Gilded Girls

Heartfelt, fast-paced, and utterly absorbing, The Gilded Girl is Alyssa Colman’s sparkling debut novel about determination, spirit, and the magic of friendship. Any child can spark magic, but only the elite are allowed to kindle it. Those denied access to the secrets of the kindling ritual will see their magic snuffed out before their thirteenth birthday. Miss Posterity’s Academy for Practical Magic is the best kindling school in New York City—and wealthy twelve-year-old Emma Harris is accustomed to the best. But when her father dies, leaving her penniless, Emma is reduced to working off her debts to Miss Posterity alongside Izzy, a daring servant girl who refuses to let her magic be snuffed out, even if society dictates she must. Emma and Izzy reluctantly form a pact: If Izzy teaches Emma how to survive as a servant, Emma will reveal to Izzy what she knows about magic. Along the way, they encounter quizzes that literally pop, shy libraries, and talking cats (that is, house dragons). But when another student’s kindling goes horribly wrong, revealing the fiery dangers of magic, Emma and Izzy must set aside their differences or risk their magic being snuffed out forever.

Gilded Girls is a tale of four friends, Missy, Hazel, Poppy and Countess, all living in Washington, D.C. during the Gilded Age. It is autumn 1883 and the girls are determined to become members of the Firebirds Club, the city's leading social organization for ladies. But before the girls can join this sparkling set, they must prove themselves capable of putting on the club's annual masquerade ball. While planning the extraordinary affair, the girls each meet a suitor who tickles her fancy, including a real life prince from the Ashanti Kingdom in West Africa.As the girls discover the complexity of planning a ball, they are also faced with the challenge of balancing newly found social pleasures with their responsibilities for the masquerade. But, will the girls' enchantments prove too distracting? And their biggest challenge of all: How to remain friends through everything. This gilded tale explores friendship, love and coming of age among Washington's African-American bourgeois after the Civil War.

Secrets and lies…at Nantucket’s most exclusive and glamorous, family-owned hotel. The Whitley is Nantucket’s most exclusive waterfront hotel – a sprawling collection of pristine white cottages and an elegant main building on a long stretch of private white sandy beach. It’s a family owned business – brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, all work there in various capacities. Paula is happy in her back-office accounting position. But changes are in store when her grandfather promotes her and fires her cousin – who then blames Paula. Meanwhile, a blond romantic-comedy superstar is hiding out at the hotel for a few months. She meets Paula’s brother, a chef – who has no idea who she is – and she likes it that way. Paula’s grandfather also hires a consultant to help her settle into her new role. But she isn’t sure what to think of David, who grew up on Nantucket but now lives in Manhattan. He’s a brilliant consultant and will be assessing Paula’s suitability for the role. He’s also home for another reason, a difficult family issue that makes Manhattan seem very far away. A new family saga from the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of The Nantucket Inn and The Restaurant.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TEEN VOGUE "A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read!" –Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself. The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.

A second chance, women's fiction saga set in Charleston and Nashville. Laura Scott grew up in a trailer park. It was just her and her mother and they were happy, even if others looked down at them. When this story begins, Laura is madly in love with her best friend, Cole Dawson, and dreaming of their future--Cole wants a career in country music. They'd planned to marry after graduating college, but an unexpected pregnancy speeds up their timeline. Dalton Dawson, Cole's father, is a billionaire aiming to be governor. He doesn't approve of Laura or of Cole's interest in music. He wants him to follow in his footsteps and go to law school. When he learns about Laura's pregnancy and their plans to marry soon, he's furious. This will not reflect well on his candidacy. A fatal car accident changes everything when Dalton takes an action that he thinks will be best for everyone. But actions have consequences. As the years pass, fate takes Laura and Cole in very different directions. Eventually, their paths cross again in Nashville, where their lives are very different than either of them imagined. . Nashville Dreams is a compelling women's fiction saga. If you like first loves revisited, and a love story that plays out over the years, you may enjoy this.

In this sequel to A River of Royal Blood, Eva and Isa must find a way to work together if they want to save their queendom in the thrilling conclusion to this royal fantasy duology. Now on the run, Eva is desperate for answers about her transformation and her true heritage. Along with Aketo, a small contingent of guards, and the sister she could not kill, Eva flees Ternain in hopes of finding friends and allies to the north--not to mention Baccha--to help her decide what to do next. Princess Isa is a difficult, unremorseful captive, and Eva knows better than to trust her sister, but she wants to. Despite their history, Eva is convinced that to survive the growing unrest in the queendom, she and her sister must make peace. Since the Entwining ceremony, Eva's and Isa's lives have been bonded, and each can only die by the other's hand. This perhaps provides an opening for a truce and a more hopeful future for both the sisters and the queendom, if only Isa would see reason and give up the battle for the throne. With the two princesses on the run, the Queendom of Myre is on the brink of a revolution. And without Baccha to guide and train her magick, Eva must find a way not only to survive her own metamorphosis, but to unite all the people of Myre, including her sister, by finally taking the Ivory Throne.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic, hotly anticipated sequel to the instant bestseller The Gilded Ones about a girl with the power to remake her world—or destroy it. “Fans of Children of Blood and Bone, Mulan, and the Dora Milaje from Black Panther are going to adore [The Gilded Ones].”—BuzzFeed It's been six months since Deka freed the goddesses in the ancient kingdom of Otera and discovered who she really is... but war is waging across the kingdom, and the real battle has only just begun. For there is a dark force growing in Otera—a merciless power that Deka and her army must stop. Yet hidden secrets threaten to destroy everything Deka has known. And with her own gifts changing, Deka must discover if she holds the key to saving Otera... or if she might be its greatest threat. The Merciless Ones is the second thrilling installment of the epic fantasy series in which a young heroine fights against a world that would dare tame her. ★ "This book shimmers like gold."—School Library Journal, starred review

All magic comes at a price, but love was never part of the bargain . . . The look he was giving her. Serilda had never been looked at like that before . . . The intensity. The heat. The raw astonishment. He was going to kiss her. Cursed by the god of lies, a miller's daughter has developed a talent for storytelling - but are all of her tales as false as they appear? When one of Serilda's stories draws the attention of the devastating Erlking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment, where ghouls prowl the earth, and ravens track her every move. The king locks Serilda in a castle dungeon and orders her to spin straw into gold, or be killed for lying. In despair, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious young man to her aid. And he agrees to help her, for a price. But love wasn't meant to be part of the bargain. A compulsive read, and as bewitchingly good as you'd expect from a YA bestselling author. You will stay up all night reading this.