Showing titles in Literature & Fiction

'It's like ice cream, Mr Flynn,' Bertie continued. 'When you have ice cream, you need to eat it straight away, otherwise it melts. If there are people who haven't got any, you should share it, if you can.' When despair for the world grows, Bertie's theory of ice cream reminds us that it's the simple pleasures in life that we should hold onto.

My worst nightmare and your greatest fear became a reality: You don’t remember me. You don’t remember the accident or the weeks afterward. You don’t remember my bed as your safe place, or when, against all odds, you fell for me. You remember me only as the casual acquaintance you saw as you grabbed your daily coffee. Three sugars, two creamers. Perhaps an acquaintance is all I’ll ever be to you now. Maybe I can shoulder the heartbreak and the loss of you, if it means you’ll be happy. Unless...you remember me when.

In his Locus review of Two Worlds and in Between - the first volume of The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan - Gary K. Wolfe wrote, “...it makes you wish the second volume were here now.” Well, the long wait is over. This second volume completes this ambitious undertaking, collecting the finest of Kiernan’s stories from 2004 to 2012, selected by the author herself. The book includes 25 short stories and one poem, plus the short novel Black Helicopters - more than 200,000 words of fiction, including the World Fantasy Award-winning “The Prayer of 90 Cats”.

A disturbing tale of a young man's uncanny ability to remain both young and beautiful while descending into a life of heartless debauchery, The Picture of Dorian Gray was considered proof of both Wilde's genius and his perversion. Oscar Wilde's scandalous best seller of 1891 was one of the most damning pieces of evidence used against him in the trial that brought about his downfall.

Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon is strapped for cash. Why else would she agree to cover a fund-raising gala at a girls' public school? But when the star attraction is found garrotted with her own cello string minutes before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder. Who would have wanted Lorna Smith Cooper dead? Who had the key to the locked room in which her body was found? And who could have slipped out of the hall at just the right time to commit this calculated and cold-blooded crime?

Meet Lily Chambers—the hugely successful, book-tour loving, swoon-inducing romance writer at the pinnacle of her career. At least for now. When Lily sent her last manuscript to her publisher, she had no idea it could be her last. Struggling with more than a terminal case of writer’s block, Lily has lost her passion. For writing. For romance. For life. How can she not feel like a fraud after being on her own for years? Hoping to shake things loose, Lily’s BFF suggests she spend some time in one of the most romantic cities in the world: Rome.

It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay. Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is—a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.

Librarian Bennet Webb’s dream trip to Bath was supposed to be perfect, a literary pilgrimage to honor Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, topped off with a proposal from her longtime boyfriend. Instead, Bennet finds herself alone in the city of her dreams. That is until she meets an unexpected companion who changes everything for the better.

Patrick is now a feminised sissy husband called Patty with 42DD breasts after having implants. His wife has found him a new job as a waitress and sends him to work in low-cut tops, tiny micro skirts and high heels. Patrick/Patty experiences a mix of intense humiliation and intense excitement at his new bimbo appearance. While working as a bimbo waitress, he meets a customer called Elena. She is an enigmatic woman who takes an unusual interest in him and his sissy appearance. His transformation into deeper femininity is about to become even more complicated.

What does a scruffy mechanic, a deaf Italian, and a hot flight attendant have in common? Each of these men accidentally fell in love. Cupid smacked them right in their hot little tushes, and the rest is history. Along the way, they also found a family of men who support and love each other like no other. Across five novels, Author Casey Morales’s easy style gives you funny, self-deprecating humor that will have you laughing out loud, yet is authentic enough to also make you cry (in the very best way).

Frankie has lived a long life and her small London flat is crammed full of art, furniture and memories. Damian, her young Irish carer, listens as she gradually tells him parts of her story - a story that takes us into a progressive, daring world of New York artists on the brink of fame, aspiring writers and larger-than-life characters.

A pair of con artist demon exorcists scam the nation's wealthiest . . . until one of them is possessed for real. Colton and Lucian make a living conning the desperate with fake exorcisms—Lucian is the charm, Colton the trick, and together, they’ve turned deception into survival. Their work is dangerous, their romance even riskier, but they’ve always found a way to stay ahead.

Stockbroker Isabelle Rhodes has a lot of money, a lot of trust issues, and a whole lot of reasons to believe her ex-girlfriend was right when she said that Isabelle sucked at relationships. With that accusation stuck in her head, Isabelle throws caution to the wind and dives into her first one-night stand. Checking that off her bucket list should be something to celebrate - except it turns out that the woman she just spent an earth-shattering night with is actually her newly hired company pilot, Audrey Graham. Ms. Never-See-You-Again just turned into Ms. See-You-Constantly.

Workaholic Detective Aiden Carlisle isn't looking for love - and certainly not at the law-enforcement seminar she reluctantly agreed to attend. But the first lecturer is not at all what she expected. Psychologist Dawn Kinsley has just found her place in life. After a failed relationship with a police officer, she has sworn never to get involved with another cop again, but she feels a connection to Aiden from the very first moment. Can Aiden keep herself from crossing the line when a brutal crime threatens to keep them apart before they've even gotten together?

At the heart of the endless sands lies Oasis, a bustling town built around a vital spring, where treachery and ambition thrive beneath the surface of its shifting sands. Drawn by promises of opportunity and peril, Leon must navigate a dangerous path through a treacherous dungeon and a martial tournament, where the stakes are nothing short of life and death. Faced with opponents who test his skill and enemies who surpass him in power—both in Cultivation and politics—Leon must find a way to endure and prevail.

A bundle of the award-winning Nothing Special series by internationally best-selling author A. E. Via.

Professional cellist Natalya Tsvetnenko moves seamlessly among the elite where she fills the souls of symphony patrons with beauty even as she takes the lives of the corrupt of Australia's ruthless underworld. The cold, exacting assassin is hired to kill a woman who seems so innocent that Natalya can't understand why anyone would want her dead. As she gets to know her target, she can't work out why she even cares.

When I’m tossed into the trunk of a car, I realize that what little luck I have has finally run out—especially when I find that Tony, the man who’d abducted me, is planning on using me to get back at my father. My chances for escape look pretty bleak when I’m handcuffed to Tony’s bodyguard, an intimidating man named Shepherd who apparently loves tight shirts and seems to be amused by making my life miserable. Soon, though, I learn that Shepherd has a heart and a brain.

When academic Nadia is disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, she decides to make a getaway - accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues. But then Nadia meets Sara, a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen, and she is struck by how similar their stories are. Both from a Muslim background, both feisty and opinionated, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines, Sara and Nadia immediately connect.

Comedian Stephanie Renshaw hopes to finally get her big break in LA. A chance encounter lands her the perfect apartment close to the comedy clubs, but it comes with a catch: She needs a roommate to afford the rent. Enter Rae Coleman, a former police officer working the door at one of the top comedy clubs. After getting injured in the line of duty and losing her job with the LAPD, Rae guards her wounded soul behind a tough exterior. At first, the two clash horribly before a tentative friendship develops. Bit by bit, Steph manages to break through the walls Rae has built around her.