A heartbreaking tale of love and loss in a time of war, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Annie Groves.Jenny O'Leary is devastated one morning in 1940 when she receives a telegram giving her the dreadful news that one of her brothers has been killed in action. Grief threatens to engulf her, but as an ARP warden, tending to Birmingham's injured after the nightly raids, she is well-used to the suffering that thousands are enduring every day.Linda Prosser is just twelve years old and desperately close to her mother and two tiny brothers. As the bombs drop around them one fateful night, Linda takes a risk which has disastrous consequences. Terrified, and buried beneath a mass of debris after her home takes a direct hit, it is Jenny who crawls through the wreckage of the house to rescue her.So begins a friendship which is last through the years. But when Linda falls in love with a man that Jenny despises, she is faced with sacrificing her future happiness for the friend who has given her everything...
When her father dies just before her birthday, seventeen-year-old Aderyn inherits the role of Protector of Atratys, a dominion in a kingdom where nobles are able to transform at will into the bird that represents their family bloodline. Aderyn's ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother - ripped apart by hawks that have supposedly been extinct since the long-ago War of the Raptors.
With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.
Written in rich detail and evocative language, this is the start of an irresistible, soaring duology about courage, broken loyalties and fighting for your place in the world.
The summer before college, Hannah swears she's finally going to find "The One." And for five perfect minutes, Hannah does find him. He's cute and makes her laugh like crazy. She just wishes she'd caught his name, because Toilet Boy Cinderella "really" lacks sex appeal. For Sam, the summer is off to a bad start for a million reasons. But for five minutes his luck changes: in a fancy restroom painted purple like it belongs in a Bond villain hideaway, Sam falls head over heels for some strange and hilarious girl. Of course, he doesn't know her name. With his luck, he'll never see her again, and he'll remain a girlfriendless, moony-eyed virgin. Forever. But another chance meeting brings them together, only to have a chance misunderstanding drive them apart . . . and then the cycle starts all over again. Madcap mishaps, raunchy hilarity, and deep romance follow these two wherever they go. For two people so clearly destined for each other, they sure have a hell of a lot of trouble even getting together.
September, 1937. Kitty Travers enrols at the Conservatoire on the banks of the Seine to pursue her dream of becoming a concert pianist. But then war breaks out and the city of light falls into shadow. Nearly twenty-five years later, Fay Knox, a talented young violinist, visits Paris on tour with her orchestra. She barely knows the city, so why does it feel so familiar? Soon touches of memory become something stronger, and she realises her connection with these streets runs deeper than she ever expected.
When her grandmother and cousin are 'accidentally' killed in a drone strike in Yemen, Samiya wants answers. She writes emails, pesters her MP, starts a petition... but no one will help. Disillusioned, she vents her anger in chatrooms, where she makes online allies who willingly loan her their skills. Her alias, Angel, is born, as is a completely audacious plan which no one will be able to ignore...
The much-anticipated final conclusion to the Fitz and the Fool trilogy.Prince FitzChivalry Farseer's daughter Bee was violently abducted from Withywoods by Servants of the Four in their search for the Unexpected Son, foretold to wield great power. With Fitz in pursuit, the Servants fled through a Skill-pillar, leaving no trace.
It seems certain that they and their young hostage have perished in the Skill-river.Clerres, where White Prophets were trained by the Servants to set the world on a better path, has been corrupted by greed. Fitz is determined to reach the city and take vengeance on the Four, not only for the loss of Bee but also for their torture of the Fool.
Accompanied by FitzVigilant, son of the assassin Chade, Chade's protégé Spark and the stableboy Perseverance, Bee's only friend, their journey will take them from the Elderling city of Kelsingra, down the perilous Rain Wild River, and on to the Pirate Isles.
Their mission for revenge will become a voyage of discovery, as well as of reunions, transformations and heartrending shocks. Startling answers to old mysteries are revealed. What became of the liveships Paragon and Vivacia and their crews? What is the origin of the Others and their eerie beach? How are liveships and dragons connected?But Fitz and his followers are not the only ones with a deadly grudge against the Four.
An ancient wrong will bring them unlikely and dangerous allies in their quest. And if the corrupt society of Clerres is to be brought down, Fitz and the Fool will have to make a series of profound and fateful sacrifices. ASSASSIN'S FATE is a magnificent tour de force and with it Robin Hobb demonstrates yet again that she is the reigning queen of epic fantasy.
The final instalment of Robin Hobb's Sunday Times best-selling series The Rain Wild Chronicles.
Dragon blood and scales, dragon liver and eyes and teeth. All required ingredients for medicines with near-miraculous healing powers. The legendary blue dragon Tintaglia is dying of wounds inflicted by hunters sent by the Duke of Chalced, who meanwhile preserves his dwindling life by consuming the blood of the dragon's poet Selden Vestrit.
If Tintaglia perishes, her ancestral memories will die with her. And the dragons in the ancient city of Kelsingra will lose the secret knowledge they need to survive. Their keepers immerse themselves in the dangerously addictive memory-stone records of the city in the hope of recovering the Elderling magic that once allowed humans and dragons to co-exist. In doing so they risk losing their own identities, even their lives.
And danger threatens from beyond the city, too. For war is coming: war between dragonkind and those who would destroy them.
Ruqsana Begum's account of how she rose to become a Muay Thai world champion is only a small part of why her story is such an inspirational one for anyone who has ever followed their dream.
Ever since she went to school in Bethnal Green, part of a large local Bangladeshi community, Ruqsana Begum stood apart from her friends because she was so keen on sport. At home, she wore the clothes her mother wanted her to wear and behaved like a dutiful Muslim daughter, but at heart she wanted something different. And when she went to college and saw an advert for a Muay Thai club, she knew what that would be. But she also knew that her parents would never allow her to fight - even if they could have afforded the costs. So she fought in secret, and soon discovered that she was a natural. But when her parents arranged her marriage, her new world collapsed and she found herself unable to cope, until she broke free again, and worked her way to the top.
Ruqsana's story is a tale of empowerment that will inspire anyone who has ever had to battle against the odds and against all the opposition to achieve their goal.
As the dystopian trilogy that began with Gilded Cage and Tarnished City concludes, the people of Britain rise up against their magically gifted masters. They must break the system-or be broken.
MAGIC RUINS. WE RISE.
The rules are simple, the system cruel: the lower classes must give ten years in service to Britain's powerfully gifted rulers. With one uprising crushed by the glittering elite, commoners and aristocrats alike now take sides for a final confrontation.
At the center of it all are two ordinary siblings: Abi Hadley and her brother, Luke. Each has reason to hate the ruling Jardine family. Abi, who was once their servant, now seeks revenge for a terrible wrong. Luke was imprisoned on their whim-but his only hope may be an alliance with the youngest and most powerful of the clan, the cold and inscrutable Silyen Jardine.
Risking everything to end a bright and shining tyranny, Abi, Luke, and Silyen find themselves bound by a single destiny. Their actions will change their fates-and change the world. But at a cost almost too terrible to contemplate.
What price would you pay for freedom?
Look for all three books in the mesmerizing Dark Gifts trilogy:
GILDED CAGE • TARNISHED CITY • BRIGHT RUIN
A gripping Orwellian vision of Britain, with a rebellious Hunger Games heart, Bright Ruin is the third and final title in Vic James's electrifying Dark Gifts Trilogy, following Tarnished City.
A shattered country
A world-changing magic
Magically gifted aristocrats rule Britain, and the people must serve them. But rebellion now strikes at the heart of the old order. Abi has escaped public execution, thanks to an unexpected ally. Her brother Luke is on the run with Silyen Jardine, the most mysterious aristocrat of all. And as political and magical conflicts escalate, each must decide how far they'll go for their beliefs.
Dragons clash in the skies, as two powerful women duel for the soul of Britain. A symbol of government will blaze as it dies, and doors between worlds will open - and close forever. But the battle within human hearts will be the fiercest of all.
'Why do you want to be a boat builder?' 'Because,' said Morwenna, 'I like the way the boats grow.' Morwenna and Corwin are eight years old; wind-swept and salty haired twins growing up on the Devon coast. In the soft autumn light they play as their grandfather Matthew watches the boats come in. But it is a day unlike any other.
