Dennis Jones is a brilliant new voice in fantasy fiction. The Stone and the Maiden, his first foray into the genre, has been enthusiastically received in Canada and the US, and readers of this first book in The House of the Pandragore trilogy can't wait for the next instalment. It's easy to see why: The Stone and the Maiden is a spellbinding tale of peril, passion, sorcery and high adventure. There is the legend of the Signata, a mysterious sacred treasure that appears as suddenly as it vanishes, yet it is the only hope in the lands of the Ascendancy, a world menaced by an ancient and merciless evil. That evil is the force known as Deep Magic, a power long ago banished from the world, but brought back by Erkai the Chain, a master of the dreaded Black Craft. It is up to Mandine Dascaris, heiress to the throne of the Ascendancy, and to the young soldier Key Mec Brander, to find the Signata. To fail means the annihilation of their world. To succeed may mean the loss of their own lives. An unforgettable tale of high adventure, The Stone and the Maiden is ultimately the thrilling story of two lovers who, haunted by their passion and their joint fate, must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Epic fantasy at its most richly imagined best, it is a wonderfully entertaining read.

In imperial China, people moved away from the gender they were assigned at birth in different ways and for many reasons. Eunuchs, boy actresses, and clergy left behind normative gender roles defined by family and procreation. “Stone maidens”—women deemed physically incapable of vaginal intercourse—might depart from families or marriages to become Buddhist or Daoist nuns. Anatomical males who presented as women sometimes took a conventionally female occupation such as midwife, faith healer, or even medium to a fox spirit. Yet they were often punished harshly for the crime of “masquerading in women’s attire,” suspected of sexual predation, even when they had lived peacefully in their communities for many years. Exploring these histories and many more, this book is a groundbreaking study of transgender lives and practices in late imperial China. Through close readings of court cases, as well as Ming and Qing fiction and nineteenth-century newspaper accounts, Matthew H. Sommer examines the social, legal, and cultural histories of gender crossing. He considers a range of transgender experiences, illuminating how certain forms of gender transgression were sanctioned in particular social contexts and penalized in others. Sommer scrutinizes the ways Qing legal authorities and literati writers represented and understood gender-nonconforming people and practices, contrasting official ideology with popular mentalities. An unprecedented account of China’s transgender histories, this book also sheds new light on a range of themes in Ming and Qing law, religion, medicine, literature, and culture.

In this first part of a trilogy inspired by great Scottish legends, Alainna MacLaren is the last hope of her Highland clan. To save her people, she must wed a man willing to adopt her name. A knight agrees to help her, but has no intention of forsaking his name to marry her.

Before agreeing to marry the man she loves, Katherine Derwith is determined to discover who her real parents are, why they abandoned her, and whether her suspicions toward a newsman supposedly helping her are correct

**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides’s long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." —The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read—with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something!" —Lucy Foley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” (Publishers Weekly). Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens. Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge. Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld? When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.

When her husband goes missing, a new mother pleads with Tin Hau, the patron goddess of fisherman, for help.

Reduced to kissing the marble statue in her garden, Katie James is amazed when it warms to life in her embrace. Trapped for many years as a statue, Jorlan en Sarr must convince Katie to fall in love with him or he will once again turn to marble.