Katie's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 02 May 2025 18:36:28 -0700 60 Katie's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Complete Guide to Peptides: Unlocking the Secrets to Health, Healing, and Longevity]]> 231930691 The Complete Guide to Unlocking the Secrets to Health, Healing, and Longevity

Are you curious about the transformative potential of peptides and bioregulators? Whether you鈥檙e a beginner, an intermediate learner, or an expert, this comprehensive guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools to explore these cutting-edge compounds for enhancing health, promoting healing, and optimizing performance.

Peptides and bioregulators have become game-changers in the fields of regenerative medicine, anti-aging, muscle recovery, immune support, and hormonal balance. This book simplifies complex scientific concepts, making them accessible and practical, allowing you to understand how to leverage peptides and bioregulators for mental clarity, physical performance, skin health, and overall well-being.

In this guide, you will

What Peptides and Bioregulators Learn the foundational science behind these powerful compounds and how they interact at the cellular level.Comprehensive Overview of Peptide Explore growth hormone secretagogues, cognitive enhancers, anti-aging peptides, immune boosters, and much more.Practical Understand how peptides and bioregulators are used for weight management, muscle growth, skin rejuvenation, mental health, joint health, and chronic disease management.Dosage Calculations & Gain insights into proper dosing, how to create effective peptide stacks, and how to maximize therapeutic benefits.Detailed Profiles of Key Peptides and In-depth profiles of over 80 peptides and bioregulators, including their mechanisms, dosage recommendations, side effects, and clinical applications.Real-World Success Stories and Case See how peptides and bioregulators have been successfully used in clinical practice and real-life scenarios.While this book provides an educational overview of peptides and bioregulators, it is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information contained within is meant for informational purposes only, and any use of peptides or bioregulators should be done under the guidance of a healthcare professional. Individual responses to peptides may vary, and it is important to consult with your doctor or qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement or therapy.]]> 249 Hack Smith Katie 5 health, nonfiction 5.00 The Complete Guide to Peptides: Unlocking the Secrets to Health, Healing, and Longevity
author: Hack Smith
name: Katie
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/02
date added: 2025/05/02
shelves: health, nonfiction
review:
Officially obsessed with peptides.
]]> <![CDATA[Women, Food, And Hormones: A 4-Week Plan to Achieve Hormonal Balance, Lose Weight, and Feel Like Yourself Again]]> 57767298 336 M.D. Gottfried 0358346215 Katie 4 health, nonfiction 3.46 Women, Food, And Hormones: A 4-Week Plan to Achieve Hormonal Balance, Lose Weight, and Feel Like Yourself Again
author: M.D. Gottfried
name: Katie
average rating: 3.46
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/30
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: health, nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blind Attraction (Reckless Beat, #1)]]> 17725275 He can seduce with a single glance.

Peering down at a sea of fans, rock star, Mitchell Davies can鈥檛 deny the innocent beauty of a woman in the front row. He鈥檒l stop at nothing to get to know her. When a public altercation leaves her weak and defenseless, he takes the opportunity to be her savior.

She鈥檚 been sheltered from the world.

Alana Shelton wants to spread her wings and experience life away from her restrictive upbringing. But she isn鈥檛 prepared for a gorgeous stranger to sweep her off her feet while at her most vulnerable.

Attraction will bring them together, but their pasts will try to tear them apart.

He wants to teach her how to trust, but she鈥檒l show him how to love. In a glamorous world of rock-and-roll, only time will tell if they鈥檙e up for the challenge.]]> 257 Eden Summers Katie 0 3.83 2013 Blind Attraction (Reckless Beat, #1)
author: Eden Summers
name: Katie
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2025/04/29
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: dnf, fiction, fluff, new-adult
review:
Couldn't get into it, gave up at about 20%.
]]> Ladies of the Lake 63009309 After two young women鈥檚 deep bond is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In The Ladies of the Lake, the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging.

When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The 鈥淟adies of the Lake,鈥� as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before: Before love and jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart.

Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline鈥檚 beloved daughter. With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she鈥檇 determined to put behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill.]]> 384 Cathy Gohlke 1496453549 Katie 2 4.22 2009 Ladies of the Lake
author: Cathy Gohlke
name: Katie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2009
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/29
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: book-club-read, dnf, fiction, literature
review:
I made it 3/4 of the way in and just didn't care. Couldn't get into it.
]]> <![CDATA[What Sleeps Within the Cove (Of Flesh & Bone, #4)]]> 219446165 From the New York Times bestseller, Harper L. Woods comes a brand new, highly anticipated novel in her Of Flesh and Bone series, What Sleeps Within the Cove.

Once, I bartered my soul for my mate.

Offering Mab my bound allegiance was the only way to save Caldris鈥檚 life鈥攖he only bargain I could make to keep us both from the Void. After cruelly murdering the King of Summer, her own brother, Mab became unhinged and there was no telling what she would do. Caldris is safe for now because of my sacrifice, but at a cost. Queen Mab only wants one thing from me.

Then, I was banished to Tartarus, from where few ever return.

Mab has demanded a tribute鈥攁 snake from the crown of Medusa. Navigating through the horrors of Tartarus, I must pass the Trials of the Five Rivers to prove my worth to the primordials and steal the unthinkable. All without my magic.

Now, I must embrace my darkness, my past.

To survive, I must discover who I am鈥攚ho I鈥檓 fated to be. Human, and Fae, and something鈥� other. Embracing all the sides of magic, light and dark, is the only way to escape Tartarus and get back to Caldris. I will save him, the Fae, and the humans from Mab.

Even if it kills me.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 400 Harper L. Woods 1250401224 Katie 0 to-read 4.29 2025 What Sleeps Within the Cove (Of Flesh & Bone, #4)
author: Harper L. Woods
name: Katie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Enigma: A Dark Academia Romance]]> 214161667 A new breathtaking tale of unforgettable romance, set in a dark academia world of secret societies, lush suspense and sizzling sensuality, from RuNyx, the New York Times bestselling author of Gothikana.

Salem Salazar comes to Mortimer University to get to the bottom of her sister's mysterious death. There, obsessed with forensics, she discovers there have been a lot more unexplained deaths on the campus. Her search leads her down a dark and dangerous path to a secret society and to Caz.

Cazimir van der Waal is in her way and another mystery to unravel. Is he just an art student, a man living a double life, or a murderer? While also at the university seeking answers for another death, Caz has a lot more to him than meets the eye.

Secret forces are at play in Mortimer and no one is safe. As Salem tries to go under radar and Caz tries to block her path, somehow, they both end up in the crossfire of a powerful, secret society. They are forced to work together to discover the truth or risk losing their lives.

In this magnificent, steamy dark academia romance from RuNyx, sparks will fly, rivals will become lovers, and terrible secrets will be unleashed.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 496 RuNyx 1250334233 Katie 0 to-read 4.07 2025 Enigma: A Dark Academia Romance
author: RuNyx
name: Katie
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit]]> 28693278 The only way to听live with听true spiritual power

"Are you sure you want to be possessed by a spirit other than your own? Even though that spirit be the pure Spirit of God? Even though He be the very gentle essence of the gentle Jesus? Even though He be wisdom personified, wisdom Himself? Even though He be as loving as the heart of God?" 鈥擜. W. Tozer

In a little book that's hard to swallow, A. W. Tozer teaches plainly who the Spirit is, why we should desire Him, but why few of us do. He instructs us in how to be filled with the Spirit, but first poses this Do you really want to be filled?]]> 65 A.W. Tozer 1600669069 Katie 4 4.51 1960 How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
author: A.W. Tozer
name: Katie
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
review:
Very quick read. Chapter 3 was especially convicting.
]]> Keep It in the Family 60109530
Mia and Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly falls pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discovers a chilling message scored into a skirting board: I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery: their dream home was once a house of horrors.

In the wake of their traumatic discovery, the baby arrives and Mia can鈥檛 shake her fixation with the monstrous crimes that happened right above them. Haunted by the terrible things she saw and desperate to find answers, her obsession pulls her ever further from her husband.

Secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic, but when shards of a dark truth start to emerge, Mia realises the danger is terrifyingly present. She is prepared to do anything to protect her family鈥攂ut is it already too late?]]> 380 John Marrs 1542017289 Katie 3 fiction 4.08 2022 Keep It in the Family
author: John Marrs
name: Katie
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: fiction
review:
3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but I guess I wanted to understand more what the serial killer thought they were accomplishing? "I'm saving them." Okay... from what? So, I would've given it a higher rating if we'd been told WHY the serial killer was a serial killer, or what they thought they were accomplishing. Felt a little unsatisfied with the book because of that.
]]> The Familiar 211004837 Hipnotyzuj膮ca opowie艣膰 o ambicji, przetrwaniu i kobiecej sile w 艣wiecie, gdzie jedno b艂臋dne s艂owo mo偶e oznacza膰 艣mier膰.

Z艂oty Wiek. Hiszpania. W n臋dznym domu, na n臋dznej ulicy, w nowej stolicy 鈥� Madrycie 鈥� mieszka Luzia Cotado, kt贸ra wykorzystuje swoje magiczne zdolno艣ci, by przetrwa膰 ci臋偶ki los pomywaczki. Gdy inni odkrywaj膮 jej moc, dziewczyna zostaje wci膮gni臋ta w 艣wiat arystokratycznych intryg, gdzie mo偶e sta膰 si臋 pionkiem w grze o w艂adz臋鈥� lub jego kr贸low膮.

Jej pokazy pocz膮tkowo s膮 zwyk艂膮 rozrywk膮 dla znudzonej elity. Wkr贸tce sprawy jednak przybieraj膮 niebezpieczny obr贸t, gdy Luzia przyci膮ga uwag臋 Antonio P茅reza 鈥� obdarzonego z艂膮 s艂aw膮 sekretarza hiszpa艅skiego kr贸la. Kr贸l wci膮偶 pr贸buje si臋 podnie艣膰 po druzgoc膮cej pora偶ce swojej armii, ale nie ustaje w wysi艂kach, by zdoby膰 przewag臋 nad Angli膮. A P茅rez, pragn膮cy odzyska膰 zaufanie i przychylno艣膰 kr贸la, nie cofnie si臋 przed niczym.

Zdeterminowana, by wykorzysta膰 swoj膮 jedyn膮 szans臋 na lepsze 偶ycie, Luzia rzuca si臋 w 艣wiat prorok贸w, alchemist贸w, 艣wi臋tych, handlarzy, w wir magii, nauki i oszustwa. Ale wraz z rozg艂osem przychodzi niebezpiecze艅stwo, 偶e jej istnienie przyci膮gnie gniew inkwizytor贸w. Luzia b臋dzie musia艂a u偶y膰 ca艂ego swojego sprytu i si艂y, by przetrwa膰 鈥� nawet je偶eli oznacza to zasi臋gni臋cie pomocy u Guill茅na Santagnela, zgorzknia艂ego nie艣miertelnika, kt贸rego w艂asne sekrety mog膮 doprowadzi膰 do 艣mierci ich obojga.]]> 400 Leigh Bardugo 1250884276 Katie 0 to-read 3.91 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Katie
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Freedom from Emotional Eating: A Weight Loss Bible Study (Christian Weight Loss)]]> 22067243
First edition - July 2008
Second edition - April 2014]]> 261 Barb Raveling Katie 0 currently-reading 4.45 2008 Freedom from Emotional Eating: A Weight Loss Bible Study (Christian Weight Loss)
author: Barb Raveling
name: Katie
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rejected By My Alpha Mate (Rejection, #1)]]> 61924948
Nobody rejects a fated mate. But mine did.

Half wolf, half warlock, he considers me a disgrace. One he doesn鈥檛 want to be linked to.

And with his rejection, he crushed that tiny ember of hope within me. That someone will finally love me.

I try to pull away, to avoid even more heartbreak, but the more I try to stay away, the more entangled I get in this pack and with this alpha who despises my very existence.

But there is something thrumming under the surface of this usually sleepy town, something dark and vicious. There are too many warlocks all of a sudden, another new pack, and I feel like I am being watched.

The worst is yet to come, however.

When one of the Alpha鈥檚 mate candidates is found murdered, all eyes turn to me鈥�

Rejected By My Alpha Mate is a standalone book in The Rejection Series. It's a full-length romance packed with heart and heat! !
No cheating or cliffhangers and a satisfying happily ever after.]]> 399 Jaymin Snow Katie 3
Despite all of that, I enjoyed it. I鈥檓 all about some angst, and had just finished a very heavy book, so something light and brainless was needed. This filled that purpose. ]]> 3.96 Rejected By My Alpha Mate (Rejection, #1)
author: Jaymin Snow
name: Katie
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves:
review:
So, I liked the premise of this book but some parts of it were just sloppy. Austin was spelled 鈥淎usten鈥� once. Another character鈥檚 name was spelled completely different one time. There were a few things that didn鈥檛 make sense, like the final chapter mentioned 3 months had passed and then the next page, six months were mentioned. Just lots od little things. There were also hardly any romantic scenes between the two main characters. The book was 95% angst and the main character being mistreated.

Despite all of that, I enjoyed it. I鈥檓 all about some angst, and had just finished a very heavy book, so something light and brainless was needed. This filled that purpose.
]]> <![CDATA[Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II]]> 213916 This is the true story of a young American missionary woman's courage and triumph of faith in the jungles of New Guinea and her four years in a notorious Japanese prison camp. Never to see her husband again, she was forced to sign a confession to a crime she did not commit and face the executioner's sword, only to be miraculously spared.

]]> 224 Darlene Deibler Rose 0060670207 Katie 5 4.51 1988 Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II
author: Darlene Deibler Rose
name: Katie
average rating: 4.51
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
review:
This was a wonderful book, but a difficult one to read. There are three books I think should be required reading with older kids: the hiding place, the Persepolis graphic novel, and this one. This book makes you realize how shallow and stupid and unimportant 99.8% of our worries are each day.
]]> <![CDATA[Bad Intentions (Hellions of Hade Harbor #1)]]> 198603494
Lily
His name was Cayden, and he was a golden boy, an instant hit with everyone I knew.
But the mask chipped and cracked in front of me, and I saw underneath.
If I hadn鈥檛, maybe everything would have been different.
Maybe he would have let me go.
I guess I鈥檒l never know.
I saw him, and I can never change that.
Most importantly鈥�. he saw me.
Now, the Coach says he鈥檚 staying with us for the season, in the room right next to mine鈥�
I鈥檓 locked inside with my bully, and he鈥檚 watching my every move.

Cade
It started with needing to make the coach鈥檚 daughter keep her pretty little mouth shut.
It ended with an obsession鈥� mine.
I鈥檓 burning鈥�. consumed - and she鈥檚 the reason.
Now, there is no way back.
Lily Williams isn鈥檛 like anyone think she is, underneath her straight-A student veneer.
I鈥檓 the only one to see the real her, I鈥檓 the only one to know her鈥�
And I鈥檓 the one who is keeping her.

Meet the Ice Gods, the Hockey players who never play by the rules and own Hade Harbor and everyone in it. Bad Intentions is a standalone bully romance featuring a possessive hockey playing Ice God, and the smart, sheltered object of his obsession.]]> 454 Mila Kane Katie 4 4.04 2023 Bad Intentions (Hellions of Hade Harbor #1)
author: Mila Kane
name: Katie
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: fiction, new-adult, young-adult
review:
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I'm a sucker for angst, and there was a good bit of it. I'll continue the series.
]]> What the Wind Knows 40407141 In an unforgettable love story, a woman鈥檚 impossible journey through the ages could change everything鈥�

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather鈥檚 stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy鈥檚 long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman鈥檚 disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland鈥檚 independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she鈥檚 willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she鈥檇 find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?]]> 418 Amy Harmon 1503959600 Katie 4 4.36 2019 What the Wind Knows
author: Amy Harmon
name: Katie
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Serpent & the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia, #1)]]> 180724703 Wall Street Journal bestselling Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent. Filled with heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue鈥攑erfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the never trust, never yield, and always鈥攁lways鈥攇uard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won鈥檛 be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father鈥檚 crown鈥� and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there鈥檚 no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone 鈥� but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.]]> 464 Carissa Broadbent 1250343178 Katie 0 4.28 2022 The Serpent & the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia, #1)
author: Carissa Broadbent
name: Katie
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Variation 210481677
Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother鈥檚 eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she鈥檚 sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she鈥檚 tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.

As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He鈥檚 always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau鈥ntil the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.

When Hudson鈥檚 niece shows up on Allie鈥檚 doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson鈥檚 past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.]]> 464 Rebecca Yarros 1662514700 Katie 0 to-read 4.18 2024 Variation
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Katie
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2)]]> 63910262 In the luscious, dark sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she's wrought - perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten's For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching.

Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.

If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.

And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth's head. The Nightmare. And he's not eager to share any longer.]]> 437 Rachel Gillig 0356519503 Katie 0 to-read 4.39 2023 Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2)
author: Rachel Gillig
name: Katie
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)]]> 217536270
In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn't much a girl wouldn't do for a glass of water.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember.

But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently re-opens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares... but it turns out they're real, and Saeris has landed herself in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist's magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him . . . or her.

Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he's the only way Saeris is going to make it home.]]> 624 Callie Hart 1538774194 Katie 0 to-read 4.29 2024 Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)
author: Callie Hart
name: Katie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout, #1)]]> 60060431 Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon.
Knox doesn鈥檛 tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.

Naomi wasn鈥檛 just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way鈥ith fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn鈥檛 changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi鈥檚 car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn鈥檛 know she had. Now she鈥檚 stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.

There鈥檚 a reason Knox doesn鈥檛 do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi鈥檚 life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least, that鈥檚 the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.]]> 572 Lucy Score 1945631848 Katie 0 to-read 4.15 2022 Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout, #1)
author: Lucy Score
name: Katie
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout, #2)]]> 62022434
Too bad Lina鈥檚 got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she鈥檚 in town, he鈥檒l never forgive her. Besides, she doesn鈥檛 do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she鈥檚 after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people鈥檚 skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he鈥檚 not about to be dissuaded鈥ven if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.]]> 594 Lucy Score Katie 0 to-read 4.04 2023 Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout, #2)
author: Lucy Score
name: Katie
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bride (Bride, #1) 181344829 A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast鈥攁gain. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange鈥攁gain...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It鈥檚 clear from the way he tracks Misery鈥檚 every movement that he doesn鈥檛 trust her. If only he knew how right he was鈥�.

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what鈥檚 hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory鈥lone with the wolf.]]> 410 Ali Hazelwood Katie 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Bride (Bride, #1)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Katie
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Women 127305853 De la autora superventas de El Ruise帽or , una historia de mujeres valientes decididas a arriesgar su vida por los dem谩s en uno de los momentos m谩s peligrosos de la historia.

Inspiradas por el coraje. Ligadas por la amistad. Unidas por la esperanza.

芦Las mujeres pueden ser hero铆nas禄. Cuando Frankie McGrath, estudiante de enfermer铆a de veinte a帽os, oye por primera vez estas inesperadas palabras, siente una revelaci贸n. Criada en el id铆lico y soleado sur de California y protegida por sus conservadores padres, siempre se ha enorgullecido de hacer lo que se espera de ella, de ser una buena chica. Pero en 1966 el mundo est谩 cambiando y, de repente, su vida parece abrirse a nuevas posibilidades. Cuando su hermano parte para combatir en Vietnam, ella se une de manera impulsiva al Cuerpo de Enfermeras del Ej茅rcito para seguirle.

All铆, Frankie se siente igual de inmadura e inexperta que los j贸venes enviados para luchar, y se ve abrumada por el caos y la destrucci贸n de la guerra. Adem谩s, un trauma inesperado la golpea al volver a casa, el de encontrar un pa铆s cambiado y dividido, un pa铆s que quiere olvidar. Frankie descubrir谩 el verdadero valor de la amistad y el dolor que puede causar un coraz贸n roto.

***N煤mero 1 en las listas de best sellers de The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, la Asociaci贸n de Librer铆as Independientes, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Amazon, Audible y Los Angeles Daily News***

Sobre la novela han
芦De nuevo, Hannah ilumina con su luz a mujeres que la historia ha ignorado禄.
People Magazine

芦Hannah est谩 en su mejor momento en esta novela禄.
The New York Times

芦Conmovedora y excepcionalmente documentada禄.
Stephen King

芦笔辞诲别谤辞蝉补禄.
Matt Haig, autor de La biblioteca de la medianoche

芦Kristin Hannah, una de las mejores narradoras de nuestro tiempo, aborda una de las m谩s crueles y viles guerras del 煤ltimo Vietnam. Las mujeres de la guerra revela la enorme contribuci贸n y los horribles sacrificios de las enfermeras militares que sirvieron en ella... Nunca una novela de guerra se ha metamorfoseado tan profundamente en una historia sobre el coraz贸n humano禄.
Delia Owen, autora de La chica salvaje

芦Este libro es ficci贸n hist贸rica en su mejor versi贸n. Tan conmovedor, tan desgarrador, y, sin embargo, en 煤ltima instancia, optimista. 隆Bravo!禄.
Nicholas D. Kristof, ganador del Premio Pulitzer y coautor de La mitad del cielo

芦Deslumbra con su sacrificio; y eleva el 谩nimo con su hero铆smo... Un importante y largamente esperado tributo a las valientes enfermeras que sirvieron en Vietnam禄.
Bonnie Garmus, autora de Lecciones de qu铆mica

芦Los fans de los libros hist贸ricos protagonizados por mujeres van a disfrutar esta magn茅tica novela禄.
Publishers Weekly

Please This audiobook is in Spanish.]]> 471 Kristin Hannah 1250178630 Katie 0 to-read 4.58 2024 The Women
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Katie
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Four Winds 53138081 Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.

In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli鈥攍ike so many of her neighbors鈥攎ust make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America鈥檚 most defining eras鈥攖he Great Depression.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250178602]]> 464 Kristin Hannah 1250178606 Katie 0 to-read 4.27 2021 The Four Winds
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Katie
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)]]> 56269205 From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hand sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs鈥� sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de Le贸n is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity鈥檚 last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.

From author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.]]> 739 Jay Kristoff 1250245281 Katie 0 to-read 4.29 2021 Empire of the Vampire (Empire of the Vampire, #1)
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Katie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Familiar 133286777 From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio P茅rez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen鈥攁nd P茅rez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive鈥攅ven if that means enlisting the help of Guill茅n Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Katie 0 to-read 3.74 2024 The Familiar
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Katie
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2) 60652997 Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. Alex Stern is back and the Ivy League is going straight to hell.

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy 鈥淎lex鈥� Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory鈥昬ven if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can鈥檛 call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies鈥� most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren鈥檛 just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she鈥檒l have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university鈥檚 very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo鈥檚 signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.]]> 481 Leigh Bardugo 1250313104 Katie 0 to-read 4.09 2023 Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Katie
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Remarkably Bright Creatures 59710157 For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.]]> 362 Shelby Van Pelt 0063204177 Katie 4 4.51 2022 Remarkably Bright Creatures
author: Shelby Van Pelt
name: Katie
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves:
review:

]]> Icebreaker (UCMH, #1) 61767292
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate鈥檚 focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team鈥攊ncluding Anastasia, who clearly can鈥檛 stand him.

But when Anastasia鈥檚 skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn鈥檛 worried . . . because she could never like a hockey player, right?]]> 447 Hannah Grace Katie 3
Unpopular opinion: call me old fashioned, but I didn鈥檛 like Anastasia. She was kind of a whore. I didn鈥檛 like the friends with benefits thing she had with Ryan at the beginning. I guess there were a few things that were just too 鈥渕odern鈥� for me that I didn鈥檛 love. Kudos to Anastasia for being a good communicator but the whole therapy speak thing isn鈥檛 my jam. Or Nate saying 鈥淚 care about consent, Anastasia.鈥� Ugh, good for you in real life but I like my men to be possessive, domineering alphas in books. Those modern, politically correct aspects of the story were distracting to me and pulled me out of the story, if that makes sense.

I also felt like Anastasia was stupid when it came to Aaron. He was so unlikeable and she seemed oblivious to the fact that he liked her and was trying to sabotage her relationship with Nate. ]]> 3.75 2022 Icebreaker (UCMH, #1)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Katie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves:
review:
So, while I liked this book, there were a few things that annoyed me enough to give it 3 stars.

Unpopular opinion: call me old fashioned, but I didn鈥檛 like Anastasia. She was kind of a whore. I didn鈥檛 like the friends with benefits thing she had with Ryan at the beginning. I guess there were a few things that were just too 鈥渕odern鈥� for me that I didn鈥檛 love. Kudos to Anastasia for being a good communicator but the whole therapy speak thing isn鈥檛 my jam. Or Nate saying 鈥淚 care about consent, Anastasia.鈥� Ugh, good for you in real life but I like my men to be possessive, domineering alphas in books. Those modern, politically correct aspects of the story were distracting to me and pulled me out of the story, if that makes sense.

I also felt like Anastasia was stupid when it came to Aaron. He was so unlikeable and she seemed oblivious to the fact that he liked her and was trying to sabotage her relationship with Nate.
]]> <![CDATA[A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash, #5)]]> 63847274 Only his memories can save her鈥�

A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone鈥攖he true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come.

But when Poppy falls into stasis, Cas faces the very real possibility that the dire, unexpected consequences of what she is becoming could take her away from him. Cas is given some advice, though鈥攕omething he plans to cling to as he waits to see her beautiful eyes open once more: Talk to her.

And so, he does. He reminds Poppy how their journey began, revealing things about himself that only Kieran knows in the process. But it鈥檚 anybody鈥檚 guess what she鈥檒l wake to or exactly how much of the realm and Cas will have changed when she does.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout revisits Poppy and Casteel鈥檚 epic love story in the next installment of the Blood and Ash series. But this time, Hawke gets to tell the tale.]]> 712 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1957568461 Katie 4 fiction, urban-fantasy
I am a MASSIVE JLA fan. I've loved everything of hers that I've read, and she's hands down my favorite author. This has been my favorite series of hers. But The War of Two Queens PISSED. ME. OFF. And honestly, kind of ruined the whole series for me. I absolutely loathed the joining ceremony. I hated everything about the book. I hated how Poppy and Keiran grew closer while Cas was imprisoned. It just felt very inappropriate. I also absolutely loathe how the joining ceremony and the change in their relationship was kind of unresolved at the end of TWOTQ. Poppy admitted she felt something for Keiran and I just... I don't share. I don't like sharing. I don't care what anyone else says - if you TRULY love someone, you would never be okay with sharing that person with someone else. I hate love triangles, I hate MMF, or reverse harams, or any sort of haram... any sort of relationship that involves more than two people. Because you can't be all touch-her-and-you-die while also sharing your wife with your bff. And also, the joining in general is just dumb.
Why do you have to be completely nude and touching under a full moon to join? It's just a really dumb concept and was completely unnecessary.

So, I've had this book on my Kindle for over a year, and just now got around to reading it. And while I liked it... TWOTQ took the magic of this series away from me and I didn't love this book as much as I would have prior to reading TWOTQ. I'll finish the series... but it's tainted for me now. Call me dramatic, but I don't care. I cannot emphasize how much I hated the joining. And then, when you think about it, if Keiran ever finds his person, they've gotta have a foursome, to tie their lives all together? Nope. I hate it. I hate everything about it. So, this would've been a 5 star review before TWOTQ. It's a 4 star because I'm still bitter about TWOTQ. ]]> 3.88 2023 A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash, #5)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Katie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: fiction, urban-fantasy
review:
SPOILERS, if you haven't read The War of Two Queens.

I am a MASSIVE JLA fan. I've loved everything of hers that I've read, and she's hands down my favorite author. This has been my favorite series of hers. But The War of Two Queens PISSED. ME. OFF. And honestly, kind of ruined the whole series for me. I absolutely loathed the joining ceremony. I hated everything about the book. I hated how Poppy and Keiran grew closer while Cas was imprisoned. It just felt very inappropriate. I also absolutely loathe how the joining ceremony and the change in their relationship was kind of unresolved at the end of TWOTQ. Poppy admitted she felt something for Keiran and I just... I don't share. I don't like sharing. I don't care what anyone else says - if you TRULY love someone, you would never be okay with sharing that person with someone else. I hate love triangles, I hate MMF, or reverse harams, or any sort of haram... any sort of relationship that involves more than two people. Because you can't be all touch-her-and-you-die while also sharing your wife with your bff. And also, the joining in general is just dumb.
Why do you have to be completely nude and touching under a full moon to join? It's just a really dumb concept and was completely unnecessary.

So, I've had this book on my Kindle for over a year, and just now got around to reading it. And while I liked it... TWOTQ took the magic of this series away from me and I didn't love this book as much as I would have prior to reading TWOTQ. I'll finish the series... but it's tainted for me now. Call me dramatic, but I don't care. I cannot emphasize how much I hated the joining. And then, when you think about it, if Keiran ever finds his person, they've gotta have a foursome, to tie their lives all together? Nope. I hate it. I hate everything about it. So, this would've been a 5 star review before TWOTQ. It's a 4 star because I'm still bitter about TWOTQ.
]]> <![CDATA[Self Heal By Design - By Barbara O'Neill: The Role Of Micro-Organisms For Health]]> 34733457 166 Barbara O'Neill Katie 0 currently-reading 4.61 2014 Self Heal By Design - By Barbara O'Neill: The Role Of Micro-Organisms For Health
author: Barbara O'Neill
name: Katie
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Chronicle of a Death Foretold 23878
Yet if everyone knew the murder was going to happen, why did no one intervene to try and stop it? The more that is learned, the less is understood, and as the story races to its inexplicable conclusion, an entire society--not just a pair of murderers鈥攊s put on trial.]]> 120 Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez 140003471X Katie 0 to-read 3.98 1981 Chronicle of a Death Foretold
author: Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez
name: Katie
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1981
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Of Love and Other Demons 23876
Unsettling and indelible, Of Love and Other Demons is an evocative, majestic tale of the most universal experiences known to woman and man.]]> 160 Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez 0517405091 Katie 0 to-read 4.01 1994 Of Love and Other Demons
author: Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez
name: Katie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Court Bright and Broken (Age of Fae, #1)]]> 222904514 Captivating and deeply romantic, a new slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, LJ Andrews, Penn Cole, and Stacia Stark.

A dangerous bargain. An obsessed prince. A forbidden love that could split the Fae court... and break the world.

Thanks to the Fae king's heartless tithe, my family is starving. If I don't do something soon, my war-wounded father and two little sisters won't last much longer.

So I make a desperate deal with our village mother--she'll save my family, and in return, I'll attend the royal ball in disguise and perform an unnamed task.

She won't say what it is, but it doesn't really matter. Whatever it turns out to be, it's worth it to protect the people I love.
All I have to do is get in, do the mysterious deed, and get out without attracting the notice of the cruel royal family.

But somehow, I manage to catch the attention of not one, but *both* wicked Fae princes.

The Crown Prince acts possessive and won't let me out of his sight.
His growly, bad-tempered brother is another matter.

His beautiful exterior is in complete contrast to the darkness inside him, and I have the terrifying feeling he can see right through me.

Which is a very bad thing once I learn the task I'm bound to fulfill--or else face unthinkable consequences.

If I fail, my family will die. If I succeed... I might not be able to live with myself.

A Court Bright and Broken is a gripping romantic fantasy novel set in the beautiful and dangerous world of the High Fae where magic rules, secrets abound, and true love will not be denied. It's an enemies-to-lovers, hidden identity, slow-burn Romantasy with Cinderella vibes and will enchant readers who crave delicious romantic banter, toe-curling tension and sizzling chemistry, immersive world-building, magic, angst, and royal Fae intrigue.

Readers who love character-driven epic fantasy like Spark of the Everflame, A Court This Cruel and Lovely, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, the Broken Kingdom series, and Gild will devour A Court Bright and Broken.

Your next Romantasy addiction awaits. One-click to start reading today!
Welcome to the Age of Fae...]]> 396 Amy Patrick Katie 0 to-read 3.85 A Court Bright and Broken (Age of Fae, #1)
author: Amy Patrick
name: Katie
average rating: 3.85
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3) 209439446
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves鈥攈er dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find鈥攖he truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.]]> 527 Rebecca Yarros 1649374186 Katie 3 fiction, urban-fantasy
I'm super late jumping on the Empyrean train. And I'll be honest... I listened to all 3 of these books, and I don't think I would've had the patience to read them all, especially back to back, like I did the audiobooks. The plot is good. The writing is good. The story is good. But book 3 very much felt like I was reading the exact same story... the whole first 3/4ths of the book felt like it accomplished very little. The fight scenes... all of it felt like I'd heard/read it all before. It just felt very repetitive. I feel like this should've been a trilogy, and it was a successful series, so the author or publisher decided to stretch it out. I know very little about this series, so I could be completely wrong here. But that's the way it felt to me when I was reading it.

Also, I'm sorry, but the ending. What? I'm going to leave it at that, just so I don't have to tag this for spoilers.]]> 4.17 2025 Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Katie
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: fiction, urban-fantasy
review:
Undecided on whether this is a 3 star or 3.5 star review.

I'm super late jumping on the Empyrean train. And I'll be honest... I listened to all 3 of these books, and I don't think I would've had the patience to read them all, especially back to back, like I did the audiobooks. The plot is good. The writing is good. The story is good. But book 3 very much felt like I was reading the exact same story... the whole first 3/4ths of the book felt like it accomplished very little. The fight scenes... all of it felt like I'd heard/read it all before. It just felt very repetitive. I feel like this should've been a trilogy, and it was a successful series, so the author or publisher decided to stretch it out. I know very little about this series, so I could be completely wrong here. But that's the way it felt to me when I was reading it.

Also, I'm sorry, but the ending. What? I'm going to leave it at that, just so I don't have to tag this for spoilers.
]]> Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) 90202302 鈥淭he first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.鈥� 鈥擷aden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College鈥擵iolet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet鈥檚 already wondering how she鈥檒l get through. It鈥檚 not just that it鈥檚 grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it鈥檚 designed to stretch the riders鈥� capacity for pain beyond endurance. It鈥檚 the new vice commandant, who鈥檚 made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is鈥搖nless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet鈥檚 body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else鈥檚, she still has her wits鈥攁nd a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won鈥檛 be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College鈥攁nd nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.]]> 623 Rebecca Yarros 1649374178 Katie 4 4.33 2023 Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Katie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Taken by the Vampire King (Baton Rouge Vampire, #1)]]> 58434185 A Paranormal Vampire Romance

Never make a deal with a billionaire, particularly one who鈥檚 a vampire . . .

The deal is simple: spend a month with a mysterious billionaire who is the owner of Louisiana鈥檚 La Petite Mort Casino, and he鈥檒l forget my father鈥檚 gambling debts. If it means saving our family home and business, I鈥檒l do anything.

With his strong, sexy, take charge arrogance, Nicolas Dupont is a mystery to me. But it doesn鈥檛 matter how hot he is. This is purely a business arrangement. Nic can have any woman he wants and it makes no sense that he'd be interested in a virgin like me. I鈥檓 certainly not about to fall for a guy who thinks he can own me.

So I go hunting for a way to free myself. When I discover I鈥檓 the hunted, and there are those who want my blood, Nic claims he can protect me. But can I trust one of his kind?

When this began, I thought I might lose everything. Now I鈥檓 not sure if I鈥檒l make it out alive . . .

*Taken by the Vampire King is 66k words, is the first book in a trilogy, and ends on a cliffhanger. It's recommended for 18+]]> 232 Roxie Ray Katie 0 to-read 4.04 2021 Taken by the Vampire King (Baton Rouge Vampire, #1)
author: Roxie Ray
name: Katie
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hate Me (The Fox Family Crime Syndicate, #2)]]> 63883909
The war between the Fox family and the Luciano Mafia is in the past. But when the decade-long truce is broken, history threatens to repeat itself.

Effie Luciano is the throwaway daughter. To her power-hungry father, her hand in marriage is her only value.

When her father gives her an unexpected opportunity, she is pitted against the one man she鈥檚 spent the last ten years avoiding: Finneas Fox.

Finneas Fox is the family鈥檚 second-born son, hardened by his father鈥檚 tragic death. The gentle and kind boy Effie nearly fell in love with before the war is now a cold, ruthless and unforgiving man.

For them, the line between hate and love is razor thin鈥攁nd just as sharp.

After a heist, a murder and countless betrayals, Effie and Finn must reconcile their pasts and learn to live with their scars or risk losing everything.

Battling both themselves and each other, they discover that the deeper the darkness, the fiercer the love.]]> 292 Summer O'Toole Katie 0 to-read 3.83 2023 Hate Me (The Fox Family Crime Syndicate, #2)
author: Summer O'Toole
name: Katie
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general鈥攁lso known as her tough-as-talons mother鈥攈as ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you鈥檙e smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don鈥檛 bond to 鈥渇ragile鈥� humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother鈥檚 daughter鈥攍ike Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She鈥檒l need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda鈥攂ecause once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]> 528 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 Katie 4 4.56 2023 Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Katie
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
review:
FINALLY reading this series. I listened to the whole thing, which is a first for me. The first half was a little slow, but the second half made up for it. I probably would've given it 5 stars, but it's been so hyped up, that I expected more... I'm always a little disappointed in books that have a lot of hype, for some reason. On to book 2!
]]> <![CDATA[The Great Pursuit (Eurona Duology, #2)]]> 28370779 The Great Pursuit, the dramatic sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Great Hunt, Wendy Higgins delivers another thrilling fantasy filled with dangerous enemies, political intrigue, searing romance, and a princess who is willing to do everything to protect her kingdom. 听

One hunt has ended, but the pursuit for love and justice continues.

The kingdom of Lochlanach has traded the great beast that once terrorized the realm of Eurona for something far more the ire of powerful Lashed woman Rosaria Rocato. Rosaria demands that Eurona overturn the laws prohibiting magic, or an innocent will be killed each day.

Despite the king鈥檚 resistance, Princess Aerity believes they must make peace with the Lashed, and though she鈥檚 accepted a betrothal to the man who took down the beast, she cannot help thinking about Paxton, the Lashed man who stole her heart and disappeared.

Aerity soon discovers that Paxton has joined Rosaria鈥檚 army in the war against her family. Though her feelings for him are still strong, her duty to her kingdom and her family is stronger鈥攅specially when her parents are kidnapped and she has to step up to the throne and once again put aside what鈥檚 best for her in order to do what鈥檚 best for her people. Paxton and Princess Aerity must fight to see what is more their love or the impending war between the magical Lashed and the non-magic humans.]]> 512 Wendy Higgins 0062381385 Katie 5 fiction 3.90 2017 The Great Pursuit (Eurona Duology, #2)
author: Wendy Higgins
name: Katie
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/01
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: fiction
review:
4.5 stars. I love Wendy Higgins!
]]> Saving Noah 36121086 We forgive murderers, not pedophiles.

Not since Lionel Shriver brought us We Need to Talk About Kevin has a writer delved into the complexities of a disturbed mother/son relationship. Until now.

Meet Noah鈥攁n A-honor roll student, award-winning swimmer, and small-town star destined for greatness. There weren鈥檛 any signs that something was wrong until the day he confesses to molesting little girls during swim team practice. He鈥檚 sentenced to eighteen months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center.

His mother, Adrianne, refuses to turn her back on him despite his horrific crimes, but her husband won鈥檛 allow Noah back into their home. In a series of shocking and shattering revelations, Adrianne is forced to make the hardest decision of her life. Just how far will she go to protect her son?

Saving Noah challenges everything you think you know about teenage sexual offenders. It will keep you up at night long after you've read the last page, questioning beliefs you once thought were true.]]> 259 Lucinda Berry Katie 4 3.89 2017 Saving Noah
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Katie
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves:
review:
This book is a mindf*ck. I have no clue how I feel about it.
]]> The Peacemaker 19055118 In The Peacemaker, Ken Sande presents a comprehensive and practical theology for conflict resolution designed to bring about not only a cease-fire but also unity and harmony. Sande takes readers beyond resolving conflicts to true, life-changing reconciliation with family members, coworkers, and fellow believers.
Biblically based, The Peacemaker is full of godly wisdom and useful suggestions that are easily applied to any relationship needing reconciliation. Sande's years of experience as an attorney and as president of Peacemaker Ministries will strengthen readers' confidence as they stand in the gap as peacemakers.]]> 321 Ken Sande 1441217916 Katie 4 4.38 1990 The Peacemaker
author: Ken Sande
name: Katie
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom, #3)]]> 211081102 Return to the world of The Bridge Kingdom in this sensuous fantasy full of romance and intrigue that is perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Silver Flames.

A soldier raised as heir to an empire, Zarrah is motivated by two truths. The first is that the Veliant family murdered her mother. And the second is that her pursuit of vengeance will put every last one of them in their graves.

The Endless War between Maridrina and Valcotta has raged for generations, leaving thousands of Zarrah鈥檚 people dead and countless more orphaned. So when she鈥檚 given command of the contested city of Nerastis, Zarrah is prepared to do whatever it takes to destroy the Maridrinian forces who oppose her. And to kill the Veliant prince who leads them.

Yet a chance encounter with an anonymous, and handsome, Maridrinian causes Zarrah to question whether the violence she鈥檚 perpetrated is justice or a crime. And as she continues to meet the nameless man each night, she finds common ground - and fiery passion - in his arms.

But when identities are revealed, Zarrah must decide whether to embrace a chance at peace鈥r march to the drums of war.]]> 673 Danielle L. Jensen 0593975243 Katie 0 to-read 4.06 2022 The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom, #3)
author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: Katie
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I Was Anastasia 33998348 333 Ariel Lawhon 0385541694 Katie 0 to-read 3.72 2018 I Was Anastasia
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Katie
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Court Bright and Broken 222280879
Thanks to the Fae king鈥檚 heartless tithe, my family is starving. If I don鈥檛 do something, my war-wounded father and two little sisters won鈥檛 last.

So I make a desperate deal with our village mother-- she鈥檒l save my family, and in return, I'll attend the royal ball in disguise and perform an unnamed task. She won鈥檛 say what it is, but it doesn鈥檛 really matter. Whatever it turns out to be, it鈥檚 worth it to protect the people I love.

All I have to do is get in, do the mysterious deed, and get out without attracting the notice of the cruel royal family.

But somehow I manage to catch the attention of not one, but *both* wicked Fae princes.

The Crown Prince acts possessive and won鈥檛 let me out of his sight. His growly, bad-tempered brother is another matter. His beautiful exterior is in complete contrast to the darkness inside him, and I have the terrifying feeling he can see right through me.

Which is a very bad thing once I learn the task I鈥檓 bound to fulfill鈥搊r else face unthinkable consequences.

If I fail, my family will die. If I succeed鈥� I might not be able to live with myself.

A Court Bright and Broken is an epic fantasy romance set in the beautiful and dangerous world of the High Fae where magic rules, secrets abound, and true love will not be denied. It鈥檚 a magical slow-burn Romantasy with Cinderella vibes and will delight readers who love delicious romantic banter, toe-curling tension and chemistry, immersive world-building, magic, and royal Fae intrigue.]]> 410 Amy Patrick 1946166391 Katie 0 to-read 3.98 A Court Bright and Broken
author: Amy Patrick
name: Katie
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Help Her Be Brave: Discover Your Place in the Pro-Life Movement]]> 54575341
What if we lived in a world where every woman with an unplanned pregnancy always felt empowered to choose life for her unborn baby? To create that kind of change, it will take all of us. As the church, we can play a powerful role in making abortion unthinkable. With Help Her Be Brave , you can discover your part in saving lives and find your pro-life passion. This includes how If abortion became illegal today, the church isn鈥檛 ready to help women practically, spiritually and emotionally. It鈥檚 time to change that. We can鈥檛 look away any longer. This is our moment for us to stand up and help her be brave.]]> 208 Amy Ford 0802423116 Katie 4 4.51 Help Her Be Brave: Discover Your Place in the Pro-Life Movement
author: Amy Ford
name: Katie
average rating: 4.51
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: book-club-read, christian, nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Give Me a Reason (Redemption Hills, #1)]]> 213263149 From NYT and USA Today bestselling author A.L. Jackson comes a single-dad, enemies-to-lovers stand-alone romance about a jaded club owner and his son鈥檚 teacher鈥�

Eden Murphy came into my club looking to make some extra cash.
A girl like her didn't belong in a place like this.
She'd get ripped to shreds.
Most likely by me.
There's nothing but sweetness dripping from her sexy little body, and I'm the monster who's salivating to get a taste.

Trent Lawson is the last man I should want.
Dark.
Dangerous.
So wickedly gorgeous he makes my knees weak.
He's also an arrogant jerk who happens to be my new boss.

When I discover his adorable son is also in my kindergarten class, I know I have to keep my distance.

But neither of us can ignore the attraction that flames.
One glance, and our hearts race.
One touch, and we鈥檙e aching for what we can鈥檛 have.
One night, and we鈥檙e falling fast.

Dragging her into my sordid world is wrong.
It doesn鈥檛 matter.
Eden Murphy is mine.]]> 364 A.L. Jackson 1649377797 Katie 0 to-read 3.62 2021 Give Me a Reason (Redemption Hills, #1)
author: A.L. Jackson
name: Katie
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Five Brothers 201102380 One woman learns the secrets of the five Jaeger brothers.

On the other side of town, in the dark glades, under the rain鈥�

Macon is the oldest. Thirty-one. Ex-Marine. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever seen him smile.

Army is twenty-eight. A single dad with the most beautiful green eyes. He has no idea who he is, if not a Jaeger brother.

Iron will be in prison soon. You鈥檇 never think it to meet him. He鈥檚 a nice guy, actually. But he can鈥檛 stop reacting to everything.

Dallas is the one I hate. Twenty-one, cruel, and selfish. He takes and then throws away whatever鈥檚 left.

And Trace is mine. Or he was for about two seconds. No one can tame him for long.

Not that I ever wanted to. It was fun, but now I need to go home. Back to my side of the tracks. Away from the swamps and these men. To my parents鈥� big house. On my clean street. Where I鈥檓 never dirty or messy or hot. And I will. I鈥檒l leave first thing tomorrow morning. I just want to crash on the couch tonight.

Their house is dark and quiet, everyone else is asleep. Except for one. He sees me crying and comes at me from behind. I let him wrap his arms around my body and hold me tightly. His breath is on my neck, his fingers are in my hair, and he doesn鈥檛 stop there.

I don鈥檛 think it was Trace.]]> 560 Penelope Douglas 0593816579 Katie 0 to-read 3.80 2024 Five Brothers
author: Penelope Douglas
name: Katie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> God's Chosen Fast 14787 174 Arthur Wallis 0875085547 Katie 5 christian, nonfiction 4.13 1968 God's Chosen Fast
author: Arthur Wallis
name: Katie
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1968
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: christian, nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others]]> 55768138
Radical Love is the debut memoir from Zachary Levi (Shazam!, American Underdog, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Chuck), which shares his emotional journey through a lifetime of crippling anxiety and depression to find joy, gratitude, and ultimate purpose. Facing the scars of childhood trauma and the voices in his head that told him he would never be enough, Zac recounts the raw yet honest behind-the-scenes story of his family life, career successes, and the personal disappointments that led him to rock bottom and landed him in a therapy center, where he learned to address the underlying issues that preceded his downward spiral.

Radical Love combines witty, touching, and powerful commentary with relatable illustrations to help you on your own path toward mental wellness. With vulnerability and humor, Zac relates the valuable lessons and insights he鈥檚 learned so that you can rise from the ashes of trauma and pursue a meaningful life of gratitude.]]> 224 Zachary Levi 0785236767 Katie 4 4.34 2022 Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others
author: Zachary Levi
name: Katie
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Wolf King 196920718
Princess Aurora longs to escape the castle and the marriage that has been arranged for her.

But on the night before her wedding, at a dog fight where captured werewolves are made to fight for sport, she spares the life of a young wolf. It puts her on the radar of the powerful alpha who was going to kill him. And it changes everything.

That night, when the alpha escapes, he kidnaps her and takes her to the rugged lands north of the border 鈥� where the once warring werewolf clans are beginning to unite. He thinks that she is the key to winning the war against the humans.

Only, as they spend time around one another, forbidden attraction starts to grow. And as Aurora learns that not all wolves are bad, the alpha discovers that she is in danger from both his enemies, and those he once considered friends.

With monsters on both sides, a bloodthirsty war between humans and wolves raging, and undeniable passion growing between them 鈥� will their story end in love? Or tragedy?

And will Aurora ever get home?

Does she even want to?]]> 475 Lauren Palphreyman Katie 4 4.17 2023 The Wolf King
author: Lauren Palphreyman
name: Katie
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alpha Bully (Wolf Ridge High, #1)]]> 54774134 Her mom robbed my dad of his job. Destroyed his life.
Now I have to look at her every day.
The girl next door. A human. A hot little nerd.
She doesn鈥檛 belong here鈥攏ot in Wolf Ridge,
not at our high school, definitely not in my life.
She doesn鈥檛 know what I am.
Which makes it all the easier to take revenge.
I will bring her to her knees. Pierce her heart.
Make her bleed. For me.
All for me.

USA Today bestselling author Renee Rose delivers on this intense new adult shifter bully romance.]]> 274 Renee Rose Katie 3 4.26 2019 Alpha Bully (Wolf Ridge High, #1)
author: Renee Rose
name: Katie
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jump on Three (Savage Academy #3)]]> 199551696
-Order relaxes me.

-Tattooed boys with shaggy hair and soulful eyes are strictly off-limits.

I鈥檝e recently come to the conclusion I鈥檓 bad at boyfriends. But as terrible as I am at choosing them, even I would never consider my sister鈥檚 former crush鈥攖all, growly, enigmatic Ivan Sokolov. That鈥檚 a line I won鈥檛 cross, even if Delilah is way over him.

Ivan is just my swim teammate.

The guy who walks me to class and shares his playlists.

And he鈥檚 the person who keeps stealing my study room. Sure, there are others, but room three is mine. Which I let him know, in no uncertain terms.

The thing is, Ivan thinks my bluntness is adorable. He鈥檚 not scared off by my dozens of questions or need to move. My quirks are cute to him.

And I鈥ell, I can鈥檛 stop looking at him, even though I shouldn鈥檛. I also can鈥檛 resist following him鈥攋ust a little鈥攖o find out his secrets.

I know better. Bullies and a life that hasn鈥檛 always been kind have toughened me up. I鈥檓 a realist and this is black and white.

Except when Ivan鈥檚 lips touch mine and my orderly world is turned upside down, I suddenly start to see how beautiful gray can be.]]> 333 Julia Wolf Katie 4 4.36 2024 Jump on Three (Savage Academy #3)
author: Julia Wolf
name: Katie
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul]]> 62552919 Find hope amid anxiety听through the听spiritual听practice of听breath prayer听in this beautifully illustrated and practical guide to connecting body, mind, and spirit during times of stress.听

Breath as Prayer听will lead you through the听practice and the proven health benefits听of Christian breath 听intentional听prayers centered around Scripture that focus our minds on Christ as we calm our bodies through breathing.听听

Breath as Prayer听听

More than 80 breath prayers听focused on Scripture, along with听brief meditations听听Gorgeous original full-color听illustrations听听A听quick-start听how-to guide to refer to as neededGuidance on how to implement a breath prayer practice听The science behind breath work听and prayer听and why it worksAn invitation to reflect on the effect of breath prayers on听your听body听听

With听a beautiful foil-accented cover,听Breath as Prayer听is an ideal gift 听听

Anyone experiencing stress, anxiety, or fearGrief and anxiety support groups听Prayer groups听and prayer ministries听Men and women looking for听new avenues for connecting with GodTeens and young adults dealing with stress and anxietyAdult听baptism听and confirmation听听

God created our bodies, minds, and spirits to be intimately connected with one another. Purpose-filled breathing is one of the most effective, calming ways to integrate all aspects of who we are, especially during times of intense stress.听Breath as Prayer听invites you to the crossroads of Christian contemplative practice, Scripture, psychology, and science to deepen your faith, bring peace to your body, and discover a new reliance on Christ.听

Breathe deeply, lean into God's Word, and discover why every breath can be an invitation to pray.听]]> 201 Jennifer Tucker 140023459X Katie 0 currently-reading 4.45 Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul
author: Jennifer Tucker
name: Katie
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark #0.5)]]> 12999216 Warlord Wants Forever鈥he sensually charged novella that started it all, now with an exclusive excerpt from MacRieve!

In this scorching series opener, #1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole introduces the captivating Immortals After Dark series. The eBook also includes an exclusive extended excerpt from MacRieve, the highly anticipated next installment in the series.

The Warlord

Nikolai Wroth, a ruthless vampire general, will stop at nothing to find his Bride, the one woman who can 鈥渂lood鈥� him, making his heart beat and filling him with strength. Coldly interested only in the power his Bride will bring, he can hardly believe when Myst the Coveted awakens him body鈥攁nd soul.

The Seductress

Famed throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, Myst has devoted her life to protecting a magical jewel and to fighting the vampires.Wroth provides her with the perfect opportunity to torment her sworn enemy鈥攆or with his new heartbeat comes a consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her. Denying him, she flees, struggling to forget his searing, possessive kiss.

The Hunt is on鈥�

She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen her enchanted jewel, giving him absolute power over her. Now that she鈥檚 his for the taking, he intends to make her experience first-hand the agonizing, unending lust she subjected him to for half a decade.Yet when Nikolai realizes he wants far more than vengeance from Myst and frees her, will she come back to him?

Librarian's Note: Alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.]]> 164 Kresley Cole Katie 4 fiction, fluff 4.16 2006 The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark #0.5)
author: Kresley Cole
name: Katie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2013/10/07
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: fiction, fluff
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Diamond In The Rough (Underbelly Enchanted)]]> 204810537 He鈥檚 New York鈥檚 deadliest enforcer. But I鈥檓 the villain in this story.

Micah Malone is the son of a notoriously cruel, and thankfully dead, mafia boss.
Now he鈥檚 the organization鈥檚 enforcer, and right hand to his brother鈥檚 reign.

He鈥檚 the broadest of five boys.
The quietest.
And the deadliest.

Yet, even with his blade pressed to my throat, he鈥檚 still the only man who makes me feel alive

It鈥檚 toxic and dangerous to pursue a relationship with him.
I know better.

But Micah is like a flame, burning bright in the night. And I鈥檓 more scared of the dark, than of the monsters who hide amongst the shadows.

I won鈥檛 count on surviving the city鈥檚 most ruthless assassin. Not once he decides my time is up. But I鈥檓 confident any evening spent in his bed will be worth it.

Diamond In The Rough is the second spicy installment in the Underbelly Enchanted series and includes dark mafia themes, groveling, on page t0rture, open door filth, touch her and... vibes, and an ending that鈥檒l leave you breathless.

This is love in a deadly world鈥攇ritty, f0rbidden, and ultimately, with an expiry date.



Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.]]> 384 Emilia Finn Katie 3 4.54 Diamond In The Rough (Underbelly Enchanted)
author: Emilia Finn
name: Katie
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/08
date added: 2024/11/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)]]> 214310537

The viral TikTok friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and spice鈥攗nlike anything you鈥檝e read before鈥攏ow available in all bookstores.


When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive鈥攖he friendship of like-minded, pitch-black souls. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.


But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

]]> 368 Brynne Weaver 1638932352 Katie 0 to-read 4.16 2023 Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)
author: Brynne Weaver
name: Katie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Surviving in the Shadow of Death (Life After Death Day #2)]]> 208563664
It doesn鈥檛 matter whether I鈥檓 the real thing or not, whether the pack has accepted me or not, because Duncan鈥檚 mate never will and she鈥檚 in charge. As long as he still wants me in his bed, she鈥檒l want me in a grave.

When her two leading goons go missing, I鈥檓 at the top of her hit list. As things get rough, my alliances begin to dwindle and my dreams of a white knight are all but gone. But sometimes the best man for the job doesn鈥檛 ride up in white鈥]> 249 Donna Augustine Katie 3 4.40 Surviving in the Shadow of Death (Life After Death Day #2)
author: Donna Augustine
name: Katie
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: fiction, new-adult, urban-fantasy
review:
So, this series has been light on the romance, which is okay. The post apocalyptic undertones weren't as strong in book 2. Like, they talk about hotels and stores and I just don't think that would be a thing yet. I didn't enjoy this book as much, largely because book 1 was all about hinting that Duncan was the endgame, and then suddenly there's another guy in the picture with a stupid name (Kicks?! I assume it's a nickname, but they never explain it.) and Duncan is pushed aside. I HATE when there are love triangle undertones, and I hate when authors switch from one love interest to another. (I'm looking at you, Shatter Me and Crave.) Piper annoys me in this book. She bitches about Duncan choosing Groza over her, when he did it solely to save her little brother. To me, she's just not grateful enough to him. To her, he's not fighting for her, when in reality, he tied himself to someone he hated for her, and he's honoring the deal he made. But that's just not good enough for her. It also annoys me that he believes Groza over Piper several times in the book. I don't think that would realistically be the case. He's with her out of obligation, not because he likes her or thinks she's a good person - he wouldn't just automatically believe her. I also disliked how Piper allowed herself to be a doormat several times. She stepped back and took it rather than let people know Groza was doing shady stuff. It just annoyed me. I'll probably read, or at least skim book 3, because I want to know what happens, but I'm not in a hurry to do it.
]]> Wish (Wish #1) 92728434
She gets a crush on Taylor, who is not what he seems. Her own destiny may be greater than she can guess. Is she ready to risk it all for him?]]> 167 Morgan Rice Katie 0 currently-reading 3.69 2023 Wish (Wish #1)
author: Morgan Rice
name: Katie
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beautiful Beast (Perfectly Imperfect: Mafia Legacy, #1)]]> 209685756 But when the most beautiful woman is brought to face my fury,
My dead heart suddenly begins to beat again.

There are no fairy tales in this life.
Beauty will never fall for the beast.
But this monster doesn't intend to let her go.

Everybody has a price.
It's just a question of currency.
My sweet little hacker can't be swayed by money,
But she will do whatever it takes to save her family.]]> 372 Neva Altaj 1961423405 Katie 0 to-read 4.29 2024 Beautiful Beast (Perfectly Imperfect: Mafia Legacy, #1)
author: Neva Altaj
name: Katie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fallen: A zombie apocalypse romance (When the World Fell #1)]]> 196768407 ~ Found family
~ Forced proximity
~ Strong FMC
~ Green flag MMC

Book one in the WHEN THE WORLD FELL series


LIV

Being one of the small percentage who made it through a zombie apocalypse should have made me happy鈥攁nd I guess I am. Most of the time. It's just... I'm the sole survivor of my family, and I have one friend left; my eighty-year-old neighbour, Haruto.

It's a lonely life. A dangerous life.

And now my food supplies are running low.

I've lived in the city for a decade, long before the pandemic took everything from us, but I need a rural property with room to grow vegetable gardens and fruit trees, and space to invite others to join鈥攊f I can find more people like me who still believe in old-world values in a new world where there are no systems or rules.

The problem? Haruto's unwell and unfit for travel, and it's too dangerous to spend long stretches of time outside. It's not just the dead with their vacant eyes and hungry mouths that I need to worry about. It's other humans, too.

There's a gang roaming the city; they're violent and unpredictable, and I've never seen women with them. They intimidate me enough that I try to make myself invisible every time I leave the safety of my apartment.

There's another man lurking around, too. He's been staying in the building opposite mine, and I've spent the past week tracking his movements. Although I've kept my distance from him so far, just being around him makes me feel safer outside and less lonely.

It's risky approaching other humans now, but Haruto isn't getting any better, and soon enough I'll be alone鈥攃ompletely alone for the first time in my life.

And I'm reaching the point now where desperation is pushing me to risk it all and bear the consequences.]]> 182 Elle Richards Katie 0 to-read 4.00 2023 The Fallen: A zombie apocalypse romance (When the World Fell #1)
author: Elle Richards
name: Katie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Living in the Shadow of Death (Life After Death Day #1)]]> 199264769 284 Donna Augustine Katie 4 4.24 2023 Living in the Shadow of Death (Life After Death Day #1)
author: Donna Augustine
name: Katie
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: fiction, new-adult, urban-fantasy
review:
Really enjoyed this book. I liked the slow burn romance, liked that there wasn't a massive cliffhanger, and liked the storyline. I've been itching for a dystopian read, and this hit the spot.
]]> Deep (Stage Dive, #4) 18461986 Don't miss a beat with the fourth and final novel in the USA听Today bestselling Stage Dive series from Kylie Scott.

Positive. With two little lines on a pregnancy test, everything in Lizzy Rollins' ordinary life is about to change forever. And all because of one big mistake in Vegas with Ben Nicholson, the irresistibly sexy bass player for Stage Dive. So what if Ben's the only man she's ever met who can make her feel completely safe, cherished, and out of control with desire at the same time? Lizzy knows the gorgeous rock star isn't looking for anything more permanent than a good time, no matter how much she wishes differently.

Ben knows Lizzy is off limits. Completely and utterly. She's his best friend's little sister now, and no matter how hot the chemistry is between them, no matter how sweet and sexy she is, he's not going to go there. But when Ben is forced to keep the one girl he's always had a weakness for out of trouble in Sin City, he quickly learns that what happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay there. Now he and Lizzie are connected in the deepest way possible... but will it lead to a connection of the heart?
]]> 272 Kylie Scott 1466854227 Katie 4 to-read, new-adult, fiction 4.01 2015 Deep (Stage Dive, #4)
author: Kylie Scott
name: Katie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/19
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves: to-read, new-adult, fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One More Chance (Rosemary Beach, #8; Chance, #2)]]> 17835766 The unforgettable story of Grant and Harlow from Take a Chance continues in this brand-new novel in the Rosemary Beach series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines.

She was it. His one. His only. Then he made the mistake of letting her go.

After fighting his way into Harlow Manning鈥檚 heart鈥攁nd revealing a side of himself no one had ever seen before鈥擥rant Carter destroyed his own heart by giving in to his greatest fears and doubts. Months later, he鈥檚 stuck in a miserable routine. Work relentlessly. Beg his best friend Rush for news about Harlow. Avoid all other friends. Leave nightly voicemails for Harlow, pleading with her to come back to Rosemary Beach. Fall asleep alone. Repeat.

Miles away, on her brother鈥檚 Texas ranch, Harlow can鈥檛 bring herself to listen to Grant鈥檚 voicemails. Though she wants to be with him, and knows he regrets letting her go, she doesn鈥檛 know if she can trust him. When he discovered the truth behind her sheltered upbringing, it shattered their relationship, but the secret she carries now has far greater consequences. Can she risk giving Grant one more chance, or will the gamble ultimately destroy her?]]> 274 Abbi Glines 1476756597 Katie 4 fiction, young-adult 4.26 2014 One More Chance (Rosemary Beach, #8; Chance, #2)
author: Abbi Glines
name: Katie
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: fiction, young-adult
review:

]]> Enshadowed (Nevermore, #2) 9239571
But when Isobel discovers a way to return to this dream world, she finds herself swept up in a realm that not only holds remnants of Edgar Allan Poe鈥檚 presence, but has also now taken on the characteristics of Varen鈥檚 innermost self. It is a dark world of fear, terror, and anger.

When Isobel once more encounters Varen, she finds him changed. And now Isobel must face a new adversary鈥攐ne who also happens to be her greatest love.]]> 429 Kelly Creagh 1442402075 Katie 4 fiction, young-adult
Merged review:

I really, really missed Varen throughout this novel.]]> 3.97 2012 Enshadowed (Nevermore, #2)
author: Kelly Creagh
name: Katie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/02
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: fiction, young-adult
review:
I really, really missed Varen throughout this novel.

Merged review:

I really, really missed Varen throughout this novel.
]]> <![CDATA[College Girl, Missing: The True Story of How a Young Woman Disappeared in Plain Sight]]> 199407784
When Lauren Spierer鈥攁 gregarious young woman at a crossroads in her life鈥攙anished from Indiana University , her story drew global attention from celebrities听and news outlets such as People magazine, CNN, and USA Today. Lauren's disappearance wasn't just some random abduction. What makes the case so confounding is that the 20-year-old was out with dozens of classmates in a bustling university town on the night she went missing. She was seen in public by witnesses and security cameras, and ended up in a townhouse complex with several wealthy, well-connected male students鈥攏ever to be seen again. Despite the media frenzy surrounding the case, the police investigation went nowhere and her body was never found.听听

Armed with the support of Lauren's parents and never-before-seen evidence that chronicles a cover-up, a botched investigation, conflicting testimony, and new interviews, Cohen leads readers through a gripping narrative before finally shining a light on those often forgotten in true the innocent people left behind. College Girl, Missing will take readers through a minute-by-minute recap of the last hours of Lauren's life, and ask the What happened to Lauren Spierer?]]> 251 Shawn Cohen 1728273005 Katie 4 3.76 2024 College Girl, Missing: The True Story of How a Young Woman Disappeared in Plain Sight
author: Shawn Cohen
name: Katie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Unraveled (Intertwined, #2) 8933193 343 Gena Showalter 1426865627 Katie 3 3.93 2010 Unraveled (Intertwined, #2)
author: Gena Showalter
name: Katie
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Fearless (Elemental, #1.5) 13503581
Hunter Garrity is used to watching his back. The kids at school sense something different about him. And they鈥檙e right.

Hunter has powers that have nothing to do with how hard he can throw a punch.

Maybe that鈥檚 what Clare Kasten is picking up. She鈥檚 shy, quiet, and intense, but she鈥檚 sought him out. There鈥檚 no telling what she wants from him.

But Hunter knows enough to sense a secret when it鈥檚 close. And getting close to Clare is a danger he鈥檚 ready to face鈥]> 44 Brigid Kemmerer 0758285523 Katie 4 young-adult, fiction 3.71 2012 Fearless (Elemental, #1.5)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Katie
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/14
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: young-adult, fiction
review:

]]> One & Only (Canton, #1) 18392843
Tess McMann lives her life according to the secrets she's sworn to the father who won't acknowledge her, the sister who doesn't know she exists, and the mother who's content playing mistress to a prominent businessman. When she meets the distractingly cute Dylan Kingsley at a prestigious summer program and falls in love, Tess allows herself to imagine a life beyond these secrets. But when summer ends, so does their relationship鈥擠ylan heads off to Canton College while Tess enrolls at the state university.

One love they can't ignore...

Two years later, a scholarship brings Tess to Canton and back into Dylan's life. Their attraction is as strong as ever, but Dylan has a girlfriend鈥ho also happens to be Tess's legitimate half-sister. Tess refuses to follow in her mother's footsteps, which leaves her only one break the rules she鈥檚 always followed, or allow Dylan to slip away for a second time.

...And only one chance to get things right.

*** New Adult romance suitable for 17+***]]> 264 Viv Daniels 1937135063 Katie 4 fiction, new-adult 3.75 2013 One & Only (Canton, #1)
author: Viv Daniels
name: Katie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/06/11
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: fiction, new-adult
review:

]]> When We Collide 15826457 William has spent six years running from his past and the last eight months trying to rid his mind of the dreams that increasingly haunt his nights. Trapped in a world of false ambitions and feigned affections, William knows he鈥檚 reached a breaking point and something鈥檚 going to give.
Maggie had lived her entire life without hope until one man showed her what it meant to be loved. He鈥檇 been her light in a lifetime of darkness. Six years ago, that darkness stole him away. Without him, she鈥檚 surrendered herself to an existence she doesn鈥檛 know how to escape.
When the family William left behind is struck by tragedy, he is called back to the one place he鈥檚 sworn to never return to again.
In a moment that will change his life forever, William comes face to face with the girl who, with one look, captured his heart. He is unable to ignore the buried desires and the hope for the future they鈥檇 once believed they鈥檇 have.
Now William is ready to fight to take back what had been stolen from him six years before.
But he never imagined what that fight might cost him.
A.L. Jackson gives you an intimate look into the lives of a family bound by an unseen connection in this romantic thriller with a supernatural twist.]]> 216 A.L. Jackson 1938404270 Katie 2 fiction, fluff 4.08 2012 When We Collide
author: A.L. Jackson
name: Katie
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2013/04/04
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: fiction, fluff
review:
I skimmed most of this book. It was just kind of draggy, honestly, and I didn't watch William and Maggie fall in love, and the flashbacks didn't do much for me, so it really just made me not care at all about their relationship, honestly. That, and I think William was WAY too forgiving of Maggie. And I felt very little sympathy for her character. I get that she was abused as a kid. But she had a guy that DIDN'T beat the shit out of her who wanted to take her away, and she wimped out and got stuck with a douchebag that beat her, instead? She seems so adamant about getting her sister away from that life but not about getting HERSELF away from that life? AND she suspected that she had his baby and she didn't tell him? That kind of thing annoys the crap out of me. I don't know. This story just didn't do it for me, because I didn't care at all about any of the characters.
]]> When We Collide 21691436 William has spent six years running from his past and the last eight months trying to rid his mind of the dreams that increasingly haunt his nights. Trapped in a world of false ambitions and feigned affections, William knows he鈥檚 reached a breaking point and something鈥檚 going to give.
Maggie had lived her entire life without hope until one man showed her what it meant to be loved. He鈥檇 been her light in a lifetime of darkness. Six years ago, that darkness stole him away. Without him, she鈥檚 surrendered herself to an existence she doesn鈥檛 know how to escape.
When the family William left behind is struck by tragedy, he is called back to the one place he鈥檚 sworn to never return to again.
In a moment that will change his life forever, William comes face to face with the girl who, with one look, captured his heart. He is unable to ignore the buried desires and the hope for the future they鈥檇 once believed they鈥檇 have.
Now William is ready to fight to take back what had been stolen from him six years before.
But he never imagined what that fight might cost him.
A.L. Jackson gives you an intimate look into the lives of a family bound by an unseen connection in this romantic thriller with a supernatural twist.]]> 338 A.L. Jackson Katie 2 3.98 2012 When We Collide
author: A.L. Jackson
name: Katie
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:
I skimmed most of this book. It was just kind of draggy, honestly, and I didn't watch William and Maggie fall in love, and the flashbacks didn't do much for me, so it really just made me not care at all about their relationship, honestly. That, and I think William was WAY too forgiving of Maggie. And I felt very little sympathy for her character. I get that she was abused as a kid. But she had a guy that DIDN'T beat the shit out of her who wanted to take her away, and she wimped out and got stuck with a douchebag that beat her, instead? She seems so adamant about getting her sister away from that life but not about getting HERSELF away from that life? AND she suspected that she had his baby and she didn't tell him? That kind of thing annoys the crap out of me. I don't know. This story just didn't do it for me, because I didn't care at all about any of the characters.
]]> <![CDATA[The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed Book 1)]]> 18921943 Praise for the Dispossessed 鈥淎 deliciously satisfying mix of historical fiction, mystery, and supernatural romance.鈥濃�The Bulletin鈥淢organ combines fantasy with gothic romance in this well-crafted standout.鈥濃�Booklist 鈥淔orbidden romance and hot kissing abound.鈥濃�Kirkus Reviews鈥淢organ keeps the plot moving with constant action鈥ark adventure and romance.鈥濃�School Library Journal鈥淢organ's fluid descriptions, inventive otherworldly elements, and characters with convincing motivations result in an immersive first installment.鈥濃�Publishers Weekly]]> 354 Page Morgan 0307980812 Katie 4 fiction, young-adult 3.62 2013 The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed Book 1)
author: Page Morgan
name: Katie
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/05/29
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: fiction, young-adult
review:
Really, really enjoyed this book. Hate that the next one isn't out until next year.
]]> Cursed 16091275
Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out.

However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not have been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.]]> 304 Jennifer L. Armentrout 193705313X Katie 4 fiction, young-adult 3.72 2012 Cursed
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Katie
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/20
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: fiction, young-adult
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You Were Mine (Rosemary Beach, #9)]]> 21524228 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines comes a brand-new Rosemary Beach novel about Tripp Newark and his hidden romantic past with Bethy Lowry.

In the eyes of the wealthy playboys who frequent Kerrington Country Club in Rosemary Beach, Tripp Newark is a hero. Under pressure from his parents to become a lawyer and lead a conservative, upper-class life, Tripp disappeared from town five years ago to travel the world, forfeiting the opportunity to inherit millions. Yet few know what he was really running from&#8230;

Bethy Lowry was unraveling long before her boyfriend drowned in a riptide trying to save her after she&#8217;d had one too many drinks&#8212;again. A trailer park kid working as a cart girl among the wealthy patrons of Kerrington Country Club, Bethy has always been impressionable. But five years ago, before she earned her reputation as a hard-drinking, easy girl, she had spent a single summer with Tripp Newark that changed her life forever&#8230;]]> 258 Abbi Glines 1476776083 Katie 0 to-read 4.36 2014 You Were Mine (Rosemary Beach, #9)
author: Abbi Glines
name: Katie
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Her Forbidden Hero (The Hero, #1)]]> 13665682 A sexy category romance from Entangled's Brazen imprint...

She鈥檚 always been off-limits鈥�

Former Army Special Forces Sgt. Marco Vieri has never thought of Alyssa Scott as more than his best friend鈥檚 little sister, but her return home changes that鈥nd challenges him to keep his war-borne demons at bay. Marco鈥檚 not the same person he was back when he protected Alyssa from her abusive father, and he鈥檚 not about to let her see the mess he鈥檚 become.

鈥ut now she鈥檚 all grown up.

When Alyssa takes a job at the bar where Marco works, her carefree smiles wreak havoc on his resolve to bury his feelings. How can he protect her when he can鈥檛 stop thinking about her in his bed? But Alyssa鈥檚 not looking for protection鈥攏ot anymore. Now that she鈥檚 back in his life, she鈥檚 determined to heal her forbidden hero, one touch at a time鈥]> 240 Laura Kaye 162266924X Katie 3 fiction, fluff, new-adult 3.88 2012 Her Forbidden Hero (The Hero, #1)
author: Laura Kaye
name: Katie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/08/10
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: fiction, fluff, new-adult
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ward Against Death (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer, #1)]]> 11796405
But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she鈥檚 been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can鈥檛 bring himself to break his damned physician鈥檚 Oath and desert her.

However, nothing is as it seems鈥攊ncluding Celia. One second, she鈥檚 treating Ward like sewage, the next she鈥檚 kissing him. And for a nobleman鈥檚 daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive鈥]> 306 Melanie Card 1937044084 Katie 2 fiction, new-adult
Merged review:

I had a really hard time getting into this book for some reason, and found myself skimming large chunks of it.]]> 3.57 2011 Ward Against Death (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer, #1)
author: Melanie Card
name: Katie
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: fiction, new-adult
review:
I had a really hard time getting into this book for some reason, and found myself skimming large chunks of it.

Merged review:

I had a really hard time getting into this book for some reason, and found myself skimming large chunks of it.
]]> You Deserve Nothing: A Novel 12014931
William Silver is a talented and charismatic young teacher whose unconventional methods raise eyebrows among his colleagues and superiors. His students, however, are devoted to him. His teaching of Camus, Faulkner, Sartre, Keats and other kindred souls breathe life into their sense of social justice and their capacities for philosophical and ethical thought. But unbeknownst to his adoring pupils, Silver proves incapable of living up to the ideals he encourages in others. Emotionally scarred by failures in his personal life and driven to distraction by the City of Light's overpowering carnality and beauty, Silver succumbs to a temptation that will change the course of his life. His fall will render him a criminal in the eyes of some, and all too human in the eyes of others.

In Maksik's stylish prose, Paris is sensual, dazzling and dangerously seductive. It serves as a fitting backdrop for a dramatic tale about the tension between desire and action, and about the complex relationship that exists between our public and private selves.]]> 321 Alexander Maksik 1609459121 Katie 1
Not once does "Will" seem guilty, or express feelings that he's doing something ethically wrong. Not once does he seem to show remorse about having an affair with a student. Even as she confesses her love to him, he didn't seem to feel bad about not loving her back. He just seems content to continue using this poor girl.

The author also implies in the book that he's just this AMAAAAAZING teacher that changes people's lives and influences them and that people are obsessed with him and that all of the girls are in love with him. Wow. Can we say ego? I can't help but wonder if his students really liked him that much, or if he just WANTED to be liked that much. I know nothing about Alexander Maksik except that he had an affair with a student, got her pregnant, and was forced to resign, but I can't help but think that he's a huge, narcissistic, egotistical asshole. ]]> 3.41 2011 You Deserve Nothing: A Novel
author: Alexander Maksik
name: Katie
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2011
rating: 1
read at: 2012/10/04
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:
The book isn't bad, but I just can't give more than 1 star to this book because it's essentially a true story, and the author seems to show absolutely NO remorse for having an affair with and knocking up one of the students that went to the school where he taught. I wouldn't have minded the book if it had been fiction, but it's not, and because of that, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Not once does "Will" seem guilty, or express feelings that he's doing something ethically wrong. Not once does he seem to show remorse about having an affair with a student. Even as she confesses her love to him, he didn't seem to feel bad about not loving her back. He just seems content to continue using this poor girl.

The author also implies in the book that he's just this AMAAAAAZING teacher that changes people's lives and influences them and that people are obsessed with him and that all of the girls are in love with him. Wow. Can we say ego? I can't help but wonder if his students really liked him that much, or if he just WANTED to be liked that much. I know nothing about Alexander Maksik except that he had an affair with a student, got her pregnant, and was forced to resign, but I can't help but think that he's a huge, narcissistic, egotistical asshole.
]]> <![CDATA[Rally (Treasure State Wildcats, #3)]]> 208955995
We met the day I went camping and got stranded on the side of a gravel road. I didn鈥檛 believe in white knights who freed damsels in distress. Life had taught me that if something bad could happen, it probably would. The only person who would save me was me.

But Rush Ramsey rescued me that day. He was sweet and kind and charming. He made a dark, starry night a little less lonely.

I should have realized it was too good to be true. That an incredible night of passion would come with consequences. That the bad luck rollercoaster I鈥檇 been riding for twenty-one years wasn鈥檛 ready to stop.

Because Rush Ramsey, Treasure State University鈥檚 most eligible bachelor and quarterback extraordinaire, just got me pregnant.]]> 374 Devney Perry 1957376724 Katie 4 fiction, new-adult 4.08 2024 Rally (Treasure State Wildcats, #3)
author: Devney Perry
name: Katie
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/15
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: fiction, new-adult
review:
I'm not typically into reading the accidental pregnancy trope, but I really enjoyed it in this book... there wasn't insta-love, and the couple had to actually grow to like each other. I'll definitely read other books in the series.
]]> Consume (The Clann, #3) 19167446
As the Clann and the vampire council go to war, Tristan and Sav face a new threat鈥攁 fracturing of the all-consuming bond they share. To fight for peace, they must forge a new trust and risk everything to take down their deadliest enemy, even as they must run for their lives. Soon they will learn that some bonds are stronger than love鈥攁nd some battles cannot be won without sacrifice.]]> 378 Melissa Darnell 1460318145 Katie 4 fiction, young-adult 3.82 2013 Consume (The Clann, #3)
author: Melissa Darnell
name: Katie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/08/31
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: fiction, young-adult
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Awake (Rise of the Red Claws #1)]]> 206163211 I鈥檓 an ordinary girl ... but a brooding vampire is about to turn my world upside down

Christopher Deverell is caretaker of the Red Claw Family, a brood of vampires so blood-thirsty that they were forced into slumber for a century by the Council of Elders.

Nell Cartwright鈥檚 life has been torn apart after the tragic deaths of her parents. Desperate, she turns to her reclusive aunt in Angel Falls.

Not all is as it seems in the small town 鈥� and now an ancient evil is awakening ... as well as her feelings for an enigmatic vampire.

Christopher and Nell are plunged into a dangerous world where Old Magick and supernatural creatures make for heart-stopping adventure.

Note for readers: Rise of the Red Claws is a three-part fantasy romance and suspense series with no cheating. Book one ends with an unresolved plot element, which is completely resolved in book two. All three books have been released.]]> 270 Anya Kelner Katie 2 3.97 Awake (Rise of the Red Claws #1)
author: Anya Kelner
name: Katie
average rating: 3.97
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/13
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: fiction, fluff, new-adult, urban-fantasy
review:
Okay, I hated it. I gave it 2 stars because I feel bad giving it just one star. This is very obviously a first book. And while the story may not be bad, it was just... not good. There was no interaction whatsoever between Nell and Christopher for them to fall in love. Literally, a couple of 2 minute interactions between them at a diner. That's it. And then they just suddenly love each other. wtf. There was nothing that made me care about any of the characters. And it honestly read very much like a different version of Twilight. Like I said... the bones of the story might have promise, but the execution isn't good. I've written myself, though I've never published. This very much reads like a first draft. I won't be reading the rest of the series.
]]> Love Left Behind 16042305
And I was right.

Jackson Reynard was irresistible and I had no plans on resisting him. Jackson was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome and I was more than happy to let him sweep me off my feet. I expected a summer fling but instead I got a heart-stopping romance. I realized that I had met the love of my life. I just didn't realize that sometimes love isn't enough.

It's hard enough getting over an ex. It's even harder when he becomes Hollywood's next biggest heartthrob and his face is plastered on every magazine cover. But the hardest part? The hardest part is when he thrusts himself back into my life and won't let go of the past.

I survived losing the man I loved the first time. I don't think I'll survive it again.


*Contains some mature content.]]> 416 S.H. Kolee 0988474409 Katie 2 fiction, new-adult, fluff
Merged review:

Ugh, this book. There are so many things about it that annoyed me. It was way too instalove for my taste. I didn't like how Emma IMMEDIATELY jumped into bed with Jackson and then a week later, everything was serious. Where's the build up? Also, there's a big difference between a sexy, possessive alpha male-type character and whatever the heck Jackson was. He wasn't an alpha male, he was psychotically obsessed. And ohmygosh, the miscommunication and misunderstanding about the cheating! Tell him why you're mad at him when he asks, you dumb whore!!!]]> 3.99 2012 Love Left Behind
author: S.H. Kolee
name: Katie
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: fiction, new-adult, fluff
review:
Ugh, this book. There are so many things about it that annoyed me. It was way too instalove for my taste. I didn't like how Emma IMMEDIATELY jumped into bed with Jackson and then a week later, everything was serious. Where's the build up? Also, there's a big difference between a sexy, possessive alpha male-type character and whatever the heck Jackson was. He wasn't an alpha male, he was psychotically obsessed. And ohmygosh, the miscommunication and misunderstanding about the cheating! Tell him why you're mad at him when he asks, you dumb whore!!!

Merged review:

Ugh, this book. There are so many things about it that annoyed me. It was way too instalove for my taste. I didn't like how Emma IMMEDIATELY jumped into bed with Jackson and then a week later, everything was serious. Where's the build up? Also, there's a big difference between a sexy, possessive alpha male-type character and whatever the heck Jackson was. He wasn't an alpha male, he was psychotically obsessed. And ohmygosh, the miscommunication and misunderstanding about the cheating! Tell him why you're mad at him when he asks, you dumb whore!!!
]]> <![CDATA[End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days, #3)]]> 37643269 End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee鈥檚 bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They鈥檙e both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn鈥檚 sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe鈥檚 past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?]]> 345 Susan Ee Katie 4 4.11 2015 End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days, #3)
author: Susan Ee
name: Katie
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/03
date added: 2024/09/04
shelves:
review:
I've had the Angelfall series on my TBR list for a looooong time. I've always enjoyed fallen angel books, so I'm surprised it took me this long to read this series. The mythology in this book is better than most angel books I've read. The series was great, but I wish there was more interaction between Penryl and Raffe, so you could see more than a fleeting kiss here and there. Really enjoyed the series, though I skimmed a good portion of book 2.
]]> <![CDATA[Mama Bear Apologetics庐 Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God's Design]]> 58899142 Raise Them to Value God鈥檚 Design Starting at a young age, kids are being fed damaging misinformation about sexuality, gender identity, and human biology. As a parent, it鈥檚 up to you to help your children understand God鈥檚 truth about these integral concepts in the face of the candy-coated lies that saturate today鈥檚 world. In the footsteps of the bestselling Mama Bear Apologetics comes this invaluable guide to training your kids to know and respect God鈥檚 design in a world that has rejected it. This book will equip you to鈥� understand God鈥檚 design for gender, sex, marriage, and family as a beautiful portrait that reveals the nature of God Himselfidentify the tactics being used to trick children into adopting an unbiblical view of sexuality under the guise of Christian-sounding words like love, identity, tolerance, and justiceteach your kids to treat those who hold different beliefs with gentle, Christlike compassion without compromising biblical values As society continues to blur the lines of what is good, true, and acceptable, God鈥檚 standards remain clear and unchanging. This book will give you the wisdom to confidently raise your children to understand sex and gender through a biblical lens.]]> 273 Hillary Morgan Ferrer 0736983821 Katie 0 currently-reading 4.59 2021 Mama Bear Apologetics庐 Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God's Design
author: Hillary Morgan Ferrer
name: Katie
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 17849112 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

]]> 320 Susan Ee 1477867287 Katie 3 4.09 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Katie
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/26
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: fiction, new-adult, urban-fantasy, young-adult
review:
I enjoyed this book, but it suffered from middle book syndrome. It kind of reminded me of New Moon, where there's a lot of boring stuff I don't care about until Edward and Bella get back together. I found myself skimming a lot of the middle until Raffe reappeared. Once they were together again, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book. On to book 3!
]]> <![CDATA[Recruitment (The Resistance Trilogy #1)]]> 41589164 For fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.]]> 426 K.A. Riley Katie 0 3.93 Recruitment (The Resistance Trilogy #1)
author: K.A. Riley
name: Katie
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/23
date added: 2024/08/23
shelves: dnf, fiction, new-adult, young-adult, urban-fantasy
review:
Not rating this one because I didn't finish. I'm sure it's a good book, I just wasn't in the mood. There was a bit too much exposition at the beginning and I found myself not paying attention. I may go back to it one day.
]]> <![CDATA[Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2)]]> 150260787 Torn apart by war. Reunited by love?

Two weeks have passed since Iris returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over.

Roman is missing, lost behind enemy lines, with no memory of his past, or Iris. Hoping his memories return, he begins to write again 鈥� but this time for the enemy.

When a strange letter arrives through his wardrobe door, he strikes up a correspondence with a penpal who seems at once mysterious鈥� and strangely familiar.

As their connection deepens, the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.]]> 419 Rebecca Ross Katie 3 4.07 2023 Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2)
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Katie
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: fiction, new-adult, young-adult, urban-fantasy
review:
While I enjoyed book 2 in this duology, I found myself skimming a good bit of it. Three stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty]]> 58546435 New York Times bestselling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty鈥攈is mother鈥檚 family, the Vanderbilts.

When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father鈥檚 small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money, build two empires鈥攐ne in shipping and another in railroads鈥攖hat would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by 鈥渢he Commodore,鈥� subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers鈥攖he seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius鈥檚 grandson and namesake had built鈥攖he family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all.

Now, the Commodore鈥檚 great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family鈥檚 empire, basked in the Commodore鈥檚 wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other.

Written with a unique insider鈥檚 viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.]]> 318 Anderson Cooper Katie 4 fiction, nonfiction 4.02 2021 Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
author: Anderson Cooper
name: Katie
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/17
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves: fiction, nonfiction
review:
I got the itch to read this book after visiting the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. This book doesn't even mention the branch of the Vanderbilts that built Biltmore, which I knew going into it, but I still enjoyed it. It's fascinating to read about a family that made and squandered this much money. It's also hard to be sympathetic towards them. It's sad that the buildings the Vanderbilt family built in NYC are all gone, because photos of them online are breathtaking.
]]> <![CDATA[Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference]]> 48594516 Bestselling author Timothy Keller and legal scholar John Inazu bring together a thrilling range of artists, thinkers, and leaders to provide a guide to faithful living in a pluralistic, fractured world.

How can Christians today interact with those around them in a way that shows respect to those whose beliefs are radically different but that also remains faithful to the gospel? Timothy Keller and John Inazu bring together illuminating stories--their own and from others--to answer this vital question. Uncommon Ground gathers an array of perspectives from people thinking deeply and working daily to live with humility, patience, and tolerance in our time. Contributors

Lecrae
Tish Harrison Warren
Kristen Deede Johnson
Claude Richard Alexander
Shirley Hoogstra
Sara Groves
Rudy Carrasco
Trillia Newbell
Tom Lin
Warren Kinghorn

Providing varied and enlightening approaches to reaching faithfully across deep and often painful differences, Uncommon Ground shows us how to live with confidence, joy, and hope in a complex and fragmented age.]]> 240 Timothy J. Keller 1400221072 Katie 3
I have mixed feelings about this book, because it felt a bit too preachy about social justice and how white Christians are always in the wrong. My issue with this is identity politics鈥� our identity shouldn鈥檛 be in a race, it should be in our heavenly citizenship. Those who get swept up in identity politics aren鈥檛 鈥渄enying self,鈥� instead, they鈥檙e making an idol. All Christians, regardless of race or nationality, should feel like they don鈥檛 belong in this world, because we don鈥檛. Identity politics, in my opinion, has tainted that and have made people focus on the wrong thing.

I could go further, but I鈥檒l stop here. Three stars. ]]> 4.07 2020 Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference
author: Timothy J. Keller
name: Katie
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2024/08/17
shelves:
review:
Probably an unpopular opinion:

I have mixed feelings about this book, because it felt a bit too preachy about social justice and how white Christians are always in the wrong. My issue with this is identity politics鈥� our identity shouldn鈥檛 be in a race, it should be in our heavenly citizenship. Those who get swept up in identity politics aren鈥檛 鈥渄enying self,鈥� instead, they鈥檙e making an idol. All Christians, regardless of race or nationality, should feel like they don鈥檛 belong in this world, because we don鈥檛. Identity politics, in my opinion, has tainted that and have made people focus on the wrong thing.

I could go further, but I鈥檒l stop here. Three stars.
]]> False Witness 55946895 From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and The Silent Wife, an electrifying standalone thriller.

Karin Slaughter is back with her first nail-biting standalone since 2018!听]]> 512 Karin Slaughter 0062858947 Katie 0 currently-reading 4.23 2021 False Witness
author: Karin Slaughter
name: Katie
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)]]> 17789310
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.]]> 283 Susan Ee Katie 4 fiction 4.19 2011 Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)
author: Susan Ee
name: Katie
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: fiction
review:
I've always heard good things about this series, and it's been on my TBR list for years. I really enjoyed it! I love novels that have angels, but have found very few where I think the angels are done correctly. Looking forward to jumping into book 2.
]]> Pretty Girls 40017404 Librarian鈥檚 note: This is an updated cover image for Kindle.
See previously published cover here.

#1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter returns with a sophisticated and chilling psychological thriller of dangerous secrets, cold vengeance, and unexpected absolution, in which two estranged sisters must come together to find truth about two harrowing tragedies, twenty years apart, that devastate their lives.

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia's teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss鈥攁 devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.]]> 432 Karin Slaughter Katie 4 4.14 2015 Pretty Girls
author: Karin Slaughter
name: Katie
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan鈥檚 Pilgrim鈥檚 Progress (The Pilgrim's Progress Series Book 1)]]> 53662440
Carefully revised in modern English, this modern classic includes Bunyan's original scripture references plus hundreds of additional references, chapter end-notes to help clarify scriptural and historical references, and an Index of words, meanings, titles, characters, and places. 50+ illustrations. Free audio excerpt download.]]> 240 John Bunyan 1948481138 Katie 4 4.48 1678 The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan鈥檚 Pilgrim鈥檚 Progress (The Pilgrim's Progress Series Book 1)
author: John Bunyan
name: Katie
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1678
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/03
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings of Dakkar, #1)]]> 215085889 She made a deal with the Dakkari devil. Now, he owns her.

On the unforgiving planet of Dakkar, I did what all the humans in our village did: kept my head down, worked to provide for my family, and I certainly didn鈥檛 break any Dakkari laws to risk inciting the alien race鈥檚 merciless wrath.

Unfortunately, the same couldn鈥檛 be said for my brother and one careless mistake brings a horde of the nomadic, barbarian Dakkari straight to our doorstep, led by their powerful horde king鈥攁 cold, ruthless, battle-scarred warrior demanding retribution.

In order to save my brother鈥檚 life, I do the unthinkable.

I sell myself to the horde king as his war prize. I agree to warm his furs, to travel with his horde across the wild lands of Dakkar, and to never see my family again.

But as I struggle with my new reality, I discover that the surly, mysterious, dominant horde king never intended for me to be his concubine鈥�

He wants me as his queen.]]> Zoey Draven Katie 3 fiction 4.06 2019 Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings of Dakkar, #1)
author: Zoey Draven
name: Katie
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/28
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: fiction
review:
It was a decent book, but there were several made up words for the alien language, and I never caught on to what words they were trying to say... It was distracting. I liked the book well enough, but didn't think there was enough conflict. Enjoyed it, but probably won't be reading the rest of the series.
]]> The Ritual (L.O.R.D.S., #1) 58941251
I vow. You vow. We vow.

Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all鈥攖he most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one.

People think growing up with money is freeing, but I promise you, it鈥檚 not. My entire life has been planned out for me. I never got the chance to do what I wanted until Ryat Alexander Archer came along and gave me an option for a better life. He offered me what no one else ever had鈥攆reedom.

I chose to be his. He made me believe that anyway, but it was just another lie. A way that the Lords manipulate you into doing what they want.

After being sucked into the dark, twisted world of the Lords, I embraced my new role and allowed Ryat to parade me around like the trophy I was to him. But like all things, what started out as a game soon became a fight for survival. And the only way out was death.

This book can be read as a standalone but the timeline of the Lords books is as follows:
The Ritual
The Sinner
The Sacrifice
Sabotage (the H isn't a Lord but he works for a Lord)]]> 606 Shantel Tessier Katie 4 fiction, new-adult 4.06 2021 The Ritual (L.O.R.D.S., #1)
author: Shantel Tessier
name: Katie
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/23
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: fiction, new-adult
review:
Really enjoyed this, but it was a bit too long. I found myself skimming a bit at around 70%.
]]> <![CDATA[Pucking Sweet (Jacksonville Rays, #3)]]> 200124498
My name is Poppy St. James and I鈥檝e just landed my dream job as the Director of Public Relations for the NHL鈥檚 hottest new team, the Jacksonville Rays. But if I want to stay beyond my one-year contract, I'll have to prove myself. Easy. PR is in my blood. What鈥檚 not so easy are the hockey players. They鈥檙e a real handful鈥攅specially party boy defenseman Lukas Novikov.

I don't care how well Lukas plays hockey. Off the ice, he's a PR nightmare. Brash and bossy, he's always finding ways to drag his teammates into trouble鈥攅specially fellow defenseman Colton Morrow鈥攁nd I have to find brilliant ways to drag them out of it. The players can all call me PR Barbie all they want, but I'm getting the job done. Because I am poised, powerful, and always professional . . . until the fateful night my phone rings.

With one little phone call from home that leads to one drunken mistake, my carefully balanced life is knocked off-kilter. And now I'm staring down at a little blue plus sign and I have no strategy, no idea what鈥檚 next. All I know is that nothing will ever be the same.]]> 576 Emily Rath 1496752422 Katie 0 to-read 4.13 2024 Pucking Sweet (Jacksonville Rays, #3)
author: Emily Rath
name: Katie
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Catching Fire 42419631 265 Rose Senehi Katie 0 to-read 4.26 Catching Fire
author: Rose Senehi
name: Katie
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Future Is Red 214898613 Two meteorites from Mars land on Earth. Nothing will ever be the same again鈥�

Dr Mary MacDougall, red-haired NASA meteorite specialist, witnesses a terrifying supernatural event at the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio. Meanwhile, close to the prehistoric Rollright Stones near Oxford, Holly Fraser, another redhead, experiences a vivid flashback to a girl being sacrificed 60,000 years ago to a sacred stone.

Both events are traced to two recently discovered meteorites from Mars. While one meteorite provokes sinister phenomena and a macabre death, the other leads Mary to have strange visions linking an ancient tribe of redheads to the Stone of Scone, used for centuries in the coronation of British kings and queens. But is this Stone really a fake?

Together with her colleague, Dan Gallagher, and Charles Gresham, professor of archaeology, Mary is determined to track down the real Stone of Scone, exploring mystical sites in Ireland and Scotland, and is drawn into a primaeval religion and an age-old feud that could decide the future of the human race.]]> 316 Ian Cook 1805149466 Katie 0 to-read 3.44 The Future Is Red
author: Ian Cook
name: Katie
average rating: 3.44
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Calling (Farom's Mysteries, #1)]]> 213312873
Across the continent, a hotheaded blood mage named Jormander chafes against his vampire master's tight reins, desperate to become powerful enough to escape his past. As he struggles through impossible tasks, a young courier helps him rekindle the flames of his humanity.

As the two fight for control of their lives, their separate paths begin to merge through an ominous twist of fate. Their preordained meeting has already been set. The decisions they make will determine the fate of the world.]]> 324 Liam Lombard Katie 0 to-read 3.81 The Calling (Farom's Mysteries, #1)
author: Liam Lombard
name: Katie
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Not in My Book 203194039 The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious contemporary romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.

Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian-American who has grown up without strong ties to her culture, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her arch-nemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington鈥攁n obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn鈥檛 have much patience for the romance genre, or for Rosie.

Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must co-write a novel that blends their genres.

The reluctant writing duo can鈥檛 help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and as they slowly get to know each other, they try to put their differences aside. Meanwhile, their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings鈥攁nd explore their attraction toward each other.

When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved鈥攗nless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.]]> 320 Katie Holt 1639109757 Katie 0 to-read 3.81 2024 Not in My Book
author: Katie Holt
name: Katie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Five Brothers 201101881 One woman learns the secrets of the five Jaeger brothers.

On the other side of town, in the dark glades, under the rain鈥�

Macon is the oldest. Thirty-one. Ex-Marine. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever seen him smile.

Army is twenty-eight. A single dad with the most beautiful green eyes. He has no idea who he is, if not a Jaeger brother.

Iron will be in prison soon. You鈥檇 never think it to meet him. He鈥檚 a nice guy, actually. But he can鈥檛 stop reacting to everything.

Dallas is the one I hate. Twenty-one, cruel, and selfish. He takes and then throws away whatever鈥檚 left.

And Trace is mine. Or he was for about two seconds. No one can tame him for long.

Not that I ever wanted to. It was fun, but now I need to go home. Back to my side of the tracks. Away from the swamps and these men. To my parents鈥� big house. On my clean street. Where I鈥檓 never dirty or messy or hot. And I will. I鈥檒l leave first thing tomorrow morning. I just want to crash on the couch tonight.

Their house is dark and quiet, everyone else is asleep. Except for one. He sees me crying and comes at me from behind. I let him wrap his arms around my body and hold me tightly. His breath is on my neck, his fingers are in my hair, and he doesn鈥檛 stop there.

I don鈥檛 think it was Trace.]]> 554 Penelope Douglas 0593816587 Katie 0 to-read 4.11 2024 Five Brothers
author: Penelope Douglas
name: Katie
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Fall of Ruin and Wrath (Awakening, #1)]]> 64646644
Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.

When her intuition leads her to save a travelling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning鈥昦nd promise. Today he鈥檒l bring her joy. One day he'll be her doom.

When the Baron takes an interest in the travelling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince鈥檚 temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.

Calista must choose: follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.]]> 432 Jennifer L. Armentrout 1250750180 Katie 0 currently-reading 4.21 2023 Fall of Ruin and Wrath (Awakening, #1)
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Katie
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/16
shelves: currently-reading
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