GOOD v EVIL FREE WILL v DESTINY Essex isnt just about the glamour. Away from the ditzy charm, fake tan and false eyelashes, lies a hidden world of drugs, carnage, and violence run by the county's crime lords. Is love fully understood at seventeen? Rachel didnt think so. The fixation and infatuation that two people can have for one another scared her so much she didnt just run away from it; she bolted, straight into a teenage pregnancy and numerous failed relationships in a bid to forget Sean Fergus. She never really understood why she ran, a little voice in her head told her to and she had listened. So why had she spent the last ten years trying to replace him? Sean however understood it fully. He knew she had to run because he knew what he was, even if she didnt. He was a monster. There was a dark, vile evil that lived inside him. It made him do wicked things and what made it worse was that the evil force that consumed him, made him enjoy it. Women werent safe with him. When Sean meets Rachel again, unexpectedly he sees a tiny glimmer of hope that redemption is possible. If they could just find their way through the maze of infatuation and fixation, then they just might finally stand a chance of a normal happy relationship. But can a person change? Can good overcome evil? Whilst Sean is forced to confront the violence of his past and take on what he sees as the demons that threaten his future, Rachel finally realises why she ran. She knows she has to run again but this time it is for her life not her heart. But will Sean let her go so easily this time?

For millennia, we have tried to explain ourselves using the raven as a symbol. It occupies a unique place in British history and has left an indelible mark on our cultural landscape. The raven's hulking black shape has come to represent many things: death, all-seeing power, the underworld, and a wildness that remains deep within us. Legend has it that the fate of the nation rests upon the raven, and should the resident birds ever leave the Tower of London then the entire kingdom will fall. While so much of our wildlife is vanishing, ravens are returning to their former habitats after centuries of exile, moving back from their outposts at the very edge of the country, to the city streets from which they once scavenged the bodies of the dead. In A Shadow Above, Joe Shute follows ravens across their new hunting grounds, examining our complicated and challenging relationship with these birds. He meets people who live alongside the raven in conflict and peace, unpicks their fierce intelligence, and ponders what the raven's successful return might come to symbolise for humans in the dark times we now inhabit.

Like her popular Appalachian Spring, Marcia Bonta's new book offers a day-by-day account of the changing world of nature in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. This time she chronicles the beauties of the autumn months as she walks the familiar roads and trails of her 500-acre mountain-top farm, noting the minute transformations of the season as well as the more dramatic ones. But her quiet sojourn in the natural world is shattered by the intrusion of a lumberman who insists upon clear-cutting a neighboring property. The massive bulldozers and skidders crush every tree and shrub, weed, and wildflower, leaving only rubble in their wake. The Bontas become involved in a lawsuit challenging this violation of the land they love and seeking to protect their own property from the effects of the logging. "Autumn is a bittersweet time," Bonta writes, "a season of good-byes, when, after the flaming leaves fall and start the inevitable process of decay, we are left with only the bare bones of nature." Fleeing from the whine of chain saws and the crash of falling trees, she roams the mountain-top, watching wild turkeys forage in the field, flocks of migrating birds feast on wild grapes, does and bucks eye each other in their mating ritual. But she can never completely evade the insistent question: What is the relationship between humans and nature? Does ownership give one the right to do as one pleases with the land and all the flora and fauna living on it? Does the natural world exists solely to satisfy mankind’s desire for profit? The answer is not simple; it cannot be drawn in winter’s black and white. But the issues must be of concern to every thoughtful person. Marcia Bonta’s Appalachian Autumn offers a new voice in the ongoing debate.

"In this elegant narrative, celebrated naturalist Ted Floyd guides you through a year of becoming a better birder. Choosing 200 top avian species to teach key lessons, Floyd introduces a new, holistic approach to bird watching and shows how to use the tools of the 21st century to appreciate the natural world we inhabit together whether city, country or suburbs." -- From book jacket.

‘Bizarre Laws and Curious Customs of the UK' is a fascinating book, well assembled and written by Monty Lord. Most of us have had occasion to come across some ancient ruling that is still in the statute book and find laughable. Many of these were never made law and take their place in the category of myth and legend. Monty Lord not only brings many new strange laws to our notice but also clarifies what is law and what is just custom, myth or legend. This is an enjoyable and fascinating book that can be read for a number of reasons. It is a useful reference book, an enjoyable bedside dip-in book or just a book to be enjoyed as any other.’ - William Roache, OBE - Actor, 'Ken Barlow' in Coronation Street In the UK, we have some bizarre laws that have littered the statute books of our sceptred isle throughout history. Not all of them have been repealed over the centuries. Some of them made perfect sense at the time they were introduced but seen through modern eyes, now appear archaic and draconian. Despite the great efforts of the Law Commission in England and Wales to review and recommend reforms for many of these outdated laws, there are centuries of law that must be painstakingly gone through. As well as some bizarre laws, the UK also has its fair share of curious customs and time-honoured traditions that have been observed for centuries. On the surface, many appear to be nothing more than theatrical pomp and pageantry. However, they are all born from strong rationale. The UK parliament seems to have had a particular penchant for passing laws related to fish and animals, indecency and passing sentences with some humiliating public punishments. This book is a highly entertaining read for anyone who enjoys learning about the more bizarre applications of UK law throughout the centuries, along with some rather macabre consequences along the way. Have you ever heard a bizarre law and thought, that can’t possibly be true? Is it genuine? Was it ever in existence or just an urban myth that became so embellished over time? There are surprisingly, a great many laws still in existence on the statute books today, that would make your jaw drop. Whilst bizarre as these laws may now seem to us, it begs the question, are we in fact, unknowingly breaking these laws on a regular basis? For example… Is it illegal to imagine the abolition of the monarchy? Is it illegal to refuse to assist a police constable? Did courts squash people into submission? Was cricket against the law? Was Dr. Frankenstein ever real? …all these questions and more will be answered in this Volume 3 of a 3 volume series by Monty Lord. Reading this book, you may be inclined to laugh heartily, let out a sorrowful cry or recoil in abject horror at some of the more gruesome sentences passed for breaking these weird laws. With over 300 bizarre but nevertheless true, laws and customs, you can use this book to satisfy your curiosity about what our ancestors had to contend with over the years, or perhaps as a reference guide for trivia quizzes.

An ancient prophecy threatens the return of the Small Gods to seek revenge on those who banished them a thousand years before. According to its words, only one person can stop them: the firstborn child of the rightful king. But King Erral usurped the throne decades past. For whom are the words intended? When the prince and princess discover the long-forgotten scroll, Teryk is convinced he is the savior of the kingdom and determines to fulfill his destiny. His sister is not so sure. If he is the chosen one, why is it only Danya can read the words inscribed on the parchment? And what of the other elements of the prophecy: the Barren Mother, the Living Statue, and the Man from Across the Sea? None of them can possibly exist. Teryk strikes out on his own to become the hero he is meant to be and prove his worth to his father once and for all. His desperate sister and the kingdom's one-armed champion give chase, but none of them realize the evil they've set in motion. The prince wants to save the kingdom. The princess wants to save her brother. But in a fight against the gods, who will save them all?

From seven bestselling authors, including New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn, comes a gripping and vividly imagined novel following an epic struggle of rebellion against the might of Rome. Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen named Boudica led her people in a desperate rebellion against the might of Rome, an epic struggle destined to consume heroes and cowards, young and old, Roman and Briton . . . and these are their stories. A calculating queen foresees the fires of rebellion in a king’s death. A neglected slave girl seizes her own courage as Boudica calls for war. An idealistic tribune finds manhood in a brutal baptism of blood and slaughter. A death-haunted Druid challenges the gods themselves to ensure victory for his people. A conflicted young warrior finds himself torn between loyalties to tribe and to Rome. An old champion struggles for everlasting glory in the final battle against the legions. A pair of fiery princesses fight to salvage the pieces of their mother’s dream as the ravens circle. A novel in seven parts, overlapping stories of warriors and peacemakers, queens and slaves, Romans and Britons who cross paths during Boudica’s epic rebellion. But who will survive to see the dawn of a new Britannia, and who will fall to feed the ravens?