We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. As the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva's ride, but NAKED contains a twist that may be closer to the truth: By the end of his life, Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva.

With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime.

THE GOSPEL OF LOKI, Joanne M. Harris' latest novel, is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods --- retold from the point of view of the world’s ultimate trickster, Loki. It tells the story of Loki’s recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself.

In 1540, 12-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces, dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices.

When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the mid-19th century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge. Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people.

Lady Montfort has been planning her annual summer costume ball for months with scrupulous care. But when her husband's degenerate nephew is found murdered, it's more than the ball that’s ruined. In fact, Lady Montfort fears that the official police enquiry is pointing towards her son as a potential suspect. Taking matters into her own hands, she enlists the help of her pragmatic housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, to investigate the case, track down the women who vanished the night of the murder, and clear her son's name.

Waiting to be rediscovered in the British Library is an ancient manuscript of the early Church, copied by an anonymous monk. The manuscript is at least 1,450 years old, possibly dating to the first century. And now, THE LOST GOSPEL provides the first-ever translation from Syriac into English of this unique document that tells the inside story of Jesus’ social, family and political lives.

Pompeii, Machu Picchu, the Valley of the Kings, the Parthenon --- the names of these legendary archaeological sites conjure up romance and mystery. The news is full of archaeology: treasures found and treasures lost. Where are the archaeologists behind these stories? What kind of work do they actually do, and why does it matter? Marilyn Johnson’s LIVES IN RUINS is an absorbing and entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past.

When Sherlock visits his brother, what he finds shocks him to the core: a locked room, a dead body and Mycroft holding a knife. The police are convinced Mycroft is a murderer, but Sherlock is just as convinced he is innocent. Threatened with the gallows, Mycroft needs Sherlock to save him. The search for the truth necessitates an incredible journey where Sherlock is afoot in a world of secrets and danger.