
In Wisteria, the very act of innovation is forbidden. Any creation—art, music, engineering—conjures a demon from the other side. The greater the innovation, the more dangerous the demon. This has never stopped Aurelie from inventing—but it has made it more difficult. Her inventions are small by necessity, producing demons that she is capable of dispatching alone. But she knows she’s meant for something greater, and each day has her chafing more at the boundaries of her society. Destrier lost his parents to demons as a child, and has devoted his life to preventing more senseless murder at the hands of demons. He was young when he joined the hunters, and each year he’s grown stronger. But it’s never enough. When a mysterious figure offers Aurelie a job she can’t refuse—an impossible, magnificent invention—her decision to accept sets off a chain of events that will alter every aspect of their world… and sparks the connection that will change both Aurelie and Des irrevocably. With the fierce enemies-to-lovers romance of Heartless Hunter and the high-concept worldbuilding of Arcane, The Demonic Inventions of Aurelie Blake will thrill readers looking for their new cross-genre favorite. -
A family estate is to die for in a gripping novel of psychological suspense by the author of Into the Sound. Nothing brings the four Fox siblings together like their detestable father’s heart attack―and a hefty inheritance to be divided equally. At his deathbed is his oldest daughter, Valerie; her irresponsible sister, Lucy; and their two embattled brothers, Christian and Jeremy. Even the former housekeeper, Marian, who’s been with the family for forty years, is on watch. All Valerie hopes for is an amicable reunion, despite the damages of the past. By punishing means, Stefan Fox raised his children to be competitors. The cruel lessons now serve them well in a game of life and death. When it comes to the family fortune, the rules are simple: fewer siblings means a bigger share. After a suspicious accident, Valerie knows the worst is yet to come―and confiding in the wrong person could be the most dangerous thing she’s ever done. -
Clown in a Cornfield meets The Cabin in this twisty, blood-curdling delight from acclaimed author Kat Ellis about a group of rivals stranded in an abandoned house that seems to have its own plans for them. When Haden Romero and her rival, Deacon Rex—alongside their bands, including Haden’s ex, Cairo—are stranded on their way to a rock festival, she thinks missing the gig is the worst thing that could happen. She’s wrong. Marooned in treacherous swamplands with no way out, the group stumbles upon an eerie, decaying house. It seems like a safe haven, a place to wait out the storm. The house, however, isn’t just abandoned—it’s been waiting for them. Bodies begin to pile up. The walls start to close in. Twisted secrets come to light. And unless Haden and the others can survive long enough to escape, the house will claim them—forever. True horror in the most fun sense of the word, The Devouring Light will have readers on the edge of their seats, bracing themselves for jump scares, flinching with every plot twist, and—most importantly—reading with the lights on.
