Dragon Cursed

 By: Elise Kova   

Location: FIC KOV

Genre: Romantasy

SHOW NO MERCY

The cover art!!! Next level!

"This was fun! The magic system is unique and very different from any other dragon book I’ve picked up. The mystery of whether Isola is the Chosen One or if she’s Dragon Cursed had me invested! " mIKAYLA

The moment you see a dragon is usually your last…

Since the dragons emerged–along with the scourge that ravaged our lands and people–there’s only one human city that remains standing: Vingard.

But the hellfire from above is nothing compared to the threat from within. For there is no worse fate than being dragon cursed. Slowly and excruciatingly, you’ll be transformed into a mindless beast who destroys everything–and everyone–you love.

Any of us could be tainted. Any of us could be lying. Any of us could be caught and killed by the authorities.

And I’m terrified that I might be next.

There’s only one other person who might suspect my secret. He’s like my shadow, following me wherever I go. Part protector, part tormentor, fully annoying. Sometimes I think I am just one of the million unfathomable secrets he keeps hidden.

Because Lucan definitely knows something.

And if I’m dragon cursed, death might be the only mercy I get.

BREAKING NEWS!

Dragon Cursed has been optioned for film. It’s all very visual, with lots of plot and action, right from chapter one. I hope the producers do it justice.

Anatomy of An Alibi

 By: Ashley Elston  

Location: FIC ELS

Genre: Thriller

Elston builds a smart, propulsive puzzle that keeps your brain happily sprinting. From the first chapters you’re juggling three delicious questions:

Who killed Ben?

Who killed Aubrey’s parents?

What’s on the flash drive?

A tense, feverish thriller about two women’s lives that are forever intertwined when a murder threatens to expose them both.

“Elston expertly unravels a web of secrets and lies. You won’t be able to put this excellent thriller down until the final shocking page.” —Megan Miranda

Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price.

Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she’s married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move.

Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth—and she may have found the best way in.

Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek.

Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.

The Poet Empress

 By: Shen Tao  

Location: FIC TAO

Genre: Fantasy

TO KILL A MONSTER, SHE MUST BECOME ONE . . .

As the emperor lays dying, the once-great Azalea Dynasty plunges towards civil war. While its princes plot for power, a more hidden war - to become the next empress - occupies the imperial court.

Wei Yin - peasant girl turned concubine to the cruel Prince Terren - has already endured unimaginable suffering. Ripped from her family, she has no title, no allies, and no escape. But she does have a secret . . .

In the shadows of the palace, surrounded by enemies, she is learning a skill forbidden to women. Because when words are weapons and poetry holds an ancient magic, the fate of a girl - and a nation - can both be rewritten. All she has to do is compose the perfect poem - a tale so powerful, it can kill any man, even the next emperor.

The epic political arena of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang meets the intimate tragedy and luscious language of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in this sensational debut novel by visionary new talent Shen Tao, unmissable for die-hard genre fans as well as readers of literary fiction looking to make their first foray into fantasy.

Such a brutal, tragic but beautiful story. It’s a different type of a story where instead of getting lots of action & complex plot, we instead do a dive into the past and dig into the upbringings of certain complex characters in the story.

Every time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies

 By: Catherine Mack  

Location: FIC MAC

Genre: Mystery

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series―is that too much to ask?

Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life―the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can't get out of her life―Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.

Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker―and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly―theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.

"Fresh, clever, and laugh out loud funny! Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is written by an author about an author being an author. Mack smashes through the fourth wall, giving you an inside look at the complex and hilarious world of publishing, while making you feel like you're a part of the story. It's wildly fun, completely addictive, and an absolute must read!"

This Book made me Think Of You

 By: Libby Page  

Location: FIC PAG

Genre:  Romance and Books

“The right book in the hands of the right person at exactly the right moment can change their life forever.”

Twelve stories. Twelve months. Once chance to heal her heart...

When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…
The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?

“Getting back into reading feels like stepping inside the house of a beloved friend she hasn’t seen for a long time. It feels like coming home.”

The Mushroom in the Sky

  By: Jackie French  

Location: FICX FRE

Genre: Historical Fiction-Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Renai review on Goodreads

This is the story of Ossie, who enlists as a soldier at the age of 16 to fight for Australia during WWII and 13 year old Kat who does her bit by helping Mrs Plm look after the dogs that soldiers leave behind. Kat gives Ossie's dog, Lucky a home with her aunt and Uncle and forms a beautiful bond with him. We hear Ossie's perspective as he becomes a POW in Japan and witnesses the atomic bombing of Nagaski and the aftermath. We hear Kat's perspective as she works hard to assist Mrs Plum and recruits help from far and wide, all the time writing to Ossie. Kat and Ossie are able to connect via Lucky through shared visions and emotions. I was initially a bit skeptical of this element but it enhanced the storytelling. This book gives an insight into the plight of POWs at the hands of cruel captors as well as the respect and kindness given to them by Japanese civilians. It shows the extremes that war causes, but never loses sight of the basic goodness of people

The Zorg

 By: Siddharth Kara  

Location: NF 306.36 KAL

Genre: History, Non Fiction, Slavery

I have been to the slave castle in Ghana, I have looked through the "door of no return"- that place held spirits of fear and dark, and evil. It was dank and cold and brutal. Stories like this need to be forever told, yelled- least we sink into the depravity of such evil again!

A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery

The Zorg was a Dutch ship. In 1780, it was captured by an English privateer and came under British command. It was loaded with 482 slaves and set sail for Jamaica. But it veered so far off course (thanks to incompetence) and provisions ran so low, that 132 slaves were thrown overboard, mostly women and children. In a case of irony, it only became well known because the owners of the slaves filed an insurance claim for the loss of their property that the insurance company refused to pay. This led to a legal trial which propelled the anti-slavery movement in both England and the US.

 A notorious slave ship incident that led to the abolition of slavery in the UK and sparked the US abolitionist movement

In late October 1780, a slave ship set sail from the Netherlands, bound for Africa’s Windward and Gold Coasts, where it would take on its human cargo. The Zorg (a Dutch word meaning “care”) was one of thousands of such ships, but the harrowing events that ensued on its doomed journey were unique.

After reaching Africa, the Zorg was captured by a privateer and came under British command. With a new captain and crew, the ship was crammed with 442 slaves and departed in 1781 for Jamaica. But a series of unpredictable weather events and mistakes in navigation left the ship drastically off course and running out of water. So a proposition was put forth: Save the crew and the most valuable of the slaves—by throwing dozens of people, starting with women and children, overboard.

What followed was a fascinating legal drama in England’s highest court that turned the brutal calculus of slavery into front-page news. The case of the Zorg catapulted the nascent anti-slavery movement from a minor evangelical cause to one of the most consequential moral campaigns in history—sparking the abolitionist movement in both England and the young United States

Siddharth Kara utilizes primary-source research, gripping storytelling, and painstaking investigation to uncover the Zorg’s journey, the lives and fates of the slaves on board, and the mysterious identity of the abolitionist who finally revealed the truth of what happened on the ship.