Crescent

A #1 New York Times bestseller! Sarah J. Maas's brand-new CRESCENT CITY series begins with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance. Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths. Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach. As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it. With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.

Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets — Islamic book for kids "A beautiful picture book that simultaneously explores shapes, Islam, and the cultures of the Muslim people." — Kirkus Reviews Toddler book of shapes and Islamic traditions: From a crescent moon to a square garden to an octagonal fountain, this breathtaking picture book celebrates the shapes—and traditions—of the Muslim world. Toddler book by author Hena Khan: Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets is equally at home in a classroom reading circle and on a parent's lap being read to a child. If you and your child like books such as Lailah’s Lunchbox, Numbers Colors Shapes, or The Name Jar, you will love Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets.

A TV documentary crew explores murky waters in search of legendary lake monster Cressie, only to dredge up a body instead. Laura Reagan, host of the cryptozoological documentary series Creature X, and her team are in Newfoundland shooting an episode about Cressie, a legendary giant eel. Things don’t start off great: scientific evidence is scarce, stories keep changing, and the locals are throwing a wrench into the production. But what began as a simple TV shoot takes a drastic turn when the crew pulls a body from the depths of Lake Crescent. For Laura, unravelling the cold case means unearthing long-buried secrets about the most prominent citizens of the remote town of Robert’s Arm. With time running out, she and her team must put the pieces together and expose the killer before more blood is spilled.

When the womanizing aristocrat George March is found dead over his morning coffee, the immediate concern of his shocked Cardington Crescent household is quieting the scandal as discreetly—and quickly—as possible. Unfortunately for March’s wife, Emily, that means accusing her of the murder. But the family does not take into account Emily’s beloved sister, who is none other than the indomitable Charlotte Pitt. Together, Charlotte and her husband, police inspector Thomas Pitt, take on the seemingly irreproachable, upper-crust March clan and uncover an insidious web of corruption and depravity that leads them from the elegant Crescent town house to the hideous London slums, and from genteel society to murder—again.

When Ailsa Keppie puts on the hijab for the first time, it solidifies her commitment to her new, chosen religion. She gives up the lights and action of the circus for the position of wife and mother, learns Arabic, and moves to Morocco. A new mother living in a strange country, under foreign rules, Ailsa experiences isolation and racism, as well as romance and sisterhood, in her quest to fit in with her new community. She welcomes another wife into her marriage hoping to experience the peace and joy of a pious life. As the story progresses, cracks appear in her relationships. Things are not as blissful as Ailsa would have others believe. We are drawn into her inner struggle, often seeing the folly of her choices, but championing her to prevail. Torn between her inner voices of duty, shame, longing, and hope, she is determined to find the light that will get her through darkening times. Ailsa's story is easily recognizable by women who have dimmed their light in order to survive. For any woman who has faced similar constraints of marriage, religion, or culture, Ailsa's story will help bring clarity and a sense of knowing she is not alone.

Cross and Crescent is the spiritual quest of two men, a Muslim and a Christian, caught in the collision of worlds, during the first major confrontation between Islam and Europe. In the early 8th century, the Muslims conquer Spain and begin moving north, entering an alien world of dark forests, inhabited by Germanic people who the Muslims regard as barbarian infidels. A refined Arab noble, Ali, captures a beautiful Frankish girl and her escort, Christival, and brings them to the sun-drench splendor of Cordova. Ali’s tortured love for the Christian girl and his growing respect for Christival challenges his belief in the supremacy of Islam and the righteousness of its Holy War. Seven years later, Christival returns to his northern homeland, estranged from his wife and primitive people, who worship Jesus and sacred trees in the same breath, and regard the distant south as a world of heathen devils. Christival must wrestle with his Christian roots, his rich memories of Cordova, his forbidden love for a Muslim girl and his admiration for Ali. In their journeys into strange lands, in their struggles to find wisdom, faith and love in a ruthless age, the lives and spirits of Ali and Christival converge – even as their competing civilizations move toward the Battle of Tours (732 AD), a bloody contest that will shape the future divisions between Islam and the West. Written in the tradition of Shogun, Cold Mountain, The Killer Angels and As A Driven Leaf, this novel transports the reader back to a little-known and extraordinary period of history.

Beginning with Latin America in the fifteenth century, this book, first published in 2005, is a social history of the experiences of African Muslims and their descendants throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean. The record under slavery is examined, as is the post-slavery period into the twentieth century. The experiences vary, arguably due to some extent to the Old World context. Muslim revolts in Brazil are also discussed, especially in 1835, by way of a nuanced analysis. The second part of the book looks at the emergence of Islam among the African-descended in the United States in the twentieth century, with successive chapters on Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, and Malcolm X, with a view to explaining how orthodoxy arose from varied unorthodox roots.