Ties

The Strega Award–winning Italian author’s “scalding and incisive” novel of marriage and family bonds that come undone in the wake of an affair (Library Journal, starred review). A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Sunday Times and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year Winner of the 2015 Bridge Prize for Best Novel Italy, 1970s. Like many marriages, Vanda and Aldo’s has been subject to strain, attrition, and the burden of routine. Yet it has survived intact. Or so things appear. The rupture in their marriage lies years in the past, but if one looks closely enough, the fissures and fault lines are evident. It is a cracked vase that may shatter at the slightest touch. Or perhaps it has already shattered, and nobody is willing to acknowledge the fact. Domenico Starnone’s thirteenth work of fiction is a powerful short novel about relationships, family, love, and the ineluctable consequences of one’s actions. Known as a consummate stylist and beloved as a talented storyteller, Domenico Starnone is the winner of Italy’s most prestigious literary award, the Strega. “The leanest, most understated and emotionally powerful novel by Domenico Starnone.” —The New York Times

The adventure continues in this third book in the New York Times bestselling series. Erdas is a land of balance. A rare link, the spirit animal bond, bridges the human and animal worlds. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan each have this gift-and the grave responsibility that comes with it.But the Conquerors are trying to destroy this balance. They're swallowing whole cities in their rush for power-including Meilin's home. Fed up with waiting and ready to fight, Meilin has set off into enemy territory with her spirit animal, a panda named Jhi. Her friends aren't far behind . . . but they're not the only ones.The enemy is everywhere.

Reiko Ohnuma offers a wide-ranging exploration of maternal imagery and discourse in pre-modern South Asian Buddhism, drawing on textual sources preserved in Pali and Sanskrit. She demonstrates that Buddhism in India had a complex and ambivalent relationship with mothers and motherhood-symbolically, affectively, and institutionally. Symbolically, motherhood was a double-edged sword, sometimes extolled as the most appropriate symbol for buddhahood itself, and sometimes denigrated as the most paradigmatic manifestation possible of attachment and suffering. On an affective level, too, motherhood was viewed with the same ambivalence: in Buddhist literature, warm feelings of love and gratitude for the mother's nurturance and care frequently mingle with submerged feelings of hostility and resentment for the unbreakable obligations thus created, and positive images of self-sacrificing mothers are counterbalanced by horrific depictions of mothers who kill and devour. Institutionally, the formal definition of the Buddhist renunciant as one who has severed all familial ties seems to co-exist uneasily with an abundance of historical evidence demonstrating monks' and nuns' continuing concern for their mothers, as well as other familial entanglements. Ohnuma's study provides critical insight into Buddhist depictions of maternal love and maternal grief, the role played by the Buddha's own mothers, Maya and Mahaprajapati, the use of pregnancy and gestation as metaphors for the attainment of enlightenment, the use of breastfeeding as a metaphor for the compassionate deeds of buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the relationship between Buddhism and motherhood as it actually existed in day-to-day life.

Grab a badge and a gun and strap in for an absolutely gripping ride that’s “full of suspense from the beginning to the end…” (Readers Abode) She could feel him watching her… Though every time she turned to look, there was no one there. The rest of the world thought she was going crazy—until it was too late. When Laura Saunders is found strangled in her home with a man’s necktie, Detective Madison Knight is assigned the case. Her sergeant at the Stiles Police Department wants her to conclude it was an isolated incident and move on with the investigation, but Madison’s not the type to cave under pressure. Madison is haunted by certain inexplicable clues at the crime scene, including the presence of a mysterious photograph. She believes the picture may somehow tie into the murder, but before she can dig into it, another woman’s body is discovered in a local park. Heather Nguyen was also murdered with the same brand of necktie that had been used on Laura. On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the way they were killed that connects the women. But as Madison delves into the lives of the victims, she unravels a web of deceit and betrayal and lays bare decades of deadly family secrets. Edging closer to the truth, Madison’s quite sure at least one more woman is slated to die. But can Madison piece all the clues together in time to save her? A gripping crime thriller full of heart-pounding twists. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, J.D. Robb, and Lisa Regan. Readers love Ties That Bind: “Arnold has written one of the best female cops that I’ve ever read… Madison is just one of those characters that will stay with you.” –Harlie’s Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A good detective story with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This is one heck of a mystery!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Brace yourself for the ending! I didn't see that one coming.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I loved Madison Knight and her sassy dialogue.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I found myself unable to stop reading this book.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A must-read for the mystery fan.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “So many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A solid police procedure mystery.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If you like true suspense, this is a book to read.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Like watching an award-winning police drama in my mind.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Intriguing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Well-written and researched on police procedures.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “It was very difficult to set this book aside to do something else.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “From the moment I began reading this book, I was hooked.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Jumvella Samonte has to move to a realm where everyone is half animal, she realizes that being a Vampire with awesome power's not enough. With the realm being mysterious in every way possible, she discovers a lot about its past while falling in love at the same time. When an ancient threat tries to escape from their condemned lives, Jumvella has to find out where she fits in all of this. She discovers secrets about herself that started in her past and begins to wonder what she has to do in order to save her home. Since she is different from the others, trouble follows her no matter what...almost completely to her losing the people who mean the world to her.

When Jordana Baldwin meets Rich O'Brian again, romantic sparks fly; but will the past--and their competing interests-keep them apart or bring them together?