Ava Parisi, daughter of the second in command of the Italian mafia boss, has one sole purpose in life. That's to never dishonor her mafioso father. Marry, bring peace, and money: those are his demands. Meeting those demands comes at a high price, though. She's betrothed to an abusive man from another notorious Italian family. He's the last person she wants to spend her life with, but there's no way out. Her life is in the gilded, golden cage with strict rules and even harsher punishments. Ivan Sokoloff wants revenge. The vindictive Russian mob boss has made it his mission to avenge his mother's brutal murder. There's nothing he wouldn't do to assert his power. When one of Parisi's henchmen breaches his territory and slaughters one of his men, Ivan brokers a deal: war or Ava's hand in marriage. Ava should hate and fear Ivan, because of his feared reputation. Yet, the infuriating man that enjoys teasing her and making her feel things she never felt before offers her one way to earn her freedom. Win him in a game of chess. Will Ava get the freedom she had been longing? Or will she stay as Ivan's caged little bird in his games?

Estranged siblings reunite a decade after escaping a harrowing childhood only to be sucked into a vortex of revenge, greed, and emotional turmoil, which affects everyone in their wake.

THE STEWARD is an epic contemporary tale in which folklore and fantasy enmesh with physics and forensics. This expanded box set includes Volumes 1 through 4 of the series (Domaine Delafaire, Realms of Possibility, Alas The Best Laid Plans, and Storm Haven).

A murderer stalks the Gateway City. The Central West End Ripper is a Keeper vampire who believes he alone is at the top of the food chain. He slashes his victims to mask his real obsession: drinking blood from humans. His murderous rampage not only threatens the lives of young women, but could also expose a secret community of Freeblood vampires. Freeblood vampire Theodore Falcon is determined to stop the Ripper and keep his community intact. Unlike his ancestors, Falcon obtains his nourishment from a blood bank. He and a handful of Freeblood vampires have found a way coexist with Ordinariesnormal humansbut only if the clan remains a well-guarded secret at all costs. Now, the actions of the Ripper threaten this precarious balance. To catch the Ripper, Falcon builds a team of extraordinary investigators that include his psychologist lady love; his brother, a rock magician; his mentor, a Catholic priest; and an Ordinary, a courageous disabled veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Together, the group prowls the streets in their hunt for the Ripper, all willing to risk their lives to end the evil that threatens their city. The Ripper is crafty, though, and Falcon knows he faces a determined foe. Only time will tell if the Rippers own arrogance become his downfall, or if he will once again elude capture.

This encyclopaedia will be an indispensable resource and recourse for all who are thinking about cities and the urban, and the relation of cities to literature, and to ways of writing about cities. Covering a vast terrain, this work will include entries on theorists, individual writers, individual cities, countries, cities in relation to the arts, film and music, urban space, pre/early and modern cities, concepts and movements and definitions amongst others. Written by an international team of contributors, this will be the first resource of its kind to pull together such a comprehensive overview of the field.

“[An] epic story of royal secrets and love.” — Publishers Weekly In the vein of Philippa Gregory, The King’s Daughter is a superb historical novel of the Jacobean court that will thrill historical fiction fans everywhere. Combining fascinating fact with ingenious fiction, Christie Dickason, the acclaimed author of The Firemaster’s Mistress, tells the spellbinding story of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I, and her determined efforts to avoid becoming her father’s pawn in the royal marriage market. The court of James I is a dangerous place, with factions led by warring cousins Robert Cecil and Francis Bacon. While Europe seethes with conflict between Protestants and Catholics, James sees himself as a grand peacemaker—and wants to make his mark by trading his children for political treaties. Henry, Prince of Wales, and his sister, Elizabeth, find themselves far more popular than their distrusted father, a perilous position for a child of a jealous king. When Elizabeth is introduced to one suitor, Frederick, the Elector Palatine, she feels the unexpected possibility of happiness. But her fate is not her own to choose—and when her parents brutally withdraw their support for the union, Elizabeth must take command of her own future, with the help of an unexpected ally, the slave girl Tallie, who seeks her own, very different freedom.