Showing results for "The Roses" in Magical Realism

Kenna is a human in a magic-biased world, but a night at the club changes everything. There she meets four sexy strangers who unbind the magic she never knew she had. Now, she needs their help to train her wild and unpredictable magic and to find the truth of who she really is before someone she loves gets hurt. She is tormented by events in her past, and the secret she has guarded for so long threatens to destroy everything.

Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on 14th-15th August 1947, at the exact moment that India and Pakistan become separate, independent nations. From that moment on, his fate is mysteriously handcuffed to the history of his country. But Saleem's story starts almost 30 years earlier, when his grandfather, Dr Aadam Aziz, falls in love with a woman concealed behind a perforated sheet. That pivotal moment in Kashmir in 1919 sparks a series of bizarre events that will lead to the birth of a boy with an extraordinary destiny.

The Book of X tells the tale of Cassie, a girl born with her stomach twisted in the shape of a knot. From childhood with her parents on the family meat farm, to a desk job in the city, to finally experiencing love, she grapples with her body, men, and society, all the while imagining a softer world than the one she is in. Twining the drama of the everyday - school-age crushes, paying bills, the sickness of parents - with the surreal-rivers of thighs, men for sale, and fields of throats - Cassie's realities alternate to create a blurred, fantastic world of haunting beauty.

Embarrassing breakups at work cost you promotions. Phoebe learned that the hard way. So when a patron's will names her as the director of a new museum in Serendipity Springs, she jumps at the chance to prove her professionalism. Her new plan: focus on work. Ignore distractions. Definitely ignore men. Easy peasy. But then the mailbox in Phoebe's quirky apartment building starts delivering a series of old love letters written between strangers… sixty years ago.

Alexis Spencer will use any inspirational quote to rationalize her failures and shortcomings. Her closest friends are a distant memory, and her college debt is still as high as the day she left. But that’s all fine and dandy, because “whatever will be, will be.” However, when Alexis loses her job and her relationship on the same day, there’s no quote strong enough to get her through that. In typical fashion, she blames the world for her problems, including her younger self, who should have tried harder.

Iris Ellington isn't looking for love. Not even a little bit. With a long list of failed relationships behind her, she's decided to reinvent herself as a person who doesn't fall head over heels on the first date. New town. New job. New Iris. But someone—or something—has other plans. When her neighbor's newspaper lands in front of her door, Iris has no choice but to return it. And when she does, she comes face to face with a ridiculously handsome but very grumpy chef who all but slams the door in her face.

Olivia Pennington has spent her whole life competing with Logan Alexander—and losing. From spelling bees to science fairs, he's always been one step ahead, snagging the trophies, titles, accolades, and now … he's after the promotion she desperately wanted. As if that's not bad enough, Logan also moved into the apartment she had her heart set on. Logan's been secretly falling in love with Olivia since the third grade. His strategy? Stay close, win her over.

Nori Sinclair has two goals in life: find the husband of her dreams, and purchase the beloved tea shop in her hometown, Serendipity Springs. So when Nori finds herself short on funds to land a business loan, she joins a dating app that pays her to be their featured single in a month-long ad campaign. Per her contract, all men are off-limits, except those matched for her by Swipe Rite.

Sophie Stewart knows a lot about plants. The rooftop garden she tends and beautifies is ample evidence of that. What she doesn't know is anything about love, not with her long track record of always picking the wrong guy. But then a mystery flower pops up in her garden—a flower that only blooms in the presence of true love. Never one to shy away from a little magic, Sophie convinces her best friend, Peter, to help her use the flower to find her soulmate.

More innocent victims are taken as the atrocities of the war between races continue, and Kenna’s desire to protect her people drives her to reckless behavior, dragging her chosen with her. The closer she gets to taking the throne, the more she sees the devastating toll that being the princess has on those she loves, leaving her questioning whether loving her is truly worth the cost. With each passing day, the queen’s men close in, relentless in their pursuit, and when the unthinkable happens, the rebellion is left picking up the shattered pieces of what remains.

Queen Isadora reigns with secrets and lies and will do whatever it takes to keep her throne, including killing the rightful heir. Hunted by the queen, Kenna is thrust into the center of a rebellion that seeks to end her tyranny. Now, she must learn what it means to rise up and rule, but does she have what it takes? Or will the cost of the rebellion be more than she can give? As the stirrings of war threaten to tear the country apart, Kenna must fight to hold her Chosen together before they too become another causality.

When ballet dancer Clara Campbell arrives in New Orleans, lonely and homesick, she is immediately captivated by the story of Windisle Plantation and the tragic tale that is said to have transpired beyond its gate. Legend has it that it is abandoned by all living souls, but to Clara’s great surprise, it is not a ghost she hears through the stone wall surrounding the property, but a flesh and blood man: a scarred stranger with a pain deeper and darker than the churning waters of the Mississippi river that flows beside his self-imposed prison.

Scarlett Fernsby holds the world record for shortest relationships. Mostly thanks to overprotective parents and an interfering brother, every attempt at dating has been a disaster. When her whole family is out of town for six glorious months, she knows it's time to find love. What she didn't count on was Wade Hendrix. Her older brother's best friend. He's even worse than her brother. He's soon crashing every date of hers, and Scarlett's beginning to wonder if he's made it his life's mission to annoy her. Wade is a firefighter with a hero complex; she doesn't want to be his pity problem.

Angela Carter was one of the most important writers of the 20th century. A pioneer of British magical realism, her work was described by Salman Rushdie as 'without rival and without equal'. Her radical, inventive novels influenced countless writers, while her dark, sensual short fiction turned traditional fables inside out, giving women the power over their desires and fates. Susannah Clapp, Angela Carter's literary executor and friend, introduces the productions and offers fascinating insights into Angela Carter's life and work.