Dream Within A Dream

Title: Again, But Better Author: Christine Riccio Publisher: Wednesday Books Publication Date: May 21, 2019 Synopsis: Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents...sounds ideal -- but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance...what's that? Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change -- there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!  Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart. Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic - the possibilities are endless. About the Author: Ch...

It's August 2012 and Superstorm Sandy has hit New York City with all her force. With rising waters flooding the first floor of the Rockaway Manor Nursing Home in Queens, it's time to evacuate the residents. And that includes Lily, 12, and her 80-year-old grandma Collette, whom she happens to be visiting. But not before Granny insists Lily find and bring along a flat red box, and slips back into speaking her native French as soon as Lily asks what's inside. Flashback to Nazi-occupied Brume, a small town in the south of France in the winter of 1944. A 12-year-old Collette, disguised as a young boy named Jean-Pierre, is working for the resistance. Her job is to deliver a package. In reality, it is a code for letting other resistance members know if their next operation against the Nazis is a go or not. The confirmation that the message was received is an X marked in her notebook with a Montblanc fountain pen. Collette's stealthiness and success at avoiding Nazis soon earn ...

Title: A Nordic King Author: Karina Halle Publication Date: September 21, 2018 Synopsis: A STANDALONE ROYAL ROMANCE When I first applied for the job I thought it would be like all the others: working as a nanny for an aristocratic family. Then I got the job and found out how wrong I was. Now I’m the new nanny for two adorable little girls who happen to be princesses. Their father is the widowed King of Denmark. And my new home? The royal palace in Copenhagen. Adjusting to my new life isn't easy but the hardest part hasn’t been the girls who still grieve over the loss of their mother. It’s their father. Cold, mysterious and moody, with an icy stare that seems to penetrate your soul, King Aksel may have hired me to take care of his daughters but he wants as little to do with me as possible. Yet the longer I share these palace walls with this man, the more that I’m drawn to him. His chiseled face and sexual swagger are only part of the package. It’s in the long, intense glances at...

Title: The Songs That Brought Me Back Author: Mylissa Demeyere Series:  The Songs, #2 Publication Date: December 4, 2018 Synopsis:   Have you ever made a mistake? One so monumental you lost everything? I did, and I hate myself for it! All I want to do is close my eyes, and let the darkness consume me. Make it all go away. The end. Ainsley is drowning in the depth of her despair. One wrong decision left her alone, with only regret as her constant companion. To escape it all, she makes another choice. One she hopes will end everything. Instead, she’s thrown into a whole new world filled with opportunities she doesn’t believe she deserves. Ethan gives the appearance of breezing through life. But underneath his bright facade, he’s scarred by loss. When fate leads him into Ainsley’s world at the exact moment she needs someone the most, he can’t ignore the chance to right the wrongs of his past. Ainsley and Ethan will struggle to help each other heal and start anew. They’ll learn t...

Title: The Iron Flower Author: Laurie Forest Series:  The Black Witch Chronicles, #2 Publisher:  Harlequin Teen Publication Date:  September 18, 2018 Synopsis: Elloren Gardner and her friends were only seeking to right a few wrongs, but their actions have propelled them straight into the ranks of the realm-wide Resistance against Gardnerian encroachment. As the Resistance struggles against the harsh rulings of High Priest Marcus Vogel and the Mage Council, Elloren begins to realize that none of the people she cares about will be safe if Gardneria seizes control of the Western Realm. With tensions heating up in Verpacia, more and more Gardnerian soldiers continue to descend upon the university…led by none other than Lukas Grey, now commander of the newly rebuilt Fourth Division base. Though Elloren tries to keep him at arm’s length, Lukas is determined to wandfast to her, convinced that she has inherited her grandmother’s magic—the prophesied power of the Black Witch. A...

Title: Love Spell Author: Mia Kerick Publication Date: August 2018 Synopsis: Having come to terms with being gay, Chance César is still uneasy with his gender identity, or, as he phrases it, “being stuck in the gray area between girl and boy.” This concern, however, doesn’t stop him from strutting his fabulous stuff on the catwalk in black patent leather pumps and a snug-in-all-the-right (wrong)-places orange tuxedo as the winner of this year’s Miss (ter) Harvest Moon Festival at the local Beans and Greens Farm’s annual fall celebration, serenaded by the enthusiastic catcalls of his BFF, Emily Benson. Although he refuses to visually fade into the background of his rural New Hampshire town, Chance is socially invisible—except when being tormented or beat up by familiar bullies. But when Chance, the Harvest Moon Festival’s mockingly-elected Pumpkin Pageant Queen,...

It's August 1944 when Haruko Tanaka, 17, her sister Toshiko, 12, and her mother have just arrived at the Crystal City Internment Camp, in Texas to join their father. They haven't seen Ichiro Tanaka, in five months, not since the government came and removed him from their home, accusing him of passing secrets to the Japanese through his night job at a hotel in Denver, Colorado. Living in Denver, the Tanaka's weren't interned, unlike the people living on the western coast of the United States. Shortly after Mr. Tanaka was detained, Ken, Haruko's older brother, enlisted in the army. Watching the Japanese families arriving in Crystal City is Margot Krukow, a German American girl, interned in Crystal City with her German-born parents. As the families begin to walk away from the gate, Haruko and Margot catch each other's eye. But it isn't until Haruko's first day of school at the Federal School that she finds out who Margot is. Sitting next to each other, they...

Title: A Room Away From the Wolves Author: Nova Ren Suma Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Publication Date: September 4, 2018 Synopsis: Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable. Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets. There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerou...

If you're looking for a fun, bookish way to spend Saturday, October 20, 2018 in NYC, look no further than  BookFest@BankStreet . It's a day chockablock with some of your favorite authors and their books, with panel discussions and autographing tables. There's refreshments in the morning, with time to chat, and a box lunch with more socializing. All in all, it's a great day and, in fact, it is one of my favorite autumn events and it's only a mere $75.00.  So if you're interested, it's time to register and you can do that HERE .  Here's a copy of this year's Schedule of Events for your perusal: Click to Enlarge The Book Discussion Sessions are a chance for you to participate in talking about your favorites with a qualified leader. Click HERE for a list of discussions and the books that will be discussed from which you can chose what you would like.  Won't be in NYC on October 20th, no problem, Book Fest @Bank Street 2018 will be live streamed by a...

Title: The World of Aluna Creators: Paula Garces & Antonio Hernández Authors:  Ryan Galletta, Dooma Wendschuck, & Corey May Illustrators: Adrian Barbu, Antim Marius, Casandra Ciocian, David T. Cabrera, & Tunon Benzo Series:  The World of Aluna, #1 Synopsis: A conquistador, Francisco Cortes, interrupts a ritual in the jungles of South America and encounters the powerful Goddess – Pachamama. Back in Spain years later, his young daughter, Aluna, would rather spend her time fencing with her friend Antonio than take dancing lessons. When Francisco gives Aluna a strange green gemstone, she discovers that she has supernatural strength. But is this a blessing or a curse? World of Aluna Comics Shop About the Creator: The Colombian-born actress, producer and writer, Paula Garces has been breaking down barriers and opening doors for Latinos in Hollywood. In 2011 she co-created and became the voice behind the popular Latina Superhero character “Aluna”. Aluna to date is be...

Title: Garden of Thorns Author: Amber Mitchell Series: Garden of Thorns, #1 Publisher: Entangled Teen Publication Date: March 6, 2017 Synopsis: After seven grueling years of captivity in the Garden—a burlesque troupe of slave girls—sixteen-year-old Rose finds an opportunity to escape during a performance for the emperor. But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her isn’t one of the emperor’s men—not anymore. He’s the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it. Rayce is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose’s attempt to take him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her as his hostage. Now Rose must prove where her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other girls, she’ll tell him all the Garden’s secrets. Except the one secret she’s kept for seven years that she’ll take to her gr...

Title: Nothing But Trouble Author: Ashley Bostock Series: Irresistible Billionaires. #1 Publication Date: August 28, 2018 Synopsis: Billionaire CEO Michael Vilander needed just one date. Creating a fake profile on his own matchmaking website may not have been his brightest move. But then Sophia Baldwin’s arresting face pops up on his CHAT NOW feature. Not only is she gorgeous, but after spending half the night exchanging messages with her, he finds her to be naive, innocent and way too sexy. Twenty-four-year-old Sophia Baldwin is barely able to make ends meet. Caring for her sick grandmother prevents her from having a normal life—aspirations of attending college full-time to become a nurse are on the back burner—but then she meets the charming and dazzling Clint on an online dating site. When he asks her to the Denver Arts Foundation’s Annual Valentine’s Day Gala, she’s confident things are looking up. Once Sophia learns that her hot date is none other than website mogul Michael Vil...

Title: Two Dark Reigns Author: Kendare Blake Series: Three Dark Crowns, #3 Publisher: HarperTeen Publicaiton Date: September 4, 2018 Synopsis: #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake returns with the highly anticipated third book in the Three Dark Crowns series! Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done. Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository About the Author: Kendare Blake is the author of several novels and short stories, most of which you can find information about via the links above. Her work is sort of dark, always violent, and features passages describing food from when she writes while hungry. She was born in July (for those of you doing book reports) in Seoul, South Korea, but doesn’t speak a lick of Korean, as she was packed off at a very early age to her adoptive parents in the United States. That might be ...

In the summer of 1940, as fear of a German invasion grew, the British government initiated a program called the Children's Overseas Reception Board, or CORB, which purpose was to evacuate British children from England and send them by ship to one of their (then) Dominion countries. Lifeboat 12 follows the experience of one of the children chosen to be sent to Canada, a boy named Kenneth Sparks, 13, of Wembley in London, the son of working class parents. Kenneth, however, doesn't want to go, thinking his stepmum had finally found a way to be rid of him, even if she did buy him a very good, expensive overcoat to take with him. He was thrilled about getting such a nice coat, even if it was second hand. After all, by the summer of 1940, Ken was used to everything being second hand, makeshift or rationed because of the war. But he still wasn't happy about going to Canada. Once the Blitz begins, and night after night is spent in a shelter, Ken quickly begins to look forward to l...

Title: Jaclyn and the Beanstalk Author: Mary Ting Publisher: Vesuvian Books Publication Date: September 4, 2018 Synopsis: What fate awaits a girl who hears monsters at night…  Sixteen-year-old Jaclyn looks up to her father. An honest man who once fought for the king, he now teaches Jaclyn how to use her wits—and her sword. But he has a secret. And his secret may have a connection to the one thing Jaclyn is hiding from him.  Upon hearing “monsters” are terrorizing the small villages around Black Mountain, Jaclyn’s father and his friends head out to hunt them … but they don’t return. Armed only with her sword and three magic beans—a gift from a mysterious old woman—Jaclyn sets out for Black Mountain to save her father. On her climb, one bean drops and grows into a beanstalk, catching her when she falls. She isn’t the only one that takes the ride. Jack, her childhood friend and secret crush, is following her. Jaclyn and Jack will have to work together to save not only their ...

Title: Skerryvore Author: Lee Williams Series: Dark Net, #1 Publication Date: September 2, 2018 Synopsis: Teenage twins Rose and Daniel aren’t allowed phones, computers, even a TV, thanks to their conspiracy-obsessed father. But when the people he always thought were after him actually turn up, the twins realise their dad wasn’t as paranoid as they’d always thought. With their father missing and their house burned to the ground, Rose and Daniel find themselves at the centre of a worldwide conspiracy that stretches back through the ages, involving some of the most powerful and mysterious organisations on the planet. Why them? Why their dad? The answers to these questions and other darker mysteries lie on a remote Scottish island, beyond the doors of an ancient house called Skerryvore. These mysteries link the twins to a Dark Age king and queen, to a secret society that stands behind the City of London, and an energy source that links some of the world’s most ancient sites into a net...