"The Harlequin Years presents a highly readable yet thorough examination of the Parisian music scene in the decade following World War I. Through Nichols's lively prose and in his accounts of institutional politics, reception histories, and behind-the-scenes debates, these places and personalities spring to life."—Susan McClary, author of Conventional Wisdom

It was the time when the English came across the Channel to take the battle to the French.

He proposed. She had her doubts. She said yes. Now what? Everyone tells Sarah Giles how lucky she is to be engaged to Paul O’Brian—a handsome hotshot who’s financially secure, knows how to throw the perfect dinner party…and taught Sarah how to, uh, take care of herself. Everyone thinks he’s great. Except for Sarah. But she has too much on her plate trying to become career woman of the year and hiding the fact that her seemingly blissful relationship is all but celibate (those lessons he gave her should come in handy) to figure out what’s wrong with Mr. Right, let alone qualify for the role of perfect fiancée. Meanwhile, what started as an innocent office flirtation with a man named John Wayne (really), has now moved beyond illicit lunches and harmless text messaging, and is fast turning into erotic obsession. Sarah can’t get John out of her head and she’s plunging deeper into a double life. But which life is the lie? Torn between two men, and trying not to lose sight of her own dreams, Sarah writes a scandalously honest diary of one life-changing year, and faces the challenge of writing her own happy ending….

From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Brotherhood A Best Of pick and Most Anticipated Sci Fi and Fantasy novel, as selected by Goodreads • Buzzfeed • BookRiot • The Portalist • IO9 • BookBub • SheReads • BiblioLifestyle • Den of Geek • GeekDad “A rich backstory… a highly satisfying ending… All the stars for Chen's warmhearted space-travel story.” –Kirkus, starred review Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials. Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he'd been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob. When Evie's UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He's different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven't changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too. The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years from Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself. "With heart and insight...Chen crosses the stakes and imagination of a space opera with the emotional depth and intricacy of a family drama." —Erika Swyler, bestselling author of Light from Other Stars

The Harlequin compresses, in a perfect unitary whole, essences of epochs, of intense experiences, of ways to love, of passionate effluences. The story has a dual flow, in sliding planes. One having the speed and the modernism of the present, the other, the aesthetics and romance of other times. The story of Natasha is wrapped in an ethereal sensuality that is always present, due to the experimental way of tasting the environment, practiced by its protagonists, but some episodes of ravishing passionate eroticism and exaggerated sexual fetishes do appear, almost clinically observed, like a sequence of symptoms that establish a diagnosis. The Harlequin is a seductive cultural, historical and psychological journey. A journey in time and space, but also on the meandering paths that ensure the connection between mind and soul. It's a documentary-warning and a manifesto of hope. A sumptuous novel, of a bizarre splendor, like a museum of torture arranged in a waltz salon.