Urban Contemporary Fiction

From best-selling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure, in the traditional folktale of "Sleeping Beauty", the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. Now Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the prince reawakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation.

Juliette has always longed for everything she experiences in her beloved books—grand adventures, heroic deeds, passionate love, and making a meaningful difference. She wants it all. Yet, despite her found family, her dream bookshop, and a burgeoning connection with a sweet man, chronic anxiety keeps her tethered to a safe and predictable routine. Until her life is upended when an unexpected magical ability surfaces. Now gifted with the power to locate lost things, Juliette's world becomes a blend of wonder and anxiety.

Myke Cole is an expert at ratcheting up suspense and delivering pulse-pounding adventure that leaves audiences breathless. In Shadow Ops: Control Point, the world has seemingly gone mad. People are waking up with magical powers, such as the ability to raise the dead or call forth storms. The only thing staving off a plunge into chaos is the Supernatural Operations Corps, headed by Oscar Britton. But when Oscar exhibits a power of his own, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Times best seller American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaiman offers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny, a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment of the author as "a treasure house of story, and we are lucky to have him."

Niamh Kelly is dead. Her troubled twin, Ciara, now masquerades as the benevolent witch as Her Majesty's Royal Coven prepares to crown her High Preistess. Suffering from amnesia, Ciara can't remember what she's done—but if she wants to survive, she must fool Niamh's adopted family and friends; the coven; and the murky Shadow Cabinet—a secret group of mundane civil servants who are already suspicious of witches. While she tries to rebuild her past, she realizes none of her past has forgotten her, including her former lover, renegade warlock Dabney Hale.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles. Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves - all of them were.

"L'épée de vérité" en main, Richard a combattu la mort en personne. Mais à présent l'empereur Jagang, puissant jusqu'à la démence, lui oppose un ennemi insaisissable : une horrible maladie qui frappe des milliers de victimes innocentes. Richard se met en quête du remède mais selon une fatale prophétie, il devra perdre la femme qu'il aime, ou sa propre vie. Richard et Kahlan vont pourtant tout risquer pour mettre au jour la source du fléau : une magie enfermée depuis trois mille ans dans le "Temple des vents".

Harry Potter jamás ha oído hablar de Hogwarts hasta que las cartas comienzan a llegar al número cuatro de Privet Drive, pero sus siniestros tíos se apropian rápidamente de estos pergaminos amarillentos que llevan la dirección escrita en tinta verde y un sello púrpura. Luego, en su undécimo cumpleaños, un gigantesco hombre con ojos como escarabajos llamado Rubeus Hagrid irrumpe con una noticia asombrosa: Harry Potter es un mago y lo esperan en el Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y Hechicería. ¡Una aventura increíble está por comenzar!

All we have is us. Those were the words that twin sisters, Raven and Lovely Towns, swore by. When Lovely’s love is put to the test after finding out Raven was violated in the worst way imaginable, she makes a call that separates them and leaves her sister to fend for herself. Fortunately, Raven runs into the likes of Silesia and Asteria, two girls who change her life as she knows it, by giving her the means to set her and her sister up to never need anyone again.

The Lowlands’ city states have lived in peace for decades, hailed as bastions of civilization. Yet that peace is about to end. A distant empire has been conquering neighbours with highly trained soldiers and sophisticated combat techniques. And the city states are its desirable new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker – spymaster, artificer and statesman – foresees the threat, as the empires’ armies march ever closer. So it falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of the cities’ leaders.

Among the Shadowdwellers, Trace holds power that some are willing to kill for. Without a stranger's aid, one rival would surely have succeeded, but Trace's brush with death is less surprising to him than his reaction to the beautiful, fragile human who heals him. By rights, Trace should hardly even register Ashla's existence within the realm of Shadowscape, but instead he is drawn to everything about her-her innocence, her courage, and her lush, sensual heat.

Ici Séréna, chasseuse de catastrophes. Je pensais que la découverte des vampires et des loups-garous serait le summum du chaos. Mais je m'étais trompée. Désormais, mon quotidien inclut des magiciens furieux, des vampires dissidents, et un boss ressuscité qui se révèle encore plus insupportable mort que vivant. Entre les tentatives de meurtre de la part de deux clans de vampires, une drogue mystérieuse qui permet aux suceurs de sang de marcher en plein jour, et des magiciens qui me poursuivent, ma vie est un véritable tourbillon de dangers et de mystères.

Reyna Carpenter was promised paradise. She was delivered into hell. Giving up her body for money was supposed to be the hardest part of becoming a blood escort. She never expected to lose her heart to her dark, enigmatic boss, Beckham Anderson. After being taken by a depraved captor who plans to rule the world, Reyna will do anything to return to Beckham. She just has to find the will to survive this game.

Robyn Peltier moved to Los Angeles after her young husband's sudden death. Though she's still grieving, the challenges of her new life as the PR consultant to Portia Kane - the world's most famous celebutante wannabe - can sometimes be amusing, even distracting. But when her client is gunned down in a nightclub, Robyn is suddenly on the run as the prime suspect in the murder. And as more bodies pile up around her, it seems like only Hope Adams, Robyn's best friend, and Hope's somewhat spooky boyfriend Karl are on Robyn's side. But it's not the police Hope is worried about, and the only way Hope can keep her friend alive is by letting her enter a world she's safer knowing nothing about.

When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her. Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell's doorstep.

This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village", as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission, and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard.

April May and the Carls are back in the much-anticipated sequel to Hank Green's number-one New York Times best-selling debut novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While they were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction without ever lifting a finger. Months later, the world is as confused as ever. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda infiltrates a scientific operation.

Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing - a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

Fitz, le bâtard royal, a survécu à sa première mission meurtrière, mais son contact avec la mort lui a laissé d'inaltérables séquelles. Revenu à Castelcerf, il retrouve celle qu'il a aimée, mais ne peut lui déclarer sa flamme sous peine de la condamner irrémédiablement. Car autour de lui, la Cour fourmille d'intrigue, les menaces se resserrent, la mort rôde. Il a pourtant quelques alliés dans la place : un prince qui lui fait découvrir les mystères d'une magie toute puissante, un maître assassin qui lui veut malgré tout du bien, et un loup, avec qui il partage lien étrange et périlleux.

C'est la Nuit de l'Hiver dans la contrée de Deux-Rivières et, en ce soir de fête, l'excitation des villageois est à son comble. C'est alors qu'arrivent trois étrangers comme le jeune Rand et ses amis d'enfance Mat et Perrin n'en avaient jamais vu : une dame noble et fascinante nommée Moiraine, son robuste compagnon et un trouvère. De quoi leur faire oublier ce cavalier sombre et sinistre aperçu dans les bois, dont la cape ne bougeait pas en plein vent.