Showing results by narrator "Shiromi Arserio" in All Categories

Once, a shadow dragon ravaged the Island-World. Insatiable. Unstoppable. A dragon-killer. Now the shadow dragon has reappeared, on a collision course with Aranya and King Beran's campaign to liberate the islands from the scourge of Sylakian tyranny. He is dark, beautiful and deadly, a predator of untold power.

Fossi Lovejoy knows she is too odd, too intelligent, too old, and too poor to ever marry. So she busies herself in her father's ministry and her mathematical equations, choosing to focus on what she has, not what she lacks. But then Lord Whitmoor publishes one of her private theorems, taunting her to respond. Fossi is compelled to action—when you have so little in life, you defend the few things that are yours with ferocious tenacity. Even if it means matching wits with the infamous Lord Whitmoor. Can two people past their youth find unexpected love?

In 1815, Timothy, Viscount Linwood—handsome, arrogant, privileged—never veers from the refined rules of his world. Cheerfulness and other unsavory emotions are for lesser persons. Anything that smacks of trade is to be shunned. Honor and pride above all else. Consequently, when he discovers his estates are bankrupt, he decides to woo and marry an heiress post-haste. After all, love is for lesser-mortals. But Fate intervenes and draws him to a vibrant woman who makes him want things he can never have. Can a pompous lord change enough to find redemption?

Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family's cruelty and the court's contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future. But powerful men have powerful enemies - and now so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman's, giving Alyrra the first choice she's ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she's never met.

Verene has survived first year. But discovering she possesses a new and dangerous ability has only complicated her tenuous position at the Kallorwegian Academy. Not yet ready to share her new powers with anyone, Verene finds herself with even fewer friends than before.

The wheels are coming off in America. Opioid addictions accelerate unstoppably. Environmental collapse can be read in every weather report. Vigilante bands take over streets at night, wearing clownface makeup. The very idea of government, of citizenship, is challenged daily. And something is happening to teenagers across the country, spreading through memes only they know.

Law student Saraswati “Sara” Bhaduri holds down two jobs in order to make her way through school, but it’s still a struggle. She’s had to do things to pay the bills that most people wouldn’t expect from “a nice Indian girl.” It seems like an ordinary busy Tuesday night at the local dive bar until her boss demands Sara deal with a drunk girl in the bathroom.

A French patisserie opens in the village of Ashton Mead in time for Christmas. Local residents are pleased, but Hannah, owner of the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, feels threatened by the competition. When the owner of the patisserie is killed, Hannah is suspected of murdering her business rival. Her friend, Emily, is determined to clear Hannah's name. She seems to be facing an impossible task… until her little dog Poppy makes a surprising discovery.

As the daughter of shopkeepers, Elena has always known that the mysteries of reading and writing are closed to her. Only the mageborn can risk harnessing the power unleashed from putting pen to paper. Until Elena discovers an impossible new ability and joins the elite ranks of the mages. But with the kingdom at war, the authorities can't agree if Elena is an asset, or a threat they need to eliminate. Thrust into the unknown world of the Royal Academy without friends or experience, Elena will need all of her wits, strength, and new power to carve a place for herself.

Prince Darius of Kallorway is the strongest mage in his family--and the only reason his weak father is still clinging to his throne. Starting at the Academy at the same time as Verene, the crown prince is cold and distant and shows no desire to connect with her. Instead he seems suspicious of both her presence and her claimed lack of power. Surrounded by unfamiliar politics and long-held enemies, Verene discovers that some at the Academy want her gone by whatever means necessary. As the threats grow ever more sinister, she starts to question all of her assumptions.

If there’s one thing Rosemarie, an aspiring enchantress with budding magical powers, has learned throughout her studies, it's that magic must only be used for good. But when an egocentric prince breaks her sister’s heart, Rosemarie’s only focus is revenge, and what better way to enact it than with a well-chosen curse? A simple incantation is all it takes to transform the arrogant prince's appearance to match the state of his heart. But something goes wrong, causing the spell to affect not only the prince but its caster as well.

Steam technology and spring-powered engines have evolved since the discovery of Blackrock Steel, which can store vast amounts of energy, but word of this incredible resource has spread far and wide. When a horde of barbarian warriors known as Vangars sweep across the Frigid Sea in massive airships fueled by precious but dwindling supplies of black tar-like oil, they are determined to learn the secrets of Blackrock Steel at any cost. They assault the capital city, slaying King Ryshan and the entire royal family, and then ravage the countryside.

The bustling city-state of Marchen borders the seats of the Three Queens, represented by the spindle, the slipper and the apple. But it’s been a hundred years since the rule of the Three Queens. The time of the godmothers has passed. If you want access to magic you either have to be one of the few who are born with it and live in hiding. Or extremely wealthy. Samara Dawa is a former assassin, stolen from her family and sold to the assassin’s guild when she was a child. When the opportunity to destroy the man who sold her comes up, she doesn’t hesitate.

June, 1942 - Libya. Free French Officer Susan Travers was one of the few women on the front lines in Africa during World War Two. After the Germans surrounded the military camp of Bir Hakeim, a shocking order was issued. The French troops were going to break out in the middle of the night - crossing through dangerous minefields and enemy territory - to reach their British allies. And Officer Travers would be leading the charge.

When most girls get engaged, at most they face a disapproving mother-in-law, but in Tessa Sharpe's case, it's a nation. No one in the tiny kingdom of Avonia wants the former anti-royal blogger to wed Prince Arthur. The anti-royals haven't forgiven her for abandoning ship and swimming over to the Prince's yacht, and the royal watchers won't ever forget all the horrible things she wrote about their beloved Royal Family. Up against all odds, Tessa has only six months to prove herself worthy of the title of Princess. Her nasty father-in-law is going to throw every obstacle in her way.

A fun-and-friendship-filled follow-up to Maven Takes the Lead in the must-listen middle grade series from Girl Scouts of the USA, starring a group of fifth graders who love making the world a better place. This novel written by New York Times bestselling author Sayantani DasGupta is perfect for fans of The Baby-Sitters Club and American Girl's Girl of the Year series.

Adya wants nothing more than to be left alone. Content to be loyal to no one but herself in the isolated jungles of South India, she dreams only of finding her lost sister, Priya, and making enough money to take care of their family. It’s too bad that her rare ability to wake electric machines—using the magic that wiped them out five centuries ago—also makes her a coveted political pawn. Everyone seems to believe that her technomancy can help them win the endless war for control over the magic’s supernatural source.

Are you worried about the effects of climate change on our environment? Want to help but don't know where to start? Environmental activist Natalie Fee's new handbook to green living will help you to make small lifestyle changes that will make a big difference to our planet.

In his Locus review of Two Worlds and in Between - the first volume of The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan - Gary K. Wolfe wrote, “...it makes you wish the second volume were here now.” Well, the long wait is over. This second volume completes this ambitious undertaking, collecting the finest of Kiernan’s stories from 2004 to 2012, selected by the author herself. The book includes 25 short stories and one poem, plus the short novel Black Helicopters - more than 200,000 words of fiction, including the World Fantasy Award-winning “The Prayer of 90 Cats”.

Who was the real George Eliot? In Love with George Eliot is a glorious debut novel which tells the compelling story of England’s greatest woman novelist as you’ve never heard it before.