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"Tales of the Romanov Empire is an impressive historical epic novel that chronicles slightly over 300 years of Russian history in short vignette chapters... Anolic's prose is polished, elaborate, and gorgeously descriptive overall.... Tales of the Romanov Empire is a bold, innovative project that compellingly overviews more obscure history, like manipulative bride shows, alongside more well-known material like Russia's dealings with Napoleon. Anolic also has a real knack for imaginative reveals and inserting surprisingly timely elements into the narrative." -The BookLife Prize

"Each tale, or vignette, is done in a clever way, with rich, enticing prose which sweeps a reader into the effluent and sometimes turbulent world of Russian nobility... This book is very educational, giving slices of the Romanov's lives and leading a reader by the hand through time without the passage of time feeling jarring or unsatisfying as each story closes and a new one begins. Rather, you are intrigued to do a little research on your own to look further into the different episodes, and Ms Anolic's skill as a researcher shines forth in the way she combines the history with the storytelling with such ease. Along with some wonderful scene setting... for this enjoyable read, Ms. Anolic's book takes us on a wintry journey into the Russian past and soul." -The Historical Fiction Book Company's review

Stories you've never heard about the Romanovs....

Tales of the Romanov Empire is a novel in short stories that examines one of history's most successful dynasties. The Romanovs were Russia's absolute monarchs from 1613 until 1917. Yet, beyond the glittering wealth and tragic love story of Nicholas and Alexandra, much of the dynasty remains shrouded in mystery.

Tales of The Romanov Empire sheds light on the Romanovs' unknown figures, from the election of Mikhail Feodorovich, the first Romanov tsar, to the bride shows that were staged to help Tsar Alexei find a wife. Grand Duke Konstantin, the Romanovs' famous poet, comes to life as he and his favorite cousin, Grand Duke Sergei, examine their ideals and their sexuality in a world that is hostile to them. All the while, as the empire's Jews struggle amidst the Romanovs' pogroms, many make the decision to flee to the freedom of the United States- these stories in particular are based on the author's own family history.

This novel contains stories of war, stories of personal gifts and choices bent to an autocratic ideal. In their telling, the vast human cost of absolute power- on both the oppressors and on the oppressed- becomes clear.

This gripping and darkly funny memoir "is a testament to the undeniable, indestructible love between a mother and a daughter" (Isaac Mizrahi).

Liz Scheier's mother was a news junkie, a hilarious storyteller, a fast-talking charmer you couldn't look away from, a single mother whose devotion crossed the line into obsession, and--when in the grips of the mental illness that plagued her--a masterful liar. On an otherwise uneventful afternoon when Scheier was eighteen, her mother sauntered into the room and dropped two bombshells. First, that she had been married for most of the previous two decades to a man Liz had never heard of and, second, that the man she had claimed was Liz's dead father was entirely fictional. She'd made him up--his name, the stories, everything.

Those big lies were the start, but not the end; it had taken dozens of smaller lies to support them, and by the time she was done she had built a fairy-tale, half-true life for the two of them. Judith Scheier's charm was more than matched by her eccentricity, and Liz had always known there was something wrong in their home. After all, other mothers didn't raise a child single-handedly with no visible source of income, or hide their children behind fake Social Security numbers, or host giant parties in a one-bedroom Manhattan apartment only to throw raging tantrums when the door closed behind the guests.

Now, decades later, armed with clues to her father's identity--and as her mother's worsening dementia reveals truths she never intended to share--Liz attempts to uncover the real answers to the mysteries underpinning her childhood. Trying to construct a "normal" life out of decidedly abnormal roots, she navigates her own circuitous path to adulthood: a bizarre breakup, an unexpected romance, and the birth of her son and daughter. Along the way, Liz wrestles with questions of what we owe our parents even when they fail us, and of how to share her mother's hilarity, limitless love, and creativity with children--without passing down the trauma of her mental illness. Never Simple is the story of enduring the legacy of a hard-to-love parent with compassion, humor, and, ultimately, self-preservation.

Two Sisters of Fayetteville also won Honorable Mention for Young Adult Fiction in the Firebird Book Awards for Fourth Quarter, 2022.

Seventeen-year-old Joanna Upshaw and her sister, sixteen-year-old Hannah, are two of twelve siblings in an insular, conservative, and evangelical Christian family- same as the Duggars, whose reality show they watch on TV. Joanna in particular is exhausted by the demands of helping her mother with the housework and childcare attendant in such a large family. She is also beginning to realize that she doesn't measure up to her parents' vision of a perfect Christian woman- or to any of their strict rules.

Hannah is the sister that Joanna is closest to, the one that shares her fatigue and anxiety. Both of them have spent their whole lives learning that their highest calling is to marry and have as many children as possible. However, as Joanna watches Hannah and two of their brothers court with the intention of marrying, she questions whether she is capable of doing the same, especially as her parents shoo her marriage prospects away one at a time. Afraid of becoming the old maid that never amounts to anything, Joanna finally makes plans to get away from her parents forever.

Fans of Jennifer Mathieu's Devoted and Julia Watts' Quiver will like this book.

But when up-and-coming actress Savannah Crane drops dead after spooning down some chocolate almond fudge, Kate's first taste of Hollywood might be her last. Determined to clear her name, Kate finds herself churning through a long list of unsavory characters to catch the real killer lurking around town. As she uncovers the truth about the jealous rivals and obsessive stalkers who haunted Savannah's life, Kate soon realizes that tangling with the late starlet's "fans" could make this her most terrifying fall yet . . .

Includes mouthwatering ice cream recipes from the Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe!