Showing results by publisher "Blackstone Publishing" in Literature & Fiction

Sam is dreading senior ski weekend and having to watch after her brother and his best friend, Gavin, to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. Again. Gavin may be gorgeous, but he and Sam have never gotten along. Now they’re crammed into an SUV with three other classmates and Gavin’s dog, heading on a road trip that can’t go by fast enough.

Ethel Klyczek’s development stalled in middle school, making her self-conscious and insecure. Aiming for prom perfection, Ethel plans to go from As to Cs, and she doesn’t mean her grades. Ethel’s parents are dead-set against her self-improvement plan. Without their sanction, Ethel will have to do a lot more than sling fried chicken if she’s to get a new set of twins in time for prom....

Rose Berman is losing her mind. At least, that’s what everyone at school seems to think. Plagued by panic attacks that started after her mother’s death, Rose is the target of frequent teasing and rumors. But when the star quarterback takes it too far, the school’s tattooed, cigarette-smoking time bomb―Elliott King―steps in and punches him in the face. Rose’s therapist recommends she try out a sport to manage her anxiety. She can’t help but think of Elliott―maybe if she could punch like him, she’d feel safer and stronger.

Tyler has always been known as Nelson High’s goofy clown, the guy with the big mouth. But there’s something people don’t know: he’s tired of being in the shadows of his Raiders’ buddies, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to get the most popular girl in school to notice him: Roxanne Carmichael. Sammy is just one of the guys, known for her mad boarding skills and her razor-sharp wit. But she has a secret, too—a crush on her best friend. It’s a relationship she’s not willing to risk damaging by getting all romantic about it.

Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies…breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it.

It was complicated enough when their parents were only dating and Kevin was going out with Charlie’s best friend, Tess. Now, living under one roof, Charlie and Kevin are crossing paths and crossing lines, sneaking around at night and then sitting down to breakfast together as a family. It feels so crazy—exciting, confusing, impossible, and romantic. It can’t last, not like this, but if anybody discovers their secret, everything could explode …

It is the first century BC. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh’s six children, is the one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolemy is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history’s most famous leaders to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sisters plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom she can rely—herself.

Lira of Stone watched her home burn and her clan fall beneath the sword of the warlord known as the Dragon. She believes the man she loves, a warrior who defected from the Dragon's army, is dead. Alongside her exiled brother and his band of refugees, she will fight the forces that conquered her island. But the greatest danger may come from Lira herself—with the blood of banished gods running through her veins, she's become a weapon, and no one is safe from the power of her wrath.

Raliel is desperate to see the Empire Between Five Mountains, and she feels a deep kinship with Moon, who longs to break free of its bonds. When the time finally arrives for Raliel’s coming-of-age journey, she discovers a dangerous way to take Moon with her, even as she hides this truth from her travel companion, the beautiful, demon-kissed bodyguard Osian Redpop. But Osian is hiding secrets of his own, and when a plot surfaces that threatens the Empire, Raliel will have to decide who she can trust and what she’ll sacrifice for the power to protect all that she loves.

Mack is hot, popular, and used to getting exactly what he wants … until he sets his sights on the new exchange student from New Zealand. He’s never been one for love at first sight, but this chick has him feeling things he never knew existed within him, and in spite of her feisty rejections, he’s determined to get to know her.

After Lyra - a princess incapable of speech or sound - is cast out of her kingdom of daylight by her wicked aunt, a witch saves her life, steals her memories, and raises her in an enchanted forest...disguised as a boy known only as Stain. Meanwhile, in a rival kingdom, the prince of thorns and night is dying, and the only way for him to break his curse is to wed the princess of daylight - for she is his true equal. As Lyra finds her way back to her identity, an impostor princess prepares to steal her betrothed prince and her crown.

Cast into the underworld after an act of shattering betrayal, Mayana and Ahkin must overcome unimaginable odds if they are to return home and reclaim the throne of the Chicome. A river of blood and demons disguised as children are only two of the challenges standing in their way. Fortunately, they are not unequipped. Mayana’s royal blood controls the power of water, and Prince Ahkin wields the power of the sun itself. Ometeotl, the Mother goddess, provides them with other gifts - and an ominous warning that one of them may not survive. But can the goddess be trusted?

Heir apparent, young Prince Ahkin feels unprepared for leadership after his father's death. His royal blood controls the power of the sun, and he’s now responsible for the lives of all the Chicome people. Despite all Ahkin’s efforts, the sun is fading - and the end of the world may be near. For Mayana, the only daughter of the Chicome family whose blood controls the power of water, the old emperor’s death may mean that she's next. Ahkin must marry before ascending the throne, and Mayana is one of six noble daughters presented to him. Those who are not chosen will be sacrificed.

In the first book of a lush fantasy trilogy about warring countries, family secrets, and star-crossed lovers, 18-year-old Branwen finds an enemy washed up on the shore of her kingdom. Rather than let him die at the hands of her people, she nurses him back to health as they begin to fall in love. Branwen helps him escape with his life - only for him to return during a diplomatic visit under his true identity: Prince Tristan of Kernyv.

Spring 1662. In the wake of Fouquet’s defeat, Henriette of England is keeping her promise to the Sun King and helping him build the enchanted Palace of Versailles he’s always dreamed of. But when her poor health worsens, her magic wanes, and her husband, Philippe, fears for her well-being to such an extent that he forbids her to remain Louis’ Source.

For 50 years, the Key Corporation has defended humanity against a deadly virus that spreads through touch. Lovers don't kiss, or even hold hands. Personal boundaries are valued above all. Break the laws, and you'll face execution. Elodie, a talented young nurse, believes in the mission of the Key and has never questioned the laws that control her life. But Elodie is forced to break the rules when she sets out in search of a terminal patient who goes missing while under her care.

Seventeen-year-old Lake spends her days searching a strange, post-apocalyptic landscape for people who have forgotten one very important thing: This isn’t reality. Everyone she meets is a passenger aboard a ship that’s been orbiting Earth since a nuclear event. The simulation that was supposed to prepare them all for life after the apocalypse has trapped their minds in a shared virtual reality and their bodies in stasis chambers.

It’s 1661 in Paris, and magicians thrill nobles with enchanting illusions. Exiled in France, 17-year-old Henriette of England wishes she could use her magic to gain entry at court. Instead, her plan is to hide her magical talents, and accept an arranged marriage to the French king’s younger brother. Henriette soon realizes her fiancé prefers the company of young men to hers, but court magicians turn up killed by a mysterious sorcerer who uses forbidden magic and an accident forces Henriette to reveal her uniquely powerful gift for enchantments to Louis, he asks for her help.

Despite her world of privilege, Hélène is inspired early on by the radical ideas of her progressive governess. Though her family tries to intervene, the seeds of revolution have already been planted in Hélène’s heart, as are the seeds of love from an unlikely friendship with a young jeweler’s apprentice. Hélène’s determination to find true love is as revolutionary as her attempt to unravel the truth behind the concealed murder that tore her family apart.

Committed to both peace and human rights for chimeras—people who alter themselves with animal DNA—seventeen-year-old Jimi Corcoran is torn when she’s invited to a gathering of moderate pro- and anti-chimera rights activists seeking to find common ground. But when a militant chimera rights group prevents her from attending—and saves her from being killed by the bomb they’ve planted—Jimi herself falls under suspicion for the blast.