Emma Morales, tenacious romance book editor and proud cat lady, knows romance, but love? Nope. Thank you very much. Enter nerdy sci-fi and fantasy editor Kip Alegre, who quotes JRR Tolkien for breakfast and knows heartbreak all too well.
When Emma gets a career-changing sci-fi romance manuscript which may just save their publishing house from folding, she knows she must work with Kip if she wants to succeed. Sounds simple enough, right? But when well-meaning meddling best friends, an obsessive ex-boyfriend, and a beautiful ex-fiancée come into the picture, the job doesn’t seem so simple anymore. What starts out as a friendly—flirty—literary smackdown between Emma and Kip grows into something deeper than either of them had signed up for.
The deal was to edit the book, not their lives.
Emma and Kip may be willing to read the manuscript over and over again, but will they be willing to give love a second read?
Catagory: Fiction
Penguin Select Classics: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
“He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.”
In this philosophical masterpiece, Zarathustra a fictional sage descends from the mountains to share his wisdom with humanity. He challenges conventional thought and explores profound themes of self-overcoming, the will to power, and the nature of existence.
The character of Zarathustra serves as a mouthpiece for Nietzsche’s philosophical ideas, challenging readers to question their beliefs and embrace a more individualistic and self-directed approach to existence. His journey from solitude in the mountains to engagement with humanity symbolizes the philosopher’s quest to achieve the will to power, and the rejection of herd mentality.
Nietzsche’s emphasis on the individual’s potential for self-mastery and creative self-expression resonates throughout Zarathustra’s teachings. It’s an uplifting and motivational read which helps enhance confidence in oneself, leadership skills and focus.
Penguin Select Classics: White Nights and Other Stories
“I don’t know how to be silent when my heart is speaking.”
Set in the enchanting streets of St. Petersburg, this is a story of a young man who is a dreamer, and wanders on the city’s deserted lanes during long summer nights.
On a foggy night, under the hazy streetlights, a young man met Nastenka, who captured his heart with her beauty and innocence. They spent four consecutive nights together, as he becomes increasingly besotted with Nastenka, sharing his innermost thoughts and feelings.
Just as he was beginning to feel safe in their oasis, he discovers that Nastenka is in love with another man; a prince who has promised to return to her after a long absence. Yet, he is certain that even Nastenka is drawn to him, each grappling with their own sense of longing and desire for connection.
Through this vivid narrative of the intoxicating power of hope, the young man’s monologues reveal his absolute yearning for love, while Nastenka’s vulnerability and romantic idealism add layers of emotion to the story.
Through these fragile yet sublime characters we witness the beauty and pain of unrequited love.
- A timeless tale of love, longing, and unfulfilled dreams in St. Petersburg.
- Includes Notes from Underground and A Christmas Tree and a Wedding.
- Explores themes of hope, desire, and the beauty of unrequited love.
- Premium hardbound edition, perfect for classic literature collectors.
- An ideal gift for literature enthusiasts and Dostoevsky fans.
Penguin Select Classics: White Nights
“I don’t know how to be silent when my heart is speaking.”
Set in the enchanting streets of St. Petersburg, this is a story of a young man who is a dreamer, and wanders on the city’s deserted lanes during long summer nights.
On a foggy night, under the hazy streetlights, a young man met Nastenka, who captured his heart with her beauty and innocence. They spent four consecutive nights together, as he becomes increasingly besotted with Nastenka, sharing his innermost thoughts and feelings.
Just as he was beginning to feel safe in their oasis, he discovers that Nastenka is in love with another man; a prince who has promised to return to her after a long absence. Yet, he is certain that even Nastenka is drawn to him, each grappling with their own sense of longing and desire for connection.
Through this vivid narrative of the intoxicating power of hope, the young man’s monologues reveal his absolute yearning for love, while Nastenka’s vulnerability and romantic idealism add layers of emotion to the story.
Through these fragile yet sublime characters we witness the beauty and pain of unrequited love.
Penguin Select Classics: Don Quixote
“For neither good nor evil can last forever; and so, it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.”
One fine day, Alonso Quixano, a hidalgo from La Mancha, picks up the armor, renames himself Don Quixote and sets to right the wrongs and defend the helpless. Obsessed with chivalric romances, he decides the only way to make things better is to become a knight-errant himself, Don Quixote is a complex and contradictory character; he is idealistic, brave, and always willing to fight for what he believes in.
However, he is also delusional and often misinterprets the world around him. On this eventful journey he is accompanied by his squire Sancho Panza, who is a more practical man.
They navigate a world where the line between illusion and reality blurs. While they chase their dreams and idealistic visions, they are soon faced with grave consequences in trying to build the perfect world.
Don Quixote through his adventures in the rich landscape of medieval Spain, raises pertinent questions about what it means to be a citizen, and reminds us of the power in the common man’s will and determination.
My Lady Hiraya
Five years ago, when Elise’s wife died in a fire, she vowed that she would stop at nothing to bring her back. Her quest leads her to Hiraya, an immortal monster hunter with secrets deeper than the shadows of the haunted manor she calls home. Hiraya, though hesitant at first, agrees to train Elise in the secrets of Chaos, magic that could alter the strands of time themselves.
As their bond deepens, Elise and Hiraya find themselves embroiled in an eons-old conflict among the gods of love, destiny, and the future. The choices they make and the love they discover between themselves will shape this world and all the worlds that could ever be.
Inspired by Filipino mythology and folk tales, My Lady Hiraya is a romance fantasy novel that follows Elise’s dogged pursuit of her lost love and the love she finds along the way.
Boys’ Love, A Novel
Boys’ Love follows the life of Jon, a Filipino gay man and his coming out of the closet in conservative and Catholic Philippines. He becomes a journalist and lives briefly in the United Kingdom and the United States, but returns home to a colourful country that is beginning to change. He forges friendships and alliances in gay Manila, meets and break ups with lovers, and lives with eyes wide open to the possibilities of hope. The novel is readable and accessible. It has a narrative line that is enriched with different prose forms like vignettes, poems, songs, speeches, reviews, feature articles, portraits of people and sketches of places. Jon shows us the “love that dares to speak its name” in this novel of hilarity and heartbreak.
No Man River
Undeniably one of Vietnam’s most beloved stories, Duong Huong’s No Man River is a novel about the homefront during the American War and its aftermath. Awarded the Vietnam Writers’ Association’s most prestigious prize in 1991—the same year Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War was published—it has been translated into many languages, and twice been adapted into film. It tells the story of a village in northern Vietnam that must send its men to fight, but at the same time continue the communist revolution’s transformation of their society. An injured but idealistic veteran of the war against the French named Van hopes to create a modern society in which everyone will live in harmony, but first he must overcome the superstition and prejudices still held by his community. He must also keep secret his love for the village beauty, Nhan—the widow of his dearest fallen comrade. Complications arise when his nephew marries Nhan’s daughter, Hanh, just before he leaves to fight in the South. Parents long for the return of their sons. Wives and children anxiously await the return of their husbands and fathers. Resisting the socialist revolutionary notion that war is glorious or heroic, No Man River presents an innovative portrait of wartime and postwar village life that tells the story of the countless Vietnamese who carried not only the burden of war, but also all the tribulations of forging of a new society during the most tumultuous time in modern Vietnamese history.
Adorable
A young boy befriends a girl from a haunted house known as ‘Adorable’. A roast pig at a Taoist funeral becomes a symbol of rebellion. A man adopts a Thai doll, hoping it would change his luck.
Meanwhile, a family of monsters live on Mount Pleasure, disguising themselves with anagrams, and a black metal scandal ruins a teenage couple’s after-school hangout at Gurney Plaza.
Set in Penang, Malaysia, these short stories describe how the island makes its people do crazy things. Its characters navigate a world of social tension and moral panic, while trying to find peace for themselves.
Swimming Lessons
Growing up was never meant to be easy for Michelle Tan. Her older sister Meredith lies in a hospital ward, unconscious and barely breathing. Sorrow-stricken, the younger girl dives headfirst into her memories – the first time Meredith taught her how to swim, their first mid-autumn festival together and her father’s untimely departure. But that only accounts for Michelle’s worldly worries. She also thinks she’s being followed. By what – she can’t exactly put a finger on. Clumsily, she navigates the arduous process of growing up and coming to terms with who she truly is while a supernatural enigma looms.
Young Constable Michael Chakrabarti experiences strange happenings during his night shifts. Mysterious recurring phone calls from an exasperated girl, a ferocious, shadowy lion of mythological origin; there doesn’t seem to be an end to the peculiarity that haunts him. Demystifying the unknown has consequences.
Captain Ishaan heads the newly-inaugurated Department of Supernatural Oddities. Shouldering the burden of being at the forefront of a revolution in science that could potentially decipher the supernatural, Ishaan soon realises that he might be too close to the puzzle for his own good. Can he truly exorcise the demons of his past?
Reality is a luxury. The Truth is never linear.