Richard III (Bloom's Shakespeare Through the Ages)

Equal parts tragedy and history play, Richard III chronicles the rise and short reign of its diabolical title character. Of this masterful creation, esteemed critic Harold Bloom has written, "The manipulative, highly self-conscious, obsessed hero-villain moves himself from being the passive sufferer of his own moral and/or physical deformity to becoming a highly active melodramatist."

White Witch, Black Curse

Confusion reigns for characters and readers in the complicated seventh urban fantasy outing (after 2008's The Outlaw Demon Wails) for witch detective Rachel Morgan. Rachel's reputation is in tatters—to save humanity, she used powers that are considered evil—and she's still devastated by the mysterious death of her boyfriend six months earlier. 

The Sacred Well by Antoinette May

A young reporter in 1923, Alma Reed accompanies archaeologists to the ruins of Chichen Itza, where a fortune in Mayan artifacts has been stolen from a sacrificial well. It's believed a curse was unleashed by the theft—yet the career-making story it offers the ambitious journalist seems a godsend. It also leads her to a passionate love affair with revolutionary governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto. But when fate darkens their lives and damns them as doomed political pawns, Alma can't help but wonder if the curse is not, in fact, very real.

Elisabeth lives on a Caribbean island, a very dangerous place. A young blacksmith is interested in her, but pirates are interested too. Where do the pirates come from and what do they want? Is there really a curse on their ship? And why can't they enjoy their gold?

Penguin readers are simplified texts which  provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure.