Showing results by publisher "Hot Key Books" in All Categories

Vira is desperate to get out of her mother's shadow and establish her legacy as a revered queen of Ashoka. But with the country's only quarry running out of magic - a precious resource that has kept Ashoka safe from conflict - she can barely protect her citizens from the looming threat of war. And if her enemies discover this, they'll stop at nothing to seize the last of the magic.

Greer has just recovered from her terrifying experience during the S.T.A.G.S. play. Was she really put on trial by the sinister Dark Order of the Grand Stag? Or was it purely her overheated imagination? The imprint of an M for murderer that has appeared on her thumb, though, is puzzling but incomplete evidence.... Meanwhile Ty is staying on at Longcross Manor and Greer, Nel and Shafeen are increasingly worried for her safety. When Ty sends a cryptic message directing them to Cumberland Place, the de Warlencourts' palatial home in London, they decide to risk a visit.

Only Rae knows the extent of the corruption at the heart of the kingdom of Menaiya, from the noble lord who betrayed her, to the Circle of Mages whose wards protect the slavers from discovery. Injured and imprisoned on a slave ship, Rae's options are quickly running out. When a desperate escape attempt goes terribly wrong, she finds herself indebted to a terrifying Fae sorceress. Now Rae will not rest until she has rescued her fellow prisoners and freed her land from the darkness that has taken hold.

They knew the end was coming. They saw it 10 years back, when it was far enough away in space and time and meaning. The changes were gradual, and then sudden. For Mae and her friends, it means navigating a life where action and consequence are no longer related. Where the popular are both trophies and targets. And where petty grudges turn deadlier with each passing day. So, did Abi Manton jump off the cliff or was she pushed? Her death is just the beginning of the end.

Aster. Violet. Tansy. Mallow. Clementine. Sold as children. Branded by cursed markings. Trapped in a life they never would have chosen. When Aster's sister, Clementine, accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice and revenge - in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by the land's most vicious and powerful forces, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one girl to another.

Deep in a forest in Northern Norway lies the Circus of Myth and Mayhem. Martha is certain that unsolved mysteries are hidden there - and talks her way into getting a job as a psychic. She soon learns there's something very strange about the circus. Costumed performers re-enact stories of the Norse gods wearing masks which move and change expression, yet no one notices but her. And then there's the creepy jester who invites her to 'play'.

Catlin and Madeline are extraordinary sisters, living extraordinary lives - in a place that seems entirely ordinary, but which in fact, seethes with secrets, both sacred and sinister. Ballyfran is a village where, for centuries, people who are not quite human have gathered. Catlin has already fallen foul of one such creature - a dark, vicious predator who almost killed her - and only Madeline giving up a part of her own soul was able to bring Catlin back from the brink of death.

Without magic to protect Ashoka's borders, time is running out. The whole country is at risk from enemy territory Lyria, suspected to be experimenting with dangerous magic. And nobody feels the threat more so than Maharani Vira, who is desperate to prove herself a worthy leader. But finding the Ivory Key, her one hope of discovering a new source of magic, has only led to more mysteries to unravel. So when her own Council turns on her, Vira once again needs her siblings' help. If together they found the key, maybe together they can restore Ashoka to its former glory.

Aderyn's ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother. With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.

Six girls, six boys: looking for glory and romance on Mars. They thought they were masters of their destiny. They are the 12 pioneers of the Genesis programme. They thought they were taking part in the most extraordinary of missions. In fact, they are the victims of the cruellest of plots. Leonor was looking for glory - and love - on Mars. She thought she would be able to open her heart there. But what she has done is open up a Pandora's box of her past....

Eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi always knew that coming out to his Muslim family would be messy, but he wasn't expecting it to end in an airport interrogation room. Now, he's telling his side of the story to the stern-faced officer. Amir has to explain why he ran away to Rome (boys, bullies, blackmail) and what he was doing there for a month (dates in the Sistine Chapel, friends who helped him accept who he is and, of course, drama) all while his mum, dad and little sister are being interrogated in the room next door.

Vinga dreams of the sea. She's going to be a sailor when she grows up, sailing to distant lands. At home, back in the city, Mum is sad and Dad has left for good. But here with Granddad on the island, all her problems feel far away. Summer goes on as usual, with porridge for breakfast, drinking rhubarb lemonade under the lilac tree and watching the sunset from 'her' cliff. But things are different now too. The heat vibrates during the day, and a girl with a black hat has started appearing. Her name is Ruth.

Senior Sunrise is the highlight of the summer - an epic overnight at the beach to kick off senior year. But for Natalia and Ethan it's the first time seeing each other after junior prom, when they almost crossed the line from best friends to something more and ruined everything. Now, after ghosting each other, Natalia is desperate to pretend she doesn't care and Ethan is desperate to fix his mistake. But when it's time for the senior class tradition of writing letters to themselves - what they wish they would do this year if they were braver - Natalia pours her heart out. So does Ethan.

Determined to crush the Order of the Stag once and for all, and in a desperate last throw of the dice, Greer walks willingly into the lion's den by accepting a sinister invitation to Castle McLeod, a Scottish stately home in the Isle of Skye. Greer will be aided and kept safe by Shafeen and Nel, and the enigmatic Abbot Ridley. Plus, of course, Henry de Warlencourt, who will accompany her and insists he has changed his colours. But as their darkly fraught romance evolves, can Greer trust him as she places her life in his hands?

Shafeen's father, Prince Aadhish, has had a heart attack and is close to death. Desperately worried, Shafeen and Greer race from Stags to Rajasthan. But Prince Aadhish is in a coma and unresponsive, and they begin to realise that the prince received a terrible shock, triggered by a decades-old guilty secret. But as Shafeen and Greer attempt to unlock the secret, they come to believe the answer lies with the de Warlencourt ancestor, Colonel Montgomery, founder of the T.I.G.E.R. shooting club.

Ivy has spent years looking for her birth mother, but when she finally finds her on Bardsey Island, she is shocked by what greets her. According to folklore, the cormorants that fly over the remote Welsh isle are the terrifying witches of Arthurian legend—and they are searching for Ivy. Her mum warned her not to come and to stay away from the lighthouse, but now it's too late. As the shadows draw closer, Ivy must look deep within herself if she wants to survive.

Set in the remote snows of contemporary Norway, The Twisted Tree is a ghost story that twists and turns - and never takes you quite where you'd expect. Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day she fell from the tree at her grandma's cabin and became blind in one eye. Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor - only to discover Mormor is dead....

Three months after Aderyn's coronation, the court is celebrating the Solstice, but Aderyn is preoccupied by Lucien's continuing hostility. The celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of nobles who have escaped from the neighbouring country of Celonia - the flightless have risen up and overthrown their rulers. The world is changing. As people being to question whether Aderyn and Aron are strong enough to rule, there is an attempted assassination on Aderyn's life. Siegfried and Tallis have made their move - they have formed an army, declared war and will take the throne.

Sixteen-year-old Mehreen Miah's anxiety and depression, or 'Chaos', as she calls it, has taken over her life, to the point where she can't bear it any more. So she joins MementoMori, a website that matches people with partners and allocates them a date and method of death, 'the pact'. Mehreen is paired with Cara Saunders and Olivia Castleton, two strangers dealing with their own serious issues.

Mafalda is a nine-year-old girl who knows one thing: some time in the next six months her sight will fail completely. Can Mafalda find a way through a seemingly dark future and still go to school, play football and look after her beloved cat? With the help of her family and her friends, Mafalda needs to discover the things that will be important to her when her sight has failed. A moving, empowering tale of courage and determination that will inspire young and old.