A woman learns the astonishing truth of her family’s ties to a vanished American Kingdom in this riveting new novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of Take My Hand.
Nikki Berry hasn’t seen her grandmother in years, due to a mysterious estrangement inherited from her mother. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can.
But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.
It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale—royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away.
Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.
A young woman is drawn into a dangerous game after being invited to the mazelike home of her childhood friend, a rumored witch, in this gothic horror set in 1986 Philippines.
Josephine del Rosario feels like a pariah in her town. Long ago orphaned after her father’s political campaign ended in tragedy, she’s all alone, taking care of the family home while her older brother is off in Manila, where a revolution brews. And it’s starting to feel like he’s abandoning her.
When she receives a letter from a cherished childhood friend, Hiraya, inviting her to play a game, she jumps at the reason for leaving town. Josephine will have whatever her heart desires if she wins. Maybe she can change her life. It doesn’t matter that dark rumors have always surrounded Hiraya.
Except Hiraya’s house is strange—labyrinthine and huge, and something seems to be following Josephine everywhere she turns. What’s worse is there’s something her old friend isn’t telling her.
There is something insidious about this invitation, and if Josephine isn’t careful, she’ll find that change is sometimes bought with blood.
Happiness is just outside the door…if you’re brave enough to seek it.
Freya, Callum, Mischa, and Victoria have nothing in common–well, except for one thing: they’ve each experienced a deep personal loss that has led them to an unconventional group meeting, every Tuesday night at seven. A meeting they’ve been particularly selected for that will help them finally move on. At least, that’s the claim.
As they warily eye one another and their unnervingly observant group leader, one question hangs over them: why were they chosen? To get the answer, they are going to have to share a whole lot of themselves first. Getting Freya, Callum, Mischa, and Victoria to trust each other is vital–because the real reason they’re connected will shift the ground beneath their feet.
Riveting and wise, The Seven O’Clock Club shows us the courage needed to face your past and the joy that can be found in stepping into your future.
It’s been three years since her husband was killed in a car accident and Lilian is still getting used to being sane—after that one early breakdown. She’s happy just being able to get her two girls to school every morning, keep her illustrating job, and catch up on her favorite TV shows with her sister. She’s not exactly in a rut; she’s just letting the grass grow under her feet. But then Lilian’s boss asks her to illustrate a vegetable encyclopedia and signs her up for a vegetable-gardening class. Lilian reluctantly agrees and recruits her kids and sister to join her for some drama-free Saturday mornings, because what could be more relaxing than gardening? Nothing…except that this class is filled with people who like to dig a little deeper than the surface, and an instructor who makes Lillian want to bloom for the first time in years. With her fellow newbie gardeners, Lilian learns what it takes to nurture plants—and friendships. Digging in the dirt, with worms and all, teaches Lilian that sometimes you have to let nature take its course, be it in gardening, in life, or in love.
