The Secret Fire


Book Description

Sacha Winters can't die. Until his eighteenth birthday he is invincible. On that day it all ends for Sacha - the result of a curse that has plagued his family for centuries. His death will fulfil the curse - and unleash a wave of destruction. He has no idea how to stop it, only the cryptic notes left behind by his father, and a strange connection with a girl he has only just met to guide him. Taylor Montclair is a quiet, studious girl focused on her dream of getting into Oxford University. She's also the only one who can save Sacha. Only neither of them knows that yet. And Sacha lives hundreds of miles away, in Paris. Taylor and Sacha have eight weeks to find each other. To unravel the secrets buried in their families' past. And to discover the power that lies within them. Sacha's life, and the fate of the world depends on it. The clock starts NOW. What readers are saying about The Secret Fire... 'Pure awesome... There were moments when I laughed, moments where I gasped in surprise, and moments where I knew I could not read fast enough because I had to know what was going to happen next... My only complaint? That it ended and now I need to wait. I must know what happens next. I must!!!!' Series Tracker 'Are you ready for a grip the edge of your seat-repeating mantra of OMG as you turn the pages eagerly? Looking for something with intensity but also something that leaves you begging for more??? Looking for a new fav??? YES. This book is all of what you need and so much more! Go Into This One Knowing. Best. Book. Ever.' Crossroad Reviews 'This was incredible!... such a slow burn romance but the build-up had my heart beating out of my chest, the angst and suspense was killing me... This book was perfectly paced and the lack of info-dumping, love triangles and insta-love made for a perfect start to a new series. Switching from POV's from England and Paris and following the characters as they go from across countries was a great concept. With the addition of magic, action and adventure this book could really do no wrong in my eyes. There isn't a cliffhanger ending just the promise of lots more to come in the next installment which I'm now anxiously awaiting. I highly recommend this to fellow fantasy lovers who are looking for a brand new world to immerse themselves in, with great characters, a promising romance and a thrilling journey ahead.' Literary-ly Obsessed 'I love this book! It was really great! I've always loved books that include Alchemy as its major fantasy core, I just think that it's such a fascinating 'science'! ... I read the first chapter, and I was completely swept into this amazing world! ... can't wait until the second book comes out, and to continue exploring this amazing story! Just Another Bookish Blog 'thrilling and exciting all at the same time... an excellent paranormal fantasy... such amazing story telling' Books at Dawn




Her Secret Guardian


Book Description

From USA Today bestselling author Linda Needham, comes a "passionate, heart-wrenching tale of honor and justice, loyalty and betrayal, love and forgiveness" set in England during the politically turbulent and often dangerous 12th Century. An Inconvenient Marriage; an Unexpected Love To honor a deathbed promise to her foster father, Kailey Hewett must marry Simon Rutledge, Henry II's chief justiciar - a darkly forbidding, mystery of a man. As she leaves her home and all she holds dear, Kailey wonders how she can keep her pledge to give this stern man his "heart's peace" - but she vows to create a new family, no matter what it takes. Simon had intended this marriage as private penance for his still-secret role in the long-ago conspiracy against her father that led to the man's execution for treason. But her generous heart draws him into her ad hoc family of endearing misfits and he quickly finds himself yearning for her forgiveness, yet barred by his own harsh code of justice from accepting the love she offers so freely. Kailey's indomitable spirit and her war against injustice exposes a corrupt merchant, a ransom plot and a murderous Templar, finally teaching her stubbornly resistant husband that mercy is as important as justice-and love and forgiveness can heal all.




The Secret Olympian


Book Description

The vast majority of us can only dream of being an Olympic-level athlete - but we have no real idea of what that means. Here, for the first time, in all its shocking, funny and downright bizarre glory, is the truth of the Olympic experience. It is an unimaginable world: the kitting-out ceremony with its 35kg of team clothing per athlete the pre-Olympic holding camp with its practical jokes, resentment and fighting, and freaky physiological regimes the politicians' visits with their flirty spouses the vast range of athletes with their odd body shapes and freakish genetics the release post-competion in the Olympic village with all the excessive drinking, eating, partying and sex (not necessarily in that order) the hysteria of homecoming celebrations and the comedown that follows - how do you adjust to life after the Games? The Secret Olympian talks to scores of Olympic athletes - past and present, from Munich 1960 right through to London 2012, including British, American, Australian, Dutch, French, Croatian, German, Canadian and Italian competitors. They all have a tale to tell - and most of those tales would make your eyes pop more than an Olympic weightlifter's.




The Secret of Platform 13


Book Description

Under Platform 13 at King's Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island . . . It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. Shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, The Secret of Platform 13 is an exciting magical adventure from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight' Philip Pullman




The Secret Garden


Book Description

«Таинственный сад» – любимая классика для читателей всех возрастов, жемчужина творчества Фрэнсис Ходжсон Бернетт, роман о заново открытой радости жизни и магии силы. Мэри Леннокс, жестокое и испорченное дитя высшего света, потеряв родителей в Индии, возвращается в Англию, на воспитание к дяде-затворнику в его поместье. Однако дядя находится в постоянных отъездах, и Мэри начинает исследовать округу, в ходе чего делает много открытий, в том числе находит удивительный маленький сад, огороженный стеной, вход в который почему-то запрещен. Отыскав ключ и потайную дверцу, девочка попадает внутрь. Но чьи тайны хранит этот загадочный садик? И нужно ли знать то, что находится под запретом?.. Впрочем, это не единственный секрет в поместье...




The Secret World


Book Description

“A comprehensive exploration of spying in its myriad forms from the Bible to the present day . . . Easy to dip into, and surprisingly funny.” —Ben Macintyre in The New York Times Book Review The history of espionage is far older than any of today’s intelligence agencies, yet largely forgotten. The codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the most successful WWII intelligence agency, were completely unaware that their predecessors had broken the codes of Napoleon during the Napoleonic wars and those of Spain before the Spanish Armada. Those who do not understand past mistakes are likely to repeat them. Intelligence is a prime example. At the outbreak of WWI, the grasp of intelligence shown by US President Woodrow Wilson and British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith was not in the same class as that of George Washington during the Revolutionary War and eighteenth-century British statesmen. In the first global history of espionage ever written, distinguished historian and New York Times–bestselling author Christopher Andrew recovers much of the lost intelligence history of the past three millennia—and shows us its continuing relevance. “Accurate, comprehensive, digestible and startling . . . a stellar achievement.” —Edward Lucas, The Times “For anyone with a taste for wide-ranging and shrewdly gossipy history—or, for that matter, for anyone with a taste for spy stories—Andrew’s is one of the most entertaining books of the past few years.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker “Remarkable for its scope and delightful for its unpredictable comparisons . . . there are important lessons for spymasters everywhere in this breathtaking and brilliant book.” —Richard J. Aldrich, Times Literary Supplement “Fans of Fleming and Furst will delight in this skillfully related true-fact side of the story.” —Kirkus Reviews “A crowning triumph of one of the most adventurous scholars of the security world.” —Financial Times Includes illustrations




The Secret Books


Book Description

Where did Jesus go from the age of 12 to 30? The Secret Books is an epic adventure of a young man in the Crimea who is drawn out of his world by an eccentric female journalist, leading to a life as a Russian spy infiltrating anarchist circles and going undercover in British India where, seeking refuge from a confrontation with a British officer, he discovers a manuscript which holds the secret of Jesus' lost years. But is this gospel true? Marcel Theroux takes the reader on spellbinding journey through 19th-century Paris, the Russian Empire and high plateau of India through a world of spies and double cross, propaganda and revolutionary violence, lost-love and anti-semitism, and into a modern world where lies have the power of truth. Based on real events, The Secret Books is at once a page-turning adventure, a meditation on the nature of belief and an examination of the stories that humans are willing to kill and die for.




Jane Austen, the Secret Radical


Book Description

'A sublime piece of literary detective work that shows us once and for all how to be precisely the sort of reader that Austen deserves.' Caroline Criado-Perez, Guardian Almost everything we think we know about Jane Austen is wrong. Her novels don't confine themselves to grand houses and they were not written just for readers' enjoyment. She writes about serious subjects and her books are deeply subversive. We just don't read her properly - we haven't been reading her properly for 200 years. Jane Austen, The Secret Radical puts that right. In her first, brilliantly original book, Austen expert Helena Kelly introduces the reader to a passionate woman living in an age of revolution; to a writer who used what was regarded as the lightest of literary genres, the novel, to grapple with the weightiest of subjects – feminism, slavery, abuse, the treatment of the poor, the power of the Church, even evolution – at a time, and in a place, when to write about such things directly was seen as akin to treason. Uncovering a radical, spirited and political engaged Austen, Jane Austen, The Secret Radical will encourage you to read Jane, all over again.




The Secret Life of Sleep


Book Description

Unlock the astonishing facts, myths, and benefits of one of the most endangered human resources—sleep. It has become increasingly clear that our sleep shapes who we are as much as, if not more than, we shape it. While most sleep research hasn’t ven­tured far beyond research labs and treatment clinics, The Secret Life of Sleep taps into the enormous reservoir of human experiences to illuminate the complexities of a world where sleep has become a dwindling resource. With a sense of infectious curiosity, award winning author Kat Duff mixes cutting-edge research with insightful narratives, surpris­ing insights, and timely questions to help us better understand what we’re losing before it’s too late. The Secret Life of Sleep tackles the full breadth of what sleep means to people the world over. Embark on an exploration of what lies behind and beyond our eyelids when we surrender to the secret life of sleep.




The Guardian of Secrets


Book Description

A historical family saga spanning four generations, from 1912, Kent, England, to Spain and its 1936-39 civil war. Celia and Ernesto's two sons march under opposing banners, whilst their daughters take different paths, one to the Catholic Church and the other to the battlefields, and in the shadow of war, an evil ghost from the past watches and waits for an opportunity to destroy the entire family. In exile, Celia and Ernesto can only wait and pray for their children and their safe return home..