Fierce Kingdom

An electrifying literary thriller introduces an unforgettable mother and son, whose simple trip to the zoo one afternoon is transformed into three hours of terror and survival after gunshots ring out. What would you do to protect the ones you love? After school on a late October day, Joan has taken her four-year-old son, Lincoln, to one of his favourite places on earth: the zoo. Just before closing time, as they need to go home, she hears some loud pops like firecrackers. Not thinking much of it, they head for the exit...until Joan realizes the eerie human emptiness means danger, then sees the figure of a lone gunman. Without another thought, she scoops up her son and runs back into the zoo. And for the next three hours--the entire scope of the novel--she does anything she can to keep Lincoln safe. Both pulse-pounding and emotionally satisfying, Fierce Kingdom is a thrill ride, but also an exploration of the very nature of motherhood itself, from its saving graces to its savage power. At heart it asks how you draw the line between survival and the duty to protect one another? Who would you die for?

"A pinch of Potter blended with a drop of [Cassandra Clare's] Infernal Devices." --JUSTINE MAGAZINE "Plot twists so good they will leave you reeling." --TRACI CHEE, New York Times bestselling author of The Reader IT'S TIME FOR HER POWER TO RULE. As Henrietta nervously awaits her marriage to Lord Blackwood, she discovers that Sorrow-Fell is not a safe haven from the bloodthirsty Ancients. It's a trap. So with her friend Maria and Magnus, the young man who once stole her heart, at her side, Henrietta plots a dangerous journey straight into the enemy's lair. Some will live. Some will die. All will be tested. In this stunning conclusion to the Kingdom on Fire series, Henrietta must choose between the love from her past, the love from her present, and a love that could define her future. The fate of the kingdom rests on her decision: Will she fall or rise up to become the woman who saves the realm? Praise for Jessica Cluess's A Shadow Bright and Burning, Kingdom on Fire, Book 1: "This is a novel that gives off light and heat." --The New York Times "Vivid characters, terrifying monsters, and world building as deep and dark as the ocean." --VICTORIA AVEYARD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen "Devastatingly magical and monstrously romantic." --STEPHANIE GARBER, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval "Unputdownable. I loved the monsters, the magic, and the teen warriors who are their world's best hope! Jessica Cluess is an awesome storyteller!" --TAMORA PIERCE, #1 New York Times bestselling author

---------------------- 'So electrifyingly suspenseful and so brilliantly vivid, that I had to put it down to catch my breath at times - and I mean this as a compliment! There are so many beautiful details woven into this completely original concept exploring the visceral fears of motherhood, that any reader's heart will race, and then break, and then race again, from beginning to end.' Ashley Audrain Lincoln is a good boy. At the age of four, he is curious, clever and well behaved. He does as his mum says and knows what the rules are. 'The rules are different today. The rules are that we hide and do not let the man with the gun find us.' When an ordinary day at the zoo turns into a nightmare, Joan finds herself trapped with her beloved son. She must summon all her strength, find unexpected courage and protect Lincoln at all costs - even if it means crossing the line between right and wrong; between humanity and animal instinct. It's a line none of us would ever normally dream of crossing. But sometimes the rules are different. Previously published as Fierce Kingdom. 'A page-turning, adrenaline-soaked read . . . an eloquent and meditative insight into motherhood and what it means, its many small trials and wonders.' Alison Flood, Observer

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER (The Globe and Mail) A Globe and Mail Best Book [2011] A Quill & Quire Book of the Year [2011] A National Post Best Book [2011] A BBC Radio Book of the Week [October 2011] One of the CBC’s 15 Memoirs by Canadian Women Worth Reading [2015] Six-year-old Carmen Aguirre fled to Canada with her family following General Augusto Pinochet's violent 1973 coup in Chile. Five years later, when her mother and stepfather returned to South America as Chilean resistance members, Carmen and her sister went with them, quickly assuming double lives of their own. At 18, Carmen became a militant herself, plunging further into a world of terror, paranoia and euphoria. Something Fierce takes the reader inside war-ridden Peru, dictator-ruled Bolivia, post-Malvinas Argentina and Pinochet's Chile in the eventful decade between 1979 and 1989. Dramatic, suspenseful and darkly comic, it is a rare first-hand account of revolutionary life and a passionate argument against forgetting.

New York Times bestseller David Arnold's most ambitious novel to date; Station Eleven meets The 5th Wave in a genre-smashing story of survival, hope, and love amid a ravaged earth. When a deadly Fly Flu sweeps the globe, it leaves a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, on a voyage devised by Nico's father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, raised in an old abandoned cinema; and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together. As swarms of infected Flies roam the earth, these few survivors navigate the woods of post-apocalyptic New England, meeting others along the way, each on their own quest to find life and love in a world gone dark. The Electric Kingdom is a sweeping exploration of art, storytelling, eternal life, and above all, a testament to the notion that even in an exterminated world, one person might find beauty in another.

Written by Bea Birdsong and illustrated by Nidhi Chanani, I Will Be Fierce is a powerful picture book about courage, confidence, kindness, and finding the extraordinary in everyday moments. Today, I will be fierce! It's a brand new day, and a young girl decides to take on the world like a brave explorer heading off on an epic fairytale quest. From home to school and back again, our hero conquers the Mountain of Knowledge (the library), forges new bridges (friendships), and leads the victorious charge home on her steed (the school bus). A 2020 Southern Book Prize Finalist

"Vivid characters, terrifying monsters, and world building as deep and dark as the ocean." --Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years. The prophesied one. Or am I? Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she's shocked when instead of being executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers. Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one. As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves? Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess's spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful, unforgettably heroine, and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal. Hand to fans of Libba Bray, Sarah J. Maas, and Cassandra Clare. "The magic! The intrigue! The guys! We were sucked into this monster-ridden, alternative England from page one. Henrietta is literally a 'girl on fire' and this team of sorcerers training for battle had a pinch of Potter blended with a drop of [Cassandra Clare's] Infernal Devices." --Justine Magazine "Cluess gamely turns the chosen-one trope upside down in this smashing dark fantasy." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Unputdownable. I loved the monsters, the magic, and the teen warriors who are their world's best hope! Jessica Cluess is an awesome storyteller!" --Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author "A fun, inventive fantasy. I totally have a book crush on Rook." --Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author "Pure enchantment. I love how Cluess turned the 'chosen one' archetype on its head. With the emotional intensity of my favorite fantasy books, this is the kind of story that makes you forget yourself." --Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen "A glorious, fast-paced romp of an adventure. Jessica Cluess has built her story out of my favorite ingredients: sorcery, demons, romance, and danger." --Kelly Link, author of Pretty Monsters

Today is my wedding day. In a few breathless moments, I will be Mrs Alejandro Montoya. He is the King of L.A, and everything a woman could want. Handsome, powerful, rich, and hotter than hell itself. But I am not just any woman. I am Alana Carmichael and I'm only here to save my father. I will not bow to any king. This is no fairy tale. This is my nightmare. He is fierce and unyielding. I should hate him. But, the way he looks at me makes me feel more alive than I've ever felt before, and his touch sets my skin on fire. And as I uncover the secrets of our pasts, I discover that monsters are not always what they seem. Sometimes, the real monsters look like ordinary men. Fierce King is a forced marriage, dark mafia romance. It is book 1 in the L.A Ruthless series and features the Montoya crime family. Publishers Note: This book deals with adult and mature themes.