Cirrus@Austlit

'‘Falling in love is a luxury for a prince, my son. You have twenty women in your harem. Your duty is to make love with all of them and produce male heirs for the empire.’

'But charismatic Prince Orhan, heir to the Ottoman Sultan of Türkeye, ignores his mother’s advice when he rescues a Russian slave girl, Rusalka, from drowning. He falls in love with her, takes her into his opulent harem, and renames her Süreyya. But she has a secret that could cost her life, or have her banished.

'The harem is a hotbed of jealousies and intrigue. Süreyya is determined to escape, until she spends some intimate time with Prince Orhan. When Süreyya is unexpectedly offered her freedom, it comes at a price.' (Publication summary) 

'Dance’s daughter, Traveller, is a feelsmith and her monster friends, the heest, need her help, but to do so she has to sail on the ship of a murderous pirate.

'The mission: find a mountain that is dead and has to be brought back to life.

'But standing in her way is her best friend’s grandmother, who just happens to want to kill her.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Toby’s family is no ordinary family.

'They are magical, talented, and special.

'His father is a surgeon at the hospital. His older sister is a lawyer. But his dad is also a renowned wizard. So is his uncle, and his sister can influence people. Toby’s mum was special too, but she had to leave…

'Toby isn’t any of those things. The only special thing he can do is pretty useless. Toby can talk with cats.

'When Toby and his sister rescue a family of abandoned cats on the side of the road and Toby spots a silver bangle in the gutter, everything changes.

'Mia is Toby’s best friend. She’s not magical either – she doesn’t even know magic exists! But when she sees Toby get on the wrong school bus and a ferocious bus driver screams away with him on board, Mia’s world is about to change too.

'How to Survive Your Magical Family is an exciting adventure filled with mystery, cats, friendship, and of course, magic!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The cycle of fate turns on.

'In the capital of Sontair, still reeling from the recent assassination, Daemi, Frankle and Heather are helping as best they can to retain some semblance of order and control. With them is Wilt, trapped now in cat form, but still connected to Daemi through their shared mind, enabling her to identify and hunt down those servants of the dark that still infest the city.

'Far to the east, in the mysterious mountain prison of Pankesh, Higgs has been called back from the wash of the welds and returned to his human body. He finds himself under the control of the Novus, the source of the spreading darkness. The Novus uses weldfarers – those who can ride the welds – to alter events across time, and has been tracking Wilt and Higgs ever since their days in Greystone.

'As the Novus gathers his forces and reaches through time and space to twist the world to his bidding the companions must journey across the Eternal Sea to finally confront the dark and face their fate.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Standing beside Elise’s grave, Siobhan Montrell remembers how her mother finally blew the perfect smoke ring on the day that Elise disappeared. Remembers the day that would change and define her life forever.

'The toddler’s body was found in the river near Gables Guesthouse. Only eleven years old at the time, Siobhan has carried the guilt of Elise’s death with her since that day.

'Twenty-eight years later, Siobhan returns to Rachley Island, having inherited Gables — guesthouse and family home — from her aunt. Cleaning the property to prepare it for sale, she discovers an old book in which her aunt used to draw and write, revealing the truth about the tragic drowning.

'The River Child is a tale of grief and guilt, deceit and secrets, and ultimately forgiveness.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Twilight has fallen.

'A new god rises.

'Olympus shall burn.

'Aeneas has returned from the underworld as a twisted monster. Determined to seize the throne of heaven, he embarks upon a campaign to bring the might of Olympus crashing down. The fate of the world will be decided on the battlefields of Italia.

'And yet Aeneas has not prepared for the rebellion of his son Julos, nor the courage of Lavinia, fiery princess of the Italians. Together they will stand against him and forge an empire that will change the fortunes of the Earth.

'In the last battle, there can be no surrender and no retreat.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Dar Orien’s new seer is a MageVoice, a Messenger, but will people believe the message she delivers?

'Irenya has identified a flaw in Dar Orien’s MageGate system, one that will rob the Gifteds of their precious talents. But the future is upon them; the nature of Dar Orien’s magic is already altered, though many will deny the need for change. It is Irenya who must lead the Gifteds to a new way of working. But she has one final task in her own world before she and Elaaron can face a challenging future together.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'The only life Santha Lathagin has ever known has become her prison. Vicious gossip is everywhere. Whispers of a scandal have turned to accusations of murder, and fingers are pointing her way. Feeling powerless and alone, she yearns for escape.

'When Santha stumbles upon a small, rusted key in the forest near her home, it seems her silent pleas have been answered. Awakened by her touch, the key demands to be heard—and she is not the only one to heed its call.

'Thrust into a world only glimpsed in the stories of her childhood—of faeries and princes and eldritch magick— Santha sets out to unlock its secrets. But uncovering the truth has its own perils, and as the key’s influence grows, she will be left with a choice: survival or sacrifice.

'But will it truly be hers to make?

'… All the while, in the north, something ancient stirs. A great power that could unravel the very threads of existence.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Blood will be spilled.

'Jackson Kyle, former Captain of the Brimfield Ward, has one goal: to rid the world of freaks. When he is accused of treason by his commanders and sentenced to death by the humans he is sworn to protect, that goal seems impossible.

'But with the threat of destruction looming over all humankind, he will do whatever it takes to get rid of the freak virus once and for all. Even if that means he has to ally with the enemy.

'When a stronger, more lethal freak emerges, Jackson and Justice are forced to separate only to find themselves confronted by spectres of the past – The Legion. Their old enemy has one last role to play … and it is the deadliest yet.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Early Sunday morning in the quiet country town of Stinky Gully, five-year-old Bree-Anna takes her doll Baby for a walk.

'Jake, passing through, hoping to spend the day with his daughter, sees a chubby girl in pink get into a green car.

'Eloise, bar maid and part time cleaner, distracted with protecting her ailing father from her junkie brother, sees pink clothes in loner Randall’s washing basket and doesn’t think twice.

'Bree-Anna’s precious Baby is locked in a suitcase on top of a wardrobe. She has no one to help her and Bree-Anna must remember all of the times she has been brave if she is to survive in Mr Randall’s house.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In eighth century India, Andal is born into a world where girls are married and with child by fourteen. Defying the mores of her time, she refuses marriage to a mortal man. Only a god will do. Andal’s imagination is boundless and her antics set the town’s tongues wagging. As Andal becomes more and more absorbed by her visions, she composes songs to her divine lover.

'Saisha discovers Andal’s songs in a book on a trip to India with her partner Marcus. The verses are confronting and unearth memories Saisha thought were long ago buried. Not only is she unable to conceive, for the past two decades Marcus has chosen celibacy. What defines her as a woman when these two primal desires remain unfulfilled?

'Andal’s words are deceptively simple, yet shine a lamp on the labyrinths of Saisha’s sexuality and her quest to find peace with the choices she has made.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Lily Miyashiro lives much as any twenty-nine-year-old in 2050’s America. Her job is busy, resettling climate refugees from the coastal cities. Then she gets a call. She has family she never knew about. And they want something from her she doesn’t want to give.

'Lily is one of the young, reliant on artificial intelligence and facing an uncertain future.

'David Moreland was a bigwig during the world’s golden age. He is old and almost forgotten…until he is drawn into the realm of the Climate Court. Now a whole generation seeks to condemn him.

'When Lily meets David, she is forced to confront events from her past that she would prefer to forget. Feeling trapped, she hires a young lawyer. Is it to defend David, or to deny the past?

'In a world that seems comfortably like the present, hints of sinister differences begin to emerge, and the stakes are raised beyond David’s fate.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'The dying seer’s words spell doom for Irenya. If she stays in Dar Orien to save their way of life, she might never see her infant son again.

'Hopelessly lost in the desert of Midrash, Irenya faces the legendary griffin and, without fanfare, a new seer is silently declared. An act of revenge delivers Irenya the knowledge she needs, but her return to Melbourne is tragically far from anything she had imagined.

'An alien in her own world, she must decide her fate and that of her son Mikey. Out of time and place, Irenya braves new challenges and meets a fleetwalker, who teaches her something of his art. But civil unrest turns to outright conflict. Dar Orien is on a knife edge, and Irenya gives herself permission for a dangerous undertaking.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Victory comes at a cost. In the aftermath of the battle to free Brimfield from the control of a madman, Jackson Kyle, Captain of the Ward, is focused on protecting the humans under his charge. But not all his enemies have been vanquished. Forced to flee, Jackson and his wardens seek a safe place to create more of the cure for the freak virus. But not everyone wants to see an end to all freaks. As hidden agendas surface, Jackson is ripped from those he trusts, putting the future of humankind at stake.

'With his allies scattered, and his own kind turning against him, it will take everything Jackson has to win this fight. But if he loses his life … the cure dies with him.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'1916, the Western Front.

'There are some crimes that transcend the horrors of war, and the rumour of a soldier being found in no man’s land crucified to a church door threatens to cause a mutiny in the trenches. To placate the troops, allied HQ orders four soldiers pulled from the ranks of each army to investigate the crime and bring the perpetrator swiftly to justice. What a Canadian ex-Mountie, an Australian beat cop, a constable from Scotland Yard, and their military intelligence commander discover will not only save the lives of the comrades, but may well save the entire war.

'Full of factual events and historic occurrences, Golgotha looks into one of the darkest events to occur during the First World War.' (Publication summary)

'When Saxon finds a girl with no memory on the outskirts of the Nevertyre community, his family take her in and nurse her back to health. He is wary of this stranger but compelled to learn more about her. He soon realises the danger they all face.

'When Kerina wakes she must fight to make sense of her situation, but she is haunted by images of her past. She is the key to the future, she just doesn’t know it yet.

'To find answers Kerina and Saxon must work together. They set off on a quest of self-discovery. Along the way they meet allies, enemies and uncover truths too difficult to accept. Both must leave the past behind and find a way toward their future.

'Kerina and Saxon. Two different stories. Two separate lives. One connected future.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Some keys open doors to strange worlds…

'It’s the dream of many an artist to win a fellowship to a country house retreat. The three who do are old schoolfriends. But neither the house nor their friendship is what they think. Both are at risk of destruction, for the house is magic and too many people want to own it.'

Source: publisher's blurb

'Humanity is sliding toward a collision between global warming, resource depletion, and population growth. The evidence is daunting but we are hampered by anti-science demagogues who tell us everything’s okay, that we’ll run forever on our current course. The problem we are facing is on a global scale, far beyond any individual. It can be overwhelming and it is difficult to remain cheerful.

'In Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet, journalist Rod Taylor interviews ten outstanding Australians who have – and are – doing something to confront the perilous state of the environment. This book tells their stories.' (Publication summary)