Drive Me Wild Christine Warren Tess Menzies can work a spell with a few blinks of her baby blue eyes. But this dedicated witch can't summon up a single good reason she's been made an envoy between her kind and Manhattan's fiercest were-creatures. The two sides haven't spoken in four hundred years, and she'll need every miracle in the book to broker any kind of truce. And that means outwitting Council of Others leader Rafael De Santos whose tantalizing moves and fierce hungry kisses are magic even a formidable sorceress can't resist . . . It doesn't take a cat's supernatural senses for Rafael to suspect that there's something strange about this unexpected peace offering. And finding the truth is just as tempting as uncovering the secrets Tess is trying to conceal. Why, she's tantalizing enough to make this wandering were-jaguar think he's found the perfect mate—one he's only dreamed of. But his stealth and her spells can't guarantee they have a chance at survival, much less a future together...

A complete and accessible introduction to the real-world applications of approximate dynamic programming With the growing levels of sophistication in modern-day operations, it is vital for practitioners to understand how to approach, model, and solve complex industrial problems. Approximate Dynamic Programming is a result of the author's decades of experience working in large industrial settings to develop practical and high-quality solutions to problems that involve making decisions in the presence of uncertainty. This groundbreaking book uniquely integrates four distinct disciplines—Markov design processes, mathematical programming, simulation, and statistics—to demonstrate how to successfully model and solve a wide range of real-life problems using the techniques of approximate dynamic programming (ADP). The reader is introduced to the three curses of dimensionality that impact complex problems and is also shown how the post-decision state variable allows for the use of classical algorithmic strategies from operations research to treat complex stochastic optimization problems. Designed as an introduction and assuming no prior training in dynamic programming of any form, Approximate Dynamic Programming contains dozens of algorithms that are intended to serve as a starting point in the design of practical solutions for real problems. The book provides detailed coverage of implementation challenges including: modeling complex sequential decision processes under uncertainty, identifying robust policies, designing and estimating value function approximations, choosing effective stepsize rules, and resolving convergence issues. With a focus on modeling and algorithms in conjunction with the language of mainstream operations research, artificial intelligence, and control theory, Approximate Dynamic Programming: Models complex, high-dimensional problems in a natural and practical way, which draws on years of industrial projects Introduces and emphasizes the power of estimating a value function around the post-decision state, allowing solution algorithms to be broken down into three fundamental steps: classical simulation, classical optimization, and classical statistics Presents a thorough discussion of recursive estimation, including fundamental theory and a number of issues that arise in the development of practical algorithms Offers a variety of methods for approximating dynamic programs that have appeared in previous literature, but that have never been presented in the coherent format of a book Motivated by examples from modern-day operations research, Approximate Dynamic Programming is an accessible introduction to dynamic modeling and is also a valuable guide for the development of high-quality solutions to problems that exist in operations research and engineering. The clear and precise presentation of the material makes this an appropriate text for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, while also serving as a reference for researchers and practitioners. A companion Web site is available for readers, which includes additional exercises, solutions to exercises, and data sets to reinforce the book's main concepts.

An illuminating journey through today's fascinating world of design. What can we learn from the ways great designers think-and how can it improve our lives? In CAD Monkeys, Dinosaur Babies, and T-Shaped People Warren Berger, in collaboration with celebrated designer Bruce Mau, revolutionizes our understanding of design and unlocks the secrets of the trade. Looking to the creative problem-solving work of design professionals, Berger reveals that design is a mindset, a way of looking at the world with an eye toward improving it. The practice of design-thinking opens readers to their innate capacity for reimagining the world around them.

The magic returns like never before in Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Magic Within! Sabrina Spellman is your average teenager by day, attending Greendale High where her major crush, Harvey, plays for the school basketball team. But by night, Sabrina enters the Magical Realm, where she hones her witchcraft and attends Charm School with the handsome and mysterious Shinji. Start from the very beginning as Sabrina deals with her two eccentric aunts and her conflicting lives in the Mortal and Magic Realms . . . and stumbles into the beginnings of a plot that will reshape the magical world at its foundation! Written and illustrated by acclaimed artist Tania del Rio, The Magic Within collects the first ten issues of Archie's critically praised American manga

With wit and wonder, #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion in an amazing new trilogy about the use of magic in the Wild West.

Sensing that her new classmate, Jarrod, has supernatural powers similar to her own, Kate Warren tries to inform Jarrod of the gift he possesses, but he does not believe her until his power reaches a dangerous level.

The thirteenth—and final—book in the internationally bestselling fantasy adventure series that inspired the forthcoming major motion picture Seventh Son. Finally, Tom Ward, the spook's last apprentice, will confront the Fiend for the last time. A stunning conclusion to the acclaimed series! Tom Ward has battled boggarts, ghasts, witches, dark gods, and the most terrifying creatures to roam the earth. He's allied with the witch assassin Grimalkin, with a powerful boggart, and with Alice . . . the young witch who is also his true love. And he has kept one step ahead of the Fiend, the most evil being in the world. Now he will vanquish the Fiend once and for all. But it will require a terrible sacrifice: not everyone Tom cares about will survive the final battle. The Last Apprentice series is soon to be a major motion picture, Seventh Son, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou, and Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin. It's a suspenseful thrill ride that's "spine-tingling" (Publishers Weekly) and "anything but tame" (Horn Book). But don't read it after dark!