A gripping multigenerational novel that explores the history and human cost of colonialism in the Congo.April 1958. Organizing the Brussels World’s Fair, the biggest international event since the end of the Second World War, subcommissioner Robert Dumont cedes to pressure from the royal palace: there will be a “Congolese village” in one of the seven pavilions devoted to the settlements. Among the eleven members of this “human zoo” assembled to put on a show at the foot of the Atomium is the young Tshala, daughter of the intractable king of the Bakuba. From her native Kasai to Brussels via Léopoldville, the princess’s journey unfolds—until her forced exhibition at Expo 58, where we lose track of her.    Summer 2004. Newly arrived in Belgium, a niece of the missing princess crosses paths with a man haunted by the ghost of his father—Francis Dumont, professor of law at the Free University of...

On a mission to discover the truth about an orphaned baby ice dragon, Joleyn wonders what in the world she's doing? She's a nobody. A farm-raised spinster of no importance. Her friendship with the ice dragon, Lady Esselyn, seems like her only qualification for inclusion on a high-level mission like this.Guard Captain Jimnel of Valdis can't wait to see what life is like for the Dragon Knights in fabled Draconia. He's excited to be included in the group going to make contact with that far off land and he's even more pleased that the lovely Joleyn is along for the ride. He's been attracted to her for a long time, but until now, he hasn't really been sure how to approach her.Thrown together on their journey, they finally allow the simmering attraction between them to come to a boil. How things will work out in the end is still up in the air and dependent on their two dragon friends and a tiny lost soul with his taloned foot in both worlds.It is the baby ice...

Aaliyah Preston and Tyler Moore were best friends growing up. Tyler played and wrote music, and Aaliyah brought that music to life through dance. They were convinced their lives would change forever after entering a TV talent show, but when Aliyah's mom ended up in hospital, Tyler had to go alone–and won. Suddenly, he was thrust into the spotlight while she was left behind in their small, seaside town. Several years later, Tyler is the hottest pop star on the planet, and Aaliyah has her heart set on following in her mom's footsteps and attending the Boston Conservatory to study dance. However, her future becomes hazy when Tyler suddenly comes back home, and wants to make up for all the years they lost–and even plan a future that includes the two of them together. While Tyler may have a lavish lifestyle and fans all the world over, he isn't happy. What he really wants is a chance at a normal life, and he wants Aaliyah to be part of that life. However, family...

The year is 1917 on a cold snowbound scenario in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The time is 9am and many folks were either getting ready for another working day or still in bed. The snowbound scenery was soon to become blood begrimed as two ammunition ships collided in the Harbor of Halifax and Dartmouth. Almost two thousand lives were lost on that fateful day and thousands were blinded by flying glass as they ran to office windows wondering if the war had come to them.This is the story of a young man, aged only fifteen, who goes from a boy to a man in almost a day as he struggles to save the many lives consisting of many school children who had just began the day. Unknown. To John, all his family perish in the explosion. As dirt mingled with blood, his hands dug continually as he listened for voices crying out for help. Tirelessly he could be seen dragging bodies towards every growing pile along with others. This story is of course fiction woven around the...

A widow visits a spiritualist community to attempt to contact her late husband. A grieving teenager confronts the unfairness of his small-town world and the oncoming ecological disaster. A sexual assault survivor navigates her boyfriend's tricky family and her own confusing desires. A mother examines unresolved guilt while seeking her missing daughter in a city slum. A lover exploits his girlfriend's secrets for his own purposes. Whether in Ecuador or San Francisco, rural Ontario or northern Manitoba, the landscape in each of Carter's poignant short stories reflects each character's journey.Psychologically complex and astute, Places Like These plumbs the vast range of human reactions to those things which make us human—love, grief, friendship, betrayal, and the intertwined yet contrasting longing for connection and independence.

A riveting look at the story of World War II and the Holocaust through the diaries of Dutch citizens, firsthand accounts of ordinary people living through extraordinary times Based on select writings from a collection of more than two thousand Dutch diaries written during World War II in order to record this unparalleled time, and maintained by devoted archivists, The Diary Keepers illuminates a part of history we haven't seen in quite this way before, from the stories of a Nazi sympathizing police officer to a Jewish journalist who documented daily activities at a transport camp.Journalist Nina Siegal, who grew up in a family that had survived the Holocaust in Europe, had always wondered about the experience of regular people during World War II. She had heard stories of the war as a child and Anne Frank's diary, but the tales were either crafted as moral lessons — to never waste food, to be grateful for all you...

Another Elizabeth is a gripping literary psychological crip horror novel that readers will sink their teeth into. Fans of dark humor and challenging fiction will be thrilled to delve into the mind of a deeply flawed disabled woman with a desire to kill.Elizabeth Dauphine's life is taking a turn.She has three jobs, a boyfriend that loves her too much, and a recent diagnosis of Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. She's coming apart at the seams. Now all she cares about is keeping her promise to her younger self before her body fails her—kill without getting caught.Can Elizabeth physically handle satisfying her urge and maintaining her carefully built façade of normalcy? And if so, will she be able to stop with just one victim?*This is a dark book with many graphic situations. There is no sexual assault or rape. No animals are tortured or die.

USA Today bestseller Lenora Bell returns with a Grease-inspired rom-com about an innocent lady who clashes with a sexy rake, the first book in a brand-new series sure to delight fans of Sarah MacLean, Tessa Dare, and Julia Quinn.Raised by an overprotective mother, bookish romantic Sandrine Oliver craves adventure, but nothing exciting ever happens in her sleepy seaside village. Until a handsome, mysterious stranger arrives and sweeps her off her feet...only to leave suddenly with no explanation. Lord Dane Walker, brother to the Duke of Rydell, is infamous for racing fast carriages and breaking hearts. But when his brother is mortally injured, Dane inherits the responsibilities of the dukedom—duties that come with a dangerous secret which threatens everyone close to him. In London, Sandrine is astonished to learn that the charming, honorable man she met at the beach is really a disreputable rake. And the infuriating nobleman acts as...

'A rare novel.' - S. HAREESH'A must-read!' - DAISY ROCKWELLFollowing the death of her grandfather, Maria has stopped speaking - not because she can't, but because she doesn't want to. Now in a psychiatric hospital, as she begins the process of 'reconnecting with reality', Maria recalls her journey of being 'just Maria' - a girl born into a Syrian Christian family in Kerala, whose companions were a grandfather who took her along to wander around the village and its toddy shops, a great-aunt with dementia who challenged Maria's position as the youngest in the family, a dog with a penchant for philosophy, various long-dead family members including a great-grandmother with a knack for prophecies, a patron saint who insisted on interfering in people's affairs, and Karthav Eesho Mishiha with whom Maria has regular conversations.Sandhya Mary's novel Maria, Just Maria - masterfully translated by the award-winning Jayasree...

The world has long been divided. The Unity, and all their bounty, are protected by an army strengthened by nanites, which heal instantly but block the experience of emotion. Those who “resist” the technology live in isolated pockets on the infertile fringes. The wars between each faction died off long before young love blossomed between Arin and Lia... or so it seemed. Arin, now a Unity commander, captures an enemy assassin only to discover she is Lia. Faced with the prospect of turning the only woman he ever loved over for execution or facing his own, Arin decides to flee with Lia into the Unknown Territories. Lia introduces Arin to life in the Resistance world, a harsh existence exacerbated by Unity oppression. Upon arrival at Lia’s secret destination, a hidden paradise in Resistance territory, Arin discovers that Lia is no lone assassin but an integral part of a clandestine Resistance army and wife of the army’s formidable leader, Roland. Faced with life as a prisoner or life without his healing nanites, Arin chooses to live as a mortal once again, reawakening his impulsive spirit, along with his feelings for Lia. Arin soon joins the Resistance forces and proves his newfound loyalties by confronting the cold army he once commanded. But growing suspicion of Roland’s true motivations leads Arin to uncover a great secret hidden by Roland and his fellow army leaders, one that may change the world forever.