CAN MAOMAO DULL THE CHARMS OF A HEAVENLY MAIDEN?! When the ever luminous Jinshi asks for her help in disguising himself to see to a matter beyond the palace walls, Maomao must dig deep to mar her employer's divine allure! And to make the ploy believable, Maomao herself is roped into a spot of theater right alongside her master. But the "business" at hand takes the pair right to the gates of the Pleasure District, leaving Maomao to wonder if all her hard work has been for a mere assignation or if there's yet another mystery afoot...

Forced to the leave the Inner Palace, Maomao finds herself in the employ of none other than Jinshi, the seemingly ever-present thorn in her side! Immune to his charms, Maomao sets about learning the ways of life in the Outer Palace, where government officials and military officers go about the daily business of running the country. Far from being fearful of her new surroundings, however, Maomao has her insatiable curiosity piqued by the soldier-occupied eastern wing, where she's been forbidden to go but where it seems further mysteries await...

MAOMAO STUMBLES ONTO AN EVEN BIGGER MYSTERY... The trail of the garden banquet leads Maomao to the Garnet Palace! Aiming to uncover the identity and motives of the culprit who nearly succeeded in turning the festivities into a tragedy, the young apothecary-turned-lady's maid temporarily takes up there at Jinshi's behest. Home to Lady Aduo—the consort with the longest tenure in the Emperor's affections—the Garnet palace harbors many intrigues, some more shocking than even Maomao could have imagined! Will solving the mystery at hand lose Maomao her job...and maybe even her life?!

MAOMAO REAPS THE REWARDS OF HER FEATS! After putting on a successful and sensual(?) show of food tasting at the garden banquet, Maomao is the talk of the palace! But she soon discovers that notoriety isn't the only thing the party has granted her! Her collection of hairpins from the event brings the young herbalist a brief window of freedom beyond the palace walls, as she returns to the pleasure district for the first time in ten months! But while reunions with her father and her friends await, so too does another mystery...

THE EMPEROR TURNS HIS GAZE UPON MAOMAO...?! When word of her accomplishments falls on the ears of His Imperial Majesty, Maomao finds herself tasked with a direct request from the throne. Turning down the emperor is out of the question for the former(?) apothecary if she wants to keep her head! But while acquiescing to the emperor is expected of all subjects, Maomao is about to discover that ladies-in-waiting have still more taxing duties to which to attend, as preparations of the garden banquet get underway! Concocting an aphrodisiac might be second nature to Maomao, but smiling prettily for the officials of the court could prove far more difficult...

Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it. A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past. Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch. Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts. Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.

Bram Stoker Award–nominee and USA Today bestseller Johanna van Veen unveils a sapphic folk-horror tour de force—perfect for fans of The VVitch and The Salt Grows Heavy. A skull's grin is eternal… The year is 1635. Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying the gilded skull of a saint. It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic's power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing the magic they seek comes at a cost. At the journey's end, they'll face an impossible choice—one that could tear apart everything they know… or bind them to each other forever.

After being abandoned in the cold rain, tiny kitten Sabu should have been grateful to find a new home. But when he's rescued by Jin, whose every atom screams "yakuza," Sabu suspects he's out of the frying pan and into the fire! Yet Jin's scarred hands and face hide a sweet man beneath... a man who pampers kitties with bath and bottle-feedings!