The Witches of Moonshyne Manor

Author: Bianca Marais
Publisher: MIRA
ISBN: 0369722450
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Book Description
“Bianca Marais is a genius” — Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat. Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation. But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems. The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies. Funny, tender and uplifting, the novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships. Marais’ clever prose offers as much laughter as insight, delving deeply into feminism, identity and power dynamics while stirring up intrigue and drama through secrets, lies and sex. Heartbreaking and heart-mending, it will make you grateful for the amazing women in your life.

If You Want to Make God Laugh

Author: Bianca Marais
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735219338
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 450

Book Description
A rich, unforgettable story of three unique women in post-Apartheid South Africa who are brought together in their darkest time and discover the ways that love can transcend the strictest of boundaries. In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life. Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it's what she can't have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to heal, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past. As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?

Witches of Ash and Ruin

Author: E. Latimer
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1368054315
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
Modern witchcraft blends with ancient Celtic mythology in an epic clash of witches and gods, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic trilogy and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch—plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader. And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester—an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold. The killer's motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don't stop the Butcher, one of them will be next.

Breathe In, Cash Out

Author: Madeleine Henry
Publisher: Atria Books
ISBN: 1982114541
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
“The Devil Wears Prada meets Wall Street” (TheSkimm) in this sizzling debut about a banking analyst who plans to finally pursue her yoga career full-time after her bonus hits, but until then she’ll have to keep her sanity intact (and her chakras aligned). Allegra Cobb’s resume: straight-A Princeton grad, second-year analyst at a top-tier bank, one-time American Yoga National Competition Champion. Allegra Cobb’s reality: Spending twenty-four hours a day changing the colors on bar charts, overusing the word “team,” and daydreaming about quitting the minute her year-end bonus hits her account. She no longer has no interest in the cutthroat banking world—she’s determined to launch her very own yoga practice. But her plan isn’t quite as perfect as the beachfront yoga pictures she double-taps on Instagram. On top of the 100 emails an hour and coworkers already suspicious of her escape plan, Allegra’s hard-driving single father has always fiercely valued high achievement above all else. That his daughter works on Wall Street means everything to him. But after a) unknowingly sleeping with the man now leading her banking cohort on one of their biggest deals to date and b) meeting the #blessed yoga guru who might just be her ticket to the life she’s always wanted, she realizes her happy-ever-after might be harder to manifest than she thought. Fast-paced, laugh-out-loud funny, and totally irresistible, Breathe In, Cash Out “is a modern fairytale, a romance that’s not about finding the right guy, but finding yourself” (Eliza Kennedy, author of I Take You).

The Witch of Willow Hall

Author: Hester Fox
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488096740
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 394

Book Description
"Steeped in Gothic eeriness."--Nicola Cornick, USA Today bestselling author In Salem, they burned. Now, they will rise. New Oldbury, 1821 The house holds its breath, trying to outlast me… Something has awakened in Willow Hall. Eighteen-year-old Lydia Montrose can feel it. But she has no idea what it is. Rocked by rumor and scandal, Lydia, her parents, and her sisters, Catherine and Emeline, fled their sparkling life in Boston for the sleepy country estate. But bone-chilling noises in the night have Lydia convinced their idyllic new home wasn’t exactly vacant when they arrived. The Salem witch trials cast a long shadow over the Montrose family as the cloying heat of summer in Massachusetts mingles with something sinister in the air. The sprawling history of Willow Hall is no stranger to secrets, and its dark past soon calls to Lydia, igniting ancient magic she never knew she possessed. But with menacing forces unwilling to rest, threatening to tear her family apart, Lydia must learn to harness her newly discovered power or risk losing everyone she holds dear. Don't miss Hester Fox's next novel, THE BOOK OF THORNS, where two sisters who never knew the other existed meet on opposite sides during the Napoleonic Wars and must use the magic of flowers to solve the mystery of their mother’s death—while surviving the war raging around them... Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox: The Last Heir to Blackwood Library The Widow of Pale Harbor The Orphan of Cemetery Hill A Lullaby for Witches

Hum If You Don't Know the Words

Author: Bianca Marais
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399575081
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 450

Book Description
Perfect for readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy. Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a ten-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred...until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin’s parents are left dead and Beauty’s daughter goes missing. After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection. Told through Beauty and Robin's alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum If You Don’t Know the Words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family.

The Girl Who Belonged to the Sea

Author: Katherine Quinn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781648981562
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
One woman chosen by the God of the Sea. A king hellbent on saving his mysterious island home. And a forbidden romance that could destroy them all. Trapped in a society ruled by men, Margrete, daughter of a nefarious sea captain, accepts that the only way to escape her power-hungry father's cruel hand is to marry the wealthy Count Casbian. Cunning in her own right, Margrete yearns to craft her own fate, to flee to the sea, and to lose herself to the aquamarine waves that have called to her since birth. Bash, a devilishly handsome warrior seeking revenge, believes the beautiful daughter of his greatest enemy is the key to breaking a curse inflicted upon his people. On the day of Margrete's nuptials, Bash kidnaps the bride, whisking her away to an island where he reigns as king. Shielded from the mortal realm, Margrete finds herself on the fabled shores of Azantian-the birthplace of impossible magic... and a keeper of monstrous secrets. But secrets are not the only thing Margrete finds on the island, and Bash isn't the heartless rogue she once believed. Unable to hide her feelings, Margrete must choose between a forbidden love and a destiny spun for her by the God of the Sea himself-A god that has set his sights on Margrete... and the potent magic awakening inside of her soul. The first book of this exciting fantasy trilogy is perfect for readers who love high-seas adventures, swashbuckling heroes, and forbidden, steamy romance. Fans of Clare Sager's Beneath Black Sails and Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses will be enthralled.

The Widow of Pale Harbor

Author: Hester Fox
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488036624
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 363

Book Description
A town gripped by fear. A woman accused of witchcraft. Who can save Pale Harbor from itself? Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife’s death, so he moves to Maine, taking a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbor. But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who lives with a spinster maid in the eerie Castle Carver. Sophronia must be a witch, and she almost certainly killed her husband. As the incidents escalate, one thing becomes clear: they are the work of a twisted person inspired by the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. And Gabriel must find answers, or Pale Harbor will suffer a fate worthy of Poe’s darkest tales. Hester Fox comes to writing from a background in the museum field as a collections maintenance technician. This job has taken her from historic houses to fine art museums, where she has the privilege of cleaning and caring for collections that range from paintings by old masters to ancient artifacts to early-American furniture. She is a keen painter and has a master’s degree in historical archaeology, as well as a background in medieval studies and art history. Hester lives outside Boston with her husband. Don't miss Hester Fox's next novel, THE BOOK OF THORNS, where two sisters who never knew the other existed meet on opposite sides during the Napoleonic Wars and must use the magic of flowers to solve the mystery of their mother’s death—while surviving the war raging around them... Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox: The Last Heir to Blackwood Library The Witch of Willow Hall The Orphan of Cemetery Hill A Lullaby for Witches

Life, Unscheduled

Author: Kristin Rockaway
Publisher: Montlake Romance
ISBN: 9781542027717
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Book Description
A smart, modern novel about a woman trying to balance her career, her best friend, and falling in love without crashing and burning. Nicole Palmieri is married to her job. As a user experience designer at Virtuality, an artificial intelligence company in Los Angeles, Nicole is at her desk from sunrise to sunset. She doesn't have time for a social life (or a love life), but that's perfectly fine with her. Until her best friend, Parisa Shahin, announces her engagement and asks Nicole to be her maid of honor. That's when Nicole decides to meticulously schedule out the next six months of her life--from her project due dates to her dress-fitting appointments to how many hours she plans to sleep each night. If she can stick to her schedule, she'll balance everything fine. Of course, that's a really big if. And after she crosses paths with emerging restaurateur Brandon Phelps, Nicole is feeling feelings she hasn't felt in...well, ever. But scheduling time to fall in love might push even the most meticulous plans into pure chaos.

The Crescent Moon Tearoom

Author: Stacy Sivinski
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre Ltd.
ISBN: 1804189634
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
'A delightfully sweet and cozy novel that's as comforting as a warm cup of tea' - Kirkus Reviews, Starred Following the untimely death of their parents, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley have made a business of threading together the stories that lie at the bottom of their customers' teacups. Days at their teashop are filled with fortune-telling intertwined with the sound of clinking china and the scent of cinnamon shortbread. When the Council of Witches comes calling with news that the city Diviner has lost her powers, the sisters suddenly find themselves being pulled in different directions. As Anne's magic begins to develop beyond that of her sisters', Beatrix's writing attracts the attention of a publisher, and Violet is enchanted by the song of the circus-and a mischievous trapeze artist threatening to sweep her off her feet-it seems a family curse that threatens to separate the sisters forever is taking effect. With dwindling time to rewrite their future and save the cosy and much-loved tearoom, the Quigleys set out to bargain with Fate. But in focusing so closely on saving each other, will they lose sight of themselves?