RELEASING 2/14/2023! Bend Her: A Dark Beauty and the Beast Fantasy Romance is a story about Rhaim the All-Beast, a cruel beast mage doomed to die at the hands of the woman he must protect at all costs, and Lisane, the sheltered Princess of Tears, who has been given into his care and who needs him to teach her magic so she can be free—no matter how much it might hurt her. The intro follows . . . Lisane: My whole life, I had been a creature used to candlelight. But I wasn’t accustomed to my own breath hot against my face, or the rough feeling of fabric against my cheek—or knowing that my wrists were tied behind my back, painfully tight. The last thing I could recall was being in a carriage…We’d been running away from the Deathless . . . And now I was here. Wherever here was. Tied up, in the dark, on the ground, with a bag around my head. The very thing my father had been afraid of for me for my whole life—and the reason I lived in a gilded cage, only getting to leave the palace when I had throne-sworn mages by my side—had apparently happened. I had been kidnapped. ◆◆◆ Rhaim the All-Beast: Every mage gets one clear vision on the eve of their Ascension into their full powers, right before they get the brand of their mage-mark: you see the thing that will cause your absolute demise. Some men see snowy peaks or waterfalls, others bucking horses, and some lucky few see themselves with old and wrinkled hands, passing peacefully in their sleep. In all instances, we’re told, the reasoning behind the visions is the same: if you’re strong enough to be trusted with powers, then you must learn to accept the hand of fate, as surely as you’d earned it as your mage-mark. You need to know, deep in your bones and now scarred on your skin, that while there are things in the world you can change with your powers, death comes for us all. There is no amount of magic that can escape it. And so, when a group of soldiers brought a bound and drugged woman to my doorstep, to bribe me to fight in their war, and pulled the bag off of her head and I saw her there—the woman from the vision at my Ascension, and who has haunted my dreams ever since—I knew it was the beginning of my end. She had no idea who I was, or what we were to each other. She knew nothing about my fate or future with her, or how she was destined to kill me. Which meant in the present . . . she was mine, to do with as I pleased. And I wanted to see her crawl.

Born on the eve of China’s Cultural Revolution, Ping Fu was separated from her family at the age of eight. She grew up fighting hunger and humiliation and shielding her younger sister from the teenagers in Mao’s Red Guard. At twenty-five, she found her way to the United States; her only resources were $80 and a few phrases of English. Yet Ping persevered, and the hard-won lessons of her childhood guided her to success in her new homeland. Aided by her well-honed survival instincts, a few good friends, and the kindness of strangers, she grew into someone she never thought she’d be—a strong, independent, entrepreneurial leader. “She tells her story with intelligence, verve and a candor that is often heart-rending.” —The Wall Street Journal “This well-written tale of courage, compassion, and undaunted curiosity reveals the life of a genuine hero.” —Booklist (starred review) “Her success at the American Dream is a real triumph.” —The New York Post

All the Light We Cannot See meets The Nightingale in this literary WWI-era novel and epic love story of a brilliant young doctor who races against Einstein to solve one of the universe's great mysteries. In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the Czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision. Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan. But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much? Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both. As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance. Grounded in real history -- and inspired by the solar eclipse of 1914 -- A Bend in the Stars offers a heart-stopping account of modern science's greatest race amidst the chaos of World War I, and a love story as epic as the railways crossing Russia.

Bend with the Wind tells the story of an extraordinary woman, Grace Eto Shibata, and her family in 20th century California. It is the story of one family's belief in the American dream and offers a window into the history of a generation of Japanese Americans growing up in the 1930s and 1940s. As seen through the eyes of the youngest of eight children, Grace's account spans 100 years of her family history, beginning with her parents' immigration to the California's Central Coast in the early twentieth century. The story follows a generation of pioneers whose resilience and determination built strong families and strong communities. It shares the values that bound Grace's tightly knit family and supported Grace throughout her life, a life shaped by World War II, an arranged marriage, a family business, and motherhood. The book presents the story of a gracious and determined individual who learned to reach beyond her comfort zone to attain her own personal goals and dreams. Bend with the Wind celebrates Grace's life as a wife, mother, businesswoman, activist, author, and seventy-four-year-old college graduate. Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated with documents and photographs of Grace, her family, and the communities in which they lived, this biographical memoir provides the reader with an emotionally satisfying and inspiring life story.

Lorraine Tyler is the only queer person in Bend, Minnesota. Or at least that's what it feels like when the local church preaches so sternly against homosexuality. Which is why she's fighting so hard to win the McGerber scholarship--her ticket out of Bend--even though her biggest competition is her twin sister, Becky. And even though she's got no real hope--not with the scholarship's morality clause and that one time she kissed the preacher's daughter. Everything changes when a new girl comes to town. Charity is mysterious, passionate, and--to Lorraine's delighted surprise--queer too. Now Lorraine may have a chance at freedom and real love. But then Becky disappears, and Lorraine uncovers an old, painful secret that could tear the family apart. They need each other more than ever now, and somehow it's Lorraine--the sinner, the black sheep--who holds the power to bring them together. But only if she herself can learn to bend.

When Charles schedules a playdate with his friends Lucius and Robert, they have no idea they're about to travel back in time to Gee's Bend, Alabama to discover the origin of the beautiful quilts in Grandma's house. It doesn't take long for the boys to learn Grandma's quilts are more than pretty pieces of fabric stitched together to keep them warm; the history behind the family treasures is rich, and bursting with love. Charles and his Gee's Bend Quilt is a journey through art and adventure, stitched together through the eyes of young Charles, who dreams of creating a quilt of his own one day. Will his friends support Charles' dreams of making a quilt? Has he learned enough to do it? And what surprise does Grandma have for the boys that will change everything? Find out what happens in the heart-warming tale, Charles and his Gee's Bend Quilt.