Jennifer Charles (JC) has sort of figured out their life. They're two months out of prison, clean, and sober, and just got a job at a CaFae Latte, owned by the mysterious and powerful fairy who goes by Violet. They're getting along with their knife-happy coworker and have even started dating one of the regulars who practices witchcraft. But JC is not the only one with a dark past. When Violet's Fae Realm enemies come for revenge, they frame JC for their crimes, putting their new life in jeopardy. With Violet missing and everyone blaming the ex-con, JC will have to face their own checkered past, Confederate vampires, and shapeshifting fairies to save their boss and themself. Meanwhile, Violet would like to remind the Fae why they call her the Iron Witch.

"The billionaire Sun Clan of Greater Los Angeles is your typical American family, with power-struggling aunties, emasculated uncles, scheming cousins, scandalous secrets and a fortune teller on retainer. But at the end of each combative day, the Suns are chained together with golden handcuffs, whether they like it or not. Yet strange storms are a-brewing. Their matriarch, Roses Sun, is grappling with an existential crisis: she must produce a male heir that bears the clan's surname. She fears that if her generation is the one in which their esteemed lineage ends, they will be punished as 'hungry ghosts' in the afterlife--an ancient but very real Asian superstition. Faced with this terrifying fate, Roses summons her favorite nephew, Wayward. Believing him to possess the 'lucky seed,' Roses presents Wayward with a mandatory suggestion: to father a baby boy who will inherit everything. When the other members of the Sun Clan catch wind of Roses's plot, all hells break loose. Wayward's family will now clashlike never before in an epic war over the future of the Suns...if there is a future at all. Yet through the chaos, Wayward sees opportunity. What if he can leverage all the conflict into a solution for his problematic family? What if he can reunite the Sun Clan by healing them? And what if the tumultuous Suns can finally learn how to love each other for the first time?"--

"In this gripping new work of historical fiction from the award-winning author of Code Name Edelweiss, three sisters fight to save themselves and each other amid the danger of a cataclysmic earthquake that rips Yellowstone Park asunder. 1959. Claire, Bridget, and Frannie Reilly are as close as sisters can be. Though their mother left when they were young, their loving father raised them with everything they could want. But when Claire marries a handsome cowboy and settles out west, a thousand miles away, the sisters' strong bond begins to unravel. Claire struggles to adjust to a life utterly unlike her upbringing, and surprising revelations about her husband's past make her wonder if she's made a terrible mistake. With a new baby and a shoestring budget, the last thing she needs is her family's interference. Sensing something isn't right, Bridget takes a temporary nursing assignment in Yellowstone, promising her father she'll bring Claire home--with or without her husband. When Frannie, the rebellious youngest sister, is sent along in hopes it will corral her behavior, the Reilly sisters reunite on the eve of a seismic event that rips Yellowstone Park apart, tests their survival, and exposes the ever-widening rift in their relationship. Based on real events of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake and inspired by true stories, The Fault Between Us is a suspenseful exploration of the bonds of sisterhood, the depths of family drama, and how hidden wounds can only heal when they're brought into the light"-- Provided by publisher.

"Early in the French Revolutionary War, a young British naval officer, Lieutenant Joseph Duncan, finds himself unexpectedly in chargh of a powerful frigate. Sailing alone in the Caribbean Sea with no one to ask for advice, he makes a fateful decision to engage a superior enemy force. Although Duncan is ultimately victorious in the fierce battle, the cargo found on the French ships attracts the attention of the Foreign Service. Soon Duncan is thrust into the world of espionage, spies, and politics. Confirmation of his temporary promotion hinges on competing factions within the highest levels of government. He forms an unlikely friendship with a rash young Marine officer with a murky background. Together they seek answers that could expose treason, and along the way, learn the French are no their only enemies" --

"Fifty years after revealing the secrets of Odessa, an underground organization of former Nazis angling to regain power, Peter Miller is a retired legend in the journalism community. He's spent the last decade caring for his grandson Georg after the death of his son and daughter-in-law in a tragic car accident. Always suspecting that his own long list of enemies might have been behind his son's death, Peter pulled back from his career to keep Georg safe. But he could do nothing to stop the young man from following in his footsteps--Georg's reputation and renown for fearless journalism growing fast in a digital world. But Georg Miller is not the only aspect of Peter's past that has thrived"--

In the unforgiving wilderness of Maine, a disgraced detective must confront his past to solve a chilling murder. Detective Brock Justice's career is on thin ice. Once the golden boy of Maine State Police, Brock now finds himself exiled to the remote northeastern wilderness, punishment for crossing the thin blue line. Assigned to the Major Crimes Unit—North, he suffers the added indignity of partnering with newly-minted Detective Chloe Wright, a rookie with her own hidden struggles. The pair’s uneasy alliance is put to the test almost immediately when a routine snowmobile retrieval in the coastal town of Blue Hill unexpectedly escalates into a full-blown murder investigation. Even as the case exposes the darkest corners of the town, their fragile partnership threatens to undermine the investigation at every turn.Brock and Chloe's hunt draws them into the lives of several intriguing locals: the town doctor, a biker gang involved in drug trafficking, a politically connected sheriff, and Brock’s own father. With each revelation, the line between ally and enemy blurs, compelling Brock and Chloe to question their trust in everyone around them, including each other. Even as winter's icy grip loosens from Blue Hill, the noose of suspicion tightens. Brock must navigate not only a shaky partnership and a town harboring deadly secrets, but also the shadows of his own past. Can he and Chloe piece together the puzzle before Maine's wilderness swallows them whole?

In the Everglades, a senseless murder unearths long-buried secrets. When artist Hezekiah Freeman is found drowned in the shallow waters of Everglades National Park, Special Agent Alison Nance and Clarence Johnson are tasked with uncovering the truth behind his death. What initially seems like a tragic accident soon reveals itself to be part of a larger, more intricate conspiracy. As they begin their investigation, Clarence and Alison discover that Hezekiah's artwork holds more than his artistic genius. Beneath layers of paint lay cryptic clues to a hidden history that some want to keep buried. The details suggest that Hezekiah was searching for something within the park, something that might have led to his untimely death. With each step closer to finding answers, the danger intensifies, forcing Johnson and Nance to untangle the connections between the murder and stories that the Everglades have long held.

"One hundred years after the shipwreck of the Valbanera, known tohistory as the 'poor man's Titanic,' Mara Denis gets an assignment to report on the Canary Islands, where her ancestors lived before they moved to Cuba. Unexpectedly, she discovers that the grandmother her mother cherished was listed among the dead of the Valbanera, years before Mara's mother was even born. This fateful twist changes everything Mara thought she knew about her family and herself, and sends her on a quest to find the truth. If her great grandmother is a ghost, who is she and where did she come from?"--

"During a scorching summer in 1920s Provence, a young journalist, Joseph Adelaide, turns up at the farmhouse of reclusive artist Edouard Tartuffe, hoping to write an article about him. There, he meets Ettie, Tartuffe's niece, who appears to do everything for her uncle--from cooking and cleaning to catering to his maniacal moods. Joseph is beguiled by where he finds himself, not just by this foreign place or Tartuffe himself, but by Ettie, who watches everything so quietly from the periphery. Both Joseph and Ettie carry scars from their pasts and it's as they get to know each other that they start to lay bare those scars to themselves and to each other.​ As the summer wears on, and as new ideas and passions are explored, Joseph, Ettie, and Tartuffe are propelled toward a finale that reveals long-held secrets and sets the world on fire"--Amazon website.

"Paige didn't set out to be a stay-at-home mom, but when her husband's screenwriting career took off right before they had a son withDown syndrome, the decision was made for her. Now, with their children nearly grown and unsure what's next, Paige writes a memoir aboutthe challenges of raising a child with a disability. When a major actress-turned-producer shows up at her door eager to make her 'inspiring' story into a movie, she's shocked, excited, and a little terrified"--

"First--a Baltimore coffee shop. A seat in the corner, facing the door. Black coffee, two refills, no messing around. A minor interruption from two of the customers, but nothing he can't deal with swiftly. As he leaves, a young guy brushes against him in the doorway. Instinctively Reacher checks the pocket holding his cash and passport. There's no problem. Nothing is missing. Second--a store to buy a coat. Nothing fancy. Something he can ditch when he heads to warmer climates. Large enough to fit a man the size of a bank vault. As he pulls out his cash, he finds something new in his pocket. A handwritten note. A desperate plea for help. Third--wherever this bend in the road takes him. Impressed by the guy's technique and intrigued by the message, Reacher makes it his mission to find out more ... "--

"A collection of the year's best American short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, and series editor Nicole A. Lamy. 'Short stories can act like little tuning forks, helping us to clarify our own values,' writes guest editor Celeste Ng. 'In a time when our values are being tested daily, it's hard to think of anything more important.' The twenty pieces in The Best American Short Stories 2025 upend expectations and test the foundation of our beliefs. From a bereaved medical actress obsessed with a student in her rotation to a mysterious sickness that ignites a lethal running mania in its victims, and from the grounds of a wild animal estate to a celebrity look-alike mother for hire, these stories transport readers to the impossible edges of our world and vivify characters who reflect the spectrum of human experience. The pieces in this collection helped series editor Nicole A. Lamy 'make more sense of the world than real life was able to provide.' Within the wild and varied universes that grow from the constraints of the story form, ordinary life seems beguiled and enchanted spaces hold unshakable truths. Bold, urgent, and ultimately hopeful, The Best American Short Stories 2025, through reflections and refractions, offers readers new ways of seeing the world."--

A young woman is convinced that a local teenage boy is responsible for the murder of her family; as she seeks revenge, she finds the truth thornier and more shocking than she ever realised.

"As her first winter in Anatol turns to spring, Lady Maximilian finds herself confronting an unfamiliar feeling: hope. Her voice and her magic strengthen every day; the only parts of Calypse Castle left to refurbish are its gardens, which she plans to fill with blooming flowers; and the way her husband, the recalcitrant war hero Sir Riftan, looks at her from across their bedroom makes her feel, for the first time in her life, that she might be worthy of love and affection.However, Maxi's life is never that easy. Just as she begins to feel at home with Riftan, Maxi receives a surprise visit from Princess Agnes, the renowned sorceress who might have become Riftan's wife if he'd decided to divorce Maxi after the Dragon Campaign. Not at all what Maxi expected, the princess stirs up complicated emotions and politics that could lead to monumental changes in Maxi and Riftan's relationship."--Provided by publisher.

"In the wake of Emperor Palpatine's rise to power, the true nature of his most sinister enforcer remains a mystery. Darth Vader is a dominant yet illusive figure: the shadow cast by a malignant Imperial regime, unknowable to even its top officials. But even as his humanity gives way to myth, Vader remains haunted by the promises of the dark side, seeking the ultimate power that his master has hinted at but withheld--the power to conquer death itself. On the volcanic world of Mustafar, Vader undertakes a dark ritual, bleeding a kyber crystal to forge his lightsaber. This act unleashes a power far greater than he anticipated, giving him a glimpse into the limitless potential of the Force. Vader is determined to follow this vision, even if it means defying his master's orders. Yet he finds the Emperor suspiciously supportive of his mission, even sending Vader to the Diso system to investigate rumors of a Force-wielding shaman able to raise the dead. At his side are a cadre of the Emperor's scarlet-robed Royal Guard, led by Colonel Halland Goth--a decorated soldier with a very personal interest in Vader's mission. Even as the Emperor's true motivations reveal themselves, Vader falls deeper into obsession. His journey takes him far across the galaxy, chasing rumors and phantoms. But no matter how far he travels, he cannot escape the shadows within his own soul. Haunted by the echoes of his past, Vader circles the true resolution to his quest: only once all weakness is purged can he become a master of evil"--

A selection of science fiction and fantasy stories from American authors.

"April is a young mother raising her daughter in an intergenerational house of unspoken secrets and loud arguments. Her only refuge is to hide away in a locked bathroom, her ears plugged into an ambient soundscape, and a mantra on her lips: dead inside. That is, until one day, as she finds herself spiraling toward the volcanic rage she calls the white hot, a voice inside her tells her to just...walk away. She wanders to a bus station and asks for a ticket to the furthest destination; she tells the clerk to make it one-way. That ticket takes her from her Philly home to the threshold of a wilderness and the beginning of a nameless quest-an accidental journey that shakes her awake, almost kills her, and brings her to the brink of an impossible choice. The White Hot takes the form of a letter from mother to daughter about a moment of abandonment that would stretch from ten days to ten years-an explanation, but not an apology. Hudes narrates April's story-spiritual and sexy, fierce and funny-with delicate lyricism and tough love. Just as April finds in her painful and absurd sojourn the key to freeing herself and her family from a cage of generational trauma, so Hudes turns April's stumbling pursuit of herself into an unforgettable short epic of self-discovery"-- Provided by publisher.

Helm is a ferocious wind, part elemental god, part aerial demon blasting through the landscape of Northern England since the dawn of time. But now Dr. Selima Sutar fears human pollution is killing Helm.

Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon face a ghost ship, deadly assassins and a threat from Cabrillo's own past in their race to stop the launch of the world's deadliest machine.

Galilee Kincaid has always felt different--haunted by a mysterious secret about her existence--until she meets Lucifer Helel, a powerful being guarding an ancient artifact. As forbidden attraction ignites between them, Galilee discovers her own extraordinary nature, thrusting her into a deadly struggle between Hell, Heaven, and her own family's secrets. Caught between desire, loyalty, and destiny, she must embrace her power--or risk catastrophic consequences for everyone she loves.

A selection of mystery and suspense fiction from American authors.

"Eliot and his wife Claire have been happily married for nearly four decades. They've raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the inevitable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and it's time to gather loved ones and prepare for the inevitable. Over the years of Claire's illness, Eliot has willingly--lovingly--shifted into the role of caregiver, appreciating the intimacy and tenderness that comes with a role even more layered and complex than the one he performed as a devoted husband. But as he focuses on settling into what will be their last days and weeks together, Claire makes an unexpected request that leaves him reeling. In a moment, his carefully constructed world is shattered"--

"Briar Marriel, once the heir of the Golden Court, is now a prisoner in the heart of enemy territory. But when her ex-lover Maez—now a dark sorceress—comes to “rescue” her, Briar must decide if she’s willing to trust the twisted version of the woman she once loved or remain under the rule of the cruel King Nero. In a war where enemies wear familiar faces, escape might come at a terrible cost. But if she can harness Maez’s newfound magic, could it mean winning the war? Meanwhile, Sadie with the help of Navin races to harness ancient magic that could turn the tide of the war. With their dragon at their side, the Songkeepers uncover long-buried secrets that could save their people—or destroy them all. At the Golden Court, Queen Calla faces an impossible choice: prepare for the looming battle or risk everything to rescue their twin sister Briar. With alliances crumbling and betrayal lurking at every corner, Calla must rally their court and lead their people into war, knowing the price of failure is unthinkable. As war ravages the land, and love is tested by darkness, Briar, Sadie, and Calla must confront their pasts and find the strength to reclaim their future. In this epic conclusion to the Golden Court Trilogy, the battle for freedom—and for love—has never been more harrowing." -- Book Jacket