When you lose your way in life, the Elsewhere Express just might find you. Step aboard the train that can take you to your life’s purpose, in this cozy and inspiring fantasy from the author of Water Moon.This hardcover edition Interactive endpapers with a scene you can color inA full-color illustrated book case beneath the jacketYou can’t buy a ticket for the Elsewhere Express. Appearing only to those whose lives are adrift, it’s a magical train carrying very rare and special a sense of purpose, peace, and belonging.Raya is one of those lost souls. She dreamed of being a songwriter, but when her brother died, she gave up on her dream and started living his instead.One day, as her thoughts wander while on the subway, she's swept off to the Elsewhere Express. There she meets Q, a charming, handsome artist who, like her, has lost his place in the world.Together they find a train full of wonders, from a boarding car that's also a meadow to a dining car where passengers can picnic on lilypads to a bar where jellyfish and whales swim through pink clouds.But they also discover that the train harbors secrets—and A mysterious stranger has stowed away on the train and brought with him a dark, malignant magic that threatens to destroy it.But in investigating the stowaway's identity, Raya also finds herself drawing closer to the ultimate What is her life's true purpose—and might Q be connected to it?

In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare includes two quite different stories of romantic love. Hero and Claudio fall in love almost at first sight, but an outsider, Don John, strikes out at their happiness. Beatrice and Benedick are kept apart by pride and mutual antagonism until others decide to play Cupid.

Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Inspector Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.

Princess Cerys of the Northern Isles is the highest target in the world. Being the last living heir to the throne, she takes off and almost instantly finds herself cursed by one of the renowned Persephone's flowers. However, she's not the only one who falls victim. Now she must travel across the world with a pestering thief to break the curse, encountering many unlikely friends along the way. But soon they find themselves wrapped in the middle of an even more threatening situation--one that threatens the collapse of the very world they live in.Between trying to break the curse and attempting to prevent a war, Cerys finds that not all people are who they appear to be.And what you're running from can catch up with you in the end.Familiar fairy tales and Greek myths are mixed with modern-world elements in this YA light fantasy novel. Filled with fast-paced dialogue, comedic scenarios, and whimsical magic, Storylore is guaranteed to take you on the road trip of a lifetime.

Brik Janushek is nothing if not resilient. But as his time in Ormdale stretches longer than he intended, he begins to wonder if he will recover from the enigmatic woman who has captured his heart. Or could he dare to find a way through the wall that stands between them? A short story in The Secrets of Ormdale. Note to readers: This story takes place during the events of Books 4 & 5 in the completed series The Secrets of Ormdale. As such, it is best enjoyed after reading the entire series. It contains moderate spoilers for Book 5 (Valley of Dragons). This story is available exclusively from the author's online shop.

A knight, an immortal, and an actor walk into a palace—the immortal doesn't walk out. The City of Bones has a mother in Death. And no one believes this more than Sir Desmond Edenry. For four years he has fought the imperial city's wars. And now with the passing of an estranged uncle, Desmond finds himself inheriting enough gold to dam the sea. But once in the imperial city itself to collect this new fortune, Desmond is thrown into a game of cat and mouse. A relic of his homeland has gone missing, and duty demands he get it back. Crowns are cages. Laudilas de Glas is trapped by his family's royal ambitions. He is an actor who wants nothing more than to return to the stage with its scripted lines and loud applause. But when the diary of a long-forgotten queen is stolen right out from underneath its keeper's nose, Laudilas is ordered to retrieve it. But something's wrong. This is no ordinary theft. Laudilas has been the puppet of greater men for long enough to know when the strings are being pulled by someone who has planned their game too well—or for too long. With immortality comes curiosity. But what Kennet Zur wants is revenge. One thousand years ago, the imperial city made him bleed, and now he wants to break the blade that cut him forever. But he can't do it alone. So, as the hourglass sands slide into the Night of the Red Lady, Mother Death, he sets his pawns loose. Two men. One stolen book to find. Ten centuries worth of waiting. Riyria meets Medici in this epic fantasy/dark comedy mashup where a heist gone wrong on the night of an imperial city's most macabre holiday will forever change three impossibly different lives.

"A spellbinding tale where grief births magic and stories become reality. Heartfelt, imaginative, and brimming with danger-a must-read for fans of grounded magic and unforgettable heroines."-Morgan Shamy, Bestselling Author of The Stricken Out of the pages, he comes. Into the pages, she must go. Seventeen-year-old Lia Corvine supports her fracturing family, no matter the cost. It's irrelevant that her father's absence eats away at her false smiles and reassurances, that insecurities plague her mind. Lia's only reprieve is writing stories with her grandfather, where she can escape as a ranger to a floating kingdom with roguish Prince Kayce. But everything crumbles when her grandfather suddenly passes away. As grief unleashes her barely-bound anxiety, it also unlocks Lia's slumbering magic-and drags Kayce into reality. However, when barriers fray and dreams come true, so do nightmares. Monsters lurk in the streets. Envious societies hunger for power. And Lia finds herself in the center of a nefarious plot. With ancient orders governing the magic her family never told her about, it seems her grandfather's death was no accident. Only Lia can retrace his steps for answers. But even with Kayce by her side, can Lia embrace who she's only allowed herself to be in fantasy? For her kingdom's sake, she must face the darkness within and without...before there are no stories left to tell. Packed with immersive worlds, torturous slowburn romance, and mounting courage, the first installment in the Flameheart Chronicles grants a reader's deepest wish--to step into the stories they call home and to fight for them.

The only way out is death.In the Arena, appearances are everything, and Cyrus has mastered the art. Trained since his youth to annihilate opponents for the entertainment of the masses, he’s become known as a legend who cannot be beaten—but when the dust settles, he’s no less a prisoner than the criminals he faces, and his usefulness to his masters only lasts as long as the money keeps coming in.Bastian Lytos has no interest in fame or fortune. Sentenced to the Arena after disobeying orders on the field of battle, he’s determined only to defy his masters for as long as possible before his inevitable demise. When fate throws him into the path of the Arena champion, he’s shocked to find that even the most elite fighters are just as trapped as he is.A new alliance forms when the two combatants unexpectedly come face to face, but in order to survive long enough to see freedom, they’ll have to fight.For honor. For glory. To the death.

There is bedlam, and there is delightful bedlam.This afternoon touched on the second, much to my pleasure.The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.

In 1865, orphaned Daisy Francois takes a position as housemaid at a midwestern Wisconsin castle and finds that the reclusive and eccentric Gothic authoress inside hides more than the harrowing tales in her novels. With women disappearing from the area and a legend that seems to parallel these eerie circumstances, Daisy is thrust into a web that may threaten to steal her sanity, if not her life. In the present day, Cleo Clemmons is hired by the grandson of American aristocratic family the Tremblays to help his matriarchal grandmother face her hoarding in the dilapidated Castle Moreau. But when Cleo uncovers more than just the woman's stashes of collectibles, a century-old mystery of disappearance, insanity, and the dust of the old castle's curse threatens to rise again, and this time, leave no one alive to tell its sordid tale. Fan-favorite Jaime Jo Wright draws readers into a seamlessly woven dual-time tale of suspense, mystery, romance, and redemption.

If you can't join them... beat them. Marigold Cartwell has only one goal: to defeat her long-time rival on the archery field. She knows she can outshoot irritating, cynical Tristan Gates, but the local bowmen’s society—the one he belongs to—refuses to allow women to compete. Spurred on by their rejection, Marigold decides to start a new society. Naturally, it has only one rule: no men. Tristan Gates is used to Marigold Cartwell always getting her way, so he is far from surprised when she forms her own society. He knows how relentless she can be, something he learned firsthand facing her at the targets. But Tristan has enough worries of his own, what with his bachelor uncle falling in love with a fortune hunter. He has no time to entertain Marigold’s ambitions. However, after a visit to the seashore ends in disaster—and scandal—Marigold and Tristan soon realize how little they know about each other. The strained tension between them quickly turns to simmering attraction, but an important archery competition looms ahead. Lines are drawn all around them, with Marigold and Tristan on opposite sides, and neither can afford to lose. Yet winning might be the very thing to tear them apart.

In this lush and romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi, a prince is only as good as his beating heart and a maiden is only as good as her honest word. But when love and the truth become impossibly tangled, the two must figure out how to survive together, or fall completely apart. To find love is a curse ... Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally. Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris's parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power. Until he meets Demelza. As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides. While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.

Wendy Darling's course is charted. Suffocated by her domineering aunt and expected to marry for status, the only place she can truly breathe is the theatre. When she witnesses Peter Neverland making his acting debut, her world opens to infinite possibilities. The moment Peter steps onto the stage, the boy who never intended to grow up discovers his true purpose. Surrounded by a humble troupe of players, Peter's so happy he could crow. Until the starry-eyed girl watching rapturously from the balcony alters his orbit. In that hallowed space of universal dreams, Peter and Wendy fall in love. But when Wendy's aunt plots to separate the two, it sends them on different trajectories that will put an ocean between them. For Peter and Wendy's love to conquer the stars, it will take more than pixie dust. It will require the Neverlands, which are always seeking to break through, to perform a miracle. "From theatre in London's West End, to Broadway, and Hollywood's nascent enterprise of moving pictures, Shades of Neverland takes you on a journey of faith, trust, and pixie dust past the second star to the right and straight on till happily ever after. Shades of Neverland is the continuation of Peter Pan's story that my heart needed!" - Lorie Langdon author of Disney Villains' Happily Never After series