Ivy Malone is a woman with a wry sense of humor, a powerful faith, and a "mutant curiosity gene" (as a police friend puts it), which sometimes get her into trouble. She has also discovered that in this fast-moving, youth-oriented world she seems to have drifted into invisibility. People just...  more

Ivy Malone is a woman with a wry sense of humor, a powerful faith, and a "mutant curiosity gene" (as a police friend puts it), which sometimes get her into trouble. She has also discovered that in this fast-moving, youth-oriented world she seems to have drifted into invisibility. People just don't seem to see her any more. She's at first startled and dismayed by this, but she's not one to look on the dark side of things. She decides to put this new found "invisibility" to good use and sets out to catch the culprits vandalizing a nearby rural cemetery. Only to find herself entangled with more than vandals, that she's smack in the midst of the murder of a young neighbor woman. And it's going to take all the nerve and ingenuity she can muster, as well as invisibility, to bring the guilty to justice and save her own neck.

"A comic gem" (Alexander McCall Smith) about a housewife who kisses her chintz and her cheating husband goodbye  Constance Harding lives in a picture perfect house. She is, however, absolutely clueless about the real world, e.g., *why her twenty-five-year-old son still...  more

"A comic gem" (Alexander McCall Smith) about a housewife who kisses her chintz and her cheating husband goodbye  Constance Harding lives in a picture perfect house. She is, however, absolutely clueless about the real world, e.g., *why her twenty-five-year-old son still hasn't found a nice girl, *why her Lithuanian housekeeper's thongs keep turning up in her husband's study, and *why her teenage daughter is dressed in head-to-toe spandex . . .   When disaster strikes, she flees her comfortable nest. Constance is about to discover a wider world she thought it was too late to find. And she's putting it all in her blog-thingy.

When a Cambridge university student dramatically attempts to take her own life, DI Mark Joesbury realizes that the university has developed an unhealthy record of young people committing suicide in extraordinary ways. Despite huge personal misgivings, Joesbury sends young policewoman DC Lacey...  more

When a Cambridge university student dramatically attempts to take her own life, DI Mark Joesbury realizes that the university has developed an unhealthy record of young people committing suicide in extraordinary ways. Despite huge personal misgivings, Joesbury sends young policewoman DC Lacey Flint to Cambridge with a brief to work undercover, posing as a vulnerable, depression-prone student. Psychiatrist Evi Oliver is the only person in Cambridge who knows who Lacey really is -- or so they both hope. But as the two women dig deeper into the darker side of university life, they discover a terrifying trend... And when Lacey starts experiencing the same disturbing nightmares reported by the dead girls, she knows that she is next.

The idea of creating an artificial human is an old one. One of the earliest science-fictional novels, Frankenstein, concerned itself primarily with the hubris of creation, and one's relationship to one's creator. Later versions of this 'artificial human' story (and indeed later...  more

The idea of creating an artificial human is an old one. One of the earliest science-fictional novels, Frankenstein, concerned itself primarily with the hubris of creation, and one's relationship to one's creator. Later versions of this 'artificial human' story (and indeed later adaptations of Frankenstein) changed the focus to more modernist questions: What is the nature of humanity? What does it mean to be human?  These stories continued through the golden age of science fiction with Isaac Asimov's I Robot story cycle, and then through post-modern iterations from new wave writers like Philip K. Dick.  Today, this compelling science fiction trope persists in mass media narratives like Westworld and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, as well as twenty-first century science fiction novels like Charles Stross's Saturn's Children and Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl. The short stories in More Human than Human demonstrate the depth and breadth of artificial humanity in contemporary science fiction. Issues of passing... of what it is to be human... of autonomy and slavery and oppression, and yes, the hubris of creation; these ideas have fascinated us for at least two hundred years, and this selection of stories demonstrates why it is such an alluring and recurring conceit. Contents: Dolly (2011) / short story by Elizabeth Bear A Good Home (2016) / short story by Karin Lowachee The Djinn's Wife [India 2047] (2006) / novelette by Ian McDonald And the Ends of the Earth for Thy Possession (2015) / novelette by Robert B. Finegold Patterns of a Murmuration, in Billions of Data Points (2016) / short story by JY Yang The Birds and the Bees and the Gasoline Trees (2010) / novella by John Barnes Fixing Hanover (2008) / novelette by Jeff VanderMeer Grand Jeté (The Great Leap) (2014) / novella by Rachel Swirsky Brisk Money [Ray Electromatic Mysteries] (2014) / novelette by Adam Christopher Act of Faith (2010) / short story by Fadzlishah Johanabas The Caretaker (2011) / short story by Ken Liu Seven Sexy Cowboy Robots (2010) / short story by Sandra McDonald We, Robots (2007) / novella by Sue Lange The Education of Junior Number 12 [Machine Dynasties] (2011) / novelette by Madeline Ashby A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight (2012) / short story by Xia Jia (trans. of 百鬼å¤Âœè¡ÂŒè¡Â— 2010) The Man [Jackaroo] (2012) / short fiction by Paul J. McAuley The Robot's Girl (2010) / novelette by Brenda Cooper .identity (2016) / short story by E. Catherine Tobler American Cheetah (2008) / novelette by Robert Reed Artifice (2014) / short story by Naomi Kritzer Small Medicine (2014) / short story by Genevieve Valentine Silently and Very Fast (2011) / novella by Catherynne M. Valente I, Robot (2005) / novelette by Cory Doctorow Bit Rot [Saturn's Children] (2010) / novelette by Charles Stross Angels of Ashes (1999) / novelette by Alastair Reynolds The Old Dispensation (2017) / short story by Lavie Tidhar Today I Am Paul (2015) / short story by Martin L. Shoemaker

From the New York Times bestselling author Catherynne Valente comes a ferocious riff on the women in superhero comics. The Refrigerator Monologues is a collection of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who?s ever been...  more

From the New York Times bestselling author Catherynne Valente comes a ferocious riff on the women in superhero comics. The Refrigerator Monologues is a collection of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who?s ever been ?refrigerated?: comic book women who are killed, raped, brainwashed, driven mad, disabled, or had their powers taken so that a male superhero?s storyline will progress. In an entirely new and original superhero universe, Valente subversively explores these ideas and themes in the superhero genre, treating them with the same love, gravity, and humor as her fairy tales. After all, superheroes are our new fairy tales and these six women have their own stories to share.

Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls in this adorable witchy rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguiree, with a bisexual cinnamon roll hero, a commitment-averse heroine, and a chemistry between them that causes literal sparks. Danica Waterhouse is a fully modern witch--daughter,...  more

Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls in this adorable witchy rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguiree, with a bisexual cinnamon roll hero, a commitment-averse heroine, and a chemistry between them that causes literal sparks. Danica Waterhouse is a fully modern witch--daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and co-owner of the Fix-It Witches, a magical tech repair shop. After a messy breakup that included way too much family "feedback," Danica made a pact with her cousin: they'll keep their hearts protected and have fun, without involving any of the overly opinionated Waterhouse matriarchs. Danica is more than a little exhausted navigating a long-standing family feud where Gram thinks the only good mundane is a dead one and Danica's mother weaves floral crowns for anyone who crosses her path. Three blocks down from the Fix-It Witches, Titus Winnaker, owner of Sugar Daddy's bakery, has family trouble of his own. After a tragic loss, all he's got left is his sister, the bakery, and a lifetime of terrible luck in love. Sure, business is sweet, but he can't seem to shake the romantic curse that's left him past thirty and still a virgin. He's decided he's doomed to be forever alone. Until he meets Danica Waterhouse. The sparks are instant, their attraction irresistible. For him, she's the one. To her, he's a firebomb thrown in the middle of a family war. Can a modern witch find love with an old-fashioned mundane who refuses to settle for anything less than forever?

Caroline Jacobs has lost herself. She's a wife, mother (to a tattooed teenage daughter she avoids), Sears Portrait Studio photographer, and wimp. Asserting herself, taking the reins, or facing life head-on are not in her repertoire. So when Caroline suddenly cracks and screams "Fuck you!" at the...  more

Caroline Jacobs has lost herself. She's a wife, mother (to a tattooed teenage daughter she avoids), Sears Portrait Studio photographer, and wimp. Asserting herself, taking the reins, or facing life head-on are not in her repertoire. So when Caroline suddenly cracks and screams "Fuck you!" at the PTA president, she is shocked. So is her husband. So is the PTA president. So is everyone, But Caroline soon realizes the true cause of her outburst can be traced back to something that happened to her as a teenager, a scarring betrayal by her best friend Emily. This act changed Caroline's life forever. So, with a little bit of bravery flowing through her veins, Caroline decides to go back to her home town and confront Emily. She busts her daughter Polly out of school, and the two set off to deliver the perfect comeback, which is twenty-five years in the making. But nothing goes as planned. Long buried secrets begin to rise to the surface, and Caroline will have to face much more than one old, bad best friend. A heartwarming story told with Matthew Dicks' signature wit, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is a deceptively simple novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives, and the bravery of one woman trying to change her life and finds true understanding of her daughter, and herself, along the way.

What happens in the library stays in the library. But oh, what happens in the library! Dewey has a book club, and you do not talk about Book Club. Colleen has a blog, but she doesn't know everyone can read it. Someone gave vegan Tamara a membership to the ham-of-the-month-club. And Merv reserved...  more

What happens in the library stays in the library. But oh, what happens in the library! Dewey has a book club, and you do not talk about Book Club. Colleen has a blog, but she doesn't know everyone can read it. Someone gave vegan Tamara a membership to the ham-of-the-month-club. And Merv reserved every copy of the new Harry Potter for purposes nefarious. This fourth Unshelved collection also features dozens of full-page full-color comic-format book talks, plus a very special storytime zombie nursery rhyme.

Buffalo Winged is women's fiction served medium hot and extra crispy. But there's something for guys too: There's football! There's violence! There's crazy weather! Will love triumph over a nasty wind chill factor? After a nightmare wedding reception and a honeymoon trip with friends...  more

Buffalo Winged is women's fiction served medium hot and extra crispy. But there's something for guys too: There's football! There's violence! There's crazy weather! Will love triumph over a nasty wind chill factor? After a nightmare wedding reception and a honeymoon trip with friends instead of a husband, Nikki Holloway would rather have a root canal than a date. Jack Buchanan's bold attempts to win her over are hampered by a secret that could destroy his hope for a relationship. Is it too late for him to earn her trust? Buffalo Winged is a multi-generational story set in Buffalo, New York, a quirky city known for the pluckiness of its residents, the character of its neighborhoods and the idiosyncrasies of its weather. Whether cheering the Sabres, battling a blizzard or stuck in traffic near the big blue water tower, Nikki Holloway and her friends reflect the down-to-earth qualities Buffalo's natives take for granted. The themes of love and loss, betrayal and forgiveness are echoed in their parents' generation as former friends wonder if some fences are better left un-mended. Whether standing up to a co-worker while wielding office supplies as a weapon, or fending off the attentions of an unwanted suitor using only her wits, Nikki tries to piece her life together while regaining her emotional balance. Only time will tell if Jack can melt her frozen heart. The story opens on one of the hottest days of the summer, and ends on one of winter's coldest. The reader can enjoy a story set legitimately in Western New York (unlike faux TV shows in which everyone has the wrong accent and no one even owns an ice scraper.) The Bills matter, the Sabres matter, who has the best chicken wings matters, what your family thinks matters, and, (unless you're a glutton for frostbite), the weather matters. It's a story about friendships that last, families that care, and loves that are lost, found and rekindled. By the end if you aren't from Western New York, you'll wish you were. And if you are from Western New York, you'll understand.

From the author of The Someday Jar comes a witty and warm novel about a matchmaker who?s an expert at matters of the heart?except when it comes to her own... � Matchmaker Bree Caxton has a 98% success rate, a book about to hit the stands, and an amazing boyfriend. Until,...  more

From the author of The Someday Jar comes a witty and warm novel about a matchmaker who?s an expert at matters of the heart?except when it comes to her own... � Matchmaker Bree Caxton has a 98% success rate, a book about to hit the stands, and an amazing boyfriend. Until, that is, he gets cold feet about their future and runs from their relationship. � Afraid no one will buy a book on love from a woman whose love life is a mess, Bree begs her one matchmaking failure, Nixon Voss, to pose as her boyfriend. But when they become a hit with readers, they must carry on their charade just a little longer. Fortunately, they?re both having fun... � But then Bree?s ex decides he wants her back and a newspaper presents a challenge that could expose the truth about her rocky love life. Now she must find the courage to embrace what is, or risk losing something much bigger than her reputation: her heart...

In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine, one of America’s most famous technology companies. In between her...  more

In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine, one of America’s most famous technology companies. In between her executive management (make offers to promising startups, crush them and copy their features if they refuse); self promotion (check out her latest op-ed in the WSJ, on Work/Life Balance 2.0); and work in gender equality (transfer the most annoying females from her team), she funnels intelligence back to the motherland. But now Russia's asking for more, and Julia’s getting nervous. Alice Lu is a first generation Chinese American whose parents are delighted she’s working at Tangerine (such a successful company!). Too bad she’s slogging away in the lower echelons, recently dumped, and now sharing her expensive two-bedroom apartment with her cousin Cheri, a perennial “founder’s girlfriend”. One afternoon, while performing a server check, Alice discovers some unusual activity, and now she’s burdened with two powerful but distressing suspicions: Tangerine’s privacy settings aren’t as rigorous as the company claims they are, and the person abusing this loophole might be Julia Lerner herself.  The closer Alice gets to Julia, the more Julia questions her own loyalties. Russia may have placed her in the Valley, but she's the one who built her career; isn’t she entitled to protect the lifestyle she’s earned? 

Lucy used to handle her adult romantic life according to the script she’d been handed. She met a guy just like herself: same age, same background, same hopes and dreams; they got married and started a family. Too bad he made her miserable. Now, two decades later, she’s a nearly...  more

Lucy used to handle her adult romantic life according to the script she’d been handed. She met a guy just like herself: same age, same background, same hopes and dreams; they got married and started a family. Too bad he made her miserable. Now, two decades later, she’s a nearly divorced, forty-one-year-old schoolteacher with two school-aged sons, and there is no script anymore. So when she meets Joseph, she isn’t exactly looking for love—she’s more in the market for a babysitter. Joseph is twenty-two, living at home with his mother, and working several jobs, including the butcher counter where he and Lucy meet. It’s not a match anyone one could have predicted. He’s of a different class, a different culture, and a different generation. But sometimes it turns out that the person who can make you happiest is the one you least expect, though it can take some maneuvering to see it through. Just Like You is a brilliantly observed, tender, but also brutally funny novel that gets to the heart of what it means to fall surprisingly and headlong in love with the best possible person—someone you didn’t see coming.

Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. He and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends -- four years...  more

Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. He and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends -- four years -- because Max needs him more. His parents argue about sending him to a special school. But Max is perfectly happy if everything is just kept the way it is, and nothing out of the ordinary happens. Unfortunately, something out of the ordinary is going to happen -- and then he'll need Budo more than ever...

Retired bank manager George Pearmain is, apparently, dead. According to the behavior of everyone around him, it would seem that he is no more. Not only that, but his mother has also passed away too - and on the eve of her 99th year, poor dear. Not only that, it could be that they were both...  more

Retired bank manager George Pearmain is, apparently, dead. According to the behavior of everyone around him, it would seem that he is no more. Not only that, but his mother has also passed away too - and on the eve of her 99th year, poor dear. Not only that, it could be that they were both murdered. He feels fine otherwise. As George's family gather for the birthday-celebration-that-never-was, he hovers around the house, watching and listening, entirely unseen. As a result, he makes all sorts of discoveries about himself, his wife Esmeralda, and his supposedly happy family . . . One of internationally bestselling author Nigel Williams' best books to date, Waking Up Dead is both a screamingly funny cozy mystery and startlingly strange ghost story asking the question: What would you do if you could bear witness to your own demise?

Every Dress has a history, and so does Phoebe... Phoebe Swift always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood skirts hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned prom dresses adorning the walls. At the launch of Village Vintage,...  more

Every Dress has a history, and so does Phoebe... Phoebe Swift always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood skirts hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned prom dresses adorning the walls. At the launch of Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from the past is casting a shadow over her new venture. Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with... As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe becomes aware of a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again.

A father's love. A shattering secret. A summer that will change lives forever. In the town of Rocket, Washington, a summer playground for windsurfers and tourists, a windless summer ignites fear as businesses and residents move away. Rocket's motel, run by a lonely widower named Tom Jemmet,...  more

A father's love. A shattering secret. A summer that will change lives forever. In the town of Rocket, Washington, a summer playground for windsurfers and tourists, a windless summer ignites fear as businesses and residents move away. Rocket's motel, run by a lonely widower named Tom Jemmet, is hard hit. And Tom has demons of his own: memories of a beautiful wife that still haunt him, and a troubled young daughter whose retreat into a silent world confounds her father and sparks whispers in town. Swirling around Tom are lives much like his own, townspeople yearning for wind but also for hope, even love. Charlene, a mail clerk, helps care for Tom's daughter while a secret gnaws at her heart. Lauren, the town vet, has fallen for Tom, who barely notices, and newspaper editor Hap is hatching a foolish plan to save his town. That's when a miracle, or something like it, strikes Tom's run-down motel. Guests who stay in Room 6 begin experiencing sudden acts of fate, both terrible and great. But while tourists descend on Rocket and the the town shows new signs of life, the truth about Tom's motel and the death of his wife - as well as the secret hopes and fears of everyone around him, are exposed in ways that are both surprising and inevitable.

With wry wit and boundless heart, Eva Woods delivers an unforgettable tale of celebrating triumphs great and small, seizing the day, and always remembering to live in the moment. “It's simple, really. You're just meant to do one thing every day that makes you happy. Could be...  more

With wry wit and boundless heart, Eva Woods delivers an unforgettable tale of celebrating triumphs great and small, seizing the day, and always remembering to live in the moment. “It's simple, really. You're just meant to do one thing every day that makes you happy. Could be little things. Could be big. In fact, we're doing one right now…” Annie Hebden is stuck. Stuck in her boring job, with her irritating roommate, in a life no thirty-five-year-old would want. But deep down, Annie is still mourning the terrible loss that tore a hole through the perfect existence she'd once taken for granted -- and hiding away is safer than remembering what used to be. Until she meets the eccentric Polly Leonard. Bright, bubbly, intrusive Polly is everything Annie doesn't want in a friend. But Polly is determined to finally wake Annie up to life. Because if recent events have taught Polly anything, it's that your time is too short to waste a single day -- which is why she wants Annie to join her on a mission… One hundred days. One hundred new ways to be happy. Annie's convinced it's impossible, but so is saying no to Polly. And on an unforgettable journey that will force her to open herself to new experiences -- and perhaps even new love with the unlikeliest of men -- Annie will slowly begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, there's still joy to be found in the world. But then it becomes clear that Polly's about to need her new friend more than ever…and Annie will have to decide once and for all whether letting others in is a risk worth taking.

A dream job it's not. But for Emily Prentice, working as a seafood inspector in Ketchikan, Alaska, takes her one step closer to becoming a marine biologist. And it'll give her a first taste of independence from her overprotective mom and the doctor boyfriend she's pushing into...  more

A dream job it's not. But for Emily Prentice, working as a seafood inspector in Ketchikan, Alaska, takes her one step closer to becoming a marine biologist. And it'll give her a first taste of independence from her overprotective mom and the doctor boyfriend she's pushing into Emily's arms. Emily's certainly not looking for romance . . . until a huge dog knocks her down and sends her flying into fish goo. It's love at first sight for Emily and Bear, whose handsome owner, Sam, becomes flummoxed when the fallen worker in the hard hat turns out to be a pretty young woman. Emily and Bear begin a beautiful relationship, with Sam in tow. And before long the attraction between the humans becomes undeniable. But separation and a dangerous undertaking soon leave Emily wondering if she'll lose Sam before she gets to tell him how she really feels . . . Bear wants his humans staying together, and before he's done, both Emily and Sam will learn one essential canine truth: A dog is the only one on earth who loves you more than you love yourself.

The award-winning author of Think Like a Cat tells how to turn problem cats into purr- fect pets Certified Animal Behavior Consultant Pam Johnson-Bennett, author of Think Like a Cat, is back to help readers bring out their pet’s inner pussycat regardless of the cat’s age. Geared specifically...  more

The award-winning author of Think Like a Cat tells how to turn problem cats into purr- fect pets Certified Animal Behavior Consultant Pam Johnson-Bennett, author of Think Like a Cat, is back to help readers bring out their pet’s inner pussycat regardless of the cat’s age. Geared specifically for owners of adult cats, be they recently adopted or long time family pets, this book illustrates how it’s never too late to correct behavior problems. With her trademark wit and common sense, Pam covers every aspect of a cat’s lifestyle, behavior, and environment and gives cat owners specific techniques to help seemingly set-in-their-ways cats change for the better. Authoritative and entertaining, Starting from Scratch is the next best thing to a house call from the world’s top feline behaviorist.

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love. Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from...  more

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love. Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart. She’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown. But every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since. Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together... lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

Every second of every day, something is happening. There’s a story out there buried in the muck, and Jordan Walsh, coming from a family of esteemed reporters, wants to be the one to dig it up. But it’s 1955, and the men who dominate the city room of the Chicago Tribune have no...  more

Every second of every day, something is happening. There’s a story out there buried in the muck, and Jordan Walsh, coming from a family of esteemed reporters, wants to be the one to dig it up. But it’s 1955, and the men who dominate the city room of the Chicago Tribune have no interest in making room for a female cub reporter. Instead Jordan is relegated to society news, reporting on Marilyn Monroe sightings at the Pump Room and interviewing secretaries for the White Collar Girl column. Even with her journalistic legacy and connections to luminaries like Mike Royko, Nelson Algren, and Ernest Hemingway, Jordan struggles to be taken seriously. Of course, that all changes the moment she establishes a secret source inside Mayor Daley’s office and gets her hands on some confidential information. Now careers and lives are hanging on Jordan’s every word. But if she succeeds in landing her stories on the front page, there’s no guarantee she’ll remain above the fold.…

In the acclaimed Once Upon a Lie, Maggie Barbieri introduced Maeve Conlon, a single mother and bakery owner hiding dark secrets behind her cookie-cutter suburban life. Now, Maeve?s moving on with everyday life when the unthinkable happens: her father dies of a massive heart attack. Maeve?s...  more

In the acclaimed Once Upon a Lie, Maggie Barbieri introduced Maeve Conlon, a single mother and bakery owner hiding dark secrets behind her cookie-cutter suburban life. Now, Maeve?s moving on with everyday life when the unthinkable happens: her father dies of a massive heart attack. Maeve?s mother died when Maeve was very young, and growing up, it was always just her and her father. But on the day of his funeral, Maeve learns a shocking secret. She might have a sister she?s never met. Maeve knows her father would never have kept something like that from her?Unless he thought he had to. Meantime, someone keeps sneaking around Maeve?s bakery. At first the signs are subtle, but then it becomes vandalism, and then it grows even more frightening. Could it be related to Maeve?s search for her missing sister? Maeve soon decides it?s time to take matters into her own capable hands. But administering her personal brand of justice is a dangerous undertaking, and between the ever-watchful eyes of her family and the lingering attention she's attracted from local police, Maeve will be forced to decide just how much she's willing to risk in the name of justice.

An evocative novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives. Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain...  more

An evocative novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives. Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in glass bottles that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world -- a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination. Captivating and emotional, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home.

“A philosophical, witty, wonderful, and altogether magical love story.” —M.J. Rose, author of The Hypnotist “Amiably outrageous….Mandery is a worthy son of those great writers of the 1970s, Vonnegut, Barthelme, and Barth.” —Joseph Skibell, author of A Curable Romantic “I've never read anything...  more

“A philosophical, witty, wonderful, and altogether magical love story.” —M.J. Rose, author of The Hypnotist “Amiably outrageous….Mandery is a worthy son of those great writers of the 1970s, Vonnegut, Barthelme, and Barth.” —Joseph Skibell, author of A Curable Romantic “I've never read anything like it and enjoyed every minute of it!” —Jessica Anya Blau, author of Drinking Closer to Home Q: A (Timeless) Love Story is a smart, romantic, and funny novel about tender and requited love, a wonderfully original literary feat from Evan Mandery, a rapidly rising fiction star. Taking the classic love story and turning it on its head, Mandery brilliantly blends outrageous humor, existential philosophy, and heartbreaking angst while offering a wealth of satisfying surprises. Funny and wise, a magical tale of a man obsessed yet unable to allow himself the fulfillment of a perfect romance with the one true love of his life, Q: A (Timeless) Love Story is a uniquely delightful work of fiction from one of the most exciting novelists currently on the literary scene.

On a beautiful spring day, six college students with nothing in common besides a desperate inability to pay for school gather to compete for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship.   Milo—The front-runner. Natalia—The brain. James—The rule follower. Sydney—The...  more

On a beautiful spring day, six college students with nothing in common besides a desperate inability to pay for school gather to compete for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship.   Milo—The front-runner. Natalia—The brain. James—The rule follower. Sydney—The athlete. Duffy—The cowboy. Emily—The social justice warrior.   The six of them must surrender their devices when they enter Hyde House, an aging Victorian structure that sits in a secluded part of campus.   Once inside, the doors lock behind them. The students are not allowed to leave until they spend eight hours with a college administrator who will do almost anything to keep the school afloat and Nicholas Hyde, the privileged and notoriously irresponsible heir to the Hyde family fortune. If the students leave before time is up, they’ll be immediately disqualified.   But when one of the six finalists drops dead, the other students fear they’re being picked off one by one. With a violent protest raging outside and no way to escape, the survivors viciously turn on each other.   The Finalists is a chilling and profound look at the lengths both students and colleges will go to survive in a resource-starved academic world.

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival,...  more

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement. But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.

Celebrating the healing power of food and the magic of New York City, A Place at the Table follows the lives of three seekers who come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole. A Place at the Table tells the story of three...  more

Celebrating the healing power of food and the magic of New York City, A Place at the Table follows the lives of three seekers who come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole. A Place at the Table tells the story of three unforgettable characters whose paths converge in a storied Manhattan café: Bobby, a young gay man from Georgia who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef from North Carolina whose heritage is the basis of a renowned cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her. These characters are exiles?from homeland, from marriage, from family. While they all find companionship and careers through cooking, they hunger for the deeper nourishment of communion. As the narrative sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to Manhattan during the deadly AIDS epidemic of the 1980s to the well-heeled hamlet of contemporary Old Greenwich, Connecticut, Bobby, Amelia, and Alice are asked to sacrifice everything they ever knew or cared about to find authenticity and fulfillment. Susan Rebecca White?s first two novels were hailed for the beauty of her writing, her wit, her compassion for her characters, and her sharp insights into their inner lives. A Place at the Table announces the maturity of her talents and reveals her wise and open heart.

The woman who never made a match of her own is making matches for everyone else in this hilarious Regency era comedy of manners.   Sophronia Lattimore had her romantic dreams destroyed years ago and is resigned to her role as chaperone for her cousin. Still, she cannot sit idly by when...  more

The woman who never made a match of her own is making matches for everyone else in this hilarious Regency era comedy of manners.   Sophronia Lattimore had her romantic dreams destroyed years ago and is resigned to her role as chaperone for her cousin. Still, she cannot sit idly by when she becomes aware that a gentleman is about to propose to the wrong woman. She sends him an anonymous letter that is soon the talk of the town, particularly when her advice proves to be correct. Her identity is discovered and Sophie, formerly a wallflower, becomes sought after for her “expert” matchmaking skills.   One person who seeks her out is the eligible and attractive Sir Edmund Winslow.  As Sophie assists Sir Edmund in his pursuit of a wife, she wishes she could recommend herself as his bride. However, she vows to remain uninvolved while aiding him in his search (especially since the gentleman surely does not return her affections).   But when her long-lost love and Sir Edmund both seem to be interested in courting her, Sophie can’t figure out if she’s headed for another broken heart­­ or for the altar. How can she be expected to help other people sort out their romantic lives when her own is such a disaster?