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Christmas with a Chimera: A Cozy Fantasy Christmas Romance Novella (Claw Haven)
by Isabelle TaylorCozy fantasy meets Christmas in this charming, spicy, second chance romance novella.Welcome to Claw Haven, where monsters go to find some peace and quiet. Going home for Christmas wasn&’t on chimera Arthur Pineclaw&’s to-do list, not since he left the sleepy town of Claw Haven over a decade ago. He&’s back now for one reason only—to film a cozy holiday romance. Two weeks of smiling for the cameras and charming his fans, and he can go back to LA. Easy. After all, there&’s no one he can&’t charm. No one except for Emma Curt, the high school sweetheart he dumped on Christmas Eve. The same woman who apparently owns the café they&’re filming in. Emma never would&’ve agreed to let her café be a filming location for a rom-com if she&’d known Arthur Pineclaw was the lead. She&’d rather eat rocks than be civil to the guy who abandoned her to become a movie star—on Christmas Eve. But as the two spend more time together, it&’s easy to fall into old habits…and into bed. Just because things are still good between them doesn&’t mean Emma&’s ready for anything more, but when their unexpected reunion stirs up old feelings—and old arguments—a second chance romance might be the gift they both need.Claw Haven
Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf: A Cozy Fantasy Romance (Claw Haven)
by Isabelle TaylorThe grumpy-sunshine appeal of It Happened One Summer meets the cozy fantasy vibes of The Baby Dragon Cafe in this utterly charming, spicy, Alaska-set fated-mates romanceWelcome to Claw Haven, where monsters go to find some peace and quiet. Spoiled heiress Luna Stack is meant to be sipping mai tais on a beach with her fun-loving fiancé. Instead, a snowstorm strands her in Claw Haven, Alaska, a cozy town full of monsters living the quiet life. At least the werewolf innkeeper&’s hot—until he opens his mouth. Luna&’s more than ready to leave the grumpy wolf and his decrepit inn behind as soon as the snow clears, but when a potion mishap bonds the two of them together, she resigns herself to staying in Claw Haven, just for a little while. She&’s only werewolf married, though, not married married, like, legally. No big deal. Oliver Musgrove wants nothing to do with his new &“wife.&” He has annoying, friendly townsfolk to ignore, and he&’s lost his ability to shift, which means his alpha ambitions are currently on hold. Unfortunately, no matter how much Oliver wants to keep his distance from Luna, the bond says otherwise. Even though the two can&’t stand each other, maybe they can stop bickering long enough to explore the magical spark between them… After all, what&’s a little knotting between enemies?Claw Haven
Higher Magic: A Novel
by Courtney Floyd"Higher Magic is my catnip. By what dark arts I know not, Floyd has summoned up a wonderful wizard-grad-school slice-of-life, replete with organizing, romance, anxiety, camaraderie, and courage. More please!" —Max Gladstone, NYT Bestselling Co-Author of This is How You Lose the Time WarIn this incisive, irreverent, and whimsical cozy dark academia novel for fans of Heather Fawcett&’s Emily Wilde series and R.F. Kuang&’s Babel, a struggling mage student with intense anxiety must prove that classic literature contained magic—and learn to wield her own stories to change her institution for the better.First-generation graduate student Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass the Magic program&’s qualifying exam after freezing with anxiety during her first attempt. If she fails to demonstrate that magic in classic literature changed the world, she&’ll be kicked out of the university. And now her advisor insists she reframe her entire dissertation using Digimancy. While mages have found a way to combine computers and magic, Bartleby&’s fated to never make it work.This time is no exception. Her revised working goes horribly wrong, creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates Bartleby&’s inner thoughts—even the most embarrassing ones—like she's a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. Out of her depth, she recruits James, an unfairly attractive mage candidate, to help her stop Anne&’s glitches in time for her exam.Instead, Anne leads them to a shocking and dangerous discovery: Magic students who seek disability accommodations are disappearing—quite literally. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust her own knowledge and skills. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a mage, permanently.
A Merry Little Lie: A Heartwarming Christmas Holiday Romance
by Sarah MorganThis Christmas, the Balfour family will have more secrets to unwrap than presents…Becky is stranded at the airport, so when she bumps into her brother&’s best friend, Will, and he suggests they drive home together, Becky reluctantly agrees. For the first time, Becky is dreading Christmas, and only Will knows why. Can she trust him to keep her secret?Her twin sister, Rosie, married Declan after a whirlwind romance, and now the cracks are starting to appear. Rosie and Declan have agreed to hide their problems from her family, but Rosie&’s insecurities are growing. Will this Christmas bring them closer or drive them apart?Hayley can&’t wait for her first Balfour family Christmas with Jamie. The Balfour Christmas traditions sound wonderful, but she&’s worried about her place in this close-knit family. Will there be room for her too? And how will they react to the secret she and Jamie have been keeping?Despite everyone&’s best intentions, all the chaos and confusion could derail their normally happy holidays. Can they tell each other the truth in time to enjoy a perfect family Christmas?Perfect for fans of: The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan Strong, hardworking women Complex family relationships Christmas Hallmark movies Rebecca Serle and Meghan Quinn
Once Upon a Holidate: A Novel (Happily Inc)
by Susan MalleryPublished for the first time together, ONCE UPON A HOLIDATE includes the fan-favorite story Happily this Christmas and a bonus novella from Susan Mallery's beloved Happily Inc series, never before published together!There&’s no place like Happily Inc for the holidays…Wynn Beauchene has a thriving business, a great kid and a mildly embarrassing crush on the guy next door—local cop Garrick McCabe. She&’s a strong, independent woman who can&’t help dreaming what-if about a man she barely knows. Until he needs her help…Garrick&’s pregnant daughter will be home for Christmas, and his house needs a woman&’s touch. Garrick and his little girl were tight once, and he&’s hoping a small-town Christmas will bring her back to him. But thawing his daughter&’s frosty attitude will take more than a few twinkle lights. Maybe sharing the holiday with Wynn and her son will remind her of the joy of family.As the season works its magic on these wounded souls, Wynn realizes it&’s time to stop punishing herself for a painful secret, while Garrick remains haunted by the ghosts of past mistakes. Will he allow Wynn to open the only gift she truly wants—his heart?Includes a bonus novella and a sneak peek at her next book!Happily IncBook 1: You Say It FirstBook 2: Second Chance GirlBook 3: Why Not TonightBook 4: Not Quite Over YouBook 5: Meant to Be YoursBook 6: Happily This Christmas
The Silver Hills Boarding House
by Linda Lael MillerFans of the hit TV show Yellowstone and its two prequel series will fall in love with this epic love story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller. Lizbet Fontaine will do anything to keep her family together, even leave behind the only life she&’s ever known to journey to the West. But as the jitney rumbles away, holding tightly to her little brother&’s and sister&’s hands, she knows something is wrong. Her stepfather has summoned an associate with a predatory glint in his eyes, and Lizbet knows she needs to save them all. She just doesn&’t know how…until a kind man points out the Silver Hills Boarding House. Gabe Whitfield is no saint. But he won&’t let a woman be threatened. Getting involved with Lizbet and little Frankie and Jubal is the last thing on his mind, though. When his wife and their child died a few years ago, a piece of him died, too. So he&’ll help this family find their way at Miss Ornetta&’s boarding house. Anything more is out of the question. But that one chance meeting changes Gabe forever. Lizbet&’s fierce strength makes him feel the faintest whisper of hope. And Lizbet can&’t deny being drawn to the honest, gentle man whose kindness moves her. Can she trust her heart to a man who can&’t let go of the past?
Snow Kissed
by RaeAnne Thayne"RaeAnne Thayne will capture your heart with her beautiful, touching stories." —Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Virgin River series'Tis the season for a little white lie…Christmas has always been single mom Holly Goodwin Moore&’s favorite time of year. The twinkly lights on the tree, the cookies in the oven, the snow on the ground. But she&’s just not feeling it this year. The wedding in her ex&’s family is almost here, her daughter, Lydia, is bursting at the seams to be a flower girl…and Holly couldn&’t be dreading it more. She told a little white lie about having a new boyfriend as her plus-one, hoping to save face. She needs a date for the wedding…and she needs it now.Ryan Caldwell wants to be free this holiday season. So even he isn&’t sure how he landed in Shelter Springs, looking after his niece, Audrey, with his estranged father down the road. But when he meets Holly, she makes him want to belong for the very first time. So they make a deal: he&’ll be her date if she&’ll help him give Audrey a true Christmas to remember while her mom is away. More heartwarming stories by RaeAnne Thayne: The Lost Book Of First Loves The December Market 15 Summers Later Christmas at the Shelter Inn The Café at Beach End
Romance and Peppermint Lattes: A Novel
by Debbie MacomberNo matter how unlikely the pairing, with #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber, you know true love awaits!Here Comes Trouble Maryanne Simpson has been putting in the work to become a respected journalist, a journey made that much easier by her father owning a newspaper! An unflattering piece written about her by rival columnist Nolan Adams lights a fire under her, and before you know it, she&’s quit her job, moved out of her luxury apartment and sworn off her trust fund. Desperate to prove to Nolan—and herself—that she&’s got what it takes to make it on her own, she suddenly finds herself neighbor to the gruff newsman. He&’s certainly not an appropriate match for a socialite like herself, but as the days pass, Maryanne finds herself wanting something more than just his respect…The Forgetful Bride When Caitlin Marshall and Joseph Rockwell were eight and ten years old, they got married in a pretend ceremony. Now, twenty years later, Caitlin is a businesswoman trying to leave those embarrassing childhood memories behind. If only Joseph—now a successful Seattle contractor renovating her office—would let her forget. Her professional image is deeply important to her, which is why Joe gets so much enjoyment out of teasing her in front of her boss. But harmless pranks are a cover for deeper feelings, and Cait and Joe find themselves steps away from realizing there just might be something real between them after all.
Cover Story: A Novel
by Mhairi McFarlaneMr. & Mrs. Smith meets The Hating Game in this heartfelt, witty, and utterly unputdownable enemies-to-lovers romance from international bestseller Mhairi McFarlane, about two journalists who must fake a relationship in order to land a huge story.Bel has just landed a job at the Manchester office of a big national newspaper, coming off the success of her latest award-winning podcast. The team is small, consisting of Bel, her ambitious colleague Aaron, and the new intern. But when the intern turns out to be a thirtysomething man called Connor, she’s not impressed. She’s patronizing, he’s hostile: it’s a terrible start.Connor’s life is in a state of collapse. He’s left his seemingly perfect life in London—a well-paying job, great apartment, and beautiful girlfriend—for a chance to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a reporter. After a bad first impression with Bel, his internship begins to feel like another in a series of poor decisions. But if Connor were honest with himself, she’s the first bit of excitement he’s felt in a very long time.When Bel suddenly finds herself at the heels of a huge story, she’s determined to see it through— even if it means involving the inscrutable and aloof Connor. Before they know it, they must convince people they’re not just a couple, but a couple madly in love. If they mess up, Bel’s cover is blown and the biggest story she’ll ever have landed will disappear, along with justice for its sources.But as time goes on, Bel and Connor start to wonder if their cover story is just an act, or if their feelings are real…
Words Apart
by Aimee LucidoOlive thinks in words. Mattie thinks in pictures. Can they find a way to speak the same language?“Thoughtfully exploring learning disabilities, divorce, crushes, and the struggle to fit in, this inviting, cleverly constructed story with richly multifaceted characters poignantly captures the difficulties and joys of sisterhood.” – BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW“A feast for lovers of words and comics alike that tackles real-life challenges." – KIRKUS REVIEWSBeautifully told in words and comic panels, Mattie and Olive’s story will stay with you.Olive collects words. Rare words, common words, fancy words, funny words. She expresses herself by writing poetry, making crossword puzzles, and creating dictionary definitions for what she refers to as "neologisms."Her sister, Mattie, could not be more different. Mattie struggles with words and so instead prefers pictures, expressing herself through cartoons and sketches.Despite their differences, the two girls are inseparable. Or at least, they were. After their dad moves away and Olive develops her first crush, the sisters’ dynamic changes. Olive wants to spend more time with people who aren't related to her, but Mattie doesn't want anything to change. When their dad starts acting suspiciously and Mattie’s grades begin to fall, the sisters’ relationship fractures. Olive and Mattie must discover that love isn’t always how we envision it.Aimee Lucido’s latest novel in verse is a heartfelt and inventive story of what happens when the people we love change—and we do, too.Perfect for fans of:Verse novels with voice and heartGraphic hybrids with emotion and humorStories about sisters, divorce, and changing familiesWordplay, poetry, and made-up definitionsNeurodiverse representationFans of Click, Sisters, and El Deafo“Poetry, word play, and comics intertwine in surprising ways throughout this moving story of family and friendship.” – Terri Libenson, New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Emmie and Positively Izzy“This book will expand your heart as much as it will your vocabulary. It’s a beautiful reminder that family comes in all form(at)s. Simply stupendous!” – Kate O'Shaughnessy, Newbery Honor Award-winning author of The Wrong Way Home“A masterclass in the verse-novel, as well as a joyride for logophiles young and old.” – Lindsay Lackey, author of the award-winning All the Impossible Things
The Women of Wild Hill: A Novel
by Kirsten MillerA witty, spectacular, and timely tale of modern-day witches waging war on the patriarchy, from fan favorite Kirsten Miller, the author of The Change and Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books.There are places on earth where nature’s powers gather. Girls raised there are bequeathed strange gifts. A few have powers so dark that they fear to use them. Such a place is Wild Hill, on the tip of Long Island. For centuries, the ghost of a witch murdered by colonists claimed the beautiful and fertile Wild Hill…until a young Scottish woman with strange gifts arrived. Sadie Duncan was allowed to stay. Five generations of Sadie’s descendants called Wild Hill home, each generation more powerful than the last. Then, in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, the last of the Duncans, once prophesized to be the most powerful of their kind, abandoned their ancestral home.One of them, Brigid Laguerre moved to California and turned her dark gift into fame and fortune. Her sister, Phoebe, settled on a ranch in Texas, where women visit in secret for her tonics and cures. Phoebe’s daughter, Sybil, has become a famous chef. Seemingly powerless, Sibyl has never been told of the Duncan bloodline.Now Brigid, Phoebe, and Sibyl have been brought to Wild Hill to discover their family legacy. The Old One, furious at the path mankind has taken, has chosen three powerful witches to turn the tide. The Duncans will fulfill their destinies—but only if they can set aside their grievances and come together as a family.
Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love
by Zefyr LisowskiA Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A BookRiot Most Anticipated Queer Book of the Year"In these extraordinary essays, Lisowski reads the entrails of her life like a witch and invites you along for the ride. How could you say no?" —Carmen Maria MachadoA sharply personal and expansive memoir-in-essays dedicated to the strange and absurd beauty of horror films, exploring the complications of gender, the insidiousness of class ascension, and the latent violence hidden in our own uncanny reflections.This is how it worked: first I loved them, and then I loved myself.At twenty-seven, poet Zefyr Lisowski found herself in the place she feared most: a locked psych ward. While inside, she turned to horror movies—her deepest, most constant comfort.Rather than disturb, scary movies have always provided solace and connection for Lisowski, as they do many others—offering a vision of a world filled equally with beauty and pain, and a reason to reach out to others and hold them tight. After all, as Lisowski argues, what terrifies us most about these movies is our own uncanny reflection—and at the root of that fear, a desperate desire to love and be loved.In these wide-ranging essays, Lisowski weaves theory and memoir into nuanced critiques of films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Saint Maud. From fears about sickness and disability, to trans narratives and the predator/victim complex, to the struggle to live in a world that wants you dead, she explores horror’s reciprocal impact on our culture and—by extension—our lives. Through it all, Lisowski lays bare her own complex biography—spanning from a trans childhood in the South to the sweaty dancefloors of Brooklyn—and the family, friends, and lovers that have bloomed with her into the present.Deeply felt, blood-spattered, and brimming with care and wonder, Uncanny Valley Girls thrusts this seasoned poet to centerstage.
The Devouring Light
by Kat EllisClown 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.
The Scammer
by Tiffany D JacksonNew York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another stunning, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, following a freshman girl whose college life is turned upside down when her roommate’s ex-convict brother moves into their dorm and starts controlling their every move.Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends?Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.
Splinter & Ash #2: City of Secrets (Splinter & Ash #2)
by Marieke NijkampThe second book in New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp’s immersive medieval fantasy trilogy! A shadowy conspiracy threatens the city, and two determined misfits must uncover the secret plot—and reveal their own secrets—in order to save everyone. For fans of B. B. Alston, Soman Chainani, and Tamora Pierce.It’s only been a few months since Princess Adelisa, who goes by Ash, returned to the city of Kestrel’s Haven after her abduction by the treasonous group of nobles called the Larks. Ash’s best friend, Splinter, is slowly advancing in her squire training and feeling more protective of Ash than ever.But Splinter and Ash’s work is not nearly done. Anyone could be a Lark, and it seems that everyone is hiding a secret. When the queen’s spies learn that the Larks plan to disrupt the city’s Harvest Festival, Splinter and Ash are determined to do their part to stop it. They’ll face traitors, assassins, and a ticking clock to prevent everything from going up in flames.
Murder Most Haunted: A Novel
by Emma MasonAn unforgettable heroine is faced with an unbelievable crime in this snarky, charming locked-room mystery that asks: would you rather be snowed-in with a ghost, or a murderer? A grand country estate.On her last day as a detective, Midge McGowan is given the retirement present from hell: a ticket to a haunted house tour. She’ll have to spend a weekend ghost-hunting in an isolated mansion with a group of misfits, including a know-it-all paranormal investigator and a has-been pop star.A puzzle that can't be solved.The guests soon realize that the house has a mind of its own… and that they might not be the only ones there. An eerie figure appears on the property, and then the unthinkable happens: someone is murdered in a room that’s been locked from the inside.A ghostly weekend they might not survive.When a blizzard cuts the group off from help, the house’s own dark secrets begin to surface, and Midge can’t shake the creeping sense that they are walking into a nightmare. Could a ghost really be responsible? Or is the culprit one the guests, who have somehow, impossibly, endeared themselves to Midge?
Fascinating Fungi: Nourishers, Killers, Connectors, and Healers
by Karen Latchana KenneyFrom the ginormous, extinct Prototaxites to the web of mycelium stretching beneath our feet, fungi have always been all around us. Although scientists estimate that only 10 percent of fungi have been discovered, these findings have proved fantastic. Some fungi are toxic. But others are tasty sources of protein or drive the production of bread, cheeses, and fermented drinks. Some make up medicines to treat health conditions. Others connect vast swaths of trees, capture pollutants in the water and soil, or grow into sturdy but lightweight building materials. Many fungi are even fun to look at—they might ooze blood-like sap, glow at night, and more. What else might fungi be able to do? Karen Latchana Kenney digs deep into the expansive fungal world. Learn about how fungi evolved and became their own kingdom. Then explore the many known fungi and how we use them in food, medicine, technology, and more. Entire communities have sprung up around identifying mushrooms—maybe you’ll even be the next member of your local mycological society. From the most well-known mushrooms to the mycelium hidden beneath our feet, this in-depth text digs deep into the incredible fungal world.
Wild Song
by Candy GourlayThe Philippines, 1904 Sixteen-year-old Luki is the best hunter in her village, but she has to keep it a secret. Hunting is a man’s skill. She’s expected to marry and raise a family instead. Chafing against these restrictions, she impulsively accepts an offer from the local American authorities: they’re looking for volunteers to travel to the United States for the World’s Fair, where Indigenous peoples from around the world will be represented. Luki and others make the long journey to Saint Louis, Missouri, for the fair, where they're "exhibited" in a replica village. But even as Luki makes friends and discovers a wider world that intrigues her, she learns dangerous secrets and difficult truths. Facing pressures from all sides, she must decide what kind of future she wants after the fair.
The Hidden Girl
by Louise BassettWithin the pages of a stolen diary, Melati discovers a coded cry for help—the diary belongs to Devi, an Indonesian teenager who is being held by traffickers. Mel races across the island of Java and against the clock to work out Devi's identity and where she's being held. Before long, the pieces fall into place, and Mel must put her own life on the line to save a girl she's never met.
Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain
by Nicholas WrightFrom Dr Nicholas Wright, leading neuroscientist and adviser to the Pentagon, discover the new science behind warfare. Why did France lose to the Nazis, despite its defenders having more tanks, troops, and guns? How did we bring peace to Germany after World War Two? How do you know if you can trust an ally? How can we make clearer decisions under pressure? In Warhead, Nicholas Wright takes us on a fascinating journey through the brain to show us how it shapes our behaviour in conflict and war. Drawing on his work as a neuroscientist, and over a decade advising the Pentagon and the UK Government, Wright reveals that, whether we like it or not, the brain is wired for conflict – in the office or on the battlefield. With a unique framework that helps explain today’s rising tensions and how to defuse them, Warhead brings cutting-edge research to life through battle stories from history. What was it like for a foot soldier at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, or in China's Red Army as it fought to survive and triumph throughout the 1930s and 40s? How could leaders such as World War Two tank commanders, Shaka Zulu, or Winston Churchill see through the fog of conflict, make better decisions, and communicate with those who must carry those decisions out? How will human conflict shape our future technologies? In an increasingly dangerous world that threatens our values and success, Warhead is an essential read to understand why we fight, lose and win wars. Because self-knowledge is power.
The High Heaven: A Novel
by Joshua WheelerA multigenre debut novel tracing one woman’s quest for faith across the American West during the Space AgeIn 1967, on the night of the first Apollo mission, a child named Izzy is orphaned when the doomsday cult she was born into clashes with the sheriff in the high desert of New Mexico. She’s taken in by a struggling rancher who is trying to keep his mind from falling apart as NASA rocket tests encroach on his outer range. Inspired by the true story of a UFO cult in a village near White Sands, this novel traces Izzy Gently’s whole life: from tragedy on the ranch, through addiction and a rich cast of eccentrics in Texas, to New Orleans, where Izzy is haunted by her past even as she uses lessons from childhood to counsel people who have lost the ability to see the moon.In The High Heaven, Joshua Wheeler explores American piety as it mutates over the course of the Space Age, as technology changes notions of both humanity and the heavens. Shot through with the speculative while paying homage to three iconic genres—neo-Western, picaresque, and Southern gothic—Izzy’s life story becomes a mirror for the warping of manifest destiny and, ultimately, a testament to the human will to seek meaning from the universe.Suffused with the absurdist history of American space travel and the wide-open landscapes of the Southwest, The High Heaven chronicles a larger-than-life adventure of one extraordinary woman who, despite tragedy, never loses sight of redemption.
The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus
by Matthew RestallA gifted historian presents a definitive book on Columbus—his life, his legacies, and the controversies that outlived him. Christopher Columbus was born Cristoforo Colombo, in the autumn of 1451 in the Mediterranean port city of Genoa, and he died in the Spanish city of Valladolid in May 1506, as don Cristóbal Colón. More than five centuries later, we are still arguing over his life and its significance. Millions if not billions of people have learned his name. Most have some sense of what he did, that it was momentous, a great achievement, an act of primacy. But was his achievement "great" because he "discovered America" and thus made possible the hemisphere’s "great" nations? Or was it an apocalyptic catastrophe for tens of millions of Indigenous and African peoples? In The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus, acclaimed historian Matthew Restall, perhaps the leading scholar of the Spanish Empire, presents a new, authoritative biography of Columbus, while at the same time tracing his many afterlives down into our own time. He explores the mysteries, many of them manufactured, that color our understanding of Columbus even in the twenty-first century—mysteries surrounding Columbus’s name, nationality, place of birth, ancestry, education, religion, intellectual vision, moral fiber, sexual proclivities, and current resting place. He shows how Columbus became an iconic American hero in the nineteenth century, and how a parallel hero emerged in the form of the Italian American Columbus. Restall takes us beyond polemic, sifting through the evidence across nations, languages, and five centuries to explore the many questions that make up what he calls "Columbiana." He demonstrates that, far from a uniquely talented individual, Columbus was typical of the Iberian and northern Italian men of his day—a merchant mariner who became an explorer, slave-trader, and conquistador-settler. And Restall challenges the notion, deeply held to this day, that Columbus can be credited or blamed for all that happened after 1492. Whatever one’s views of Columbus, Restall’s book is the necessary, definitive account. It dispels the myths and gives us Columbus as he was. It shows how he has been distorted in the centuries since his death—and how we might come to understand him, and his legacies, anew.
Things That Disappear
by Jenny ErpenbeckAn exciting new collection of autobiographical essays by Jenny Erpenbeck, winner of the 2024 Booker International Prize: "She is among the most sophisticated and powerful novelists we have—it’s no surprise that she is already bruited as a future Nobelist." —Dwight Garner, The New York Times The bestselling and award-winning German author Jenny Erpenbeck has gained international praise for her novels including Visitation, Kairos, and Go, Went, Gone. Things that Disappear is an exciting collection of interlinked miniature prose pieces that grapple with the phenomenon of disappearance on scales both large and small. The things that disappear in these pages range from everyday objects such as socks and cheese to close friends and the social norms of common courtesy, to sites and objects resonant with East German history, such as the Palace of the Republic or the lines of sight now blocked by new construction in Berlin. Erpenbeck asks: "Is there some kind of perpetrator who makes things that I know cherish and disappear?" These things disappear, and yet do they really? Do they remain in our memories more fully than if they continued to exist? Translated beautifully by Kurt Beals, Things that Disappear follows on the heels of Erpenbeck’s Man Booker-Prize winning novel Kairos and offers a window into a renowned writer’s sense of the past, and of her own self as a writer.
Cord Swell: Poems
by brittny ray crowellA pilgrimage of poems, stories, voices, and mixed-media collage through the lives of three generations of Black women. How can we memorialize our dead? How can that memorialization rend the veil between the dead and the living? In her debut volume, brittny ray crowell sifts through decades of obituaries, journals, and other ephemera to exhume the generations of her family from her hometown of Texarkana, Texas. She preserves her relatives’ stories in writing and in works of collage, a style of archive that layers the past and the present literally and poetically. This unique approach transforms Cord Swell into an altar, an artistically enshrined space where crowell communes with the past and looks to the future. The title poem, in which crowell speaks to an aunt who passed away, poignantly asks, "if there’s any such thing / as paradise . . . / better than the warmth / of your neck . . . / how close am i / to that context of space?" Her question acts as a provisional thesis statement for this collection, a poetic attempt to reveal, redress, and interpret those who came before her, especially in the absence of physical traces. Each poem imagines ways to access family members who have died and calls out to ancestors crowell never met. In the process, crowell demonstrates capacious syntactical range, nimbly leaping from haibun to erasure poems, interviews to sonnets. She also invents forms she calls "grooves," which are structured as album tracklists. These techniques marry form with meaning, echoing the voices of lost loved ones in indelible verse. Rhapsodic, inventive, and ambitious, Cord Swell establishes crowell as one of the most creative and dynamic new voices in poetry.
The Salvage: A Novel
by Anbara SalamA twisting, gothic literary thriller sure to delight fans of Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, The Wonder by Emma Donaghue, and The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. It is 1962, and Marta Khoury, a trailblazing marine archaeologist, has been called to Cairnroch, a small island off the east coast of Scotland. A Victorian shipwreck, dragged from arctic waters, holds the remains of a celebrated explorer and the treasures of his final expedition. But on her first dive down to the ship, Marta becomes convinced she has seen a dark figure lurking amid the wreckage. When the Cuban Missile Crisis and the deep chill of a record-breaking winter keeps Marta stranded on Cairnroch, she forms a relationship with Elsie, a local woman working in the island’s only hotel. When the ship's artefacts inexplicably disappear, Marta and Elsie have to brave the freezing conditions to search for the missing objects before anyone else catches on. As something eerie seems to follow her at every step, Marta must confront if the haunting is a figment of her imagination, the repercussions from a terrible mistake from her past, or if something more sinister is at play that will trap her and everyone on the island—and their secrets—in an icy wilderness.