"The millions of readers of Amor Towles are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories set in New York City and a novella in Los Angeles. The New York stories, most of which are set around the turn of the millennium, take up everything from the death-defying acrobatics of the male ego, to the fateful consequences of brief encounters, and the delicate mechanics of comprise which operate at the heart of modern marriages. In...

He was the first person to inspire her, to move her, to truly understand her. Was he meant to be the last? "Extraordinary ... An emotional roller coaster"--Delia Ephron. Lucy is faced with a life-altering choice. But before she can make her decision, she must start her story--their story--at the very beginning. Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their...

"What determines the course of our lives? Chance... or destiny? On Midsummer's Day, 1982, three-year-old Azalea Ives is found alone at a seaside fairground. One year later, her mother's body washes up on a beach--her link to Azalea unnoticed. On Midsummer's Day, 1992, her adoptive parents are killed in a Ugandan rebel uprising; Azalea is narrowly rescued by a figure from her past. Terrified that she, too, will meet her fate on Midsummer's Day, Azalea...

Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways.

When every person, all over the globe, receives a small wooden box bearing the same inscription and a single piece of string inside, the world is thrown into a collective frenzy, in this novel told through multiple perspectives that introduces an unforgettable cast of characters. It seems like any other day: You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds...

"Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy. To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything. "I refuse to be nothing..." In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness......

"It's the night before her wedding when Poppy Dunbar meets Tom. He is tall, dark, and handsome with a quirky smile, and Poppy can't shake the feeling she's known him all her life. She can't go through with the meeting they arrange...but she can't go through with the wedding anymore either. Suddenly notorious as 'The Girl Who Jilted Rob McBride,' Poppy leaves for London and a fresh start. Soon she's installed in the bohemian household of Caspar French,...

"Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan in store for her. Ever since she was young, whenever she met a new guy, Daphne would find a slip of paper with exactly how long they'd spend together--4 months, two weeks, one night. That's how she met her ex-boyfriend and current best friend, Hugo, the only person in Daphne's life who knows of her secret. Followed by a string of men and countless dates, Daphne resigned herself to the fact that she was...

"You like it darker? Fine, so do I," writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life--both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King...

"A postmodern fable of human malady and the sea as a means of deliverance. When his characters check into a remote shoreline hotel, their fates begin to interact as if by design."--Back cover.