Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami’s novel is told in the voice of a 14-year-old student who subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete resignation. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate who suffers similar treatment at the hands of her tormentors. These raw and realistic portrayals of bullying are counterbalanced by textured exposition of the philosophical and religious debates concerning violence to which the weak are subjected. Kawakami's simple yet profound new work stands as a dazzling testament to her literary talent. There can be little doubt that it has cemented her reputation as one of the most important young authors working to expand the boundaries of contemporary Japanese literature.

A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis. Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.   Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.   So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...

Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in this spicy, page-turning romantasy where humans and direwolves forge unbreakable bonds and fight for survival at all costs.  Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials.  She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them.   Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty. When her little sister, Saela, is kidnapped—stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting—Meryn’s world falls apart.   Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.     Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.   Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get her—everyone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knife…and the halls hide dark secrets.   It’s bond or bleed. Duel or die. Failure is ruin.  Dire Bound contains mature content including depictions of graphic violence, and is therefore recommended for readers 17+. For a full list of tropes and TWs, please visit the author's website.   Readers are already falling in love with  “ONE OF THE BEST READS OF THE YEAR! This book was insanely good.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   “Stop it right now... I’m actually quite feral for the next book…” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐    “The plot was THICK, the tension and banter? Flawless. And the world with the wolf bond, and trials??? NEED MORE NOW.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I just finished and still trying to mentally and emotionally recover to what just happened to me. You need to read it IMMEDIATELY.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If you’re into dark romantasy with high stakes, fierce characters, and just the right amount of emotional wreckage, Direbound is your next obsession.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “What an incredible read!! … I am blown away. … The romance, the anguish, the BANTER! I love a book with good banter and this was FULL OF IT!” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I. Am. OBSESSED. … Left me spiraling in the best way possible. The morally grey anti-hero? Perfection. The slow-burn tension? Electric.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250295637 Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met. After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art. Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet. Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more. But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you've never met. What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways.

Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in this spicy, page-turning romantasy where humans and direwolves forge unbreakable bonds and fight for survival at all costs.  Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials.  She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them.   Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty. When her little sister, Saela, is kidnapped—stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting—Meryn’s world falls apart.   Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.     Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.   Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get her—everyone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knife…and the halls hide dark secrets.   It’s bond or bleed. Duel or die. Failure is ruin.  Dire Bound contains mature content including depictions of graphic violence, and is therefore recommended for readers 17+. For a full list of tropes and TWs, please visit the author's website.   Readers are already falling in love with  “ONE OF THE BEST READS OF THE YEAR! This book was insanely good.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   “Stop it right now... I’m actually quite feral for the next book…” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐    “The plot was THICK, the tension and banter? Flawless. And the world with the wolf bond, and trials??? NEED MORE NOW.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I just finished and still trying to mentally and emotionally recover to what just happened to me. You need to read it IMMEDIATELY.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If you’re into dark romantasy with high stakes, fierce characters, and just the right amount of emotional wreckage, Direbound is your next obsession.” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “What an incredible read!! … I am blown away. … The romance, the anguish, the BANTER! I love a book with good banter and this was FULL OF IT!” Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I. Am. OBSESSED. … Left me spiraling in the best way possible. The morally grey anti-hero? Perfection. The slow-burn tension? Electric.