All the Blood Spilt (All The Dark Souls Trilogy #2)

A.M. Dunnewin

After saving the lost prince from his execution, Joss Brevyn is on the run. With a price on their heads, the deathsman and her assistant, Henrik, have only one way to clear their find Callan Ronen and get him home to Aselian. But while both assume that finding him would be the hard part, it’s staying alive that becomes the challenge. The road to Aselian isn’t just marked by dense forests and treacherous terrain; it’s a host to those who will do anything to catch the prince-turned-prisoner and the two who helped him escape. One of those is Aric Kayden, the assassin who's still reeling from the guilt of how he and Joss had last parted. With his own injuries on the mend, Aric has only one goal in kill Callan in order to save himself—as well as Joss and Henrik—from the Mask. However, the journey to find the prince grows more complicated as Aric begins to realize that killing him may not be the answer to all of his problems. Bound in a game of cat-and-mouse, both Joss and Aric must decide what’s more doing the right thing or saving themselves. Because Callan isn’t just a man who’s trying to get home; he’s the missing heir who holds a dark secret, one that could jeopardize them all.

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Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor — and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story. Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life — from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy — to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction — to the philosopher who becomes a pirate — to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph — to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad — to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels. You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions. This is a mystery story, not about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit. It is a philosophical revolution, told in the form of an action thriller of violent events, a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure and an irresistible suspense. Do you say this is impossible? Well, that is the first of your premises to check.

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The Man Who Forgot How To Read

Howard Engel

Finding the words: the remarkable journey of a bestselling writer struck with a rare and devastating affliction and how he triumphed over his condition. One hot mid-summer morning in Toronto, bestselling crime novelist Howard Engel got up to fetch his morning paper and discovered he could no longer read it. The letters had mysteriously jumbled themselves into something that looked like Cyrillic one moment and Korean the next. "Was this a Serbo-Croatian version of The Globe?" he wondered. Overnight, while he slept, Engel had experienced a stroke and now suffered from a rare condition called alexia sine agraphia, meaning that while he could still write, he could no longer read. Engel's gentle humour and matter-of- fact tone set the stage for this extraordinary memoir that traces the writer's journey through a life-changing episode. Describing his stay in hospital, Engel also discovers other horrifying and fascinating new "insults" to his brain: Geography eludes him; he can no longer navigate. Apples and grapefruit now look the same (only by smelling each one can he tell them apart). And yet, despite these devastating disabilities and the almost certain loss of his career and a huge chunk of his identity, Engel prepares to reconcile with his condition. He contacts renowned neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks for advice, forging a lasting friendship. He bravely begins to learn how to read all over again. And, in the face of obstacles, his imagination triumphs in the writing of his latest Benny Cooperman detective novel, Memory Book. Engel describes the painstaking writing process of this 2005 bestseller, which has the detective developing alexia after being struck on the head. An absorbingly detailed and uplifting story, filled with sly wit and candid insights, The Man Who Forgot How to Read will appeal to Engel's legion of fans, as well as to all those fascinated by the mysteries of the mind, on and off the page.

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All the Dark Souls (All The Dark Souls Trilogy, #1)

A.M. Dunnewin

Joss Brevyn is the last heir in a long line of executioners. Although a woman, the same rules still apply: kill the condemned within three tries, or be tortured and killed. Joss has yet to miss her mark, and even though she spends her free time as a healer, the town views her only as a deathsman. So when she and her assistant, Henrik, stumble upon a beaten man on the way home, both are hesitant to reveal who they really are. The only problem is, so is he. Aric Kayden has seen better days. After failing to assassinate his last victim, he's left bleeding on the side of the road until he's found and taken in by Joss and Henrik, two seemingly innocent locals. Healing from his wounds, Aric is still haunted by the target he didn't kill, especially by those who paid him. Despite the undeniable attraction between him and Joss, Aric can't bring himself to tell the truth: that the masked figures who hired him knows where he is, and his original target is the mysterious prisoner who was recently sentenced to death. Forced to uphold the deal, Aric's only job now is to make sure the execution goes as planned and eliminate whoever intervenes. Bound by their duties, both Joss and Aric assume this next kill will be easy. But then one of them has a change of heart, sparking a chain reaction that could leave one—or both—of them dead.

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All the Dark Souls (All The Dark Souls Trilogy, #1)

A.M. Dunnewin

Joss Brevyn is the last heir in a long line of executioners. Although a woman, the same rules still apply: kill the condemned within three tries, or be tortured and killed. Joss has yet to miss her mark, and even though she spends her free time as a healer, the town views her only as a deathsman. So when she and her assistant, Henrik, stumble upon a beaten man on the way home, both are hesitant to reveal who they really are. The only problem is, so is he. Aric Kayden has seen better days. After failing to assassinate his last victim, he's left bleeding on the side of the road until he's found and taken in by Joss and Henrik, two seemingly innocent locals. Healing from his wounds, Aric is still haunted by the target he didn't kill, especially by those who paid him. Despite the undeniable attraction between him and Joss, Aric can't bring himself to tell the truth: that the masked figures who hired him knows where he is, and his original target is the mysterious prisoner who was recently sentenced to death. Forced to uphold the deal, Aric's only job now is to make sure the execution goes as planned and eliminate whoever intervenes. Bound by their duties, both Joss and Aric assume this next kill will be easy. But then one of them has a change of heart, sparking a chain reaction that could leave one—or both—of them dead.

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The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s. Robin Buss’s lively English translation is complete and unabridged, and remains faithful to the style of Dumas’s original. This edition includes an introduction, explanatory notes and suggestions for further reading.

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Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor — and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story. Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life — from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy — to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction — to the philosopher who becomes a pirate — to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph — to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad — to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels. You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions. This is a mystery story, not about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit. It is a philosophical revolution, told in the form of an action thriller of violent events, a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure and an irresistible suspense. Do you say this is impossible? Well, that is the first of your premises to check.

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Half-Blood

Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

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Half-Blood

Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

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Love at First Book

Jenn McKinlay

When a librarian moves to a quaint Irish village where her favorite novelist lives, the last thing she expects is to fall for the author’s prickly son… until their story becomes one for the books, from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading . Emily Allen, a librarian on Martha’s Vineyard, has always dreamed of a life of travel and adventure. So when her favorite author, Siobhan Riordan, offers her a job in the Emerald Isle, Emily jumps at the opportunity. After all, Siobhan’s novels got Em through some of the darkest days of her existence. Helping Siobhan write the final book in her acclaimed series—after a ten-year hiatus due to a scorching case of writer’s block—is a dream come true for Emily. If only she didn’t have to deal with Siobhan’s son, Kieran Murphy. He manages Siobhan’s bookstore, and the grouchy bookworm clearly doesn’t want Em around. When Siobhan’s health takes a bad turn, she’s more determined than ever to finish her novel, while Kieran tries every trick in the book to get his mother to rest. Thrown into the role of peacemaker, Emily begins to see that Kieran's heart is in the right place. Torn between helping Siobhan find closure with her series and her own growing feelings for the mercurial Irishman, Emily will have to decide if she’s truly ready to turn a new page and figure out what lies in the next chapter.

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The Last Checkout

Peter Besson

Nobody leaves a Last Resort alive…The Last Checkout is acclaimed screenwriter Peter Besson’s multiple award-winning dystopian fiction novel that immerses readers into a delightfully disturbing urban wasteland in the year 2031. Scientists have declared reincarnation reality, and legally sanctioned death houses have sprouted up like mushrooms in overcrowded, pollution-choked cities. Those so-called ‘Last Resorts’ provide the paying guest with the tools for a successful exit from life, with only one simple rule - once a customer is checked in, the check-out is feet-first only.Ansel Grayson has been a resident at the Hotel Terminus for 12 years, unable to take the final step. On the day he finally works up the nerve to check out, he’s interrupted by the most recent addition to the guest list. Ansel and Nikki, broken by life and with their final check-outs looming, find themselves drawn into each other’s orbits and trying to discover a reason to live, certain they will have to die.Last Checkout is a powerhouse debut literary fiction novel, with distinct flavors of Orwellian despair, black humor, and dark romance. In a dying world of governmental oppression and environmental decay, could a growing ember of love between a man and a woman sentenced to death really be allowed to ignite?“Set in a future that our own time resembles too closely, this beautifully written story is a philosophical treatise on human despair. What are our options? Drugs? Sex? Booze? Suicide? No. In the end it is love. This is literature of the highest order.” - James Williams, Ph.D.

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