Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.

The first book in #1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce's award-winning Song of the Lioness quartet, adapted into a gorgeous, full-color graphic novel In Song of the Lioness, Book 1: Alanna, the first of four volumes adapting #1 New York Times bestseller Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet, we meet Alanna of Trebond, a young noblewoman from the kingdom of Tortall. However, Alanna isn't like other girls from noble families—what she really wants is to become a knight and earn her shield, something women definitely aren't allowed to do. But Alanna will not be deterred, and she arrives in the capital disguised as a boy to begin training as a page, the first step toward becoming a knight. Despite the tough conditions and grueling work, Alanna's skills and stubbornness win her friends amongst the nobility and the denizens of the lower city. But not everyone wishes her well . . . Filled with magic and mayhem, adventure and action, swords and spells, book one in the Song of the Lioness quartet is the ultimate introduction to Alanna and Tamora Pierce's legendary Tortall universe.

A deeply dark academia novel from USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, perfect for fans of A Deadly Education and The Atlas Six who are hungry for something a little more diabolical.The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone.Can they band together and survive, or will the faculty eat its fill?Also by Cassandra Khaw:The Salt Grows HeavyNothing But Blackened TeethA Song for QuietHammers on BoneThe Dead Take the A Train (co-written with Richard Kadrey)At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The haunting tale of two brave children lost in a dark and dangerous forest, reimagined by literary legends Stephen King and Maurice Sendak in an all-new picture book. Let Stephen King, global bestselling and award-winning author, and Maurice Sendak, beloved creator of the Caldecott Medal–winning Where the Wild Things Are, guide you into the most deliciously daring rendition of the classic Grimm fairy tale yet. But will you find your way back out? With a personal introduction from Stephen King, the beautiful book has been created in close collaboration with the Maurice Sendak Foundation. This stunning storybook makes the perfect gift for fans of King, Sendak, and the Brothers Grimm.

Based on the hit novel, this series follows a chilling mystery about a house designed for murder—which is now a live-action movie! I’ve always had a fascination with the occult; you might even call it my specialty. I’ve been brought in as a consultant on many supernatural and strange mysteries. But nothing could have prepared me for this house. It seemed so ordinary at first, except for that one room. It had no doors, no windows, and was tucked away, leaving anyone to think it was just a wall. I knew that there was something more to it. It shouldn’t be there, it shouldn’t exist, and yet… Just what is this house, and what dark secrets does it hold?

From the nationally bestselling author of the “powerful, heartbreaking” (Shelf Awareness) The Stationery Shop, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation. Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming “lion women.” But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences. Written with Marjan Kamali’s signature “evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful” (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light) prose, The Lion Women of Tehran is a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young, and the way love and courage transforms our lives.

In this hilarious, off-the-wall queer fantasy romance, a reclusive sorcerer is forced to protect a cowardly knight after a prophecy ties their fates together. Funny, touching and inventive, this book is perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light and Dreadful. All his life, Sir Cameron has tried to stay as far away from danger as possible. But when the Church hands down a prophecy to his fellow knights predicting that the only way to defeat their nemesis, the mad sorcerer Merulo, is to kill Sir Cameron, he finds himself in a situation too sticky for even his considerable wiles. Short of ideas, Cameron throws himself on the mercy of the one person who now actually wants him to the mad sorcerer. Merulo isn't thrilled to be babysitting a spoilt, attention-seeking knight, but fate has tied them together. And transmogrifying Cameron into a vulture is at least a great source of entertainment. Cameron, meanwhile, is on a voyage of self-discovery. It turns out he's really, really into surly sorcerers who lock him up and tell him what to do. Who knew? As a legion of knights surround their stronghold, led by an angry concussed elf—which definitely isn't in any way Cameron's fault—the sorcerer's poisonous ambitions draw ever closer to fruition. Cameron is quite invested in not dying, but he finds he's also invested in Merulo. And sometimes, supporting the sorcerer you care about means taking an interest in their hobbies. Even if their hobby is trying to kill God. Even if it might get you killed, too.

‘For a very long time, the days went by, each just like the day before, then I began to think, and everything changed’ Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.