The New York Times bestselling author of The Library of Light and Shadow crafts “an enchanting glimpse of Jazz Age New York” (Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train) about a young painter whose traumatic past threatens to derail her career at a prestigious summer artists’ colony run by Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. fame. New York, 1924: Twenty‑four‑year‑old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid all distractions and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall. But Jenny’s past has followed her there. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson. As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone else knows about Jenny’s childhood trauma. Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life. “This fast-paced mystery, star-crossed romance, and love letter to Louis Comfort Tiffany will captivate Rose’s many fans and readers of 20th-century historical fiction” (Library Journal, starred review).
A girl with wondrous, hidden powers must find the courage to confront her destiny in this breathtaking sequel to The Mapmaker’s War, which New York Times bestseller Deborah Harkness called “an otherworldly tale that charts the all-too-human territory between heartbreak and hope.” To see is a trick of the mind, but to believe is a trick of the heart. Born to brilliant parents one thousand years after a great conflict known as The Mapmaker’s War, Secret Riven is an uncanny child who can mysteriously communicate with plants and animals. When her knowledge of an esoteric symbol brings unwelcome attention, gentle, watchful Secret finds acceptance from Prince Nikolas, her best friend, and Old Woman, who lives in the distant woods. When Secret is twelve, her mother, Zavet, receives an arcane manuscript to translate. Zavet begins to suffer nightmares and withdraws into herself. Secret sickens with a fever and awakens able to speak an ancient language, in which her mother is also fluent. Suddenly, Zavet dies—and the manuscript is missing. The only clue left is a cipher for Secret to find. Soon, she will have a choice to make: confront a destiny tied to an ancient past or deny it, never to know its whole truth. “With the cadence of a fairy tale and the sweeping scope of an epic” (Amy Shearn, author of The Mermaid of Brooklyn), The Chronicle of Secret Riven is a spellbinding tale of love and adventure, myth and legend, fate and free will—and an introduction to an unforgettable heroine.
This historical fiction tells the story of the Salem Witch Trials by focusing on various characters and interactions regarding the Trials while they were going on.
Two lovers who have travelled across time. A team of scientists at the cutting edge of memory research. A miracle drug that unlocks an ancient mystery. At once a sweeping love story and a time-travelling adventure, Gwendolyn Womack’s luminous debut novel, The Memory Painter, is perfect for readers of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Life After Life and Winter’s Tale Bryan Pierce is an internationally famous artist whose paintings have dazzled the world. But there’s a secret to Bryan’s success: every canvas is inspired by an unusually vivid dream. When Bryan awakes, he possesses extraordinary new skills . . . like the ability to speak obscure languages, or an inexplicable genius for chess. All his life, he has wondered if his dreams are recollections—if he is re-experiencing other people’s lives. Linz Jacobs is a brilliant neurogeneticist, absorbed in decoding genes that help the brain make memories—until she is confronted with an uncanny rendering of a recurring nightmare at one of Bryan’s shows. She tracks down the elusive artist, and their meeting triggers Bryan’s most powerful dream yet: visions of a team of scientists who, on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s, died in a lab explosion decades ago. As Bryan becomes obsessed with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the scientists’ deaths, his dreams begin to reveal what happened at the lab, as well as a deeper mystery that may lead all the way back to ancient Egypt. As Bryan and Linz follow the trail, they slip through a kaleidoscope of lives—from imperial Russia, to feudal Japan, to Newfoundland and aboriginal Australia. A pattern emerges: a great love, a great enemy, and the prospect of a powerful, ancient truth buried deep in the past. But the deadly foe is watching their every move, and he will stop at nothing to ensure that the past stays buried. The Memory Painter—like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception—is at once a taut thriller and a deeply original love story that transcends time and space, spanning six continents and 10,000 years of history. “A sweeping, mesmerizing feat of absolute magic. . . . A complex and utterly riveting novel that leaves you with feelings of awe and wonder. A star is born!” —M.J. ROSE, NEW YORK TIMES–BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WITCH OF PAINTED SORROWS “Layers of past and present form a rich pastry of a narrative—poignant and thoughtful, rich and suspenseful, filled with intrigue and dripping with meaning. Womack’s meditation on the beautiful mystery of memory is a riveting read from cover to cover, leaving us with the breathless realization that while grief may be eternal, so is love.” —CHARLIE LOVETT, NEW YORK TIMES–BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BOOKMAN'S TALE AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS