Download or read book Queen of the Tiles written by Hanna Alkaf and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in this “stunning…unforgettable” (Publishers Weekly) thriller set in the world of competitive Scrabble, where a teen girl is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages. CATALYST 13 points noun: a substance that speeds up a reaction without itself changing When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It seems that even though Najwa is trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet. But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it. As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.
Download or read book Queen of the Tiles written by Hanna Alkaf and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-03-28 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen-year-old Najwa Bakri is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend and Scrabble Queen, Trina, a year after the fact when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.
Download or read book Queen of the Road written by Doreen Orion and published by Crown. This book was released on 2008-06-03 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pampered Long Island princess hits the road in a converted bus with her wilderness-loving husband, travels the country for one year, and brings it all hilariously to life in this offbeat and romantic memoir. Doreen and Tim are married psychiatrists with a twist: She’s a self-proclaimed Long Island princess, grouchy couch potato, and shoe addict. He's an affable, though driven, outdoorsman. When Tim suggests “chucking it all” to travel cross-country in a converted bus, Doreen asks, “Why can’t you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?” But she soon shocks them both, agreeing to set forth with their sixty-pound dog, two querulous cats—and no agenda—in a 340-square-foot bus. Queen of the Road is Doreen’s offbeat and romantic tale about refusing to settle, about choosing the unconventional road with all the misadventures it brings (fire, flood, armed robbery, and finding themselves in a nudist RV park, to name just a few). The marvelous places they visit and delightful people they encounter have a life-changing effect on all the travelers, as Doreen grows to appreciate the simple life, Tim mellows, and even the pets pull together. Best of all, readers get to go along for the ride through forty-seven states in this often hilarious and always entertaining memoir, in which a boisterous marriage of polar opposites becomes stronger than ever.
Download or read book The Weight of Our Sky written by Hanna Alkaf and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amidst the Chinese-Malay conflict in Kuala Lumpur in 1969, sixteen-year-old Melati must overcome prejudice, violence, and her own OCD to find her way back to her mother.
Download or read book The Impostor Queen written by Sarah Fine and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-01-05 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The elders chose Elli to be queen, but they chose wrong in this beautifully crafted novel that “fans of Rae Carson’s books and Victoria Areyard’s Red Queen will find much to love in” (VOYA). Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule. But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found. Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.
Download or read book Queen of the Sea written by Dylan Meconis and published by Walker Books US. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cult graphic novelist Dylan Meconis offers a rich reimagining of history in this beautifully detailed hybrid novel loosely based on the exile of Queen Elizabeth I by her sister, Queen Mary. When her sister seizes the throne, Queen Eleanor of Albion is banished to a tiny island off the coast of her kingdom, where the nuns of the convent spend their days peacefully praying, sewing, and gardening. But the island is also home to Margaret, a mysterious young orphan girl whose life is upturned when the cold, regal stranger arrives. As Margaret grows closer to Eleanor, she grapples with the revelation of the island’s sinister true purpose as well as the truth of her own past. When Eleanor’s life is threatened, Margaret is faced with a perilous choice between helping Eleanor and protecting herself. In a hybrid novel of fictionalized history, Dylan Meconis paints Margaret’s world in soft greens, grays, and reds, transporting readers to a quiet, windswept island at the heart of a treasonous royal plot.
Download or read book Queen of the Amazons written by Judith Tarr and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2005 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Judith Tarr returns to the always fascinating character of Alexander the Great in this fantasy novel that springs from the legend that the Queen of the Amazons came to meet him in Persia, and became his friend. Hippolyta was Penthesilea, or Queen of the Amazons. She ruled as war leader and high priestess of a scattered tribe of women warriors who had dwelt on the high plains to the north and east of Persia for time out of mind. They were not isolated---travelers came and went through their territory, bringing news from the west, and carrying tales of the warrior women back home with them. But the Queen had a great grief in her life: her daughter and heir was a strange child. The girl had been born, so the Priestesses said, without a soul. And it was true that she was like no other child alive. She did not speak, and often seemed not to even see the people around her. She could not dress or feed herself, but she could ride and hunt like no other woman of the tribe. Many of the Amazons believed that the child must never be Queen, but that was a problem for a later time--Hippolyta was young and strong. Selene, the niece of the tribe's Seer, was put in charge of the child, to be her nursemaid and guardian. And it was a good, though sometimes difficult, life for many turns of the years. But then one day news came from the West of a new Conqueror, a young man who came out of Macedon with a spirit like flame, intending to rule the whole world. The Queen's daughter responded to the tale as a woman in the desert would to the sound of falling water. That very night she stole out of the camp and rode west. Selene could not stop her, and so she must follow, praying that the Queen would understand. Hippolyta herself followed the next day, and so they rode together, controlled by the child's compulsion, until they had crossed the mountains and entered into Alexander's Empire, and under the sway of Alexander's powerful personality.
Download or read book The Eyes of the Queen written by Oliver Clements and published by Atria/Leopoldo & Company. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this first novel of the “rollicking” (The New York Times Book Review) Agents of the Crown series, the man who will become the original MI6 agent protects England and Queen Elizabeth I from Spain’s nefarious plan to crush the Age of Enlightenment. After centuries locked in an endless cycle of poverty, persecution, and barbarity, Europe has finally emerged into the Age of Enlightenment. Scientists, philosophers, scholars, and poets alike believe this to be a new era of reason and hope for all. But the forces of darkness haven’t completely dissipated, as Spain hunts and butchers any who dare to defy its ironclad Catholic orthodoxy. Only one nation can fight the black shadow that threatens this new age, and that is Britain, now ruled by a brilliant young Queen Elizabeth I. But although she may be brave and headstrong, Elizabeth knows she cannot win this war simply by force of arms. Elizabeth needs a new kind of weapon forged to fight a new kind of war, in which stealth and secrecy, not bloodshed, are the means. In this tense situation, Her Majesty’s Secret Service is born with the charismatic John Dee at its head. A scholar, a soldier, and an alchemist, Dee is loyal only to the truth and to his Queen. And for her, the woman he’s forbidden from loving, he is prepared to risk his life in this “twisty, fast-paced debut” (Publishers Weekly).
Download or read book The Queen Of The Night written by Alexander Chee and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and a Best Book of the Year from NPR, Boston Globe, BuzzFeed, and others. The mesmerizing story of one woman's rise from circus rider to courtesan to world-renowned diva—"a brilliant performance" (Washington Post). The Queen of the Night tells the captivating story of Lilliet Berne, an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept into the glamour and terror of Second Empire France. She became a sensation of the Paris Opera, with every accolade but an original role—her chance at immortality. When one is offered to her, she finds the libretto is based on her deepest secret, something only four people have ever known. But who betrayed her? With epic sweep, gorgeous language, and haunting details, Alexander Chee shares Lilliet’s cunning transformation from circus rider to courtesan to legendary soprano, retracing the path that led to the role that could secure her reputation—or destroy her with the secrets it reveals. “It just sounds terrific. It sounds like opera.”—The New Yorker “Sprawling, soaring, bawdy, and plotted like a fine embroidery.”—NPR
Download or read book The Girl and the Ghost written by Hanna Alkaf and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: * Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! * A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies. I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother’s legacy. I am yours to command. Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable. But Suraya doesn’t know that pelesits have a dark side—and when Pink’s shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness. Fans of Holly Black’s Doll Bones and Tahereh Mafi’s Furthermore series will love this ghostly middle grade debut that explores jealousy, love, and the extraordinary power of friendship.
Download or read book The Spanish Queen written by Carolly Erickson and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2013-10-22 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A powerful novel about Henry VIII’s first wife, the mother of Mary I, by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Last Wife of Henry VIII. When young Catherine of Aragon, proud daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, is sent to England to marry the weak Prince Arthur, she is unprepared for all that awaits her: early widowhood, the challenge of warfare with the invading Scots, and the ultimately futile attempt to provide the realm with a prince to secure the succession. She marries Arthur’s energetic, athletic brother Henry, only to encounter fresh obstacles, chief among them Henry’s infatuation with the alluring but wayward Anne Boleyn. In The Spanish Queen, bestselling novelist Carolly Erickson allows the strong-willed, redoubtable Queen Catherine to tell her own story—a tale that carries her from the scented gardens of Grenada to the craggy mountains of Wales to the conflict-ridden Tudor court. Surrounded by strong partisans among the English, and with the might of Spanish and imperial arms to defend her, Catherine soldiers on, until her union with King Henry is severed and she finds herself discarded—and tempted to take the most daring step of her life. Carolly Erickson’s historical entertainments continue to succeed in creating a unique blend of historical authenticity and page-turning drama. Praise for The Spanish Queen “Although even Erickson’s fact-bending “historical entertainment” cannot alter the grim outcome, Catherine’s ordeal is so sensitively recreated that readers will still hope for a different ending. A vivid evocation of a queen who refused to be written off.” —Kirkus Reviews “Erickson explores the range of Catherine’s emotions over the death of her first husband, the loss of several children and the betrayal of King Henry. Her Catherine brims with emotions, at one turn kind and understanding, at another seething with hurt and jealousy. This multifaceted characterization of Catherine is much more satisfying than previous portrayals. Highly recommended.” —Historical Novel Society “The writing is beautiful, the characters are marvelous, and the story masterfully crafted. I will certainly read Erickson’s next historic fiction.” —San Francisco Book Review
Download or read book Island Queen written by Vanessa Riley and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Riveting and transformative, evocative and immersive...by turns vibrant and bold and wise, discovering Dorothy’s story is a singular pleasure.”--The New York Times A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free Black woman who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies. Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent. Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England. From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.
Download or read book The Last Heiress written by Stephanie Liaci and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the close of ancient Egypt''s ambitious Eighteenth Dynasty, power, art, and learning have reached a zenith. Due to the nation''s yearly flooding, steady harvests, and plentiful gold, Egypt is the richest nation in the world. Ruling over this paradise is Pharaoh, considered a god-on-earth by his people. But on the death of Amunhotep III, his son, known to history as the Heretic King Akhenaten, enters into a war with the powerful priesthood of Amun and claims ownership of the souls of his people. He raises a new god for Egypt to worship, and banishes the ancient gods from the land. The consequences of this will lead to the downfall of the ruling dynasty, the very family that had made Egypt into a mighty empire. The delicate and beautiful third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, Princess Ankhesenamun knows nothing but power and luxury. Her mother Nefertiti rules Akhenaten''s heart and other wives as her father rules the land. But when Nefertiti fails to give Akhenaten the son he desires, the princess''s pampered world begins to fall apart. And at the height of Akhenaten''s triumph over his people, an unexpected tragedy strikes the land, giving those oppressed a new reason to fight. Soon the chaos outside the King''s House explodes within, tearing the royal family apart. Watching from the shadows is Prince Tutankhamun. His mother was a princess, but she died after his birth, and he has grown up on the edge of the king''s favor because of Nefertiti''s strong influence. The crown, which he feels is his by right, is expected to go Nefertiti''s oldest daughter, but Akhenaten refuses to name an heir. Attended as the son of a god but isolated from his family, Tutankhamun spends his days surpassing his tutors, gaining his omnipotent father''s attention only by extreme achievement or reckless courage. Though dominated by her oldest sister, Tutankhamun''s born rival, young princess Ankhesenamun is drawn to the proud and mysterious black-eyed boy. As events in her home become intolerable and terrifying, Ankhesenamun finds that the prince her mother and sister fear is the only one that she can trust. Broken by the burden of a war with his own people, Pharaoh begins to lose control. Paranoid and accustomed to utter indulgence, he wields his absolute authority with ever more brutal hands. He betrays his young daughter in the cruelest of ways before his sudden death leaves the royal family without a king, and beset on all sides by their own countrymen. Ankhesenamun wants nothing to do with the ensuing power struggle between the Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti, and the First Daughter and her lover. But as a beautiful young king''s widow, her hands are bound to the throne. Horrified at the prospect of another unwanted marriage, Ankhesenamun turns to Prince Tutankhamun, and they flee the palace. But Tutankhamun is destined to be Pharaoh, as he has always known. Murder makes him a king at age ten, and he persuades a fragile Ankhesenamun to be his Great Royal Wife. Though Akhenaten has destroyed his family''s hold on power, Tutankhamun fearlessly takes up the crown. He pledges to make everything right again, not only for his enraged and traumatized people, but for the princess he loves with a fierce, possessive loyalty. Encouraged by his counsellors, Tutankhamun breaks his father''s laws and calls back the ancient gods to Egypt. In return, the gods bless the young king with the love of his people and a tranquil home. Ankhesenamun regains her strength, and sets out to command her palace and learn the ancient rites of Egypt''s goddesses. Though challenged by a mysterious and painful affliction that threatens to cripple him in only a few years, Pharaoh is determined to become a warrior and resurrect the mighty imperial army of his ancestors. As the pair grows to maturity, they break free of the horrors of childhood and discover a love so powerful it''s blinding. It seems that all is well in Egypt, but as Pharaoh and his wife enchant each other, new enemies rear up against them. Corrupt courtiers and a powerful empire growing out of the north, as well as snake in the very heart of the king''s home all threaten the young king and queen of Egypt, and Tutankhamun must become increasingly ruthless to battle them all. When a horrible act of terror and defiance against the king brings Tutankhamun face to face with his father''s ghost, he loses faith in himself and must decide what sort of man he will be. Ankhesenamun adores her young husband, and she is determined to be nothing like her mother. But though blessed with a child, she has fatal complications with her next pregnancy. She battles with love and fear daily, and after another tragic loss, she questions if she wants more children. Her marriage is strained by Tutankhamun''s growing comfort with the darker sides of power, and she is determined to keep him from losing his soul like Akhenaten did. She wants nothing more than the life she has with Tutankhamun, without any interruption from the ghosts of the past. Just when Ankhesenamun and her husband learn to accept fate and enjoy their blessings, Tutankhamun dies a tragic death while fighting Egypt''s fiercest enemies. The pampered and delicate young queen is left alone, and as she brings her husband to his final rest, she discovers the terrifying truth that her husband''s death might have been set up by enemies in her very home. Caught in a viper''s nest of greed and betrayal, Ankhesenamun must plunge into a world of intrigue and corruption if she means to avenge her family and save her people from a usurper. Hanging her own life in the balance, she must play a subtle and deadly game of power in order to destroy a killer.
Download or read book Queen of Dragons written by Shana Abé and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2008-11-25 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They are the stuff of glittering legend, supersensual creatures able to shape-shift from human to smoke to dragon. Now they face an enemy determined to destroy their dazzling world of magic and passion. Queen of Dragons It’s a stunning claim: the existence of a lost drákon tribe. And it comes from an intriguing source: a woman calling herself Princess Maricara of Transylvania. Alpha lord Kimber Langford, Earl of Chasen, can’t ignore the possibility. For whoever this unknown princess may be, she’s dangerous enough to know about his existence—and where to find him. And indeed, it isn’t long before Maricara breaches the defenses of Darkfrith and the walls around Kimber’s heart. Yet the princess arrives with urgent news: a mysterious serial killer is targeting the entire drákon race. To save their kind, Kimber and Mari must ally themselves body and soul in a battle that can spell their salvation, their extinction…or both.
Download or read book The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem written by Sarit Yishai-Levi and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the Book Club category of the 2016 National Jewish Book Awards. The #1 International Best Seller, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem is a dazzling novel of mothers and daughters, stories told and untold, and the ties that bind four generations of women. Gabriela's mother Luna is the most beautiful woman in all of Jerusalem, though her famed beauty and charm seem to be reserved for everyone but her daughter. Ever since Gabriela can remember, she and Luna have struggled to connect. But when tragedy strikes, Gabriela senses there's more to her mother than painted nails and lips. Desperate to understand their relationship, Gabriela pieces together the stories of her family's previous generations—from Great-Grandmother Mercada the renowned healer, to Grandma Rosa who cleaned houses for the English, to Luna who had the nicest legs in Jerusalem. But as she uncovers shocking secrets, forbidden romances, and the family curse that links the women together, Gabriela must face a past and present far more complex than she ever imagined. Set against the Golden Age of Hollywood, the dark days of World War II, and the swinging '70s, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem follows generations of unforgettable women as they forge their own paths through times of dramatic change. With great humor and heart, Sarit Yishai-Levi has given us a powerful story of love and forgiveness—and the unexpected and enchanting places we find each.
Download or read book That s Queen Bitch to You written by Ed Polish and published by . This book was released on 2005-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The eagerly anticipated follow-up to YOU SAY I'M A BITCH LIKE IT'S A BAD THING, this collection of feisty declarations tackles sex, love, betrayal, ambition, menopause, motherhood, pets, housework, diet, and hairstyles. Featuring vintage advertising images paired with bold and defiant affirmations, this fun little flipbook walks a thin line between vulgarity and hilarity with brazen humor and a daring dose of bitchiness.
Download or read book Leap of Faith written by Queen Noor and published by Orion Publishing Group. This book was released on 2004 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dramatic and inspiring story of one woman's incredible journey into the heart of a man and his nation. Born into a distinguished Arab-American family, Lisa Halaby was a strongly independent young woman. After studying architecture at Princeton, her work on projects in the Middle East gave her a profound understanding both of the links between the environment and social problems, and also of the tumultuous history of the Arab nations. Then, in 1974, her life took a very different turn, when her father introduced her to the world's most eligible bachelor, King Hussein of Jordan. After a whirlwind romance, she became Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan. With eloquence and honesty, Queen Noor speaks of the obstacles she faced as a young bride and of her successful struggle to create a role for herself as a humanitarian activist. She tells of her heartbreaking miscarriage and the births of her four children, along with her continuing support for King Hussein's campaign to bring peace to the Arab nations. But most of all this is a love story - an honest and engaging portrait of a truly remarkable woman and the man she married.
