In the sleepy suburb of Burbank, California, 15-year-old Jonathan Smith fights a lonely battle against the humiliation of his classmates. When his parents take in a quiet exchange student from Sweden in the summer, he has no idea that this will change his life forever. Jonathan discovers that Kira is not only intelligent, but also has unusual knowledge. The introverted Swede becomes his salvation and makes him the most popular student in the class. But their friendship is put to the test when Kira reveals that she is not human, but an artificial intelligence. Despite her initial mission, Kira develops emotional bonds with Jonathan... A gripping fantasy novel written by Elias J. Connor, set in near-futuristic America in the mid-21st century.

Warren Ziller moved his family to Southern California in search of a charmed life, and to all appearances, he found it: a gated community not far from the beach, amid the affluent splendor of the 1980s. But the Zillers’ American dream is about to be rudely interrupted. Warren has squandered their savings on a bad real estate investment, which he conceals from his wife, Camille, who misreads his secrecy as a sign of an affair. Their children, Dustin, Lyle, and Jonas, have grown as distant as satellites, too busy with their own betrayals and rebellions to notice their parents’ distress. When tragedy strikes, the Zillers are forced to move to Warren’s abandoned housing development in the desert. In this comically bleak new home, each must reckon with what’s led them there and who’s to blame—and whether they can summon the forgiveness needed to hold the family together. With penetrating insights into modern life and an uncanny eye for everyday absurdities, Eric Puchner delivers a wildly funny, heartbreaking, and thoroughly original portrait of an American family.

Kira Bryams, after being drugged by her stepsister and her fiancé during a family dinner with her fiancé's family at a hotel had a one night stand with a man. What she didn't know was that the man she slept with was the richest and most powerful man in the country; Sanders Wealth. After finding out that everything was a plan by stepsister and fiancé from the very beginning, Kira almost killed herself. But Sanders Wealth came with a proposal that would change her life. "Are you willing to be my wife? I will get revenge for you. You only need to enjoy the show. " Sanders said to her enthusiastically. "I accept. I want those two to be destroyed. But on one condition, nobody should know I am your wife because I am a popular fashion designer. " Kira replied. "No problem. Let's go to the bureau or else it will be too late to get a certificate." Sanders said whilst smiling happily. This was how Kira was bound to Sanders. Follow Kira and Sanders in their love story as they uncover various mysteries. You will enjoy it. (Book 1 of the Series)

War hero and daughter to two Houses, Kira is just beginning to learn how deep the rabbit hole goes. Agreeing to accompany her father’s people back to their homeworld, Kira Forrest prepares for the fight of her life. She’s agreed to undertake the Trial of the Broken, a rite of passage every member of her father’s House must pass. It offers a path to independence and freedom that is too tempting to deny. Not everyone welcomes this lost daughter of Roake. There are those who fear what her presence might bring to light. Betrayal stalks the halls of Kira’s birthplace—its roots embedded deep in the events that claimed her parent’s lives and set her on her current path. Walking the wire’s edge between truth and deception will test the person Kira has become as she separates ally from betrayer. An old enemy has put into motion a plan that could topple the balance of power in the universe. Letting them succeed spells doom—but the price might be more than Kira is willing to pay.

From author Rosie Cranie-Higgs comes a masterpiece of psychological horror and suspense set against the snowy and stark Swiss Alps. Deftly mixing Scandinavian folklore and dark fairy tales, Rosie’s creepy and atmospheric Whiteland series “takes readers down a terror-filled rabbit hole…” (Publishers Weekly) to a realm that is impossible to leave. It’s been one year since sisters Kira and Romy escaped the twisted realm of Whiteland. Desperate and lonely, Kira has no one to talk to, or to convince her that she’s not crazy, and that everything in Whiteland really did happen. Worse, Romy remembers nothing and Kira just can’t bring herself to make her sister remember. On New Year’s Eve, Kira agrees to go with her friends to a nightclub, where she hopes to finally forget everything and start fresh. Instead, she runs headlong into her past. Callum is there. He’s alive and his memories of Whiteland are intact. But Callum isn’t the only thing that left Whiteland. A huldra has escaped, too, and it only has three things on its mind: punishment, revenge, and hunting down the trio that escaped. Now the three friends are on the run in the real world. Little do they know that the farther they go, the closer they are heading into madness. The only thing worse than going into Whiteland is when it comes out after you.

The legendary weaving tradition of Bhutan, spanning several centuries with meticulously-constructed traditional and classic design layouts, continue to be woven to this day. This photographic volume provides a visual tribute and catalogue of the kira. It is the national and traditional dress of Bhutanese womenfolk worn with pride, in daily life and on special occasions. This key catalogue and special focus on kiras begins the exploration with the kishung or poncho, said to be the forerunner of the presentday kira. The photographs in this volume document the kira’s evolution as a garment. Depending on the quality and intricacy of patterns, the weaver may be required to spend up to two years of daylight hours to create one kira. The kira is akin to a blank canvas upon which weavers display, thread by thread, their creative inspiration. The excellence, evidence of painstaking crafting, and highly-formed creative abilities of the Bhutanese women weavers present to us a visual range of wearable art that is both beautiful and functional. Expression of design skills provides a near-kaleidoscopic montage of elegance where Bhutanese fashion and art merge as one. In this day and age, the user, beholder, collector, and heirloom historian are indeed fortunate to fully enjoy and appreciate this living tradition and heritage of art and craft.

Not Exactly As Planned is a captivating, deeply moving account of adoption and the unexpected challenges of raising a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. Linda Rosenbaum’s life takes a major turn when her son, adopted at birth, is diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. With love, hope and all the medical knowledge she can accumulate, she sets out to change his prognosis and live with as much joy as she can while struggling to accept her new reality. Not Exactly As Planned is more than a story of motherlove. It’s about birdwatching, bar mitzvahs, the collision of ’60’s ideals with the real world, family secrets and woodcarving.