In The Rose's Kiss, botanist Peter Bernhardt rekindles our sense of wonder at the plant life all around us. He presents a fascinating and wide-ranging look at the natural history of flowers - their forms and functions as well as their hidden interactions with the surrounding environment and the other living organisms upon which they depend for survival. The Rose's Kiss will hold wide appeal for nature lovers, garden enthusiasts, and anyone interested in learning more about the inner workings of the natural world.

Flowers bring joy and beauty to our lives, from the smallest patch of daisies outside our window to the elaborate floral decorations on display at weddings, banquets, and funerals. As well as offering aesthetic benefits, they teach us much about how the world works -- each blossom is a living factory that manufactures organs and compounds ranging from the flavonoids that make a rose red to the pollen that gives us hayfever.In The Rose's Kiss, botanist Peter Bernhardt rekindles our sense of wonder at the plant life all around us. He presents a fascinating and wide ranging look at the natural history of flowers -- their forms and functions as well as their hidden interactions with the surrounding environment and the other living organisms they depend upon for survival. Using both familiar and exotic examples, he examines: flower architecture, including the wonderfully descriptive names of floral parts and their respective roles in a plant's life-cycle the secret exchange between a bud and its environment that determines blooming time and the lifespan of individual blossoms colors, scents, and other mechanisms that plants use to attract pollinators and keep them returning season after season the incredible diversity of organisms that pollinate plants -- cockroaches, flies, moths, parrots, hummingbirds, bats, and others extinct plants and their fossil blossoms, showing the evolution of flowering plants over the past 125 million years and much moreDelightfully interwoven with intriguing facts and stories from history, folklore, and mythology, The Rose's Kiss is a wonderful example of literary science writing at its best. It should hold wide appeal for nature lovers, garden enthusiasts, and anyone interested in learning more about the inner workings of the natural world.

On a school trip to the plague village of Eyam, Seth is moved by the story of how villagers sacrificed their lives to the dreaded Black Death. Kim and Wes are more interested in what they see at the bottom of the wishing well - money! But when they snatch the coins they also pick up something they hadn't bargained on, and as the hideous consequences of their theft catch up with them all, Seth is forced to face a terrifying truth. Has Eyam's plague-ridden past resurfaced to seek revenge? Historical facts blend with ghosts and ancient curses in the latest offering from acclaimed thriller-writer Malcolm Rose. Ages 10+

Years ago, Janine Pinchpenny let youthful folly sweep her away; she kissed a man who was not her husband in anightclub in Peru. To remind her of her indiscretion, she kept a print of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss on her bedroom wall. Now sixty, Janine finds her life inextricably linked with that of her ex-husband, Joram, who continues to stalk her. She turns the tables on him when she begins an affair with Testosterone Bill of Sensor Security, the very same company Joram employs. But she discovers more than she bargained for . . .For more information, please visit www.cameliarose.net

Anise Yamamoto has been told that if she ever removes the rose choker given to her by her father, a terrible punishment will befall her. Unfortunately she loses that choker when a bat-like being named Ninufa falls from the sky and hits her. Ninufa gives Anise four cards representing four knights whom she can summon with a kiss. But now that she has these gorgeous men at her beck and call, what exactly is her quest?! -- VIZ Media

#1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood introduces the beloved Clayborne family in this passionate novel. The four Clayborne brothers were a rough gang of street urchins—until they found an abandoned baby girl in a New York City alley, named her Mary Rose, and headed to Blue Belle, Montana, to raise her to be a lady. They became a family—held together by loyalty and love if not blood—when suddenly a stranger threatened to tear them apart... Lord Harrison Stanford MacDonald brandishes a six-shooter and a swagger, but he soon proves to be a gentleman to the core. The brothers have taught him frontier survival, while Mary Rose has touched his heart with a deep and desperate passion. But soon, a shattering secret will challenge everything Mary Rose believes about herself, her life, and her newfound love.

"This is an action-packed, expertly plotted story, drenched in double crosses and intrigue, with an irresistible heroine and a sweet and sexy romance. A late-breaking twist gives way to a final act that will leave readers eager for subsequent books in this planned trilogy." —Publishers Weekly , starred review An obstinate girl who will not be married. A soldier desperate to prove himself. A kingdom on the brink of war. With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a proper lady—which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for a suitable marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls—and on the soldiers escorting them. As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust—and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom. With secret identities and a tempestuous romance, Erin Beaty's The Traitor’s Kiss is full of intrigue, espionage, and lies. An Imprint Book "Marital and martial matters collide when brides and spies become ensnared in a treasonous plot. . . . Sage is a clever, contrary female protagonist who remains realistic and likable, while her fellow protagonist Ash is enigmatic enough to require a second read. . . . Both epic and intimate, a semi–old-fashioned alternative to the wave of inexplicably lethal superheroines and their smoldering love triangles." —Kirkus Reviews "Complex characterization, deftly layered adventure story, and [a] balanced blend of political maneuvering, romantic interludes, and action scenes." —Kirkus Reviews "Beaty balances a taut web of deceit...readers will be carried away by the mystery." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (BCCB) "A debut novel that blends fantasy, romance, and battlefield action. . . . A slow burn YA fantasy with clever genre mixing." —School Library Journal

It starts with an unexpected kiss… Remi Donovan doesn’t know what possessed Declan Howard to sidle up to her desk and ask for a kiss—but she’s not about to turn him down. After all, she’s had a secret crush on the sexy-as-sin wealth manager ever since he set foot in Rose Bend two years ago. Still, why steal a kiss from a small-town librarian when a man like Declan could have any woman he wants? For Declan, the plan is simple: fake a relationship with Remi to keep his ex off his back and his matchmaking mother happy. As the charade brings them closer, it ignites something real—something neither can ignore. But before they can build a happy future together, they’ll both have to reconcile with the past…

NOW THE INSPIRATION FOR THE ORIGINAL SERIES 'CROSS' ON PRIME VIDEO _____________________________ DETECTIVE ALEX CROSS'S NIECE IS MISSING Cross fears the disappearance could be linked to a string of recent abductions and murders that are terrorising the US. Two killers, operating on opposite sides of the country, are collaborating and competing to commit increasingly horrific crimes. If he's to rescue his niece, Cross must hunt down these two brutal masterminds. All the while, countless lives hang in the balance. _____________________________ 'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.' LEE CHILD 'Alex Cross is a legend' HARLAN COBEN