ARE YOU READY TO BRAVE THE DARK?

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there's no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it's impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves - her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find - the truth.

But a storm is coming... and not everyone can survive its wrath.

ARE YOU READY TO BRAVE THE DARK?

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there's no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it's impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves - her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find - the truth.

But a storm is coming... and not everyone can survive its wrath.

20 South African Short Stories brought to you by Short.Sharp.Stories.

A fraudster cashes out of a life of crime, a mother has a splendid affair, a brave woman never gives up, a graffiti artist spray-paints the city; a poignant friendship comes to a climax in a retirement home, a storyteller understands his true power, a friend delivers a heart-rending eulogy; a young South African searches for belonging in Hong Kong, while another takes a risk assisting a local artist; a photographer explores eroticism through the lens and the body, a group of reggae fans cross borders to seek freedom with Bob Marley, a drummer is haunted by the jazz of Sophiatown; a book on slavery offers a troubled woman a way out, a student faces an impossible choice, the blood moon shines on a forbidden passion … and so much more, as each short story captures the unique moment and meaning of ONE LIFE.

The anthology’s contributors are largely established South African authors who have a track record in the publishing industry, as well as exciting emerging writers. The writers include Stella Douglas, Carmen Gee, Karen Jennings, Joel Kelly, Werner Labuschagne, David Mann, Lerato Mahlangu, Don Makatile, Juliette Mnqeta, Tshidiso Moletsane, Nontobeko Mtshali, Vuyokazi Ngemntu, Jana van Niekerk, Thango Ntwasa, Andrew Prior, Sihle Qwabe, Srila Roy, Khensani Sayiya, Megan Tennant and Jarred Thompson.

The fondly nurtured idyll of the Karoo as a place of tranquillity is shattered when recently graduated journalist Grant Asher’s first real investigative assignment in the mid-1980s draws him into a series of unexplained murders in three quiet Karoo towns.

There are two mystifying links: the victims were once part of a group of five hundred Polish-Jewish children housed at an orphanage in Oudtshoorn during the Second World War, and each victim was missing the tip of their little finger, removed post mortem.

Exquisitely written, Wilson’s debut novel will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

The 40th Alex Delaware novel from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

In the middle of the night, Detective Lieutenant Milo Sturgis is called to a Westside hospital. A young woman has been left dead at the entrance to the E.R. Milo soon identifies the victim as an aspiring actress, and evidence points him in the direction of a Hollywood misfit with an arrest record. Before they can arrest the suspect, however, he is found shot dead on his balcony.

Milo calls brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware to help unpick the case. But as more bodies appear, linked only by the rifle used to kill them, the more complicated it becomes.

It is clear there are darker forces at work. Can Alex and Milo uncover the truth before it’s too late?

In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.

Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.

Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.

Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.

As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.

A publishing event ten years in the making―a searing, exquisite new novel by the best-selling and award-winning author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists―the story of four women and their loves, longings, and desires.

Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until ― betrayed and brokenhearted ― she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka’s bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America – but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.

In Dream Count, Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved? A trenchant reflection on the choices we make and those made for us, on daughters and mothers, on our interconnected world, Dream Count pulses with emotional urgency and poignant, unflinching observations on the human heart, in language that soars with beauty and power. It confirms Adichie’s status as one of the most exciting and dynamic writers on the literary landscape.

A poignant tale of self-discovery, love, and community set against the backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa.

The story follows Unathi’s journey as she searches for her mother, Mavis, while navigating her identity. Raised by her grandmother, Gogo, in the village of Moya, where mothers are eerily absent, Unathi must confront the complexities of her sexuality, cultural heritage, and sense of belonging.

As she explores lesbian love, interracial relationships, and the quest for her mother’s truth, Unathi must also contend with the harsh realities of identity politics and the masks she must wear to survive.

An enthralling and surprising testament to new beginnings from billion-copy bestselling author Danielle Steel.

Oona Kelly Webster is an editor at a New York publishing house. Married with two children, her twenty-five-year relationship falls apart when she books a silver wedding anniversary getaway at a luxurious château in France and her husband Charles suddenly refuses to attend. What he tells her next will shatter her carefully built world into smithereens.

As her two children, Meghan and Will, rally around her in New York, one disaster heralds another: Oona can’t back out of her French holiday booking and must travel to a new country with a heavy heart.

It is February 2020 when she arrives and when France locks down due to the pandemic, Oona must stay put in rural, wooded Milly-la-Forêt just outside Paris.

And when a chance encounter with a famous Hollywood actor, who is renting a neighbouring château, blossoms into something deeper than friendship, Oona learns that life can change in an instant . . .

Yesterday they were just exes. Today they're a writer and a publicist... on tour in Europe... for a month.

When Andie lands her dream job as a senior book publicist, she's ready to take the world of New York publishing by storm.

Until her first day, when she discovers that her biggest author is Jack Carlson - the same Jack who ruined her life in university. Who she hasn't spoken to in five years. Who is not only still infuriatingly hot but incredibly successful. And whose campaign she definitely cannot mess up, if she wants to keep her job.

To make matters even worse, the central part of this career-defining campaign is a book tour. For a month, Andie will have to travel across Europe with the man who, if she were being totally honest, she'd like to hit with her car.

But she will not lose this opportunity, especially not because of him. One month on tour with Jack Carlson, visiting some of the most romantic spots in Europe. Deep breath. She can do this.

The game is on for two nerds who love to outplay each other . . . even when their hearts are on the line, in this charming and geeky romantic comedy perfect for fans of Olivia Dade and Jen DeLuca.

For Rose Marie Jones, risks are a hard no–except for Game Night. For one precious evening a week, Rose can forget about her demanding boss and her lackluster love life and focus on beating the pants off her friends. But none of them brings out her hyper-competitive side quite like William Ashdern.

Her best friend’s half-brother, William is the paragon of a sexy nerd. The tall, dorky, and handsome game designer is Rose’s playing nemesis. But when Rose decides to enter a contest with the board game she’s secretly invented, there’s only one person who can help her win.

Now what has always been a game between Rose and William is getting a lot more serious. And after spending her entire life trying not to lose, Rose might finally be ready to risk it all–and play to win.

A young doctor must come to terms with the dark truth behind some of the greatest medical advances in history made at Bellevue in this the gripping suspense-horror from New York Times bestselling author Robin Cook

Twenty-four-year-old Michael “Mitt” Fuller starts his surgical residency at the iconic Bellevue hospital. With the pressure on, Mitt uses his secret sixth sense to his advantage - a sensitivity to the nonphysical.

Between the fatigue, stress, and nerves, the first few days and nights of his surgical residency are tough ones. Then his patients begin to die from mysterious causes. Mitt struggles to find the cause of the deaths, but things rapidly spiral out of control.

As bodies mount and Mitt’s stress level rises, he finds himself drawn into the secrets of the abandoned Bellevue Psychopathic Hospital building - having defied demolition a few doors north of the modern Bellevue Hospital high-rise. Forcing an unauthorized entry into this storied but scary structure, Mitt discovers he’s more closely tied to the sins of the past than he ever thought possible.

A cold case is about to turn hotter than the sun...

Texas Ranger Rory Yates has proven his strength on the field time and again. Now he faces the toughest case of his career.

He’s on the trail of two missing women. Both are Native American. Does anything else link them?

As he digs deeper, he discovers that a Native American woman has gone missing every summer solstice for the past few years. The captor leaves no trace, except for a very strange calling card.

The Texas Ranger must do everything he can to track down these missing women.

He only hopes that he finds them alive . . .

Rusty Sabich is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that's taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea's young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears. If Aaron doesn't return soon, he will be sent back to jail.

Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn't returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first degree murder.

Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent-it's whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.

A taut, powerful mum-noir psychological thriller, which follows a mother who must confront a sudden and terrifying change in her daughter after the abrupt death of their babysitter.

Charlotte's daughter, Stella, is sensitive and brilliant - perhaps even a genius - but after the sudden death of her babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. And what's more unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka's personality, from her accent and repetitive phrases to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.

Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, depleted and sick, and convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella's transformation. But how could Blanka still be entwined in their lives?

As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, it's clear her husband believes this is all in her head and soon, Charlotte is convinced she is the only one who can save her daughter.

Told through a singular, chilling voice, Clever Little Thing holds light to the blurred lines of diagnosis in children and to the vital power of maternal instinct. Kaleidoscopic and tense, pulse-pounding and genuinely creepy, this is an ode to motherhood and a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic finale.

December 1941. It’s the height of World War II and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Lieutenant Jack Pembroke is ordered to join a convoy and sail his beloved ship, HMSAS Gannet, from South Africa to Egypt, where he will join the coastal escorts. With the Mediterranean all but closed to maritime traffic and Rommel’s forces rampaging across North Africa, it seems unlikely Gannet will survive.

Jack finds passionate romance with a Spanish beauty in exotic Alexandria but is soon thrust into battle while escorting ships running supplies to the beleaguered town of Tobruk, home of the Second South African Infantry Division. With the pressure building and ships around him being sunk by enemy bombers, Jack must deal with his own trauma while leading his men to safety.

It all comes to a head when Tobruk is surrounded, about to fall to Axis forces, with Gannet still trapped in the port.

Hell Run Tobruk is the third book in the thrilling Jack Pembroke series, each of which is a stand-alone story.

International bestselling author Mandy Robotham returns with a brand new tale set in 1950s London.

London, 1952. Seven years after the chaotic aftermath of World War II, London has is coming alive again, with jazz clubs and flickering cinema awnings lighting up the night sky.

But for widowed Helen ‘Dexie’ Dexter, she’s still a woman in a man’s world. She longs to prove herself as an officer in the London Metropolitan Police, yet she’s stuck intervening in domestics and making tea for her male colleagues.

Then Harri Schroder arrives, seconded from Hamburg to the Met. Haunted by the loss of his wife and child, Harri is unlike any man Dexie has ever known. Compassionate and sharp-witted, he sees her not as a threat, but as an intelligent, canny officer full of potential.

And when Harri is tasked with hunting down a Nazi war criminal-turned-respected-businessman, with connections to the upper echelons of British society, it’s Dexie he turns to for help.

But as their bond deepens, a deadly fog engulfs London. Dexie and Harri must expose the fugitive before he vanishes, risking everything for justice – and each other…

The new gripping and heart-wrenching historical fiction novel from international bestseller Mandy Robotham. Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t. Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A junior at Stanford and a student athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships - at least, that's what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It's how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...

With the political intrigue and high heat of A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash, A Betrayal of Storms is perfect for readers who enjoy stories full of magic, romance, and adventure... but with added spice.

Half-fey Robin Vale has grown up amongst humans, but that doesn’t save him from being captured for coin by fey hunters. When he’s rescued by a fey princess, he’s taken to Wychwood, the fey realm – where everyone is focused on preparing for war against the humans who hate, hunt, and kill them for coin.

Robin doesn’t understand how he fits into the fey’s plans... until he’s revealed to be the lost heir to the Icethorn Court. Aided by the unclaimed, destructive power of the Winter Court, which had been thought destroyed with Robin’s mother’s death, the fey ready their numbers for complete domination of the human realm.

But by claiming the throne with the help of his devastatingly handsome personal guard, Erix, Robin’s very presence opposes the long-planned invasion. Along with his allies – including Althea, a stern princess hellbent on stopping the human hunters from killing her kin – Robin is thrust into a world of betrayal, murder, and lies. He must survive long enough to have the choice: listen to fate and claim his family’s power, or let it wreak havoc on a realm that turned its back on him for becoming who he was truly meant to be.

The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James's deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition - she can feel what he feels. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she's alone - truly alone - for the first time in her life.

When James arrives in the rural town of Hawthorne, California to settle her brother's affairs, she's forced to rehash the ominous past she and Johnny shared and finally face Micah, the only person who knows about it. He's also the only man she's ever loved.

But James soon discovers that the strange connection she had with Johnny isn't quite gone, and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was keeping secrets, and he's not the only one.

What she uncovers will push her to unravel what happened in the days before Johnny's death, but in the end, she'll have to decide which truths should come to light, and which should stay buried forever.

ARE YOU READY TO BRAVE THE DARK?

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there's no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it's impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves - her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find - the truth.

But a storm is coming... and not everyone can survive its wrath.

WHAT IF YOU COULD REMEMBER EVERYTHING, EXCEPT THE DAY YOU DISAPPEARED?

A young woman, Jane O., arrives in a psychiatrist's office. She's been suffering a series of worrying episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations and an inexplicable sense of dread. But as the psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening in Jane's mind, she suddenly goes missing. When she is found a day later, unconscious in a park, she has no memory of what has happened to her.

Are Jane's strange experiences related to the overwhelm of single motherhood, or long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago, who warns her of disaster ahead? Jane's symptoms will lead her psychiatrist to question everything he once thought he knew.

Profound and beautifully written, THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. is a speculative mystery about memory, identity and fate, a mesmerising story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and the haunting, unexplained mysteries of the human mind.

Multi-award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor presents a sweeping story about a disabled Nigerian American who writes a science fiction novel that becomes a global phenomenon - but at a price. A tale about family, culture and identity.

Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she's suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she's not sure what comes next.

In her hotel room that night, she takes the risk that will define her life - she decides to write a book VERY unlike her others. A science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And everything changes.

What follows is a tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.

Nnedi Okorafor, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, presents a sweeping tale about family, culture and identity, and a breathtaking examination of the relationship between writer and reader . . . and robots. Death of the Author is heartfelt, tender, and an ambitious meta-drama about what makes us human.

Welcome to the Kennedy household:

There’s Lila who wrote a bestseller about keeping your marriage alive. Now divorced, she watches her ex play happy families with another woman.

There’s Bill – her stepdad – who moved in after Lila’s mum died. He’s kind, old-fashioned and loves lentils just a little too much.

Celie, Lila’s eldest, hates school. Hates it so much she’s stopped going. Her mother’s fine with that – because she doesn’t know yet.

Violet is nine and sings age-inappropriate rap songs, laughs at fart jokes and Lila dearly hopes she’ll never, ever change.

Lastly, there’s Truant the dog. He’s just taken a bite out of the American actor who’s suddenly landed on the Kennedy’s doorstep.

This is Gene – Lila’s estranged father, and no one’s idea of a role model. He walked out on Lila and her mum years ago – and wherever he goes domestic discord follows.

Because Gene’s presence changes things in unexpected ways. Soon the girls discover a kindred spirit in a man always chasing life’s joys. Bill even loosens up. And Lila finds herself, astonishingly, dating.

Something is happening to the Kennedy household – but what is it?

And will it break, or save, their family?