The next adventure in Kesia Lupo's stunning and original YA fantasy world. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor. On a mysterious island where the very earth holds magic, masked assassins plague the city and strange creatures rise from the desert. Livio has riled against his destiny his whole life. Beatrice longs to escape her life of servitude. But when a twist of fate unites them, it is up to them to stop a deadly revolution. Are they just puppets in someone else's game? Will they have to accept the hands they have been dealt or can either change their fortunes? Another thrilling, plot-driven adventure, with an even bigger twist, We Are Bound by Stars is a tale of masks, politics, desire and deception that will have you gripped once again in Kesia Lupo's rich fantasy world.

In this late medieval tale of mystery and witchcraft, Laura Rahme breathes life into a Venice long forgotten. From the dark sottoporticos of the Arsenal, to the wealthy mansions of Castello, and deep within the secret passages of the Ducal Palace, The Mascherari is an occult tale rich with history. VENEZIA, 1422. Doge Tommaso Mocenigo lies on his death bed. An evil has come to Venice. An evil that will set the course for the future of La Serenissima. On the eve of Carnivale, five wealthy Venetian merchants set upon a mask maker in the ancient district of Santa Croce. They are led by Giacomo Contarini, a ruthless patrician. The following day, the Venice Republic's security council, the most feared Council of Ten, summons Florentine inquisitor, Antonio da Parma, to hold an inquest on a most baffling case. During a sumptuous banquet, Giacomo Contarini and his partners have met a chilling death. Newly widowed and fresh from Florence, Antonio da Parma's reputation precedes him. He is known for his susceptibility to the occult and is sternly warned that The Council of Ten want none of that. Yet in the throes of this macabre investigation Antonio is lured by his dreams and visions and by the mysterious silver pendant that he discovers on one of the dead merchants. Enter the dashing Esteban del Valle, a formidable swordmaster of Nubian origins. Esteban grieves his stolen inheritance and the death of his Catalan adopted father. He survives, mysteriously, through the influence of high ranking patricians. He never removes his mask and has sworn to reclaim his wealth. Noble Catarina Contarini has a sad tale to tell. Her husband's death weighs upon her and so too, do the scandalous accusations that have been raised against him. In her grief, she confides in Antonio and reveals her shocking secrets. But Catarina's darkest secret concerns a witch; a Napoletana named Magdalena. Antonio is drawn ever closer to the magnetic Magdalena. He unveils the truth behind the merchants' murders and comes face to face with a machination of monstrous evil. Through this fascinating Magdalena, an enchanter of admirals and merchants alike, Antonio begins to realize that his true quest is one he could never have imagined. Weaving historical mystery and the supernatural, The Mascherari evokes a Venice that will leave your breathless.

N THE WINTER OF 1535, young Kate Carey lives with her mother and her new family, far from the royal court. Unhappy with her life and wanting to escape her home, she accepts the invitation of Anne Boleyn, the aunt she idolises, to join her household in London. But the dark, dangerous labyrinth of Henry VIII's court forces Kate to grow up fast as she witnesses her aunt's final tragic days - and when she discovers a secret that changes her life forever. All things must end-all things but love.

What kinds of knowledge and understandings of the world can be generated - and shared - when we use para-academic techniques and sensibilities to decode or respond to relatively orthodox intellectual objects? And what worlds might be possible if we practiced scholarly work from a place of collaboration and pleasure, as joyful fellow explorers? In METAGESTURES, historian Carla Nappi and cultural theorist Dominic Pettman explore the use of fiction as a tool to write and think with works of theory. Taking Vilém Flusser's GESTURES as its point of inspiration and departure, METAGESTURES collects 16 pairs of short stories in which Pettman and Nappi make fictional worlds that animate and enliven each of the major gestures in Flusser's book. Nappi and Pettman focus on Flusser's mediations on the gestures of filming, planting, loving, smoking a pipe, turning a mask around, and much more, with their own creative explorations of each theme, in a gathering of short fictions that test, expand, and further the social scientific claims of the original text with new scenarios and occasions. Here, Flusser's reflections on physical gesture serve as an inspiration for new ways of conceiving and conducting theory, and for thoughtful creative scholarly imagining, with and alongside one another. Carla Nappi is a historical pataphysicist and Mellon Chair in History at the University of Pittsburgh. She has published widely in the history of bodies, medicine, and translation in early modern China, and you can explore her recent shenanigans at carlanappi.com. Dominic Pettman is Professor of Culture & Media at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College, and the author of numerous books on technology, humans, and other animals; including the recent Creaturely Love (Minnesota University Press) and Sonic Intimacy (Stanford University Press).

Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th century world of her New York Times instant bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with the final riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever in The Bronzed Beasts. After Séverin's seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin. Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass. With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself...but at a price they may not be willing to pay.

A compelling new historical naval adventure from a master of maritime storytelling. 1796: Nathan Peake, captain of the frigate Unicorn, is sent with a small squadron into the Adriatic to help bring Venice into an Italian alliance with Britain against the French. He establishes a British naval presence, harrying the French corsairs that swarm out of Ancona in Italy, and confronts the politics of "intrigue, poison, and the stiletto" in Venice, but learns that Bonaparte is negotiating a peace deal with the Austrians—Britain's only remaining ally. Worse, the Spanish are about to ally with the French. Nathan returns to the Unicorn and rejoins Nelson for the decisive Battle of St. Vincent against the entire Spanish fleet.

The Dissolving Path is a semi-organized diary of sorts which combines three separate texts from the period of 2019-2020, including: Cactus Patch (composed of all the material that was cut from Clyssus of Man during editing), a collection of writings collectively regarded as The Ashland Texts which was maintained in the weeks leading up to Leviyey’s final astragon, and lastly an untitled lot of notes written prior to and alongside Clyssus of Man as a means of exorcising all of the obsessive and traumatic thoughts for which he otherwise had no outlet. The Dissolving Path strips away the gloss coat of mythopoeia and allegory so prominent within Leviyey’s other works to present a very stark, straightforward look into his innermost conflicts and motivations—with most of the focus being given to his strained relationship with human society. Though originally intended to be released as a supplementary text available only to avid readers of Leviyey’s work, the author has chosen to bring it before a wider audience in the belief that it forms an indispensable part of his canon even if its contents no longer represent his stance and outlook. Since this book contains information that may spoil the events of Clyssus of Man, it is recommend that readers read Clyssus of Man before reading The Dissolving Path.

• Reveals how mask rituals are akin to shamanic journeying and allow the mask wearer to personify an ancestral presence, spirit, deity, or power • Examines animal guising and shows how mask customs are tied to creation myths and the ancestral founders of a people, tribe, city, or nation • Looks at morris dancers and mummers in the UK, Krampuslauf and Perchtenlauf in Germanic areas, the Gorgon myths of Greece, Norse Berserker rituals, and the annual Black Forest rite to awaken ensouled masks every spring There is a spiritual power in masks that transports one into realms unseen and gives voice to things unspoken. Within the context of ritual, putting on a mask places the wearer at the intersection between the present and the past, the living and the dead, this world and the Otherworld. Masks make it possible to activate ancient archetypes, with the mask wearer reanimating or personifying an ancestral presence or spirit, a deity or power, an animal or a being of the eldritch world. In this illustrated study, Nigel Pennick explores the magical and spiritual aspects of mask wearing from ancient times to the present. He examines the many mask traditions around Europe and shows how mask rituals are similar to shamanic journeying and near-death experiences and can induce ecstatic states that allow the power signified by the mask to take possession of the individual wearing it. He also looks at the practice of dressing up as sacred animals and mask wearing as it relates to ostenta, events that occur suddenly and without warning that are considered a token or sign from the Otherworld. Unveiling the sacred power of masks, the author shows how masks allow us to transport into realms unseen, embody ancestors and otherworldly entities, and connect with traditions that stretch back to time immemorial.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR For fans of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane and A Discovery of Witches comes a brilliantly imagined debut novel brimming with rich history, suspense, and magic. Revelation “Reve” Dyer grew up with her grandmother’s family stories, stretching back centuries to Reve’s ancestors, who founded the town of Hawley Five Corners, Massachusetts. Their history is steeped in secrets, for few outsiders know that an ancient magic runs in the Dyer women’s blood, and that Reve is a magician whose powers are all too real. Reve and her husband are world-famous Las Vegas illusionists. They have three lovely young daughters, a beautiful home, and what seems like a charmed life. But Reve’s world is shattered when an intruder alters her trick pistol and she accidentally shoots and kills her beloved husband onstage. Fearing for her daughters’ lives, Reve flees with them to the place she has always felt safest—an antiquated farmhouse in the forest of Hawley Five Corners, where the magic of her ancestors reigns, and her oldest friend—and first love—is the town’s chief of police. Here, in the forest, with its undeniable air of enchantment, Reve hopes she and her girls will be protected. Delving into the past for answers, Reve is drawn deeper into her family’s legends. What she discovers is The Hawley Book of the Dead, an ancient leather-bound journal holding mysterious mythic power. As she pieces together the truth behind the book, Reve will have to shield herself and her daughters against an uncertain, increasingly dangerous fate. For soon it becomes clear that the stranger who upended Reve’s life in Las Vegas has followed her to Hawley—and that she has something he desperately wants. Brimming with rich history, suspense, and magic, The Hawley Book of the Dead is a brilliantly imagined debut novel from a riveting new voice. Praise for The Hawley Book of the Dead “An informed and assured launch . . . Readers will be thoroughly engaged [by] the literary, magical, horse-loving Reve.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Enthralling . . . a magic-fueled tale of contemporary romantic suspense.”—Booklist (starred review) “The core narrative is strong [with] a proper hook. . . . The scenes with Reve and her daughters ring true.”—Library Journal “An impressive debut novel that combines various genres seamlessly.”—Huntington News “Engrossing . . . a novel well worth discovering . . . In the vein of authors like Deborah Harkness and Katherine Howe, magic and reality are perfectly blended.”—BookPage “With a rapid pace and exquisite details that clearly set the scene and mood, [Chrysler] Szarlan’s novel is a great read for those who love fantasy and tales of witchcraft.”—Shelf Awareness “The Hawley Book of the Dead had me completely spellbound from beginning to end. A storytelling virtuosa, Chrysler Szarlan has woven a wondrous, scintillating web of suspense, love, history, and magic that will keep you eagerly turning the pages late into the night. Even readers not normally drawn to the supernatural will be swept away by this book; it has everything a great adventure should have—and so much more.”—Anne Fortier “A haunting story of love, loss, family secrets, mysteries, and magic.”—Lauren Willig

It's the Carnevale of 1750 and Venice's ballrooms, theatres, palazzos and squares are filled with delicious gossip, devilish fun and dangerous games. In this glittering masked world, everyone has a secret... Set in an age of decadence made famous by Casanova, Masquerade uncovers the secrets of seven teens, from the highest aristocrat to the lowest servant - their dreams, desires, loves, loyalties ... and betrayals. All the world's a stage. Let the show begin.