Books

hen Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

n Why Do I Keep Doing This? licensed family and marriage therapist, Kati Morton, explores this common struggle with control. Kati shows how our upbringing and anxiety are often connected to our struggle to take up space. We can feel like we are too much by just existing in the same place as someone else, or that we are less deserving of their time and care. This struggle with asserting ourselves or taking what we require can harm our development. We sometimes think the only way to feel okay and get what we need is to please everyone else first. Why Do I Keep Doing This? is a vital tool in helping us understand why control can be so attractive, but if left unmonitored can become detrimental to our lives. Kati will shed light on shared struggles as readers follow her through some key points of growth in her own life while incorporating what she has learned as a therapist and content creator who knows how to create lasting healthy change. This book gives readers the ability to not only ask themselves why do I keep doing this? but also have the insight to find a real answer.

A homecoming to Rome, Kentucky, sparks a new romance—and lots of drama—between two old family friends, from the New York Times bestselling author of When in Rome, Practice Makes Perfect, and Beg, Borrow, or Steal Madison Walker left Rome, Kentucky, determined to prove she could make it in the culinary world. But after years of chasing success in New York, all she has to show for it is a shattered confidence and a desperate need for a fresh start. Coming home isn’t part of the plan—until an unexpected job offer lands in her lap, giving her a chance to rebuild everything she’s lost: the head chef position at a new farm-to-table restaurant in her hometown. The only catch? It comes from James Huxley, owner of Huxley Farm, her brother’s best friend . . . and the last person she wants to work for. James has always played it safe, keeping his head down and doing what’s expected of him in the family business and never contemplating anything different—until now when Madison’s happiness is on the line. He’s loved her quietly for years, knowing she’s never seen him as more than an annoyance. Now that she’s back, he’s determined to change that–even if it means he can only ever be her friend. The one problem? His charming, wildly successful younger brother, Tommy, seems determined to win her over first. Then Tommy is called away on business and Madison and James are tasked with launching the dreamy farm-to-table restaurant on their own. But as the town starts meddling in their relationship, Tommy’s pursuit of Madison grows more relentless, and Madison’s fears threaten to hold her back, keeping things strictly professional becomes impossible. And when an unexpected disaster on opening night collides with a long-simmering sibling feud, both Madison and James will have to face their biggest insecurities—and decide if love is worth the risk or if some dreams are safer left untouched.

aybe it's time for a plot twist . . . Emily Walker hates anyone disrupting her carefully curated life, especially her legendary nemesis, Jack Bennett - the exact opposite of the wonderful heroes she dreams up in her double life as a romance writer. But now Jack's back in town after a failed engagement and he's here to stay . . . as both her colleague and her neighbour. Jack is glad to be back, eager to renovate his house and work on the next mystery novel under his bestselling pen name. Until, that is, he realises he's now neighbours with the one woman who has always pushed his buttons. With their red-hot animosity at an all-time high, Emily makes a mistake that could reveal her secret literary identity. Frustratingly, she needs Jack's help to make it right. Will their unlikely alliance put an end to their rivalry? Or could it lead to a steamy plot twist they never saw coming?

The Blood Court has only ever had one king. But now it has a queen … Saeris Fane is beginning to realize just how much her life has changed with her extraordinary new powers … but if she doesn’t act quickly to figure out how to close off the gateway to her magic before the power becomes too volatile, she may destroy everyone and everything she’s ever loved.

????️ Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate. ????️ In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn't much a girl wouldn't do for a glass of water. Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone. When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently re-opens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares... but it turns out they're real, and Saeris has landed herself in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed. The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist's magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him . . . or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he's the only way Saeris is going to make it home. Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details . . .

woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of A "Deal with the Elf King".

Hallie When I was eleven, my family moved next door to his. When I was thirteen, he was my first crush. When I was sixteen, we fell for each other. And when I was nineteen, we broke each other's hearts. Six years later, I've landed an internship with a big-name interior designer in a new city. Unfortunately, that city just so happens to be the one he plays hockey for. I thought Chicago was big enough to avoid him, until I get the surprise of a lifetime and unknowingly move in right next door. Even worse? The renovation project I'm assigned to in hopes of turning that internship into my full-time dream job... It's his house. But how am I supposed to update his bachelor pad into a family home when we can't even stand to be in the same room? I may have loved Rio DeLuca once, but I'm not that same girl anymore. Rio I never thought I'd be the only single one left in my friend group. But after years of trying to find love, I've concluded it may not exist for me anymore. That is until I accidentally hire Hallie Hart to renovate my house and our jaded history has me rewinding memories I've kept secret for years. You see, there's something that my friends don't know. That connection I've been looking for since I moved to Chicago, that one person some search their entire lives to find... I had already found her when I was twelve years old. And now the only girl I've ever loved is moving into the house next door. Again.

Scottie Price just started a new job, and it's a real sausage fest. She's the only woman on a team filled with Brads and Chads. Expecting a bachelor pad atmosphere, she is quickly corrected when she finds out everyone is happily married. In an effort to impress her boss, Scottie mentions her non-existent husband in a company meeting. But eagle-eyed Chad points out her lack of wedding ring. Panicked, Scottie creates a story about her unhappy marriage. Unfortunately for Scottie, her boss has a solution - a one-on-one session with the best marriage counsellor in the Northeast, who happens to be her boss's husband. With no way out of her lie, Scottie agrees to see him. Frantic, she calls in help from her best friend who sets her up with his brother, an improv-obsessed millionaire. Enter Wilder Wells. More than happy to take on the job, he teaches Scottie the main rule of always say yes. But the rule backfires during the session when Wilder signs them up for an eight-day summer marriage camp with all of Scottie's co-workers where she'll have to share a cabin with her way-too-handsome fake husband.

We are losing ourselves. We're chasing the wrong things, asking the wrong questions, and polluting our minds. It's time to stop, it's time to resist and it's time to rethink the fundamental social blueprint that our lives are built upon. 'As an 18-year-old, Black, broke, lonely, insecure, university drop-out from a bankrupt family, I wrote in my diary that I wanted to be a "Happy Sexy Millionaire" by the age of 25. By 25 I was a multi-millionaire having created a business worth over $300m dollars. Ironically, in achieving everything I set out to, I learnt that I was wrong about almost everything . . . The world had lied to me. It lied to me about how you attain fulfilment, love and success, why those things matter, and what those words actually mean.' In this book, Steven Bartlett dismantles the most popular, unaddressed lies about happiness that we've been led to believe. He exposes the source of these lies, examines the incentives that fuel them and replaces them with a practical set of scientifically proven and unconventional ideas that will help you to live a truly fulfilled life, a life full of the love you seek and the success you deserve.