Monica's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 26 Apr 2025 21:02:36 -0700 60 Monica's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Wife Upstairs 53137893 A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estatesâ€� most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?]]>
290 Rachel Hawkins 1250245494 Monica 0 to-read 3.71 2021 The Wife Upstairs
author: Rachel Hawkins
name: Monica
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/26
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Home Is Where the Bodies Are 194020321
While going through their parents' belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends.

Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.]]>
256 Jeneva Rose Monica 0 currently-reading 3.77 2024 Home Is Where the Bodies Are
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Monica
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/04/26
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<![CDATA[The Perfect Marriage (Perfect, #1)]]> 53450790 Would you defend your husband if he was accused of killing his mistress?

Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington D.C. At 33 years old, she is a named partner at her firm and life is going exactly how she planned.

The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He is a struggling writer who has had little success in his career. He begins to tire of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working.

Out in the secluded woods, at Adam and Sarah’s second home, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers.

Then, one morning everything changes. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder. She had been found stabbed to death in Adam and Sarah’s second home.

Sarah soon finds herself playing the defender for her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.

But is Adam guilty or is he innocent?]]>
337 Jeneva Rose 1913419657 Monica 5 3.90 2020 The Perfect Marriage (Perfect, #1)
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Monica
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/26
date added: 2025/04/26
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One of Us Is Dead 58482479 The highly anticipated new thriller from the bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage.

Opulence. Sex. Betrayal � Sometimes friendship can be deadly.

Meet the women of Buckhead—a place of expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships.

Shannon was once the queen bee of Buckhead. But she’s been unceremoniously dumped by Bryce, her politician husband. When Bryce replaces her with a much younger woman, Shannon sets out to take revenge �

Crystal has stepped into Shannon’s old shoes. A young, innocent Texan girl, she simply has no idea what she’s up against �

Olivia has waited years to take Shannon’s crown as the unofficial queen of Buckhead. Finally, her moment has come. But to take her rightful place, she will need to use every backstabbing, manipulative, underhand trick in the book �

Jenny owns Glow, the most exclusive salon in town. Jenny knows all her clients� secrets and darkest desires. But will she ever tell?

Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead—and who will wind up dead? They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly.]]>
312 Jeneva Rose Monica 5 3.78 2022 One of Us Is Dead
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Monica
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
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<![CDATA[Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #1)]]> 55710822 In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar - and maybe snag him as a prom date - even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love - and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.]]>
356 Lynn Painter 1534467629 Monica 0 to-read 4.28 2021 Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies, #1)
author: Lynn Painter
name: Monica
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/01
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The Fall Risk 223199392 Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.]]>
82 Abby Jimenez 1662529082 Monica 0 currently-reading 4.11 2025 The Fall Risk
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Monica
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/01
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Women Talking 40046077
While the men of the colony are off in the city, attempting to raise enough money to bail out the rapists and bring them home, these women—all illiterate, without any knowledge of the world outside their community and unable even to speak the language of the country they live in—have very little time to make a choice: Should they stay in the only world they’ve ever known or should they dare to escape?

Based on real events and told through the “minutes� of the women’s all-female symposium, Toews’s masterful novel uses wry, politically engaged humor to relate this tale of women claiming their own power to decide.]]>
216 Miriam Toews 1635572584 Monica 0 to-read 3.61 2018 Women Talking
author: Miriam Toews
name: Monica
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/28
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The Storm We Made 60211228 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781668015148.

A novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.

Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her fifteen-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day.

Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.

A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fuijwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an “Asia for Asians.� Instead, Cecily helped usher in an even more brutal occupation by the Japanese. Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them.]]>
339 Vanessa Chan Monica 0 to-read 3.80 2024 The Storm We Made
author: Vanessa Chan
name: Monica
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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Anita de Monte Laughs Last 127306192 New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death

1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.

But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.

Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.]]>
342 Xóchitl González 1250786215 Monica 0 to-read 3.76 2024 Anita de Monte Laughs Last
author: Xóchitl González
name: Monica
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/28
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<![CDATA[The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II]]> 15801668 The incredible story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in U.S. history. The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 1942. One of the Manhattan Project’s secret cities, it didn’t appear on any maps until 1949, and yet at the height of World War II it was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people, many of them young women recruited from small towns across the South. Their jobs were shrouded in mystery, but they were buoyed by a sense of shared purpose, close friendships—and a surplus of handsome scientists and Army men!

But against this vibrant wartime backdrop, a darker story was unfolding. The penalty for talking about their work—even the most innocuous details—was job loss and eviction. One woman was recruited to spy on her coworkers. They all knew something big was happening at Oak Ridge, but few could piece together the true nature of their work until the bomb "Little Boy" was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, and the secret was out. The shocking revelation: the residents of Oak Ridge were enriching uranium for the atomic bomb.

Though the young women originally believed they would leave Oak Ridge after the war, many met husbands there, made lifelong friends, and still call the seventy-year-old town home. The reverberations from their work there—work they didn’t fully understand at the time—are still being felt today. In The Girls of Atomic City, Denise Kiernan traces the astonishing story of these unsung WWII workers through interviews with dozens of surviving women and other Oak Ridge residents. Like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, this is history and science made fresh and vibrant—a beautifully told, deeply researched story that unfolds in a suspenseful and exciting way.

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373 Denise Kiernan 1451617526 Monica 0 to-read 3.69 2013 The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
author: Denise Kiernan
name: Monica
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/28
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Mexican Gothic 52873094
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And NoemĂ­, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]>
304 Silvia Moreno-Garcia Monica 5 3.76 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Monica
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/06
date added: 2024/12/18
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Same Time Next Year 199334767 From New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey comes a steamy novella full of hope and humor tracking a couple’s fake marriage for a year after the wild New Year’s Eve when they first say “I do.�

Adored by all, Britta is an ambitious waitress working at Sluggers. The popular bar holds a special place in her heart and is a regular hangout for the Bridgeport Bandits, the local hockey club. With a half brother on the team, Britta has a strict no-dating policy for hockey boys. But she does have a soft spot for one particular player.

A beast on the ice, Sumner Mayfield is on the brink of breaking into the NHL. But time’s running out. With his work visa about to expire, Sumner’s only chance to stay in Bridgeport is to marry an American—and get a green card. Otherwise, it’s back to Canada for the defenseman.

On New Year’s Eve, the team begs Britta to marry Sumner that very night. Sum is embarrassed yet hopeful—he’s desperately in love. But Britta balks at first. Until something about Sumner’s soulful brown eyes and ripped physique makes her reconsider…]]>
144 Tessa Bailey 1662517912 Monica 5 3.40 2023 Same Time Next Year
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Monica
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/08
date added: 2024/08/08
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The Woman in Me 63133205 The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.]]>
288 Britney Spears 1668009048 Monica 4 3.83 2023 The Woman in Me
author: Britney Spears
name: Monica
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
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Last Call for Love 200591307 For an American woman on an impromptu summertime trip to an Irish island, life changes in a heartbeat in a refreshing romance by the author of June, Reimagined.

The last thing Chicagoan Maeve Kaminski expects to inherit from her estranged biological father is a pub. Now thousands of miles from home, Maeve is on a remote Irish island and the new owner of The Moorings. Charming? Yes. Practical? No. The bright side: Maeve is in debt, and off-loading a famous pub for a pretty penny could be the gift she’s been waiting for.

Briggs Murphy is suffering from a broken heart. Literally. Recently diagnosed with the same condition that killed his father, he’s not looking for love. But when Maeve shows up with her color-coordinated datebook and striking blue eyes, he falls hard. Too bad she’s off-limits. According to familial legend, they’re enemies. And for the sake of the island, they better stay that way.

Love was never the plan. But for Briggs and Maeve, it might just save them both. To make it work, they’ll have to rewrite history…before it’s too late.]]>
290 Rebekah Crane 1662513402 Monica 0 to-read 4.05 2024 Last Call for Love
author: Rebekah Crane
name: Monica
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/08
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<![CDATA[A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)]]> 31076583 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X Monica 4 3.77 2019 A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Monica
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/02
date added: 2024/07/02
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<![CDATA[One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In]]> 123921296
One In a Millennial is an exploration of pop culture, nostalgia, the millennial zeitgeist, and the life lessons learned (for better and for worse) from coming of age as a member of a much-maligned generation.

Kate is a pop culture commentator and host of the popular millennial-focused podcast Be There in Five . Part-funny, part-serious, Kate navigates the complicated nature of celebrating and criticizing the culture that shaped her as a woman, while arguing that great depths can come from surface-level interests.

With her trademark style and vulnerability, One In a Millennial is sharp, hilarious, and heartwarming all at once. She tackles AOL Instant Messenger, purity culture, American Girl Dolls, going out tops, Spice Girl feminism, her feelings about millennial motherhood, and more. Kate’s laugh-out-loud asides and keen observations will have you nodding your head and maybe even tearing up.]]>
328 Kate Kennedy 1250285127 Monica 0 currently-reading 3.73 2024 One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In
author: Kate Kennedy
name: Monica
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/02/20
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<![CDATA[Royal Valentine (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #6)]]> 200034641
Princess Ilaria has had it up to her tiara with the paparazzi, her own wild reputation, and the public eye. Trading places with her assistant, Ilaria wants just one blissfully ordinary weekend. Then a handsome photographer with a sexy Scottish burr offers to be her guide. Sparks fly, but how long can they last? Ilaria’s secret has to come out—and it could ruin a perfectly serendipitous romance.

Sariah Wilson’s Royal Valentine is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.]]>
71 Sariah Wilson Monica 4 3.14 2024 Royal Valentine (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #6)
author: Sariah Wilson
name: Monica
average rating: 3.14
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/20
date added: 2024/02/20
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<![CDATA[With Any Luck (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #5)]]> 200034157
Audrey Love is cursed to be the person before you find your soulmate, the girl you dump for your true love. So when her best friend disappears hours before his Valentine’s Day wedding, Audrey fears that she did the unthinkable and kissed him at last night’s bachelor party. With help from the best man, she retraces her steps to find the missing groom and, with any luck, a true love of her own.

Ashley Poston’s With Any Luck is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.]]>
43 Ashley Poston 166251980X Monica 3 3.22 2024 With Any Luck (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #5)
author: Ashley Poston
name: Monica
average rating: 3.22
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
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<![CDATA[Drop, Cover, and Hold On (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #4)]]> 200033957
This Valentine’s Day, Daisy Murray has her heart set on binge-watching rom-coms. Instead, an earthquake traps her inside a bakery with its impossibly rude and insufferably handsome owner and head baker. They already have a history: she’s always smiled, he’s always scowled. Where better to finally get to know each other than amid the disaster? Then again, they have no choice. Besides, it could have its sweet, undeniable, and unpredictable perks.

Jasmine Guillory’s Drop, Cover, and Hold On is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.]]>
40 Jasmine Guillory 1662519834 Monica 3 2.93 2024 Drop, Cover, and Hold On (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #4)
author: Jasmine Guillory
name: Monica
average rating: 2.93
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
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<![CDATA[Rosie and the Dreamboat (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #3)]]> 200034154 USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game.

Rosie Whittaker and her sister are up for some Galentine’s pampering at a day spa. Getting locked inside a flotation tank is so Rosie. Enter a firefighter hero determined to pry this luckless pearl out of her high-tech shell. All Rosie has to go on is a dreamy voice and a flirty sense of humor. Remain calm, Rosie. This could be what you’ve been waiting for. Is this the man she’s waited for her whole life?

Sally Thorne’s Rosie and the Dreamboat is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.]]>
44 Sally Thorne 1662520085 Monica 3 3.42 2024 Rosie and the Dreamboat (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #3)
author: Sally Thorne
name: Monica
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
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<![CDATA[Worst Wingman Ever (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #2)]]> 200034606
Holly is dealing with the impending death of her grandmother and still reeling from a bad breakup. One bright spot: a Valentine’s Day card on Holly’s windshield—even if it wasn’t meant for her. An amusing mistake soon turns into a lovely exchange of anonymous notes, little acts of kindness, and a growing affection between two strangers. What happens when one of them has to say goodbye?]]>
61 Abby Jimenez 166251963X Monica 4 3.99 2024 Worst Wingman Ever (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #2)
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Monica
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
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<![CDATA[The Exception to the Rule (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #1)]]> 200033357 New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners.

One typo, and a boy and girl connect by chance. Wishing each other a happy Valentine’s Day isn’t the end. In fact, it becomes a friendly annual tradition—with rules: no pics, no real names, nothing too personal. As years pass, the rules for their email “dates� are breaking, and they’re sharing more than they imagined—including the urge to ask�what if we actually met?

Christina Lauren’s The Exception to the Rule is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.]]>
101 Christina Lauren 1662519893 Monica 4 4.21 2024 The Exception to the Rule (The Improbable Meet-Cute, #1)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
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My Killer Vacation 60191114 295 Tessa Bailey Monica 3 3.56 2022 My Killer Vacation
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Monica
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/01/31
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<![CDATA[When in Rome (When in Rome, #1)]]> 60092579 Opposites certainly attract for the stranded pop star and small-town baker in this charming slice of romance from the author of the TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet.

Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her "princess of pop" image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is.

When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn't have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He's too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room—but only until her car is fixed—then she's on her own.

Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose—she's Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can't help but get close to her. Soon she'll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she's been missing, and she'll help him open his heart to more.

Amelia can't resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.]]>
320 Sarah Adams 0593500784 Monica 5 3.88 2022 When in Rome (When in Rome, #1)
author: Sarah Adams
name: Monica
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/29
date added: 2024/01/29
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Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2) 101145836
Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name.

Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home.

Russ knows breaking the camp’s strict “no staff fraternizingâ€� rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t put out?]]>
387 Hannah Grace 1668026279 Monica 5 3.82 2023 Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Monica
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/24
date added: 2024/01/24
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Daydream (Maple Hills, #3) 198647119
Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and when she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. But being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job and the novel she’s trying to write. New experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, though, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rulebook. Oh, and not fall in love.

18+ content]]>
448 Hannah Grace Monica 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Daydream (Maple Hills, #3)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Monica
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/17
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Honeymoon Crashers (Unhoneymooners, #1.5)]]> 128138997
A perfectionist maid of honor and a carefree, surfer-bro best man team up to plan a wedding and end up finding a spark of their own in the first audio original from author duo Christina Lauren, a full-cast sequel to theirĚýNew York TimesĚý˛ú±đ˛őłŮ˛ő±đ±ô±ô±đ°ůĚýThe Unhoneymooners.

Ami is determined to break the Torres family wedding curse. Her own disaster of a reception ended with all the guests getting food poisoning, and she left her cheating husband soon after. But even though she’s still processing her own divorce, Ami won’t let her twin sister Olive’s day be anything but perfect. Olive may think she wants a private ceremony in Maui, where she and her fiancé Ethan first fell in love, but Ami knows better and secretly flies the whole Torres family out to surprise the couple. Now she and her meticulously organized binder have less than two weeks to get everything together for the big day, thousands of miles from home.

Enter Brody, Ethan’s best man, who happens to be living in Maui and insists on helping with the preparations. His playfully elaborate schemes and happy-go-lucky attitude are the last thing Ami needs. When sparks start to fly, could it derail all her carefully laid plans?

Equal parts hilarious and swoon-worthy, this full-cast production is your ticket to the ultimate destination wedding, bringing to life both a captivating couple and an unforgettable family.ĚýThe Honeymoon CrashersĚýis Christina Lauren at their charming, hilarious best.]]>
5 Christina Lauren 1797158147 Monica 4 3.56 2023 The Honeymoon Crashers (Unhoneymooners, #1.5)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/17
date added: 2024/01/17
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<![CDATA[The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle]]> 40914164
There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.

We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.

Understood? Then let's begin . . .

Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others . . .

The most inventive debut of the year twists together a mystery of such unexpected creativity it will leave listeners guessing until the very last second.]]>
458 Stuart Turton 149267012X Monica 0 to-read 3.75 2018 The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
author: Stuart Turton
name: Monica
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/01/15
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<![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’t tolerate drama, even when it comes in the form of a stranded runaway bride.

Naomi wasn’t 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…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.

Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s 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’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s 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’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.]]>
572 Lucy Score 1945631848 Monica 0 to-read 4.15 2022 Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout, #1)
author: Lucy Score
name: Monica
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/08
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Icebreaker (UCMH, #1) 61767292
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s 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—including Anastasia, who clearly ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t stand him.

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

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried . . . because she could never like a hockey player, right?]]>
447 Hannah Grace Monica 5 3.75 2022 Icebreaker (UCMH, #1)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Monica
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/15
date added: 2023/11/15
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It's a Date (Again) 123451227 One lovestruck woman. Three handsome boyfriends—and strangers. A unique dating adventure awaits in a hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedy by New York Times bestselling author Jeneva Rose.

A guy told me he loved me tonight.

Peyton Sanders hopes it’s not too late to say it back. Done with dead-end relationships and swiping right, she knows who her heart belongs to. But as she races to tell him how she feels, she’s hit by a car and wakes up with amnesia. It gets worse. Peyton has no clue who the three men who show up at her hospital bed are except they each claim to be her boyfriend.

They’re certainly worth remembering. A rustic-looking contractor—heaven in flannel. A tailored consultant with a smile to die for. And a tattooed chef with a box of homemade chocolates, both delicious. Peyton’s friends Maya and Robbie have an idea: date each man again. Recognizing her soulmate should be as easy as one, two, three.

On a wildly romantic and dizzyingly funny journey, Peyton runs once again toward love. This time, hopefully, her heart can guide her where her mind cannot.]]>
248 Jeneva Rose 1662512406 Monica 4 3.73 2023 It's a Date (Again)
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Monica
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/14
date added: 2023/11/14
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<![CDATA[Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome, #2)]]> 61897968 A small-town sweetheart and an emotionally unavailable bad boy try to find some common ground in this chemistry-filled romance from the author of The Cheat Sheet and When in Rome.

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,� Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will—the sexy, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.

Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational� tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.]]>
335 Sarah Adams 0593500806 Monica 4 4.00 2023 Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome, #2)
author: Sarah Adams
name: Monica
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/13
date added: 2023/11/13
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Don’t Forget to Write 75349380 334 Sara Goodman Confino 1662512236 Monica 5 4.49 2023 Don’t Forget to Write
author: Sara Goodman Confino
name: Monica
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/06
date added: 2023/11/06
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For the Love of Friends 56484565 A sharp and hilariously relatable novel about the business of weddings, the toll they can take, and the lengths one exasperated bridesmaid will go to for the love of friends.

Lily Weiss is her mother’s worst nightmare: thirty-two and single—the horror! She’s also a talented writer but hides behind a boring job at a science foundation. To her friends, she’s reliable and selfless, which is how she winds up a bridesmaid in five weddings in six weeks. Anything for her three best friends and two (younger) siblings, right? Even if her own love life is…well, she’d rather not talk about it. To keep her sanity, Lily needs a safe place to vent.

And so her anonymous blog, Bridesmania, is born. The posts start pouring out of her: all the feels about mom-zillas, her vanishing bank balance, the wicked bridesmaids of the west, high-strung brides-to-be, body-shaming dress clerks, bachelorette parties, and Spanx for days, not to mention being deemed guardian of eighty-eight-year-old Granny (who enjoys morning mimosas in the nude) for her brother’s destination wedding.

So far the blog has stayed anonymous. But as everyone knows, few things online remain secret forever�

When all is said and done, can Lily help all five couples make it to happily ever after? And will her own happy ending be close behind?]]>
364 Sara Goodman Confino 1542027608 Monica 5 4.21 2021 For the Love of Friends
author: Sara Goodman Confino
name: Monica
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/11/03
date added: 2023/11/03
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She's Up to No Good 59421417
Four years into her marriage, Jenna is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce. With time on her hands and her life in flux, she agrees to accompany her eccentric grandmother Evelyn on a road trip to the seaside Massachusetts town where much of their family history was shaped.

When they hit the road, Evelyn spins the tale of the star-crossed teenage romance that captured her heart more than seventy years ago and changed the course of her life. She insists the return to her hometown isn’t about that at all—no matter how much she talks about Tony, her unforgettable and forbidden first love.

Upon arrival, Jenna meets Tony’s attentive great-nephew Joe. The new friendship and fresh ocean air give her the confidence and distance she needs to begin putting the pain of a broken marriage behind her.

As the secrets and truths of Evelyn’s past unfold, Jenna discovers a new side of her grandmother, and of herself, that she never knew existed—and learns that the possibilities for healing can come at the most unexpected times in a woman’s life.]]>
389 Sara Goodman Confino 1542033608 Monica 5 4.30 2022 She's Up to No Good
author: Sara Goodman Confino
name: Monica
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/26
date added: 2023/10/26
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How to Stop Time 45152372 "She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip with it, to go wherever she was going... I had existed whole years without her, but that was all it had been. An existence. A book with no words."

Tom Hazard has just moved back to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. But Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history--performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

Unfortunately for Tom, the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.

How to Stop Time tells a love story across the ages--and for the ages--about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Benedict Cumberbatch.]]>
339 Matt Haig 0525522891 Monica 0 to-read 3.78 2018 How to Stop Time
author: Matt Haig
name: Monica
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/23
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Woke Up Like This 125474375
Either they’ve lost their minds or they’ve been drop-kicked into adulthood, forever trapped in the thirty-year-old bodies of their future selves. With each other as their only constant, Charlotte and Renner discover all that’s changed in the time they’ve missed. Charlotte also learns there’s more to Renner than irritating-jock charm, and that reaching the next milestone isn’t as important as what happens in between.

Navigating a series of adventures and a confounding new normal, Charlotte and Renner will do whatever it takes to find a way back to seventeen. But when―and if―they do, what then?]]>
300 Amy Lea 1662511701 Monica 5 3.91 2023 Woke Up Like This
author: Amy Lea
name: Monica
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/19
date added: 2023/10/19
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<![CDATA[Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating]]> 40189670

Just friends. Just friends. JUST FRIENDS. If they repeat it enough, maybe it’ll be true . . .


Hazel knows she’s a lot to take � and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and taste for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter and tendency to say exactly the wrong thing will. Their loss. Not everyone can handle a Hazel.


Josh has known Hazel since college. From the first night they met � when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes � to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.


Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them . . . right?

]]>
309 Christina Lauren 1501165852 Monica 5 3.92 2018 Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/18
date added: 2023/10/18
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What the Hex (Hex, #2) 61423835
Enemies-to-lovers has never been more enchanting in this witchy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of Go Hex Yourself .

Penny Roundtree wants nothing more than to be a familiar to a witch. She’s been a member of the Society of Familiars ever since she was old enough to join the Fam. There’s just a small problem—no one’s hiring. Witches and warlocks are so long-lived that there are far more familiars available than witches to train them. So when an unorthodox arrangement to apprentice under the table to a forbidden warlock presents itself, she takes it.
Ěý
Willem Sauer is banned from having a familiar due to past transgressions, thereby limiting his magic-casting abilities. Unfortunately for the surly, Prussian warlock, he has no choice but to work with enthusiastic Penny as a familiar. They immediately clash like dried roan horsehair and honeycomb gathered by moonlight (it’s a terrible spell combination, ask anyone).
Ěý
Casting spells has delightful perks Penny never could have dreamed of, but also greater dangers. Someone is targeting Penny. Willem and Penny must work together to catch their enemy, and if their ploy requires a little kissing on the side, who is to question the rules of magic?]]>
336 Jessica Clare 0593337581 Monica 4 3.70 2023 What the Hex (Hex, #2)
author: Jessica Clare
name: Monica
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/17
date added: 2023/10/17
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<![CDATA[Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2)]]> 59050133
The Diamond

Death walks alongside me,
But the reaper is no match for me.
I'm trapped in a world full of monsters dressed as men, and those who aren't as they seem.
They won't keep me forever.
I no longer recognize the person I've become,
And I'm fighting to find my way back to the beast who hunts me in the night.
They call me a diamond,
But they've only created an angel of death.

The Hunter

I was born a predator,
With ruthlessness ingrained in my bones.
When what's mine is stolen from me in the night,
Like a diamond hidden within a fortress,
I find that I can no longer contain the beast.
Blood will paint the ground as I tear apart this world to find her.
And bring her back to where she belongs.
No one will escape my wrath,
Especially not those who have betrayed me.

Warning: This is the second and final installment to the Duet. You must read Haunting Adeline first.]]>
702 H.D. Carlton Monica 0 to-read 4.05 2022 Hunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #2)
author: H.D. Carlton
name: Monica
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/14
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My Favorite Half-Night Stand 38357345
So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.

But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherineâ€� and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.]]>
384 Christina Lauren Monica 4 3.69 2018 My Favorite Half-Night Stand
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/13
date added: 2023/10/13
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The Honey-Don't List 51086670 Alternate cover edition of ISBN-13: 9781982123918, ISBN-10/ASIN: 1982123915

Carey Duncan has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t stand each other.

James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.

Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses� secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…]]>
308 Christina Lauren Monica 4 3.47 2020 The Honey-Don't List
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/12
date added: 2023/10/12
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<![CDATA[Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)]]> 58684524
While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere� ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

The New York Times bestselling author of Life's Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry.]]>
389 Abby Jimenez 1538704374 Monica 5 4.26 2022 Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Monica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/12
date added: 2023/10/12
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Something Wilder 59345253
Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.

But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.]]>
384 Christina Lauren 1982173408 Monica 4 3.64 2022 Something Wilder
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/10
date added: 2023/10/10
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<![CDATA[Their Vicious Darling (Vicious Lost Boys, #3)]]> 60863106
Of course, Peter Pan, Vane, Kas and Bash, they’re all familiar with war. But war isn’t easy when love is on the line.

I know those vicious Lost Boys would do anything to protect me. But what if I’m not the one that needs saving?

As power shifts on the island and shadows are claimed, all five of us have to let go of who we were, if we have any chance of becoming who we are destined to be.

NOTE: Their Vicious Darling is book three in the Vicious Lost Boys series. It is a dark romantic reimagining of Peter and Wendy. All characters have been aged up. If you like your enemies to lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy Their Vicious Darling. You can expect an island with darkness and secrets and no true hero in sight, with a found family atmosphere, and â€touch her and I’ll unalive youâ€� vibes. Their Vicious Darling ends on a cliffhanger.

Please check the author's website for CWs.]]>
251 Nikki St. Crowe Monica 3 3.96 2022 Their Vicious Darling (Vicious Lost Boys, #3)
author: Nikki St. Crowe
name: Monica
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/27
date added: 2023/09/27
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<![CDATA[Yours Truly (Part of Your World, #2)]]> 61918816 A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.

Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin�-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass� scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.

And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,â€� and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t refuse.]]>
416 Abby Jimenez 1538704390 Monica 5 4.29 2023 Yours Truly (Part of Your World, #2)
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Monica
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/25
date added: 2023/09/25
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<![CDATA[Unfortunately Yours (A Vine Mess, #2)]]> 62365891
After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she's sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she's ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him--and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn't know jack about making wine. He's determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy's legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around... and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.

Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways--assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There's just one thing they didn't account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.]]>
384 Tessa Bailey 0063239035 Monica 4 3.75 2023 Unfortunately Yours  (A Vine Mess, #2)
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Monica
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/21
date added: 2023/09/21
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<![CDATA[Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)]]> 17347634 A newer edition of ISBN 978-0143124542 can be found here.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me.

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?]]>
369 Jojo Moyes 0670026603 Monica 0 to-read 4.26 2012 Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Monica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/20
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2)]]> 58353827 Declan
I’m destined to become the next CEO of my family’s media empire.
The only problem? My grandfather’s inheritance clause.
Fulfilling his dying wish of getting married and having an heir seemed impossible until my assistant volunteers for the job.
Our marriage was supposed to be the perfect solution to my biggest problem.
But the more we act in love for the public, the more unsure I feel about our contract.
Caring about Iris was never part of the deal.
Especially not when breaking her heart is inevitable.

Iris
My plan to marry Declan was simple in theory.
Move in together. Throw a wedding. Have a baby.
We set rules to prevent any kind of issues.
Ones that were never meant to be broken, no matter how much Declan tempts me.
But what happens when our fake relationship bleeds into our real one?
Falling in love was never an option.
At least not for me.]]>
435 Lauren Asher Monica 4 4.20 2022 Terms and Conditions  (Dreamland Billionaires, #2)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Monica
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/14
date added: 2023/09/14
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Go Hex Yourself (Hex, #1) 58844858 It's one hex of an attraction in this romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Jessica Clare.

When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she's astonished to find that she's not applying to work at her favorite card game, Spellcraft: The Magicking. Instead, she's applying to be an actual familiar for an actual witch. As in, real magic.

The new job has a few perks - great room and board, excellent pay, and she's apprenticing to a powerful witch. Sure, the witch is a bit eccentric. And sure, there was that issue with the black cat Reggie would prefer to forget about. The biggest problem, however, is warlock Ben Magnus, her employer's nephew and the most arrogant, insufferable, maddening man to ever cast a spell.

Reggie absolutely hates him. He's handsome, but he's also bossy and irritating and orders her around. Ben's butt might look great in a crystal ball vision, but that's as far as it goes. But when someone with a vendetta targets the household, she finds herself working with Ben to break a deadly curse. Apparently, when they're not fighting like cats and dogs, things get downright...bewitching.]]>
384 Jessica Clare 0593337565 Monica 4 3.68 2022 Go Hex Yourself (Hex, #1)
author: Jessica Clare
name: Monica
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/04
date added: 2023/09/04
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<![CDATA[Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret]]> 37732
But none of them can believe Margaret doesn’t have religion, and that she isn’t going to the Y or the Jewish Community Center. What they don’t know is Margaret has her own very special relationship with God. She can talk to God about everything—family, friends, even Moose Freed, her secret crush.

Margaret is funny and real, and her thoughts and feelings are oh-so-relatable—you’ll feel like she’s talking right to you, sharing her secrets with a friend.]]>
149 Judy Blume 0689841582 Monica 4 3.93 1970 Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
author: Judy Blume
name: Monica
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1970
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/28
date added: 2023/08/28
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<![CDATA[The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires, #1)]]> 57658071 Rowan
I'm in the business of creating fairy tales.
Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels.
Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland.
My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her.
Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias.
By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late.
People like me don't get happy endings.
Not when we're destined to ruin them.

Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland's most expensive ride, I should have been fired.
Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job.
The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I'd ever met.
Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn't care.
At least not until I discovered his secret.
It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn't fix everything.
Especially not us.

The Fine Print is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.]]>
450 Lauren Asher Monica 5 3.92 2021 The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires, #1)
author: Lauren Asher
name: Monica
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/24
date added: 2023/08/24
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<![CDATA[Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas]]> 57190803 Jack and Sally are "truly meant to be" ... or are they?

Sally Skellington is the official, newly-minted Pumpkin Queen after a whirlwind courtship with her true love, Jack, who Sally adores with every inch of her fabric seams -- if only she could say the same for her new role as Queen of Halloween Town. Cast into the spotlight and tasked with all sorts of queenly duties, Sally can't help but wonder if all she's done is trade her captivity under Dr. Finkelstein for a different -- albeit gilded -- cage. But when Sally and Zero accidentally uncover a long-hidden doorway to an ancient realm called Dream Town in the forest Hinterlands, she'll unknowingly set into motion a chain of sinister events that put her future as Pumpkin Queen, and the future of Halloween Town itself, into jeopardy. Can Sally discover what it means to be true to herself and save the town she's learned to call home, or will her future turn into her worst... well, nightmare]]>
315 Shea Ernshaw 1368069606 Monica 4 3.84 2022 Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
author: Shea Ernshaw
name: Monica
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/17
date added: 2023/08/17
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<![CDATA[The Unhoneymooners (Unhoneymooners, #1)]]> 42201431
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781501128035.]]>
432 Christina Lauren 1501128035 Monica 4 3.88 2019 The Unhoneymooners (Unhoneymooners, #1)
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/17
date added: 2023/07/17
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<![CDATA[Stuck with You (The STEMinist Novellas, #2)]]> 59651555 Nothing like a little rivalry between scientists to take love to the next level.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn�

Logically, Sadie knows that civil engineers are supposed to build bridges. However, as a woman of STEM she also understands that variables can change, and when you are stuck for hours in a tiny New York elevator with the man who broke your heart, you earn the right to burn that brawny, blond bridge to the ground. Erik can apologize all he wants, but to quote her rebel leader—she’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.

Not even the most sophisticated of Sadie’s superstitious rituals could have predicted such a disastrous reunion. But while she refuses to acknowledge the siren call of Erik’s steely forearms or the way his voice softens when he offers her his sweater, Sadie ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t help but wonder if there might be more layers to her cold-hearted nemesis than meet the eye. Maybe, possibly, even burned bridges can still be crossedâ€�.

To read Mara and Hannah’s stories look for the novellas Under One Roof, available now, and Below Zero, coming soon from Berkley!]]>
127 Ali Hazelwood Monica 4 3.56 2022 Stuck with You (The STEMinist Novellas, #2)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Monica
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/10
date added: 2023/07/10
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Little Fires Everywhere 51704136 Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned--from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren--an enigmatic artist and single mother--who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town--and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood--and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and many more...


Perfect for book clubs! Visit celesteng.com for discussion guides and more. ]]>
368 Celeste Ng 0143135163 Monica 0 to-read 4.06 2017 Little Fires Everywhere
author: Celeste Ng
name: Monica
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/05
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The London Séance Society 61109069
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves�
]]>
352 Sarah Penner 0778387119 Monica 4 3.46 2023 The London Séance Society
author: Sarah Penner
name: Monica
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/28
date added: 2023/06/28
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Hex You 60784610
Mercy and Khenti are trapped in the Ancient Egyptian Underworld and need Hunter’s help to escape. But while Hunter searches for a way to save them, other evil threatens Goodeville. Amphitrite is still looming–and she wants vengeance against Hunter. With the gates rapidly weakening, Amphitrite lures out a deadly creature and sets it free on the residents of Goodeville. It will take everything in Mercy and Hunter’s power to stop the goddess and seal the gates once and for all.]]>
304 P.C. Cast 1250765692 Monica 5 3.88 2023 Hex You
author: P.C. Cast
name: Monica
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/22
date added: 2023/06/22
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People We Meet on Vacation 54985743 Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?]]>
400 Emily Henry 1984806750 Monica 4 3.85 2021 People We Meet on Vacation
author: Emily Henry
name: Monica
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/12
date added: 2023/06/12
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Love and Other Words 36206591 The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).]]>
432 Christina Lauren 1501190539 Monica 4 4.23 2018 Love and Other Words
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/11
date added: 2023/05/28
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The Modern Gentleman 53331772
I embarrassingly have.

It’s why I’m wearing my girl's decorative scarf over my head, clutching her lady drink to my chest, and singing ever so softly to Joni Mitchell while swaying back and forth.

This is what therapists refer to as LOSING IT.

Oldest story in the book: boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy screws up MASSIVELY, girl tells boy to suffocate in the fruits of his very own unborn children.

Heard it before? I'm sure you have.

So what's so different about this story? Well, it's about me, The Modern Gentleman, New York City's top advice columnist, and my rather ungraceful downfall from my pristinely polished pedestal.

It's about a girl I met who threw all my proven theories to the wind and left me awkward, needy, and absolutely head-over-wingtipped shoes in love.

This is a story about June Lacy and how she single-handedly dismantled The Modern Gentleman.]]>
215 Meghan Quinn Monica 4 3.93 2020 The Modern Gentleman
author: Meghan Quinn
name: Monica
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/24
date added: 2023/05/24
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Kill Order (The Guild, #3) 60531751
◆◆�

kill order

noun

a document issued by the Circle allowing for the murder of a mercenary with no agency repercussions. A rarely-wielded tool, a kill order brings the Circle’s full wrath down on its target.



Worthless, useless, waste of space. That’s what my father liked to remind me on a daily basis. I was a stain on his pristine reputation. We both were, Moana and I. He taught us that we were less than nothing, we were an inconvenience. Slugs on the cabbage of life. But he was wrong.

Because of him, my sister and I dedicated our lives to helping others. Fighting for others who couldn’t fight for themselves. We took risks, gained ranks, and eventually discovered a purpose. My big sister, my best friend� her pain and loss gave us the direction we both so desperately needed.

We were a unit. A family. A team. Dedicated to a purpose. My calling in life. Until I met her.

How do I tame the deadliest of women? How can I prove myself to her, snaring her in the bonds that have lashed me to her? How do I navigate a partnership with a man I loathe, to whom I’d spent years wanting to destroy?

Destroy the Guild. Take Danny home. Live our life.

That had been my goal.

Now?

I want her back. I want the Guild out of her life. I’ll sell my soul and work with my enemy if I have to.

Whatever it takes.



◆◆�



The Guild series is a dark MFM romance and contains scenes that may be uncomfortable or disturbing to some readers. Please use your own discretion as to whether this is the right series for you. None of the main characters are the "good guys" and their moral code does differ greatly from your usual romance heroes. Please don't attempt to hold them to heroic standards, as they will fall short.

KILL ORDER is book THREE of THREE in The Guild trilogy.

Recommended Reading Order for Shadow Grove interconnected series:

MADISON KATE
#1 Hate
#2 Liar
#3 Fake
#4 Kate

HADES
#1 7th Circle
#2 Anarchy
#3 Club 22
#4 Timber

MADISON KATE NOVELLA
#4.5 VAULT

THE GUILD
#1 Honey Trap
#2 Dead Drop
#3 Kill Order

This is the chronological order of linked series, but it's not necessary to read prior series before THE GUILD.]]>
561 Tate James Monica 4 4.45 2022 Kill Order (The Guild, #3)
author: Tate James
name: Monica
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/24
date added: 2023/05/24
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<![CDATA[The House Witch 3 (The House Witch, #3)]]> 63209880 House witch Finlay Ashowan is pulled out of the kitchen—and into the fire—as war, family, and love collide in the third book of this fantasy romance series.

Having somehow convinced Lady Annika Jenoure to marry him, all Finlay Ashowan wants to do is settle down, cook some good meals, and enjoy a quiet life in Daxaria. But fate has different plans.

Fin’s father, Aidan Helmer, fire witch and servant of King Matthias of Troivack, has arrived in the kingdom with devastating news: Annika’s brother Charles has been taken prisoner, and the only way his life will be spared is if Annika or Fin goes to plead his case. Given that an attack from Troivack is imminent, there’s no way some trickery isn’t involved in this plot.

Now it’s up to Fin, with the help of his family, friends, and wily kitten familiar, Kraken, to attempt a daring mission of rescue and espionage. But he’ll need to move quickly—because if he ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t find a way to fend off his father and keep Daxaria safe, all his dreams might go up in flames.

With twists and turns around every corner, The House Witch 3 brilliantly continues this irresistible new series, replete with romance, magic, courtly intrigue, mystery, and humor.]]>
375 Delemhach 103942127X Monica 0 to-read 4.52 2023 The House Witch 3 (The House Witch, #3)
author: Delemhach
name: Monica
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/05/13
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<![CDATA[The House Witch 2 (The House Witch, #2)]]> 62324167 House witch Finlay Ashowan must contend with matters of the heart, hearth, family, and kingdom in the second book of a whimsical and winning fantasy series.

As a wielder of domestic magic, Finlay Ashowan likes to keep his affairs as neat and orderly as his kitchen. But between his work for the King and Queen of Daxaria and a new (secret) relationship with Lady Annika Jenoure, his life is anything but tidy.

For one thing, if Annika and Fin are to continue their romance, they’ll need to sort out the pesky issue of Fin’s being a commoner—before Annika is forced into a political marriage that interferes with her own carefully laid plans.

For another, pressure is mounting as the war with Troivack draws ever closer. When Fin requests time away from the castle to rest, the King agrees but under a very particular condition: Fin must brave the streets of Austice as a spy, sleuthing out the plans of the Troivackian troops allegedly hidden there.

Further complicating things, Fin’s estranged father is on his way to Daxaria, an unexpected and unappreciated arrival that’s bound to wreak even more havoc in his son’s life.

As Fin forges new friendships and alliances—magical and non-magical alike—he becomes even more enmeshed in courtly intrigues, old feuds, and very personal problems. And the more he tries to clean up the various messes in his life, the more apparent it becomes that his troubles are only just beginning . . .]]>
358 Delemhach 1039415040 Monica 0 to-read 4.43 2022 The House Witch 2 (The House Witch, #2)
author: Delemhach
name: Monica
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/05/13
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<![CDATA[The House Witch (The House Witch, #1)]]> 61337597 A heartwarming and humorous blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery featuring a witch with domestic powers and the royal household he serves . . . dinner.

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .]]>
658 Delemhach 1039410243 Monica 0 to-read 4.16 2022 The House Witch (The House Witch, #1)
author: Delemhach
name: Monica
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/05/13
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Happy Place 61718053
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t stand to break their friendsâ€� hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one weekâ€� in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.]]>
400 Emily Henry 0593441273 Monica 4 3.95 2023 Happy Place
author: Emily Henry
name: Monica
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/09
date added: 2023/05/09
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Vacation Wars 61942149
But Tessa’s idea of a girls� trip comes to a screaming halt when her sister thinks it’s high time Tessa finds some love herself. Unfortunately, Tessa forgot about the deal she made back in high school: she has to find her soulmate before her sister’s wedding. Or else.

As she dodges suitors and her sister’s pranks, Tessa finds an ally in the oh-so-dreamy Myles, her childhood crush who just so happens to work at the resort. But Myles is dealing with some family conflict of his own. He’s elated at being reunited with Tessa, but his father’s refusal to acknowledge his interest in the family business and relegating him to only grunt work casts a dark cloud.

As Tessa and Myles help navigate their way through their families� antics, they begin to realize that their past feelings may have a future—if only they can turn their island fantasies into something real.]]>
427 Meghan Quinn 1662506341 Monica 5 3.78 2023 Vacation Wars
author: Meghan Quinn
name: Monica
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/03
date added: 2023/05/03
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Twice in a Blue Moon 45186670
During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason� and whether “once in a lifetime� can come around twice.

With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling� (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose and perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners and the “delectable, moving� (Entertainment Weekly) My Favorite Half-Night Stand comes a modern love story about what happens when your first love reenters your life when you least expect it�

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358 Christina Lauren 1982135700 Monica 4 3.59 2019 Twice in a Blue Moon
author: Christina Lauren
name: Monica
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/23
date added: 2023/04/23
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<![CDATA[A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers, #3)]]> 62626163 Wen die Braut will, den bekommt die Braut.

Milliardär Breaker Cane und Lia Fairweather-Fern sind seit Ewigkeiten eng befreundet und daher hilft er ihr auch bei den Hochzeitsvorbereitungen. Lias zukünftige Schwiegermutter macht allerdings Schwierigkeiten und besteht darauf, immer ihren Willen durchzusetzen. Doch das eigentliche Problem ist nicht Mrs. Beaver, sondern Lia, die Braut. Denn je näher die Hochzeit rückt, desto mehr sieht Breaker sie in einem neuen Licht.

Und plötzlich wird ihm schlagartig Er hat sich in seine beste Freundin verliebt. Es bleibt ihm nur eine Mö er muss Lia überzeugen, dass er der Richtige für sie ist.

Doch das ist viel schwieriger, als Breaker denkt ...]]>
450 Meghan Quinn Monica 5 4.24 2023 A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers, #3)
author: Meghan Quinn
name: Monica
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/20
date added: 2023/04/20
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<![CDATA[Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #0.5)]]> 55761476
Pippa Fitz-Amobi is not in the mood for her friend's murder mystery party. Especially one that involves 1920's fancy dress and pretending that their town, Little Kilton, is an island called Joy. But when the game begins, Pip finds herself drawn into the make-believe world of intrigue, deception and murder. But as Pip plays detective, teasing out the identity of the killer clue-by-clue, the murder of the fictional Reginald Remy isn't the only case on her mind ... Contains mature content, for older readers.]]>
130 Holly Jackson Monica 4 3.74 2021 Kill Joy (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #0.5)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Monica
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/07
date added: 2023/04/07
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<![CDATA[As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)]]> 56905097 The finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. By the end of this mystery series, you'll never think of good girls the same way again...

Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?

Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars.

Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself—or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle... and if she doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears...]]>
500 Holly Jackson 0593379853 Monica 4 4.20 2021 As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Monica
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/05
date added: 2023/04/05
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<![CDATA[Omens Bite (Sisters of Salem, #2)]]> 57693345 Something wicked this way comes...

Twin sisters, Mercy and Hunter are witches, descendants of the Goode family of witches. After the murder of their mother at the hands of a foul demon, they have become the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds--ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and the darkest of creatures exist.

The problem is that the Goode sisters have split from each other. Grief and anger have torn them apart, driving Mercy to save the cursed Gates on her own and Hunter into the arms of a dangerous goddess. And when Mercy shifts her focus to the Egyptian Gate and Khenti, the guardian of its Underworld, little does she know that her connection to him will land her in the kind of trouble that only Hunter can save her from.

When it comes to breaking the curse, Mercy and Hunter's bonds are put to the ultimate test.]]>
320 P.C. Cast 1250765668 Monica 4 3.79 2022 Omens Bite (Sisters of Salem, #2)
author: P.C. Cast
name: Monica
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/28
date added: 2023/03/28
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Untying the Knot 62626164 A spin-off from the #1 Amazon bestsellers, A Not So Meet Cute and So Not Meant To Be, USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn brings you a heart-warming, yet hilarious full-length novel on what life is like after the happily ever after.

Ryot Bisley is my husband.

Yes, the former third baseman for the Chicago Bobbies and absolute heart throb of the Windy City. That Ryot Bisley.

The first time I ran into him, he was grumpy, a horrific host, and left me on his sofa with nothing but a nylon baseball flag to use as a blanket.

The second time, he reluctantly bought me dinner, stared at my chest the entire night, and still sported that permanent frown.

The third time . . . well, that was a game changer. His smile captured me, his teasing charmed me, and his touches excited me.

So when he was called up to the majors that didn’t stop us from knocking it out of the park and all the way down the aisle.

Eleven years later…I’d love to say we’re happy as ever but the man who sent me dirty text messages every day is long gone and Mr. Frowny Face is back.

He’s so focused on trying to build a life after baseball that he doesn’t see the life we’ve already created together. . .so I make the hard decision and serve him divorce papers.

Problem is…my husband refuses to accept those papers. Instead, he has a new game plan that makes untying the knot of our marriage a little tricky. And just when I thought I wanted to be traded . . . he's slowly, tantalizingly roping me back in.]]>
501 Meghan Quinn 1735528188 Monica 5 4.03 2022 Untying the Knot
author: Meghan Quinn
name: Monica
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/25
date added: 2023/03/25
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<![CDATA[Secretly Yours (A Vine Mess, #1)]]> 61109599 A steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn...

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family's winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she'll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn't the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls' night later, Hallie can't shake the sense that she did something reckless--and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his Ivy League job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She's eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt--and so unbelievably beautiful, he can't focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he's sucked further into Hallie's orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian's gray-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there's something so familiar about her... and her very presence is turning his world upside down.]]>
384 Tessa Bailey 0063238985 Monica 4 3.25 2023 Secretly Yours (A Vine Mess, #1)
author: Tessa Bailey
name: Monica
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/22
date added: 2023/03/22
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The Nanny 61530932 A woman discovers the father of the child she is nannying may be her biggest (Only)Fan in this steamy contemporary romance by Lana Ferguson.


After losing her job and being on the brink of eviction, Cassie Evans finds herself with two choices: get a new job (and fast) or fire up her long-untouched OnlyFans account. But there are no jobs to be found, and as for OnlyFans. . . . Well, there are reasons she ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t go back. Just when all hope seems lost, an ad for a live-in nanny position seems the solution to all her problems. It’s almost too perfect—until she meets her would-be employer.

Aiden Reid, executive chef and DILF extraordinaire is far from the stuffy single dad Cassie was imagining. She is shocked when he tells her she’s the most qualified applicant he’s met in weeks, practically begging her to take the job. With hands that make her hindbrain howl and eyes that scream sex, the idea of living under the same roof as Aiden feels dangerous, but with no other option, she decides to stay with him and his adorably tenacious daughter, Sophie.

Cassie soon discovers that Aiden is not a stranger at all, but instead someone who is very familiar with her—or at least, her body. She finds herself at a loss for what to do, given that he doesn’t remember her. As their relationship heats to temperatures hotter than any kitchen Aiden has ever worked in, Cassie struggles with telling Aiden the truth, and the more terrifying possibility—losing the best chance at happiness she’s ever had.]]>
421 Lana Ferguson 059354935X Monica 0 to-read 3.54 2023 The Nanny
author: Lana Ferguson
name: Monica
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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Love and Other Flight Delays 61327472 Love takes flight in a collection of sexy, fun novellas all set at the airport from the acclaimed author of The Fastest Way to Fall.

The Love Connection
An airport pet groomer meets her frequent-flier crush and finds herself in a fake-dating situation with a professional risk assessor who moonlights as a romance author.

The Missed Connection
Two strangers share a romantic night only to discover months later that they're professional rivals about to embark on an extended business trip together in this grumpy-meets-sunshine romance.

The Sweetest Connection
Two best friends have one week to return a lost love letter found in a candy store at the airport--and work up the courage to confess the deep feelings between them--before one of them leaves the country.]]>
432 Denise Williams 0593441079 Monica 0 to-read 3.47 2023 Love and Other Flight Delays
author: Denise Williams
name: Monica
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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Psyche and Eros 62292422
Who said true love is a myth?

A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will defeat a monster feared even by the gods. Rebelling against her society’s expectations for women, Psyche spends her youth mastering blade and bow, preparing to meet her destiny.

When Psyche angers the love goddess Aphrodite, she sends Eros, god of desire, to deliver a cruel curse. After eons watching humanity twist his gifts, the last thing Eros wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world. But when he pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche, Eros finds himself doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet.

Thrown together by fate, headstrong Psyche and world-weary Eros will face challenges greater than they could have ever imagined. And as the Trojan War begins and divine powers try to keep them apart, the pair must determine if the curse could become something more . . . before it’s too late.

A joyous and subversive tale of gods, monsters, and the human heart and soul, Psyche and Eros dazzles the senses while exploring notions of trust, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be a hero. With unforgettably vivid characters, spellbinding prose, and delicious tension, Luna McNamara has crafted a shimmering and propulsive debut novel about a love so strong it defies the will of Olympus.]]>
352 Luna McNamara 0063295075 Monica 0 to-read 3.75 2023 Psyche and Eros
author: Luna McNamara
name: Monica
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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<![CDATA[The Love Wager (Mr. Wrong Number, #2)]]> 61327470 hello, rock bottom), she decides it's time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of.

After the joint agreement that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie become partners in their respective searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don't go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they each struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Two people make a wager on who can find love first, not realizing what they should be betting on is each other, in this new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, author of Mr. Wrong Number. ]]>
320 Lynn Painter 0593437284 Monica 0 to-read 3.95 2023 The Love Wager (Mr. Wrong Number, #2)
author: Lynn Painter
name: Monica
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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Love, Theoretically 63098427
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?]]>
391 Ali Hazelwood 0593336860 Monica 0 to-read 4.22 2023 Love, Theoretically
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Monica
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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Reminders of Him 58346977
The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would riskĚýlosing the trust of everyone important to them.

The two form a connection despite theĚýpressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.

A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.]]>
320 Colleen Hoover Monica 0 to-read 4.36 2022 Reminders of Him
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Monica
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[The Witch Is Back (Toil and Trouble, #1)]]> 63095134
There’s nothing wrong with being a wallflower. Not to Emmaline Bluewater, anyway. Emma may have been born into witch society, but her days of trying to fit in where she doesn’t belong are over—they ended seven years ago, when the man she’d hoped to marry left town without a word. She’s much happier now, living a delightfully mundane human life in Chicago and running her bar, Toil and Trouble.

Until Bastian Truenote walks through the door and announces that he wants her back.

Bastian had his reasons for leaving—even if he ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t tell Emma what they are. Now, to win Emma’s heart, he’s got to face down an adorably goofy dog familiar, a best friend who’s all too eager to hit him with a carefully aimed hex, and a woman who’s far from the meek witch he remembers.

Magical contracts aren’t easily broken, but as far as Emma’s concerned, not even a marriage of convenience will have her falling under Bastian’s spell again…]]>
384 Sophie H. Morgan 1335476040 Monica 0 to-read 3.50 2023 The Witch Is Back (Toil and Trouble, #1)
author: Sophie H. Morgan
name: Monica
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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<![CDATA[A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame, #1)]]> 58158731
Gifted thief Romeria steals jewels under a notorious New York City crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is wrenched from this world and transported into a realm of opposing thrones, warring elven societies, and elemental magic.

Waking up in the body of a treacherous elven princess, Romeria quickly realizes she's entangled in a deadly plot and must hide her identity at all costs - not least from the princess's betrothed, King Zander, who detests her. Romeria is forced to play the smitten princess as the unwilling pair work together to uncover the danger that surrounds them.

But with their enemies closing in - and as she fights her growing feelings for the king - it's time for Romeria to find out who she truly is.

The first book in the captivating Fate & Flame series.]]>
492 K.A. Tucker 1990105165 Monica 0 to-read 4.01 2021 A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame, #1)
author: K.A. Tucker
name: Monica
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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Maybe Once, Maybe Twice 65212083 Filled with the romance and angst that defines the years you come to know yourself, with a shifting timeline covering two decades and ratcheting up the tension, Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a novel of second chances and finding your own way.

You know that old saying, “if we are still single when we’re 35, we should get married?� Well, Maggie Vine made that vow with two different people, at two very different stages of her life.

And they both showed up.

Maggie Vine’s life is going extra-medium. At 35 she’s pursuing her dreams of being a singer and being a mother—though neither is successfully panning out. So when Garrett Scholl—stifled hedge fund manager by day but electrifying aspiring rock singer by night—comes to her 35th birthday party with the intention to kiss Maggie senseless, it feels like one piece might click into place. Except he’s engaged to someone else, and Maggie knows she won’t fit into the cookie-cutter life he’s building for himself.

Enter Asher Reyes. Her first boyfriend from summer camp, turned into heartthrob actor, he’s lived a successful yet private life ever since he got famous. When a career-changing opportunity is presented to Maggie after her reconnection with Asher, it feels like everything—music, love, family—will fall into place. But her past won’t let her move on without a fight.]]>
336 Alison Rose Greenberg 1250791626 Monica 0 to-read 3.61 2023 Maybe Once, Maybe Twice
author: Alison Rose Greenberg
name: Monica
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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Too Soon for Adiós 62619921 From author Annette Chavez Macias comes a heartfelt novel about a woman who embarks on an emotional journey when she meets her biological father on the day of her mother’s funeral.

No one expects to meet their father at their mother’s funeral. But for Gabby Medina, that’s exactly what happens. Her dad abandoned her when she was a baby, and now he’s back.

And he wants to give her a house.

Gabby doesn’t want the house—or him. But she could use the money. So Gabby agrees to take it under two First, she can sell the house whenever she wants. Second, accepting it doesn’t mean she accepts him.

After they strike a deal, Gabby hires a contractor in preparation for a quick sale. But as she gets to know the town and these two new men in her life, she learns more about herself than she ever dared to think possible.

But is she ready to open herself up to the truth of what happened—and the promise of what could be?]]>
297 Annette Chavez Macias 1542039312 Monica 0 to-read 4.28 2023 Too Soon for AdiĂłs
author: Annette Chavez Macias
name: Monica
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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We Could Be So Good 62365905 Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century romdram about a scrappy reporter and a newspaper mogul's son--perfect for Newsies shippers.

Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city's biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can't let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.

Andy Fleming's newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He's barely able to run his life--he's never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he'll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.

Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can't deny. But what feels possible in secret--this fragile, tender thing between them--seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they're willing to fight.]]>
384 Cat Sebastian 0063272768 Monica 0 to-read 4.25 2023 We Could Be So Good
author: Cat Sebastian
name: Monica
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[Zora Books Her Happy Ever After]]> 61155450
But as she starts seeing Lawrence, and spending more and more time with Reid, Zora finds first impressions can be deceiving. Reid is smart and thoughtful—he’s also interested. After years of avoiding dating, she suddenly has two handsome men competing for her affection. But even as she struggles to choose between them, she ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t shake the feeling that they’re both hiding something—a mystery she’s determined to solve before she can find her HEA.
Ěý]]>
336 Taj McCoy 0778333523 Monica 0 to-read 3.45 2023 Zora Books Her Happy Ever After
author: Taj McCoy
name: Monica
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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Strictly Friends 74818141 —Judy Leigh, USA Today bestselling author

“A heart-warming, gorgeous novel � A perfect curl-up-in bed read.�—Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?

“The happy ending that we all love in a romance novel.�—Vasundra Tailor, author of The Secret of Elephants

She’s travelled halfway round the world to paradise. But has it been on her doorstep all along?

When Ruby Lamont’s young son Jake starts telling tall tales about the dad who walked out on them six years ago, it’s time to find out the truth. It’s not that she wants Kenny back in her life—her charming commitment-phobe Griffin, has always been more of a father-figure to Jake—but if she can understand why Kenny broke her heart, perhaps she can finally move on.

Their journey takes them to heart-shaped Sorrel Island, a Caribbean paradise that according to legend was created as an enchanted refuge for lovers. For no-nonsense Ruby, romance is the last thing on her mind. Spoiling for a fight, she confronts her runaway ex, but he’s a changed man, or so he claims. With Kenny seemingly having turned a new leaf, Griffin shows up out of the blue and the tropical heat builds to an inferno.

With sparks of lust and jealousy flying in all directions, Ruby has to wonder whether the magic of Sorrel Island is more than just a legend. As the truth of Kenny’s departure—and Griffin’s arrival—spills out, Ruby must discover whether people really can change—or if she is just destined for heartbreak.]]>
325 Frances Mensah Williams Monica 0 to-read 3.91 Strictly Friends
author: Frances Mensah Williams
name: Monica
average rating: 3.91
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Will They or Won't They 62562854 On screen, they're in love. Off screen, they can't stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won't they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love� at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen� until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.

But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.

Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.]]>
401 Ava Wilder 059335897X Monica 0 to-read 3.55 2023 Will They or Won't They
author: Ava Wilder
name: Monica
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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The Relationtrip 123023256 Question: What do a reclusive author and an outgoing travel agent have in common?




Answer: Nothing.




But fate brought them together on a vacation five years ago, and as Logan and Sloane prepare for their annual get-together, there are sparks flying between them.




Sloane:

When Logan Murphy, my accidental best friend, calls to say our annual mid-winter trip has to be "redone," he's already got the solution.




Belize. An adults-only resort, and we leave in two days.




I'm giddy with excitement, because I need this trip more than I can express. When I see Murph standing in the airport, my heart twitches to a beat it hasn't since my fianc� left me to tell our friends and family that he couldn't make it to the wedding.




So it's a short-lived twitch, because I'm never going to get into the dating boxing ring again-and least of all with my best friend.




Logan:

I've never told Sloane what I do for a living, and she doesn't know how I feel about her either. But I want her to know all of my secrets.




I want my best friend in my life more than once a year, and I've already started penning a happily-ever-after for the two of us.




This year, I tell myself, as my crush on the vibrant woman is at least two years old now.




If only I knew how to tell her...




This is a standalone, slow-burn travel romance that will make you smile, gasp, and cheer for Logan and Sloane as they figure out who they are...and who they want-at home or on vacation.




For fans of BEACH READ and THE PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry, THE LAYOVER by Lacie Waldon, or THE UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren.]]>
338 Elana Johnson 1638762287 Monica 0 to-read 3.79 The Relationtrip
author: Elana Johnson
name: Monica
average rating: 3.79
book published:
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French Holiday 63231118 One (crumbling) French castle. Two enemies-at-first-sight. The holiday of a lifetime.

Merry DeLuca has a problem—a big problem. Her sister just married her best friend and the only man she’s ever loved. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn’t have an escape plan.

So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance. Merry knows her French holiday will fix everything—there will be mouthwatering pastries, delicious (meaningless) flirtations, and languid strolls through vineyards at sunset. Her holiday will be perfect.

At least, Merry believes that until she arrives and finds Noah Wright—the best man at her sister’s wedding and the worst man she’s ever known—staying in her castle.

Famous travel documentarian by day and arrogant devil by night, Noah refuses to leave the castle. Which means that Merry and Noah are stuck together in France, in a crumbling castle, in a holiday where nothing goes right. Not for Merry and not for Noah.

So they strike a truce—they’ll live as cohabitating friends for three-months, and then they’ll amicably part ways, never to see each other again.

But the thing about friendship? Sometimes secrets are uncovered. Mysteries revealed. Hearts laid bare. And friendship can start to feel a lot like caring. A lot like love. It can even make you wish that the holiday never has to end.]]>
416 Sarah Ready 1954007477 Monica 0 to-read 3.79 2023 French Holiday
author: Sarah Ready
name: Monica
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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<![CDATA[A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, #1)]]> 122779502
The day I meet him, the ruthless mercenary leaves me for dead.

Just hours after humans are born, the gods take what little power we have. In return, they protect our borders from the vicious, merciless fae.

The humans who manage to keep their power are known as the corrupt.
And they are burned.

When my forbidden power is discovered, I’m forced to flee my tiny village and the life I adore.

To survive, I make a desperate bargain with the mercenary who abandoned me at my weakest.

Our deal is simple: I’ll help him and his mysterious friends sneak into the city. And he’ll help me learn to wield the strange, dark power I’ve always kept hidden. The power that may just be the key to my survival.

But the ruthless mercenary is hiding secrets of his own. Secrets that threaten the safety of everyone I love. Secrets that could tear this kingdom—and perhaps even this world—apart.

Please note: A Court This Cruel and Lovely is an NA/adult romantasy book with steam. While this series is slow burn, the chili pepper rating will increase for each book.]]>
562 Stacia Stark Monica 0 to-read 4.09 2023 A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, #1)
author: Stacia Stark
name: Monica
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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How to Sell a Haunted House 59414094 Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…]]>
419 Grady Hendrix 0593201264 Monica 0 to-read 3.65 2023 How to Sell a Haunted House
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Monica
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
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Tomboy (The Hartigans, #3) 42376730
Ice Knights defenseman Zach Blackburn has come down with the flu, and my BFF—his PR manager—begs me to put my nursing degree to use and get him back to health. Of course she would call in a favor for the most hated man in Harbor City.

But when he’s finally on the mend and I’m sneaking out of his place, everything goes sideways. Paparazzi spot me and pictures, plus accusations that I slept with him, fly faster than a hockey puck.

At first, all of Harbor City wants my blood—or to give me a girlie-girl makeover. But then…the team finally wins a game. And now this fickle town wants me with the big jerk twenty-four seven.

Argh. I never slept with him the first time! But no one will listen. Then the grumpy bastard goes and promises to break his no-fan-appearances rule to help raise money for a free health clinic—but only if I’m rink-side at every game. That’s not a deal I can turn down.

But when the team keeps winning, and I realize there’s more to him than his bad reputation, suddenly remembering to keep my real hands off my fake date gets harder and harder to do.]]>
316 Avery Flynn 1640637168 Monica 4 4.06 2019 Tomboy (The Hartigans, #3)
author: Avery Flynn
name: Monica
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/08
date added: 2023/03/08
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<![CDATA[Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2)]]> 51335759
With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.

The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it's too late?]]>
413 Holly Jackson 1405297751 Monica 4 4.26 2020 Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Monica
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/06
date added: 2023/03/06
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<![CDATA[Muffin Top (The Hartigans, #2)]]> 40956244 The only thing about me that’s a size zero is the filter on my mouth. I’ve got a big personality, a big rack, and a big number on the scale. And I’m perfectly fine with that.

But when some random guy suggests I might not be eating alone if I’d ordered a salad instead of a hamburger I’m shocked silent, which is a feat, trust me.

That brings us to one sexy fireman named Frankie Hartigan. He’s hot. He’s funny� And he’s just apologized for being late for our “date� then glared at the fat-shaming jerk. Next thing I know, he’s sitting down and ordering himself dinner.

I have no problem telling him I don’t need a pity date� unless of course it’s to my high school reunion next week. Oops where did that last bit come from? And what do I do now that he’s said yes?!

Because this is no make-over story, and I think Frankie is using me for something. I just have to figure out what�

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322 Avery Flynn Monica 5 4.08 2018 Muffin Top (The Hartigans, #2)
author: Avery Flynn
name: Monica
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/03
date added: 2023/03/03
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<![CDATA[Butterface (The Hartigans, #1)]]> 40607327
Until a bunch of jerks think it’s hilarious to put the “butterface� (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest guy ever—and that old humiliation hits hard.

I recognize him immediately. The sexiest cop in Waterbury and totally out of my league.

But then he kisses me. And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything.

Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months.

Soon everything starts to feel too real, from adorable fights over “necessary� tools to fix my broken porch to surviving a free-for-all dinner with his six siblings to picking up where our last kiss left off.

But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers.

Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale…]]>
293 Avery Flynn 1640635815 Monica 4 3.47 2018 Butterface (The Hartigans, #1)
author: Avery Flynn
name: Monica
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/27
date added: 2023/02/27
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<![CDATA[Spells Trouble (Sisters of Salem, #1)]]> 55422802 Double double, twins spell trouble�

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twin witches, direct descendants of the founder of their town of Goodeville. As their ancestors have done before them, it is now time for the twins to learn what it means to be Gatekeepers–the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds, ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and nightmares come to life.

When their mother becomes the first victim in a string of murders, the devastated sisters vow to avenge her death. But it will take more than magic to rein in the ancient mythological monsters who’ve infected their peaceful town.

Now Hunter and Mercy must come together and accept their destiny or risk being separated for good.]]>
320 P.C. Cast 1250765633 Monica 4 3.34 2021 Spells Trouble (Sisters of Salem, #1)
author: P.C. Cast
name: Monica
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/16
date added: 2023/02/16
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Beach Read 52867387 A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no-one will fall in love. Really.]]>
371 Emily Henry 1984806734 Monica 5 3.99 2020 Beach Read
author: Emily Henry
name: Monica
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/09
date added: 2023/02/09
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<![CDATA[A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)]]> 40916679
Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.]]>
433 Holly Jackson 1405293187 Monica 4 4.30 2019 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Monica
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/03
date added: 2023/02/03
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<![CDATA[Below Zero (The STEMinist Novellas, #3)]]> 59651553 It will take the frosty terrain of the Arctic to show these rival scientists that their chemistry burns hot.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn�

Hannah’s got a bad feeling about this. Not only has the NASA aerospace engineer found herself injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station—but the one person willing to undertake the hazardous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

Ian has been many things to Hannah: the villain who tried to veto her expedition and ruin her career, the man who stars in her most deliciously lurid dreams…but he’s never played the hero. So why is he risking everything to be here? And why does his presence seem just as dangerous to her heart as the coming snowstorm?

To read Mara and Sadie’s stories look for the novellas Under One Roof and Stuck with You available now from Berkley!]]>
112 Ali Hazelwood 0593437837 Monica 3 3.57 2022 Below Zero (The STEMinist Novellas, #3)
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Monica
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/31
date added: 2023/01/31
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