The Poppy War
When Rin aced the Keju - the test to find the most talented students in the Empire - it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn't believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin's guardians, who had hoped to get rich by marrying her off; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free from a life of servitude. That she got into Sinegard - the most elite military school in Nikan - was even more surprising.
But surprises aren't always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Fighting the prejudice of rival classmates, Rin discovers that she possesses a lethal, unearthly power - an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of psychoactive substances and a seemingly insane teacher, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive - and that mastering these powers could mean more than just surviving school.
For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most people calmly go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away...
The Atlas Six
Secrets. Betrayal. Seduction. Welcome to the Alexandrian Society.
When the world's best magicians are offered an extraordinary opportunity, saying yes is easy. Each could join the secretive Alexandrian Society, whose custodians guard lost knowledge from ancient civilizations. Their members enjoy a lifetime of power and prestige. Yet each decade, only six practitioners are invited - to fill five places.
Contenders Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona are inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds. Parisa Kamali is a telepath, who sees the mind's deepest secrets. Reina Mori is a naturalist who can perceive and understand the flow of life itself. And Callum Nova is an empath, who can manipulate the desires of others. Finally there's Tristan Caine, whose powers mystify even himself.
Following recruitment by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they travel to the Society's London headquarters. Here, each must study and innovate within esoteric subject areas. And if they can prove themselves, over the course of a year, they'll survive. Most of them.
Funny Story
Daphne always loved the way Peter told their story.
That is until it became the prologue to his actual love story with his childhood bestie, Petra.
Which is how Daphne ends up rooming with her total opposite and the only person who could possibly understand her predicament- Petra's ex, Miles.
As expected, it's not a match made in heaven - that is until one night, while tossing back tequilas, they form a plan.
And if it involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it's all just for show, of course, because there's no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiance's new fiancee's ex . . . right?
A Little Life
When four graduates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity.
Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he'll not only be unable to overcome - but that will define his life for ever.
A Fate Inked In Blood
A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king - while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son - in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.
Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband's back.
Freya's dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region's jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret- she possesses a drop of a goddess's blood, which gives her magic capable of repelling any attack. A magic that was foretold would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath a king-the one who controls the shield maiden's fate.
Believing he's destined to rule Skaland, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders his son, Bjorn, to protect Freya from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. Except the greatest test of all may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
Carlota Moreau: growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatan peninsula, she is the only daughter of an eccentric, and dangerous, genius. His experiments, a motley group of hybrid monstrosities, are blindly loyal to their creator.
Into Carlota's strange but perfectly balanced world comes Eduardo Lizalde, the charming, careless son of Doctor Moreau's patrons. In the sweltering heat of the jungle, amidst her father's secrets and her own awakening feelings, Carlota will begin asking questions that could ignite a conflagration.
Lies and Weddings
Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories manors and yachts lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who’s-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money.
Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans—and their reputation—go up in flames.
Can the once-great dukedom rise from the ashes? Or will a secret tragedy, hidden for two decades, reveal a shocking twist?
Butcher and Blackbird
This viral TikTok friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and sizzling chemistry is unlike anything you've read before . . .
perfect for fans of The Mind F*ck series.
Even serial killers deserve a meet-cute.
When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive - the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing other serial killers.
Stalking across the country, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.
But as their friendship develops into something deeper, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their new-found romance.
Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?
Five Survive
WINNER of the CrimeFest award 2022 for Best Crime Fiction Novel for Young Adults!
‘A blisteringly good standalone thriller.’ The Observer, YA Books of the Year, 4/12/2022
Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break.
Spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident.
There’s a sniper out there. He’s watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.
As a game of cat-and-mouse plays out, the group desperately tries to get help. Buried secrets are forced to light and tensions within the group reach deadly levels. Only one thing is for sure. Not everyone will survive the night . . .
Once Upon a Broken Heart
From the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval series, the first book in a new series about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after.
For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered.
Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline's first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game - and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy . . .
'Enchanting, intriguing, and delightfully whimsical' Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of the Cursebreaker Series
'Enchanting and mysterious' Renee Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn
'A dazzling mix of mystery, romance, and magic' Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying
'A deadly, addictive, and utterly enchanting fairy tale. Loaded with magic and steamy slow-burning romance, I couldn't put it down' Mary E. Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of Vow of Thieves
'Stephanie Garber spins a spellbinding tale' Sabaa Tahir, author of New York Times bestseller Ember In the Ashes
The Inheritance Games
The international bestselling, TikTok sensation, addictive, twisty thriller, full of dark family secrets and deadly stakes - now in a global cover look!
She came from nothing. Avery has a plan- keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why.
They had everything. Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money.
Now there's only one rule- winner takes all. Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing.
But just how far will they go to keep their fortune?
Good girls guide to murder
A "TikTok Made Me Borrow It" title
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. Almost everyone. Having grown up in the small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Adeleke chooses the case as the topic for her final project.
But when Pip starts uncovering secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden, what starts out as a project begins to become Pip’s dangerous reality . . .
Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, We Were Liars, Gone Girl and The Hazel Wood.
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Michael
Team Leader Library Resources
A supernatural tale! An intriguing concept with a human-like species that consumes books and absorbs the information from the books they’ve eaten… a librarian’s dream!
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Imma
Branch Supervisor – Albion Park Library
This lively book reveals the clothing and fashion of the world depicted in Jane Austen’s beloved books, focusing on the long Regency between the years 1795 and 1825. Illustrated with paintings, drawings, historic garments, and fashion plates. I found this book fascinating as no matter what page you looked at there was a story attached to the subject.
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Clair
Library Assistant – Albion Park Library
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Galah by Annabelle Hickson
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Sienna
Library Programs Officer
Galah is a fantastic anthology celebrating life, art and creatives in rural and regional Australia. I love it because the images and stories are so beautifully written and woven together in this collection. The original concept of Galah magazine was to shine a light on the full, creative lives of rural Australians after the devastation of the bushfires. Editors Annabel Hickson wanted to remind the country that there are thriving communities who support each other even in the darkest of times, and come back stronger after the damage of natural disaster. After ten issues of Galah Magazine, this amazing book was bound and distributed.
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