Daily Archives: April 22, 2019

This Life or the Next: A Novel by Demian Vitanza

From award-winning author Demian Vitanza comes a groundbreaking novel–his first to be translated into English–about one man’s alienation, radicalization, and disillusionment on the violent front lines in Syria.

Tariq Khan is a Pakistani born and raised in Norway. An outsider in his own country–adrift between two worlds divided by class, race, and culture–he’s always been searching for home. Alongside a flock of other streetwise young men, each looking for direction and each easily susceptible, Tariq finds his cause in the Muslim revival.

Idealistic, driven by faith, and empowered with purpose, he’s drawn to radical Islam–his last resort for achieving a sense of belonging, for embracing and being embraced. It’s only when he enlists in the war against Assad that Tariq’s eyes are truly opened. Dispirited with the violence, faced with the consequences of his choices, and increasingly distanced by the brutalities of jihad, Tariq contends with spiritual struggles that are his alone. So are the stories he will tell to make sense of his life.

In this daring and unprecedented work of literary fiction, Demian Vitanza explores the power of memory, the lure of rebellion, the search for meaning amid chaos–and the toll that such a journey can take before finally finding one’s way home.

The Scalawags by C.J. Petit

Union Army sergeant Sam Walker returns home to Iowa after leaving a prisoner of war camp, only to discover that his sweetheart has married his brother. He heads down to Mulberry, Texas, to keep a promise to his fallen Union army brother-in-arms, Joe Farrell, to make sure that his family is safe. But what Sam finds is the Farrell family in shambles: a gang of former Confederate soldiers are harassing them because of Joe’s Union service. In desperation, Joe’s widow, Julia, has married the gang’s sadistic leader — a man Sam had haunting his dreams since the war. To rescue Julia, Sam will need to rely on his wits as much as his guns, and he’ll need the help of the whole Farrell clan, including Joe’s disarming younger sister, Mary.

The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America by Bhante Walpola Piyananda

Truth is regularly stranger than fiction for the abbot of a Buddhist temple in the far-from-tranquil inner city of Los Angeles, California. Whether he is talking a dangerously unbalanced man out of buying a gun, confronting a naked woman in his meditation hall, or helping gamblers reform, Bhante Walpola Piyananda demonstrates that every experience can be an opportunity for learning and appreciating the Buddha’s teachings.

Bhante Piyananda also reflects on social and political issues such as the racial tension in his neighborhood after the Rodney King trial and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afganistan.

Whatever It Takes by Chloe Morgan

I get what I want.

That’s how it’s always been. Until her.

She’s five foot seven of pure beauty poured into a pencil skirt and blouse, and she hates my guts.

My arrival at the law firm has derailed her plans of making partner, but it’s not my fault I steal the limelight everywhere I go.

When our boss throws us together on a difficult case, the competition begins.

She’s hard headed, clever, and unpredictable.

I love it. And something tells me she does too.

But she’s forbidden fruit.

And all I want is to take a bite.

There’s no going back if I do. It’s love or my future.

Or maybe there’s a way to have both.

If so, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Even break the rules.

The Caitlin Chronicles Boxed Setby Daniel Willcocks

The Governor she trusted to protect her wants her dead. The target she was sent to capture wants to help her live.

When Caitlin finally gets the chance to join her brother on a mission outside of the walls of the town she has been trapped inside all of her life, her entire reality is shaken.

Enemies appear in the strangest of places. The zombie-like ‘Mad’ roam the forests. Vampires and Werewolves from the fairy tales of her childhood become reality as Caitlin is forced to discover the truth of the Age of Madness and begin the fight for justice.

Can Caitlin lead the charge on freedom, and start the revolution that will change her world?

Set within the wonder of the Kurtherian Gambit Universe, discover the chaos and insanity of the Age of Madness—a time when the world turned on its head, and nothing is as it appears…

His Many Demands Bookby Ali Parker

My Needs.
My Demands.
Your Pleasure.
You’re Welcome.

She had one year left of college when our parents got married. And thanks to being raised in poverty, she needed help with her expenses.

My dad, being the benevolent billionaire, stepped up without question.

But there was a catch. She had to intern at the firm for a year. With me.

As her boss. Poor sweet little thing.

She has no clue what she’s up against, but she’ll figure it out soon.

I don’t play typical games, but the ones I do play, I always win.

And regardless of how taboo our relationship might become, I’m all in.

The reward is worth the risk.

I just hope she can keep up with my many demands.

This is book 1 of a 3 part series. You will have to read book 2 and 3 to complete the story.

When a Stranger Comes…by Karen S. Bell

2018 Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal Winner!

A GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FOR FANS OF KING AND KOONTZ!

"RIVETING"–Kirkus Reviews

What price would you pay for success?

Witnessing a lightning bolt on a sunny day, author Alexa Wainwright doesn't realize she's been transported to an alternate universe. Here she meets media mogul, publisher, and possibly the devil himself, King Blakemore, who offers her a lucrative book contract that will guarantee her comeback.

Suddenly, the contract's been signed. Now what can she do?

Desperate to get her life back, Alexa devises schemes to untether herself from this hellish existence.

Buy this book if you're a reader who loves a page-turning, heart-stopping, psychological thriller with some magical realism thrown in.