"Dystopia meets Wimpy Kid in this mash-up."—School Library JournalObert Skye's Bigger, Badder, Nerdier is the second book in the post-apocalyptic parody Geeked Out series!Otto Waddle Junior High School is worse than ever. Tip and his geeky friends have finally come into their superpowers—well, their mediocre powers—and now have a whole new cast of impersonators to take on. Their foursome is being challenged by a rival group of students who are pawns in Darth Susan's evil plot against them. If middle school has any chance of survival, Tip and his friends must take their unusual powers to a whole new level and nerd things up big time.Christy Ottaviano Books

The world reels from a shocking assassination. The Aelarian Empire is cracking. From the ashes of a burnt world, warlords, barbarians, and rebels emerge to claim the remains.Outside the walls of Aelar, different factions converge. Tribal warriors prepare to shatter the gates. Valentina, a senator's daughter, seeks to enter the city and rebuild the Republic. Prince Seneca, the last scion of a mighty house, battles his rivals to the throne and strives to hold the Empire together. Meanwhile, within the walls, dark magic and conspiracies brew.In the distant desert, the kingdom of Zohar crumbles. The Empire musters to grind Zohar's cities into dust. Epher, King of Zohar, and his sister Maya, a powerful magic-user, fight desperately to defeat the Empire's legions. Yet their greatest enemy might be the mysterious, shadowy figure that roams their ancient land.In smoldering battlefields, crows feast and humans squabble for the last shreds of power. Yet can the...

Suncoast Society 54 (MMM, contemporary BDSM, HEA) Stuart moves to Florida because he knows being out as gay and kinky won’t be possible around his family in Iowa. It’s a new start for him, and he’s already made a kinky friend online. Now all he has to do is find the nerve to get out in real life. Jeff has had nothing but bad luck in love lately. He’s fluent in heartache and finally listens when friends tell him he needs to do something different. Brandon faces a delicate balancing act between being the father of a brilliant teenaged daughter and trying to find a subby guy who will accept he’s a package deal. He’s not just alone, but lonely, and wants more than pick-up play at Venture. When Stuart realizes he’s been catfished, he’s mortified. But is it a blessing in disguise? Can the three men find what they’ve all been looking for in each other, or will heartache continue to be their primary language?

One glorious spark, one moment of Rigante rebellion has ignited a revolution and forged a legend. In the mountains of the north, the outlaw leader known as Ravenheart waits, knowing the forces of the blackhearted Moidart will come, led by the brutal ruler’s only son, Stormrider. Unaware that the fate of the world lies in their hands, sworn enemies Ravenheart and Stormrider will be forced to unite—and face the vengeance of an ancient evil. For immense armies of darkness are advancing on the highlanders, and it seems as if nothing will stop them. They crush their victims with ease, until only a few thousand men stand before them, with no help in sight. But these are not ordinary men they face. They are clansmen, and more than that, they are Rigante. . . .

Going to the Fae plane against Jared’s orders has cost Mina dearly. Her decision continues to haunt her as a new danger surfaces. The Grimms are fading. To save her family’s future, Mina Grime will have to travel to the past with the help of her Fae Godmother and a magic pair of shoes. She must go to where the Story first began, to the beginning of the dark prince’s reign. But can she finish her quest before her time runs out or will she be trapped in the past forever?

When Bartholomew casts a spell for his heart's desire, his impulsiveness costs him. Now everyone wants a taste of him AND his baked goods. But all Bartholomew wants is for gregarious woodworker Lachlan to notice him....

Jake Stratton’s grief over the loss of his son traps a Colorado frontier town in a dusty kind of hell, until the day a long-awaited stagecoach thunders down Main Street and seals the fate of Mistwillow’s forgotten souls."My name is Cucumber Gutierrez. English is my second language, but the way I write everyone thinks that is my fourteenth."When Alberto Zapata and his baker father, Tito, are ejected from Panama over a havoc-causing cake, the whole family is thrown out with them, including Alberto’s cousin Cucumber.The family settles in Melbourne, Australia, and from humble beginnings in their new country, the Zapatas rise to unexpected prominence. A series of coincidences (or conspiracies) see Alberto raised practically overnight to become Victoria’s assistant chief commissioner of police.Zapata’s first case on the job is to solve the mystery around the disappearance of jewels belonging to the British Royal Family while on exhibition in Melbourne. Things get stranger and stranger as the case unfolds, in a madcap tale of crime, bungling, and Spanglish, reminiscent of "Get Smart" and "The Pink Panther"."Broom, Broom" is the first of the Alberto Zapata stories. Keep a lookout for new episodes "Jurassic Prick" and "China, Please Give Me More."

Beyond the islands of Caldera the world is a vicious place. A terrible calamity has poisoned the land. Those too ruthless or stubborn to die have crafted steam-powered mechanical wonders and taken to the sky. Yet somewhere in that wretched land there is a cure for a dire disease. With the eccentric crew of an airship called The Wind Breaker, Nita Graus means to find that cure, whatever the price.The islands of Caldera are a shining jewel in a rather bleak world. A terrible calamity in the past had blanketed much of the world with a toxic "fug." Those who survived were forced to take to the mountains and the skies in wondrous airships. Life has since been a struggle, with only the most ruthless and crafty able to survive. To spare themselves the same fate, the Calderans erected a battery of guns to fend off the airships of the mainland. They isolated themselves from the madness of the world, choosing instead to focus on the pursuits of art and creativity. Few believe the technologically advanced but socially barbarous outsiders have anything to offer. Amanita Graus, though, is hoping that they do.Nita's mother has lost her livelihood and perhaps soon her life to a terrible disease. Already the black sheep of the family for embracing engineering rather than art, Nita resolves to leave the safety of her home and do whatever it takes to find a cure. For a price, the bizarre crew of an airship called The Wind Breaker are willing to grant her a meeting with their mysterious benefactors, and thus a chance to procure the one thing with a chance to save her mother.Free-Wrench follows Nita’s adventures in a steampunk world of airships and lunatics. Helping her in her journey are an eccentric crew of smugglers; the gruff Cap’n Mack, the simple but enthusiastic Lil and Coop, the arrogant marksman Gunner, the surly surgeon Butch, and the irritable mascot Wink. To survive and find what she seeks she’ll need to earn their trust, follow their rules, and meet face to face with the people who pull the strings of their society.

13 short stories by Robert Bloch The YougoslavesA Most Unusual MurderThe Brood of BubastisGroovylandThe Chaney LegacyFloral TributeReaperThe Shrink and the MinkA Killing in the MarketThe New SeasonETFFFreak ShowHorror Scope

Brogan and Lula Gauge have spent a lifetime traveling Route 66, hunting the monsters that attacked them and left Brogan an earthbound spirit and Lula a near-vampire. They never wanted to catch the attention of Cupid, the god of connections and destruction. They never expected the god to want to strike a deal with them, either. Cupid's deal brought Brogan back to life, but now they owe the god a favor. They must find the spell book of the gods. A book of magic so powerful, it could destroy the world. The hunt for the book leads them down the Mother Road, across Kansas and Oklahoma, and straight into the sights of a seer who is not a seer, a healer who is not a healer, and a man from their past who carries a deadly secret. But for a chance to finally have the life together they want, a life they were cheated out of years ago, Brogan and Lula will fight any monster, face any magic, and take on any foe. Even...

In a peaceful Carthya, Jaron leads as the Ascendant King with Imogen beside him — but the peace he fought so long for is not destined to last.On a routine sea voyage, Jaron's ship is brutally attacked, and he is taken hostage. The mysterious captors and their leader, Jane Strick, accuse Jaron of unthinkable acts. They are also in possession of some shocking items — including the crown and sword that belonged to Jaron's older brother, Darius. The items unearth a past Jaron thought he had put behind him.Though it seems impossible, Jaron must consider: Could Darius be alive? And what does Strick want from Jaron? Against his will, Jaron will be pulled back into a fight for the throne — and a battle to save his kingdom.Return to Carthya to uncover new secrets, high-stakes action, and Jennifer A. Nielsen's signature breathtaking twists.

The Firstborn–the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey–have inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic. Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power–a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back. This time, they are pulling no punches: They have sent a “quantum bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed–and one that will obliterate Earth. Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away. From the Hardcover edition.