Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of five and sent to live as an apprentice to a master. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the "ultimate sacrifice" for a "noble destiny." If leaving his parents and erasing his past life isn't tough enough, Nathaniel's master, Arthur Underwood, is a cold, condescending, and cruel middle-ranking magician in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The boy's only saving grace is the master's wife, Martha Underwood, who shows him genuine affection that he rewards with fierce devotion. Nathaniel gets along tolerably well over the years in the Underwood household until the summer before his eleventh birthday. Everything changes when he is publicly humiliated by the ruthless magician Simon Lovelace and betrayed by his cowardly master who does not defend him. Nathaniel vows revenge. In a Faustian fever, he devours magical texts and hones his magic skills, all the while trying to appear subservient to his master. When he musters the strength to summon the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus to avenge Lovelace by stealing the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, the boy magician plunges into a situation more dangerous and deadly than anything he could ever imagine.

2021 LODESTAR AWARD for BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance. But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…

A Perfect Red recounts the colorful history of cochineal, a legendary red dye that was once one of the world's most precious commodities. Treasured by the ancient Mexicans, cochineal was sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune. Desperate to find their own sources of the elusive dye, the English, French, Dutch, and other Europeans tried to crack the enigma of cochineal. Did it come from a worm, a berry, a seed? Could it be stolen from Mexico and transplanted to their own colonies? Pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies -- all joined the chase for cochineal, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. A Perfect Red tells their stories -- true-life tales of mystery, empire, and adventure, in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.

From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

De Romeinse geschiedschrijver Livius (59 v.Chr.-17 n.Chr.) was een begenadigd verhalenverteller. Dit is een bloemlezing uit zowel oudere als nieuwe vertalingen van zijn lijvige geschiedenis van Rome (de samenstelster werkt aan een volledige vertaling). De bundel bestaat uit drie gedeelten, die onafhankelijk van elkaar te lezen zijn. Het eerste is een selectie van Livius' mooiste sagen en verhalen uit de vroegste Romeinse geschiedenis (Remus & Romulus, de Sabijnse Maagdenroof, de Ganzen van het Capitool). Het tweede gedeelte is het beroemde verslag van de strijd tussen Rome en Hannibal, met inbegrip van Hannibals legendarische tocht over de Alpen. Het derde gedeelte behandelt de periode van de Romeinse machtsuitbreiding in het oostelijk Middellandse Zeegebied en de oorlogen tegen de Macedonische koningen Philippus en Antiochus. Het boek is uitgebreid met een chronologisch overzicht, een verklarende woordenlijst, een achttal landkaarten en een index. Dit is geen onsamenhangende verzameling hoogtepunten, maar een degelijke en toegankelijke kennismaking met het werk van Livius, waaruit de voor de moderne lezer minder interessante passages zijn weggelaten. Kleine druk.

Last night I was grieving. Today I am a headline. When my husband’s body washed up on a remote riverbank, the media swarmed. They called it an accident. Then a scandal. Then they called me a suspect. So I disappeared. New state. New life. New tenant. Jake is everything Matthew wasn’t—kind, protective, and dangerously magnetic. Our connection ignites fast, blurring every line I swore I’d never cross. Until strange things start happening… Matthew’s cufflink appears on my kitchen counter. The wedding photo I destroyed shows up on my nightstand. Someone is watching me. And now a woman is missing—a woman asking questions about Matthew. As the past claws its way back, I’m forced to confront the Who, exactly, is the man sleeping in my bed? A white-knuckle psychological thriller that will leave you reeling. Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell, and Gone Girl. Readers can’t get enough of Amanda McKinney’s “One of the BEST books I have EVER read.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Holy helicopter!!! Talk about a wild ride through a tsunami of emotions! Never thought I’d have tears running down my face. Twists and turns that kept me constantly wondering and completely on edge!… Flawlessly executed, a highly original story with complex characters and genuinely suspenseful. Even though my heart was pounding I literally could not put it down!… Need a 3-day nap! High as the sky recommend!” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If you’re a fan of Alice Feeney, Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell, or any thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page, this needs to be on your list.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “YOU GUYSSSSSS!!! DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND ADD THIS ONE TO YOUR TBR!... PERFECTION!... I felt like I was on a rollercoaster with this one and was on the edge of my seat the entire time!” @books ravewine, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The ending was unpredictable… Amanda somehow managed to tear my heart out and shatter it.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The twist landed like a punch to the gut—bold, unexpected, but completely earned.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I’m calling it now, BEST PLOT TWIST OF 2025!! The Wife's Silence gripped me from page one!… This book has everything I love in a thriller... fast-paced, twisty, enthralling, a little dark, and a bit revengeful! Can I give it 6 out of 5 stars??” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This book had me clutching my coffee and whispering ‘no way’ at least five times… then McKinney throws in a twist so wild it actually made me sit up straight. Like, mind blown… an absolutely gripping read with major ‘just one more chapter’ energy and a very satisfying ending.” @heidireadsitall, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wow wow wow!! The twists in this book! Omg I did not see that coming at all!! I highly recommend it!” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ &ldqu

Holly Black makes her adult debut with Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies. In Charlie Hall’s world, shadows can be altered, for entertainment and cosmetic preferences—but also to increase power and influence. You can alter someone’s feelings—and memories—but manipulating shadows has a cost, with the potential to take hours or days from your life. Your shadow holds all the parts of you that you want to keep hidden—a second self, standing just to your left, walking behind you into lit rooms. And sometimes, it has a life of its own. Charlie is a low-level con artist, working as a bartender while trying to distance herself from the powerful and dangerous underground world of shadow trading. She gets by doing odd jobs for her patrons and the naive new money in her town at the edge of the Berkshires. But when a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie’s present life is thrown into chaos, and her future seems at best, unclear—and at worst, non-existent. Determined to survive, Charlie throws herself into a maelstrom of secrets and murder, setting her against a cast of doppelgängers, mercurial billionaires, shadow thieves, and her own sister—all desperate to control the magic of the shadows.