Fiction

Description: "They were fire and terror to the Western world, while in the East the dragons brought life-giving rain. Now, no longer hailed as gods and struggling in the overheated pollution of Beijing, only the Eastern species survives. As drought plagues the aquatic dragons, a mysterious disease--shaolong, or "burnt lung"--afflicts the city's human inhabitants. Jaded college student Xiang Kaifei scours Beijing streets for abandoned dragons, distracting himself from his diagnosis. Elijah Ahmed, a biracial American medical researcher, is drawn to Beijing by the memory of his grandmother and her death by shaolong. Interest in Beijing's dragons leads Kai and Eli into an unlikely partnership. With the resources of Kai's dragon rescue and Eli's immunology research, can the pair find a cure for shaolong and safety for the dragons? The specters of grief and disease hang heavy over their relationship and Eli and Kai must confront old ghosts and hard truths if there is any hope--for themselves or the dragons they love" -- Provided by publisher.

Description: Deep in rural America, the Chimera terrorized small towns with their horrifying supernatural powers. Bound by a cult-like hivemind, these five young people, each with incredible powers stemming from the five human senses, left death and destruction in their wake. Who will stop them? Regan, one of the Chimera, escaped her brethren with her murderous eyes bound and has been hiding in cheap motels and dive bars crippled with the guilt of her past. Until now... when someone will force her to hunt down the other four of her kind. Horror writer Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, The Empty Man) reunites with his Bone Parish co-creator, artist Jonas Scharf (Avengers Of The Wasteland), to unleash the first chapter of a supernatural horror series rooted in the way we process the world -- our senses.

Description: "In his exquisite first collection of speculative fiction, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora. Kill parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on interbreeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity. Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition, and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience" --Inside jacket.

Description: As executive chef at one of the hottest restaurants in DC, DeShawn Franklin has almost everything he’s ever wanted. He’s well-known, his restaurant is Michelin starred and he can write his own ticket anywhere he wants. Until his grandmother calls him home and drops two bombshells: One: She has cancer and she’s not seeking treatment. Two: She’s willing half her estate to DeShawn’s ex-husband, Malik. And that whole divorce thing? It didn’t quite go through. DeShawn and Malik are still married. When DeShawn’s shady uncle contests Grandma’s will, there’s only one path back to justice: play it like he and Malik have reconciled. They need to act like a married couple just long enough to dispense with the lawsuit. Once DeShawn is back in Malik’s orbit, it’s not hard to remember why they parted. All the reasons he walked away remain--but so do all the reasons he fell in love in the first place.

Description: A chilling anthology of crime fiction by 20 acclaimed authors of color. From a simple robbery gone horribly wrong to a grisly murder in a secret love dungeon, this stellar collection of crime fiction short stories showcases some of today's finest young voices.

Description: "A bossy child who lives under a white cloth near a tree; a schoolgirl who keeps doll's brains in a desk drawer; an old man with two shadows, one docile and one rebellious; a diplomat no one has ever seen who goes fishing at an artificial lake no one has ever heard of. These are some of the inhabitants of People From My Neighborhood. In their lives, details of the local and everyday--the lunch menu at a tiny drinking place called the Love, the color and shape of the roof of the tax office--slip into accounts of duels, prophetic dreams, revolutions, and visitations from ghosts and gods. In twenty-six "palm of the hand" stories--fictions small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand--Hiromi Kawakami creates a universe ruled by mystery and transformation" -- Provided by publisher.

Description: "A shooting party at the Earl of Witton's remote country house is a high treat for champion shot Patricia Merton--until unexpected guests turn the social atmosphere dangerously sour. That's not Pat's biggest problem. She's visiting her old friend, the Earl's heir Jimmy Yoxall--but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy's fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, with her laughing eyes and lush curves, is the most glorious woman Pat's ever met, and it quickly becomes impossible to remember why she needs to stay at arm's length. But while the women's attraction grows, the tensions at Rodington Court get worse. Affairs, secrets, betrayals, and blackmail come to light. And when a body is discovered with a knife between the shoulderblades, it's going to take Pat and Fen's combined talents to prevent the murderer destroying all their lives" --Provided by publisher.

Description: "Renu Amin always seemed perfect: doting husband, beautiful house, healthy sons. But as the one-year anniversary of her husband's death approaches, Renu is binge-watching soap operas and simmering with old resentments. She can't stop wondering if, thirty-five years ago, she chose the wrong life. In Los Angeles, her son, Akash, has everything he ever wanted, but as he tries to kickstart his songwriting career and commit to his boyfriend, he is haunted by the painful memories he fled a decade ago. When his mother tells him she is selling the family home, Akash returns to Illinois, hoping to finally say goodbye and move on. Together, Renu and Akash pack up the house, retreating further into the secrets that stand between them. Renu sends an innocent Facebook message to the man she almost married, sparking an emotional affair that calls into question everything she thought she knew about herself. Akash slips back into bad habits as he confronts his darkest secrets--including what really happened between him and the first boy who broke his heart. When their pasts catch up to them, Renu and Akash must decide between the lives they left behind and the ones they've since created, between making each other happy and setting themselves free" -- Provided by publisher.

Description: "Evelyn Maltravers knows exactly how little she's worth on the marriage mart. As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she'll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London's attention she'll need a tailor who's not afraid to take risks with his designs--and with his heart. Half-Indian dressmaker Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row's infamous Pretty Horsebreakers--but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible. But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?" -- Provided by publisher.

Description: Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She's dating Kayode and wants him to be "the one" (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he's just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends. Boo has everything Ronke wants--a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she's frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be. Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she's crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her "urban vibe." Her husband thinks they're trying for a baby. She's not. When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she's bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo's close friendship begins to crack.