en-US Fri, 04 Apr 2025 14:37:15 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 209220944
But Sarah has begun to wonder... Who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memoriam of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter, after all. Independent and capable.

That is until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances between them and doubts begin to grow. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?

In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is near breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to join a grueling hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.]]> 336 Hannah Bonam-Young 0593871863 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 4.01 2025
author: Hannah Bonam-Young
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 198563657 414 Hannah Bonam-Young 0593872142 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 4.36 2023
author: Hannah Bonam-Young
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/03
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 211894916 An extreme game of hide-and-seek turns deadly in this riveting new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger

When the real game begins, who will make it to the count of 10?

Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.

Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.]]> 384 Lisa Unger 0778333361 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2025-releases 3.16 2025
author: Lisa Unger
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.16
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 124932739 I Hope This Doesn't Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course -- she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings -- but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.

All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. "You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft..."

Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them... that is, until they're accidentally sent out.

Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare -- now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate...]]> 320 Ann Liang 1338827154 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2024-releases 4.17 2024
author: Ann Liang
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: 2024-releases
review:

]]> 216392196 Humor, heart, and Shakespeare abound in this middle-grade novel about Angus, a 10-year-old theater fanatic, his struggling family, and his changing relationship with big brother Liam.

Perfect for fans of books that handle difficult subjects and family dynamics in a sensitive way, like Better Nate Than Ever and Rule of Threes.

10-year-old Angus is unique. He quotes Shakespeare and wants to stage a Werewolf Hamlet play for his 5th grade legacy project. Angus's 17-year-old brother, Liam, is like a werewolf now—Angus never knows if he'll be nice or mean or when he'll sneak out to get drunk or worse.

Meanwhile, tension continues to build for Liam's family in Los Angeles. Mom and Dad are going to default on the mortgage. Older sister Hannah is fed up and ready to move herself to Maine, and little sister Sidney doesn't really get what's happening. Then Liam goes missing, and Angus decides he has to find him.

A realistic, heartfelt look at the complexities of family relationships and struggles. Along with Angus's loveable charm, sense of humor, and desire to stage his original play, Werewolf Hamlet is sure to win its audience—on and off the page—over.]]> 256 Kerry Madden-Lunsford 1623544335 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Kerry Madden-Lunsford
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61374793
Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, with access to Jessica’s most private journals and secrets, Jenna soon discovers that being the top student at the elite, highly competitive Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she imagined. Worse, as everyone—including her own parents—start having trouble remembering who Jenna Chen is, or if she ever even existed, Jenna must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever.]]> 320 Ann Liang 133552312X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 4.09 2025
author: Ann Liang
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/20
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 213197157 From the author of the nationally bestselling Dungeons and Drama comes another gaming romance that's sure to win you over!

Quinn Norton is starting over at a new high school and hopes that joining a D&D game will be the trick to making friends. The plan sounds even better when she’s invited into a group that includes Logan Weber, the cute and charming guy she met on her first day of class. But this isn’t your average D&D campaign�� this group livestreams their games and enforces strict rules: no phones allowed, and no dating other group members.

Quinn is willing to accept the rules, even if it makes Logan off-limits. And she quickly learns that doing so won’t be a problem, since Logan goes from charismatic to insufferable as soon as she agrees to join. As their bickering—and bantering—intensifies inside and outside the game, Quinn can’t help wondering: Is Logan’s infuriating behavior a smokescreen for hidden feelings? Quinn is risking it all, and the twenty-sided dice are rolling!]]> 336 Kristy Boyce 0593899202 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2025-releases 4.04 2024
author: Kristy Boyce
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 219484513 Actress and content creator Dylan Mulvaney’s honest account of her journey through girlhood

When Dylan Mulvaney came out as a woman online, she was a viral sensation almost overnight, emerging as a trailblazing voice on social media. Dylan’s personal coming-out story blossomed into a platform for advocacy and empowerment for trans people all over the world. Through her “Days of Girlhood�� series, she connected with followers by exploring what it means to be a girl, from experimenting with makeup to story times to spilling the tea about laser hair removal, while never shying away from discussing the transphobia she faced online. Nevertheless, she was determined to be a beacon of positivity.

But shortly after she celebrated day 365 of being a girl, it all came screeching to a halt when an innocuous post sparked a media firestorm and right-wing backlash she couldn’t have expected. Despite the vitriolic press and relentless paparazzi, Dylan was determined to remain loud and proud.

In Paper Notes from a Late Bloomer, Dylan pulls back the curtain of her “It Girl�� lifestyle with a witty and intimate reflection of her life pre- and post-transition. She covers everything from her first big break in theater to the first time her dad recognized her as a girl to how she handled scandals, cancellations, and . . . tucking. It’s both laugh-out-loud funny and powerfully honest—and is a love letter to everyone who stands up for queer joy.]]> 272 Dylan Mulvaney 141977039X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 4.13 2025
author: Dylan Mulvaney
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves:
review:

]]> 203433591
I was third-generation white trash who had no value to society. That was a direct quote from my guidance counselor, by the way. She wasn’t wrong, not really. My mom had OD’ed and my dad was in prison. I had no one and nothing.

Our paths should never have crossed. But by a weird twist of fate–and the flying fists of my ex-boyfriend–I ended up in the wrong place at the right time. Hiding from my ex beneath a tour bus, I was a convenient solution to an ongoing problem for the tour company.

They needed their band members to stop screwing random groupies and risking the anonymity which brought in millions of dollars for both the band and the label.

I needed to get the hell away from LA and earn enough money to have a fresh start.
I was taking back my future, and if that meant going on tour across the country as a glorified toy for the pleasure of some masked rockstars, then it was my choice.

Unfortunately, the demons of my past weren’t done with me yet.

THE DAYMAKERS is a standalone why choose, RH, rockstar romance. This book has sensitive topics. Always check the trigger warnings.]]> 343 Grace McGinty ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 currently-reading 4.19
author: Grace McGinty
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 200750969
After a hard school year, V has been sent to her Grandma Jojo's house for the summer in order to get away from it all. But unlike neurodivergent, artistic, sock-collecting V, Jojo is uptight, critical, and obsessed with her spotless house. She doesn't get V at all. V is sure she's doomed to have the worst summer ever.

Then V starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house...

Knocks, the sounds of a girl crying, and voices echoing in the night.

When V finds a ghostly girl hiding in the walls, they seem to have an immediate connection. This might be V's chance to get back at her perfect grandmother by messing with her just a little bit.

But the buried secrets go much deeper -- and are much more dangerous -- than V even suspects. And they threaten to swallow her and her family whole if she can't find a way to uncover the truth of the girl before it's too late.]]> Meg Eden Kuyatt ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.50
author: Meg Eden Kuyatt
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 212924035 In this Latinx adult romance��debut from��National Book Award Finalist��Sonora Reyes, two friends enter into a marriage of convenience to save one from deportation—but everything changes when they unexpectedly fall in love.

Alejandro (Han for short) has never been in love. He purposefully keeps his heart at arm’s length from anyone who might want it, which he lets his family and friends think is due to commitment-phobia paired with a heavy dose of emotional constipation. Now, though, he's coming to learn that it might have more to do with his fear of looking too deeply inward, whether that be his sexuality (he's straight, right?), or the looming anxiety about being undocumented in an increasingly hostile environment.

On the other hand, Han’s roommate and best friend, Kenny, is stuck in a soul-sucking relationship with a woman who wants nothing more than for Kenny to ditch Han and marry her. Kenny can't stand being alone, and has always been afraid of being punished for making the wrong choice, so his girlfriend happily makes most of his decisions for him. But when she forces his hand and makes him choose between their relationship and his best friend, he finally knows without a doubt who the correct choice is.

But things aren’t as easy as they should be with Kenny's ex out of the picture. When Han loses the job that had promised to sponsor his work visa, it leaves the two of them anxious as ever. In order to give his best friend a chance at security (and ok, maybe to make his ex a little jealous), Kenny asks Han to marry him. But neither of them are prepared for the very real feelings pretending to be madly in love stirs up.]]> 384 Sonora Reyes 153876668X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 5 2025-releases 3.85 2025
author: Sonora Reyes
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 222658364 From bestselling author Sonora Reyes comes a poignant and searingly honest companion novel to the multi-award-winning The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, following beloved character Cesar Flores as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his new bipolar diagnosis, and more mistakes than he can count.

Seventeen-year-old Cesar Flores is��finally��ready to win back his ex-boyfriend. Since breaking up with Jamal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the closet, he’s come out to Mami, his sister, Yami, and their friends, taken his meds faithfully, and gotten his therapist’s blessing to reunite with Jamal.

Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for The Thoughts—the ones that won’t let all his Catholic guilt and internalizations stay buried where he wants them. The louder they become, the more Cesar is once again convinced that he doesn't deserve someone like Jamal—or anyone really.

Cesar can hide a fair amount of shame behind jokes and his “gifted�� reputation, but when a manic episode makes his inner turmoil impossible to hide, he’s faced with a stark burn every bridge he has left or, worse—ask for help. But is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he’s hurt the most a risk he’s willing to take?]]> 384 Sonora Reyes 0063358409 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.56 2025
author: Sonora Reyes
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 204316865 A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel in this fiendishly clever, suspenseful new novel.

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.]]> 352 Stephanie Wrobel 059354711X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.57 2024
author: Stephanie Wrobel
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves:
review:

]]> 199235722
Charlie Porter is a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the hockey rink. When she accidentally starts a brawl after a game, she's suspended from school, meaning no hockey this season--and no chance to play in front of college scouts.

Alexa Goldstein's pairs skating partner was hurt in the fight, and with only four months until their next competition, pickings for a replacement are slim. So she strikes a deal with Charlie--skate with her at the competition well enough to place, and her Olympian mother will use her formidable connections to get Charlie in front of scouts at D-1 schools, even without her team.

It seems impossible, and not just because Charlie has never figure skated before. Where Charlie is powerful, Alexa is elegant; where Charlie is quick to blow up, Alexa is cold as ice. But as the frostiness between them starts to thaw, they begin to wonder if they've found a partner for more than just skating.]]> 320 Carli J. Corson ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 4.14 2025
author: Carli J. Corson
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves:
review:

]]> 62601376
At least, not in the way teen movies say she should hate the hot popular girl. They don’t do cat fights, love triangles, or betrayal. To survive their intertwined small town lives, they agree to a truce: complete group projects without fighting, don’t gossip to mutual friends, and stand on opposite sides of photos so it’s easy to crop each other out.

Priya seems to have everything during the school year—social media stardom, the handsome track captain boyfriend, and millions of adoring fans. And Juliette is at peace with that, because she has Fogridge Sleepaway Camp, the one place she never feels like “too much.��

But Juliette’s dreams of five Priya-free weeks in paradise are shattered when her rival shows up on move-in day... as her cabinmate, no less. Juliette is determined to enjoy her final summer at camp, even if it means (gag) tolerating Priya Pendley, but fate seems has other plans. If Juliette can’t find something to like about her situation—and about Priya—she risks hating the only home she’s ever had, right before she says goodbye to it forever.]]> 304 Erin Baldwin 0593622693 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2024-releases 3.97 2024
author: Erin Baldwin
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/20
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: 2024-releases
review:

]]> 61290459 “You never know what’s going to happen, Milo. No matter how hard you try to control things, this is our summer in Paris, and it might just be unpredictable. There might just be boys.��

Milo is determined to have the most magical summer in Paris after winning an apprenticeship at a prestigious fashion house. The plan is work hard, impress the team, and land a permanent job. With his best friend Celeste by his side, nothing will stand in his way of getting what he wants—especially not a boy.

Enter Rhodes London’s resident tabloid magnet and the son of a famous footballer. Milo is devastated to learn that Rhodes�� connections have also landed him an apprenticeship, which means he’s now the competition. Milo knows he has to win at any cost, so he can’t risk getting close to Rhodes, no matter how nice and charming and cute he is . . .]]> Robby Weber ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.50
author: Robby Weber
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 207611566 There’s power in a book��

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master�� (NPR).]]> 482 Grady Hendrix 0593548981 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 2025-releases 4.01 2025
author: Grady Hendrix
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 211004123 The million-copy bestselling Queen of Twists Alice Feeney returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . .
. . . and revenge.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible �� a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.]]> 306 Alice Feeney 125033778X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 5 2025-releases 3.64 2025
author: Alice Feeney
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 208445606 Note to self: falling for the new queen you're mentoring will only lead to trouble.

Being broke, single, and homeless after winning the UK's biggest drag show wasn't how my life was supposed to go. I’m meant to be the one with everything, but thanks to an unscrupulous tour company I've got nothing but my image and a mountain of debt.

Moving back home with my mum and taking the first gig I’m offered in a local drag panto is supposed to help me get back on my feet, but meeting Colin tangles me up more than ever.

Colin desperately wants to start doing drag and suddenly I'm helping a baby queen find her feet while falling head over heels for the man behind the lashes.

We all know mixing these power dynamics is a recipe for trouble, but my life is already a mess. Will falling for Colin really spell disaster or is he the only thing keeping me upright in my seven-inch heels?]]> 288 Charlie Novak ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 currently-reading 4.28
author: Charlie Novak
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 202481377 Note to self: just because he's hot and funny doesn't change the fact he's annoying AF.

Hooking up with my irritating as hell neighbour wasn't on my agenda for the week, even if he is ridiculously gorgeous with a smile that lights up my life. His music is too loud, he’s too nosy�� but I can’t stop myself from wanting more than a taste.

It was only supposed to be a one time thing, but now Rhys seems determined to charm his way into my world. And when he gets his nose broken at a rock concert, I'm the one who comes to his rescue.

But there's no time in my life for a relationship. Juggling drag, a paramedic career, and helping with my sister's kids has already pushed me close to burnout, and I'm walking a fine line between survival and exhaustion.

I've always been the one helping everyone else and I can't remember the last time I put myself first.

Maybe it's time to cause a scene and go after the thing I really want: a chance with the sparkling man next door who has terrible taste in music.
]]> 289 Charlie Novak ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 5 4.30 2024
author: Charlie Novak
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 59808162
Delilah O’Leary can’t wait to open her new gourmet deep-dish pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin―a charming resort town with a long history as a mobsters�� hideaway, millionaires�� playground, and vacation mecca. Engaged to a hunk with a hefty trust fund, Delilah is poised to begin a life that’s just about as delicious as one of her cheesy creations.

Just before opening night, though, Delilah’s plans for pizza perfection hit the skids when her fiancé dumps her and leaves her with a very large memento from their relationship―Butterball, their spoiled, plus-sized tabby cat.

Delilah’s trouble deepens when she discovers a dead body and finds her elderly aunt holding the murder weapon. Handsome local police detective Calvin Capone, great grandson of the legendary gangster, opens an investigation, threatening to sink Delilah’s pie-in-the-sky ambitions before they can even get off the ground. To save her aunt and get her pizza place generating some dough, Delilah must deliver the real killer.]]> 320 Mindy Quigley 1250792436 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.79 2022
author: Mindy Quigley
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves:
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]]> 213197641 A cozy, contemporary romantasy about a teen witch who wants to keep her family’s apothecary from falling to the competition but can only do so with assistance from her first crush.

Plant witch, Sage Bishop, is determined to run her family’s old apothecary one day. She spends her time trying to invent the perfect tonic to put Bishop Brews on the map. And she’s going to need one quickly, too, because their biggest competitor is drawing away customers.

Short-staffed, her nana hires Ximena Reyes, Sage’s ex-best friend and first crush, who’s more of an unwelcome distraction than anything. Ximena has always dreamed of leaving their small town behind while Sage wants to tend to her roots. And during one of their first shifts together, someone breaks into Bishop Brews, stealing several tonics, including the one Sage has been working tirelessly on, the same one that wipes a councilmember’s kid’s memory.

To avoid being shut down by the sheriff, Sage decides to investigate. If so much wasn’t at stake, she’d do it alone. But with her grandmother’s legacy and her future on the line, she must partner with her ever smug and unfairly pretty new coworker. As Sage begins to fall for Ximena (again), she’ll have to decide if the comfort of the familiar is worth missing out on a chance at real happiness.]]> 336 Shelly Page 0593897625 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 2025-releases 3.86 2025
author: Shelly Page
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 208189976
Azrael Ashmedai Hart must be cursed. He’s a witch twice named for the devil. He’s making his way back to his family manor in Hallowcross after a failed screenwriting career. He’s adopted a cat he’s allergic to, and if all of that is not enough, he’s also forced to come face-to-face with his childhood best friend and former crush.

Victoria Starnberger, the bubbly girl-next-door Az lost touch with after an awkward incident in college, has just been disowned by her parents for quitting business school and buying Azrael’s late parents�� Hopelessly Teavoted tea shop against their wishes. Being cut off financially is one thing. But, now Vickie also owes a lesser devil for the souls her parents promised him in exchange for her gift to summon the dead by touching something they treasured in life, destroying the object in the process.

When spirits all over town, including Az’s parents, keep warning her about a sinister threat, Vickie and Az are forced to combine their powers to save the Hallowcross. But to do so, they must prevent her magic from immolating him after Vickie’s devil places a curse on them to keep them from touching until she repays her debt. As they race against the clock to find clever ways around their curse, they find it increasingly harder to deny that they’ve been hopelessly devoted to each other all along.]]> Audrey Goldberg Ruoff ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 5.00 2025
author: Audrey Goldberg Ruoff
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 217223396 A stunning reimagining of Tristan and Isolde set in a dystopian world woven with magic. An addictive debut YA enemies-to-lovers romantasy—perfect for fans of Rebecca Ross and Sarah Underwood as well as books like Curious Tides, The Hurricane Wars, and Belladonna.

It’s been thirty-seven years since the Republic was destroyed. Now two settlements—the five clans and the Kingsland—fight for control of the untainted land. Though the five clans are outnumbered, they’ve finally struck, killing Kingsland’s brutal leader.

In the war that follows, Isadora, an eighteen-year-old healer, risks her life to help injured soldiers. But when she stops an attack from Tristan, a Kingsland assassin, his soldiers shoot her with a poisoned arrow. As Isadora lies dying, Tristan does the unimaginable: He offers to save her life using a rare magic.

In choosing to live, Isadora is unknowingly bound to the mysterious Tristan. Worse, even acknowledging the attraction between them allows him to glean fragments of her memories and the very knowledge he needs to destroy the five clans. But their magical connection works both ways. So to save her people, Isadora will have to open her heart to her most cunning enemy. Because in a race for ultimate survival, she’ll need to destroy Tristan and his people first.]]> 368 Melissa Poett 0063432617 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.15 2025
author: Melissa Poett
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 214627245 After Alejandro Velasco is found dead, a handsome stranger visits the family. But when this newcomer’s secrets collide with those of Alejandro’s sister, sparks fly—and blood is shed.

A handsome young man named Julian Villareal arrives at the opulent Velasco estate to pay his respects after the unexpected death of Alejandro Velasco, his close friend and tennis rival. But he soon becomes entwined in the Velasco family’s glamourous lifestyle—and their daughter Sofia’s mysterious allure. Mercurial and quick-witted, Sofia seems determined to give Julian a run for his money. And he’s prepared to play along—both on and off the tennis courts.

As the tension between Julian and Sofia sizzles, Julian hides a much darker Alejandro’s death was no accident. And the more Julian learns about the inner workings of the Velasco family, the greater the danger he uncovers. With power and status come opponents bent on toppling the empire, by blackmail, revenge, or even murder. Julian’s quest for answers will only lure him deeper into this den of vipers, but teasing out Sofia’s own intentions may be the steamiest—and deadliest—game of all.]]> 275 Diego Boneta 1662517564 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.91 2025
author: Diego Boneta
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 217476770 Every woman who has lived on this farm has died. Emily just moved in.

When Emily Hauk's mother dies, it's time for her and her husband, Josh, to finally leave San Francisco. A farm in rural Nebraska is everything they want for a fresh start: clear skies, low costs, and distance from the grief back home.��

They should have asked why the farm was for sale.��

Three years ago a teenage girl went missing from the farm. Soon afterward, the girl's mother mysteriously died. The deeper Emily digs the more stories she uncovers of women connected to her new home who've met their own dark ends.

With each passing day Emily's sanctuary slips further away. The barn seems to move throughout her property as though chasing her. Her mother's favorite music drifts across the cornfield. She swears she saw blood in one of the farmhand's trucks. And the screams that wake her are not fox howls, no matter how many times her husband says they are. If she wants to claim this place as her own she'll have to find out the truth before whatever watches from the cornfield takes her, too.]]> 432 Chelsea Conradt 1464229163 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.62
author: Chelsea Conradt
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.62
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 221594317 A heretical storyteller partners with an ancient spirit to undo the magic that subjugates her to the crown, in this chilling debut fantasy filled with monsters, dark rituals, and corrupt deities.

The Emperor of Wyrecia is dying, and 17-year-old Lena has just gained the power to control fate itself, binding her to the young prince Dimas as the empire's next Fateweaver. Hunted by the empire's most ruthless soldiers, Lena escapes with a handsome smuggler toward enemy territory. But a former lover betrays Lena, and her magic becomes agony—compelling Lena to submit to a gilded cage. Still, an ancient spirit offers hope: to sever her bond to the throne, Lena must unroot a ritual hidden beneath the palace. As Prince Dimas struggles to forge friendship with Lena and bring his empire under peaceful rule, sinister cultists unveil a twisted plan to unleash an ancient evil that could tear the realm asunder. With every step Lena takes on her quest to freedom, she uncovers a troubling imperial past that tarnishes the nation’s matron goddess. Perhaps the oral histories passed down to Lena are not foolish heresy, after all.

Written with compelling mystery, sensual queer romance, and a dual point of view narrative, this dark fantasy roots its magic system in mythological lore. An engaging selection for young adult readers who don’t mind a little terror with their adventure!]]> 416 Rachael A. Edwards 1682637697 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 5.00
author: Rachael A. Edwards
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 221757386 In the high-speed world of Formula 1, documentarian Lilah teams up with racing driver Arthur Bianco for a whirlwind of revenge—and perhaps something more.

Lilah Graywood never imagined she’d be spending her summer amidst the roaring engines and adrenaline-fueled world of Formula 1 racing. As a serious documentarian, her passion lies in capturing the raw, unfiltered truth. But when her best friend, business co-owner, and secret boyfriend Max decides to pivot their documentary company to film the Ignition Energy Drink Racing team, Lilah is thrust into a world she despises. Her disdain turns to fury when Max blindsides her, not only ending their relationship but also threatening the company she painstakingly built.

Enter Arthur Bianco, the charismatic and enigmatic F1 reserve driver whose career is as tumultuous as the races he dreams of winning. Initially, Lilah is supposed to document Arthur’s relegation to backup driver, but together they concoct a plan to take control of Max’s documentary, each with their own motives—Lilah’s revenge and Arthur’s redemption. Their secret alliance promises to change the narrative, both on and off the track.

As they navigate the glamorous circuits and behind-the-scenes secrets of Formula 1, an unexpected speedbump forces Lilah and Arthur’s partnership to evolve into a fake relationship that feels all too real. The chemistry between them is off-limits and undeniable, and as Arthur’s cinematic comeback plays out over the hot globe-trotting summer, Lilah finds herself drawn to his true charm and hidden vulnerability. But as the cameras roll and the world watches, Lilah must confront her own feelings and the reality that no script can dictate the course of true love.

Slipstream is a captivating tale of love, revenge, and the unexpected turns life takes. With its blend of humor, heart, and high-speed drama, this contemporary romance is a must-read for anyone who believes in the power of second chances and the thrill of the chase.]]> 352 Madge Maril 1668098776 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.09 2025
author: Madge Maril
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 214988509 From debut author Emily Yu-Xuan Qin comes a snarky urban fantasy novel inspired by Chinese and First Nation mythology and bursting with wit, compelling characters, and LGBTQIA+ representation

Readers of Seanan McGuire, Ilona Andrews, and Ben Aaronovitch will devour this gory story—and the sweet-as-Canadian-maple-syrup sapphic romance at its monstrous heart

Tam hasn’t eaten anyone in years.��

She is now Mama’s soft-spoken, vegan daughter �� everything dangerous about her is cut out, repressed. Medicated.

But when Tam’s estranged Aunt Tigress is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits an undead fox in a shoebox and an ensemble of old enemies.��

The demons, the ghosts, the gods running coffee shops by the river? Fine. The tentacled thing stalking Tam across the city? Absolutely not. And when Tam realizes the girl she’s falling in love with might be yet another loose end from her past? That’s just the brassy, beautiful cherry on top.

Because no matter how quietly she lives, Tam can’t hide from her voracious upbringing, nor the suffering she caused. As she navigates romance, redemption, and the end of the world, she can’t help but wonder��

Do monsters even deserve happy endings?

With worldbuilding inspired by Chinese folklore and the Siksiká Nation in Canada, LGBTQIA+ representation, and a sapphic romance, Aunt Tigress is at once familiar and breathtakingly innovative.]]> 432 Emily Yu-Xuan Qin 0756419387 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.74 2025
author: Emily Yu-Xuan Qin
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 210164455
As more dragons perish, the world withers from the depletion of its life force. Trees die, fires lose oxygen, grass dries out, plants wilt into black rot, and the water supply dwindles. Alice and Rio find themselves on opposite sides of the truth but with a common enemy that binds them. In order to work together, they must set aside their bickering, scheming, and contrasting personalities, but mutual loathing won’t be their only obstacle. Questionable deities, a nefarious cult, and corruption brewing in the heart of the monarchy threaten each step they take toward saving their world. If Alice and Rio can’t unravel the mystery in time, the feud between their organizations will be the least of their worries.]]> Michelle J. 1956037489 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.60
author: Michelle J.
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 201425499
Ellie Pang has had enough of her controlling family�� who has been micromanaging her life since her type 1 diabetes diagnosis��. When her parents orchestrate a public proposal from their business partner’s son, a proposal that goes humiliatingly viral, Ellie escapes to the other side of the country to put her dream of opening a sugar-free bakery into action. Afterall, she’d done her research. How hard can it be?

She hits a snag when her storefront turns out to be a dump and in need of major renovations. Worse, the only person who can help her turn things around is Alec Mackenzie, her brother’s best friend and the man responsible for crushing her teenage heart ten years ago.

But Alec has a proposal of his own: he needs a pretend girlfriend in order to cement a business deal. All they need to do is feign love and affection, while trying not to maim each other. But when the thin line between hate and fake-madly-in-love starts to blur, and buried secrets resurface, Ellie must learn to trust her heart, and choose between love and family.]]> Cynthia Timoti ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.09
author: Cynthia Timoti
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 62792284 A princess desperate to win back the prince who broke her heart follows him to his kingdom's prestigious military academy—and in doing so, falls in love, saves the realm, and continues to look fabulous in this delightful debut fantasy.

Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.

Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he’s attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?

Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz intro arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are…well, cute.

He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.

But as they say, love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It’s a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms…and test all their hearts.��]]> 400 Cait Jacobs 0063321157 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.03 2025
author: Cait Jacobs
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 211004830 LET’S CALL A TRUCE is a sexy contemporary romance about second chances at life and love, bursting with humor and a touch of angst from debut author, Amy Buchanan.

After Juliana Ryan's husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her with two grieving kids and a stunted career from years as a stay-at-home mom, she has no choice but to make it work all on her own. But her confidence crashes around her when she overhears her condescending but infuriatingly attractive new colleague, Ben Thomas, talking about how her kids and inexperience are a liability the company can’t afford. This sets off a feud between the two, as Juliana vows to prove him wrong.

Two years later, their feud rages on, but it may be charged with something they aren't willing to admit. When they are forced onto a career-making project together, Juliana has no choice but to call a truce. As their lives become more intertwined in and out of the office, Juliana finds it hard to ignore Ben’s perpetual smile and charming determination. What started as a truce grows into more, as boardroom-clearing arguments turn to desk-clearing kisses. Could the man she deemed her nemesis understand her life–her stress and responsibilities–better than anyone?

But just when Juliana decides to open her heart again, Ben’s past threatens their newfound bliss, and she has to figure out whether this second chance at love is worth it after all.]]> 336 Amy Buchanan 1250341566 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.76 2025
author: Amy Buchanan
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 216269037 A funny and heartwarming debut romance about two exes forced to reunite when a plane crash leaves them stranded on a deserted island.

Piper Adams is totally, one hundred percent, completely over Wyatt, the former love of her life. After he broke her heart, she stopped taking risks and focused instead on building a perfect—and perfectly safe—life. Bumping into him at the airport on the way to her best friend’s destination wedding wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was a canceled flight nor Wyatt’s offer of a ride on the tiny plane he’s flying to attend the same wedding. Desperate to make it on time she accepts his offer, but things go from awkward to full-blown nightmare when their plane crashes in the Caribbean, stranding Piper on a deserted island with the last person she ever wanted to see again.��

At first, rule-following Piper clashes with adventure-driven Wyatt, but as the days tick by, she begrudgingly admits that the boy she once knew has grown into a man. A man who makes her laugh, knows his way around a fire, and is annoyingly hot shirtless. As the chemistry still simmering between them boils over, Piper begins wishing Wyatt could be more than just a survival partner. But for their love to survive a second chance, she’ll have to not only trust Wyatt again, but also learn to trust herself and find the courage to let go of her carefully curated life for the chance at something far greater—if they survive the island long enough for rescue.]]> 304 Annie McQuaid 0063374862 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.68 2025
author: Annie McQuaid
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 62919375
At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds.]]> 416 Emily Habeck 1668006499 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 3.96 2023
author: Emily Habeck
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 200982327 In this sapphic dual POV Young Adult romance by Adiba Jaigirdar, Meghna and Rani (ex-best-friends-turned-rivals) realize they're dating the same guy, so they team up to beat and expose him at a big science competition!

Meghna Rahman is tired of constantly being compared to her infuriatingly perfect ex best friend now rival. Everyone, except, at least, her boyfriend Zak, seems to think that Rani Choudhury can do no wrong—even her own parents! It doesn’t help that Rani is always accepted into the Young Scientist Exhibition, while Meghna’s projects never make it. But this year, she finally has a chance at defeating Rani in something.

Rani Choudhury is tired of feeling like she doesn’t have much say in her life—not when it comes to how her mom wants her to look and act or how her parents encourage her to date incredibly charming close family friend Zak. She would much rather focus on her coding, especially once she places high enough at the Young Scientist Exhibition to go on to the European Young Scientist Exhibition

When Meghna and Rani figure out that Zak has been playing them both, they decide to do something no one would see coming: they team up. They’ll compete in the EYSE as partners, creating an app that exposes cheaters and a project that exposes Zak. But with years of silence and pressure between them, working together will prove difficult. Especially once each girl starts to realize that the feelings they had for the other may have been more than platonic...

Hey, no one ever said science was easy!]]> 320 Adiba Jaigirdar 1250842085 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 2024-releases 3.61 2024
author: Adiba Jaigirdar
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: 2024-releases
review:

]]> 220305476 A whimsy sapphic romantasy inspired by Studio Ghibli Spirited Away and mythical faeries with a dark twist. Marsai Evans' repetitive life takes turn when a strange faerie princess whisks her away to a kingdom deep in the oak woods. In Zalfae, she learns she was saved by faerie magic as a baby and belongs to their court for life. Now stuck in a world of glittering faerie illusions and hidden dangers in this new world, she must learn to fit in with the faeries and survive the whims of Princess Raine, a beautiful yet wicked faerie who seems determined to make her life miserable.

Living in Zalfae, Marsai discovers there was once humans living and they poses magic and something with the dark energy that threatens has to do with their disappearance. In order to find more information about humans and the magic they once wielded, Marsai and Raine must work together to save Zalfae all while facing a greater challenge—resisting the alluring pull of Raine and her charms. A forbidden love between humans and faeries.

The Fox and the Fern is a complete, stand alone novel. For readers who love romantasy novels with true love, life-changing female friendships, fantasy lore, forbidden romance, slow-burn, and a happily ever afters.]]> 265 Jillian Amena ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.75
author: Jillian Amena
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 204640549 A kitchen witch with a penchant for baking and a (literally) cursed love life meets someone who's worth breaking a hex for in this sweet and spicy debut romance.

As a skilled kitchen witch, Dina Whitlock knows her way around a pastry recipe. In fact, she runs her very own London café serving magic-infused pastries for her loyal customers. But only a select few friends know about her magical abilities or the hex that has plagued her love life. It’s hard to fall in love when your partner is guaranteed to have a string of bad luck the second they start to have feelings for you.

Scott Mason is back from traveling the world and is excited to begin his new job as a curator at the British Museum. After leaving London to heal from a brutal breakup two years ago, Scott only now realizes how much he missed out on. Now that his best friend’s wedding is right around the corner, Scott is determined to be the most amazing best man ever, but he doesn’t expect to be bewitched by the maid of honor, who also happens to be the owner of his new favorite café and, more surprisingly, a witch?!

After a weekend in the countryside full of peculiar hedge mazes, palm readings by candlelight, and a midnight Halloween ritual, there’s no denying the chemistry between them. But there’s just one problem: The hex still holds, and Dina knows that Scott is in danger. In the past, she’s always cut her losses, but this time is different. Scott could be the one. Will Dina be able to undo the hex, before it’s too late?]]> 320 Nadia El-Fassi 0593871790 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.50 2024
author: Nadia El-Fassi
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves:
review:

]]> 65212043 From Alison Rumfitt, the author of Tell Me I’m Worthless �� “a triumph of transgressive queer horror�� (Publishers Weekly) �� comes Brainwyrms, a searing body horror novel of obsession, violence and pleasure.

When a transphobic woman bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As the media descends like vultures, Frankie tries to cope with the carnage: binge-drinking, fucking strangers, pushing away her friends. Then she meets Vanya. Mysterious, beautiful, terrifying Vanya.

The two hit it off immediately, but as their relationship intensifies, so too does Frankie’s feeling that Vanya is hiding something from her. When Vanya’s secrets threaten to tear them apart, Frankie starts digging, and unearths a sinister, depraved conspiracy, the roots of which go deeper than she ever imagined. Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, Brainwyrms confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain and identity.]]> 304 Alison Rumfitt 1250866251 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 5 3.66 2023
author: Alison Rumfitt
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> 203579013
Ruby Young's new Boston apartment comes with all the usual perks. Windows facing the brick wall of the next-door building. Heat that barely works. A malfunctioning buzzer. Noisy neighbors. A dead body on the sidewalk outside. And of course, a ghost.

Since Cordelia Graves died in her apartment a few months ago, she's kept up her residency, despite being bored out of her (non-tangible) skull and frustrated by her new roommate. When her across-the-hall neighbor, Jake Macintyre, is shot and killed in an apparent mugging gone wrong outside their building, Cordelia is convinced there’s more to it and is determined to bring his killer to justice.

Unfortunately, Cordelia, being dead herself, can't solve the mystery alone. She has to enlist the help of the obnoxiously perky, living tenant of her apartment. Ruby is twenty, annoying, and has never met a houseplant she couldn't kill. But she also can do everything Cordelia can't, from interviewing suspects to researching Jake on the library computers that go up in a puff of smoke if Cordelia gets too close. The roommates form an unlikely friendship as they get closer to the truth about Jake's death…and maybe other dangerous secrets as well.]]> 336 Olivia Blacke 1250336678 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.63 2024
author: Olivia Blacke
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves:
review:

]]> 217245608 Falling in love with your husband is anything but convenient in this steamy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Business or Pleasure.

Dani Dorfman has somehow made it to her thirties without knowing what she wants to do with her life. So when an office romance ends poorly and gets her fired, she applies for a job in Amsterdam, idly dreaming of escaping the mess she’s created, but never imagining she'll actually get it.

Except she does. By the end of her first week in Amsterdam, she’s never felt more adrift or alone. Then she crashes her bike into her high school ex-boyfriend—and suddenly life is blooming with new opportunities.

Wouter van Leeuwen was a Dutch exchange student Dani’s family hosted, a forbidden love that ended in a painful breakup. Years later, there’s still sizzling chemistry between them, and okay, maybe a little animosity. More importantly, Wouter needs to be married to inherit a gorgeous family home on a canal—and when Dani's job falls apart, she needs a visa.��As the marriage of convenience pushes them together in unexpected ways, Dani must decide whether her new life is yet another mistake—or if it's worth taking a risk on a second chance.]]> 384 Rachel Lynn Solomon 0593548558 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read 4.09 2025
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216247489 Subversive and unexpectedly heartwarming, Sky Daddy hijacks the classic love story, exploring desire, fate, and the longing to be accepted for who we truly are.

Linda is doing her best to lead a life that would appear normal to the casual observer. Weekdays, she earns $20 an hour moderating comments for a video-sharing platform, then rides the bus home to the windowless garage she rents on the outskirts of San Francisco. But on the last Friday of each month, she indulges in her true passion: taking BART to SFO for a round-trip flight to a regional hub. The destination is irrelevant because each trip means a new date with a handsome stranger—a stranger whose intelligent windscreens, sleek fuselages, and powerful engines make Linda feel a way that no human ever could.

Linda knows that she can’t tell anyone she’s sexually obsessed with planes—nor can she reveal her belief her destiny is to “marry�� one of her suitors by dying in a plane crash, thereby uniting her with her soulmate plane for eternity. But when an opportunity arises to hasten her dream of eternal partnership, and the carefully balanced elements of her life begin to spin out of control, she must choose between maintaining the trappings of normalcy and launching herself headlong toward the love she’s always dreamed of.]]> 368 Kate Folk 059323149X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read 4.08 2025
author: Kate Folk
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214151452 The long-awaited new novel from the author of global sensation Tender Is the Flesh: a thrilling work of literary horror about a woman cloistered in a secretive, violent religious order, while outside the world has fallen into chaos.

From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.

But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past—and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can’t she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?

A searing, dystopian tale about climate crisis, ideological extremism, and the tidal pull of our most violent, exploitative instincts, this is another unforgettable novel from a master of feminist horror.]]> 192 Agustina Bazterrica 1668063700 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read 3.73 2023
author: Agustina Bazterrica
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222376777 The odd couple of crime-solving returns in Olivia Blacke’s Death at the Door, where a ghost and her living roommate find another mystery on their doorstep.

Ruby Young is slowly adjusting to her new life in Boston. A big part of that is her unexpected roommate—the ghost of the woman who lived there before. For Cordelia Graves, she may no longer be breathing, but it’s still her apartment and Ruby is the somewhat unwanted houseguest. They’re both happy they’ve managed to become friends, which is a miracle considering they struggle to communicate with each other. Cordelia even set Ruby up with her old job.

When Ruby discovers the body of a delivery guy at work, the new life she’s been building hangs in the balance. The last time Cordelia dragged Ruby into a murder investigation, it was almost two ghosts living in the apartment, not one. Determined to protect Ruby, Cordelia tries to shield her from the investigation, but Ruby has other ideas. It will take both of them working together to navigate the fine line between the dead and the living to bring a killer to light.]]> 352 Olivia Blacke 1250336708 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.00 2025
author: Olivia Blacke
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 204640265 From Vulture's "master of horror" Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless and emotionally charged social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media, for fans of The Last of Us and When Evil Lurks

Noah Fairchild has been losing his formerly polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening�� is here, he assumes it’s related to one of the many conspiracy theories she believes in. But when his own phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the long drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles, a fridge full of spoiled food, and his parents locked in a terrifying trance-like state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it and get medical help.

Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.

But Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart-–literally-–as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend watching particular channels, using certain apps, or visiting certain websites. In Noah’s Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn��-but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?

This ambitious, searing novel from "one of horror's modern masters" holds a mirror to our divided nation, and will shake readers to the core.]]> 384 Clay McLeod Chapman ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2025-releases 3.39 2025
author: Clay McLeod Chapman
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 210993962 Felicity Jin returns in the second book in the heart-warming and deliciously mysterious Magical Fortune Cookie series from Lilian Jackson Braun Award-nominee Jennifer J. Chow.

Jin Bakery has been asked to cater the Lum-Wu outdoor wedding at Pixie Park. The day of the ceremony, Felicity is finishing the “cake�� of tiered egg tarts as the wedding party arrives for the ceremony. When one of the groomsmen, Miles Wu, doesn’t arrive, Felicity’s best friend and local florist Kelvin generously steps in for him and the wedding goes smoothly—until cake cutting time.

That’s when Felicity finds Miles�� dead body beneath the table with her egg tarts display, stabbed by Kelvin’s gardening shears. With the detective’s sights on Kelvin, Felicity starts sleuthing away to prove his innocence, revealing dark secrets about all the wedding's attendants. They each had something to hide—and a reason to quiet Miles forever. To make matters worse, Felicity’s powers of prediction are on the fritz thanks to the emotional turmoil of a surprise visit from her estranged father.

When the groom gets poisoned at the send-off party and winds up in a coma, the stakes are even higher, not to mention Felicity’s feelings for Kelvin are beginning to feel more than friendly. Will Felicity’s magic return in time to catch the true culprit and rescue her budding relationship with Kelvin?]]> 343 Jennifer J. Chow 1250351626 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.06 2025
author: Jennifer J. Chow
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 220160455 In this delightfully funny and heartfelt new novel from the author of the “bittersweet page-turner�� (The New York Times) The Last Book Party, an American woman travels to the English countryside when she discovers tickets her late mother had purchased for a murder mystery simulation in a small British town.

When thirty-four-year-old Cath loses her mostly absentee mother, she is ambivalent. With days of quiet, unassuming routine in Buffalo, New York, Cath consciously avoids the impulsive, thrill-seeking lifestyle that her mother once led. But when she’s forced to go through her mother’s things one afternoon, Cath is perplexed to find tickets for an upcoming “murder week�� in England’s Peak. A whole town has come together to stage a fake murder mystery to attract tourism to their quaint hamlet. Baffled but helplessly intrigued by her mother’s secret purchase, Cath decides to go on the trip herself—and begins a journey she never could have anticipated.

Teaming up with her two cottage-mates, both ardent mystery lovers—Wyatt Green, forty, who works unhappily in his husband’s birding store, and Amity Clark, fifty, a divorced romance writer struggling with her novels—Cath sets about solving the “crime�� and begins to unravel shocking truths about her mother along the way. Amidst a fling—or something more—with the handsome local maker of artisanal gin, Cath and her irresistibly charming fellow sleuths will find this week of fake murder may help them face up to a very real crossroads in their own lives.

Witty, wise, and deliciously escapist, Welcome to Murder Week is a fresh, inventive twist on the murder mystery and a touching portrayal of one daughter’s reckoning with her grief, her past—and her own budding sense of adventure.]]> 304 Karen Dukess 1668079771 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.35 2025
author: Karen Dukess
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 221251788 In this electric horror novel from the author of The Insatiable Volt Sisters, an exhausted mother thinks her newborn might be a monster. She’s right.

Thea’s third pregnancy was her easiest. She wasn’t consumed with anxiety about the baby. She wasn’t convinced it was going to be born green, or have a third eye, or have tentacles sprouting from its torso. Thea was fine. Her baby would be fine.��

But when the nurses handed Lucia to her, Thea just knew. Her baby girl was a monster. Not only was Lucia born with a full set of teeth and a devilish glint in her eye, but she’s always hungry. Indiscriminately so. One day Lucia pointed at her baby brother, looked Thea dead in the eye and said, “I eat.��

Thea doesn’t know whether to be terrified or proud of her rapacious baby girl. And as Lucia starts growing faster and talking more, dark memories bubble to the surface--flashes from Thea’s childhood that won’t release their hooks from her heart. Lucia wants to eat the world. Thea might just let her.

Crackling with originality and dark humor, Rachel Eve Moulton’s Tantrum is a provocative exploration of familial debt, duty, and the darker side of motherhood.]]> 192 Rachel Eve Moulton 0593854608 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.04 2025
author: Rachel Eve Moulton
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 222376624
Rose DuBois is not your average final girl.

Rose is in her late 70s, living out her golden years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home.

When one of her friends dies alone in her apartment, Rose isn’t too concerned. Accidents happen, especially at this age!

Then another resident drops dead. And another. With bodies stacking up, Rose can’t help but wonder: are these accidents? Old age? Or something far more sinister?

Together with her best friend Miller, Rose begins to investigate. The further she digs, the more convinced she becomes: there’s a killer on the loose at Autumn Springs, and if she isn’t careful, Rose may be their next victim.]]> 416 Philip Fracassi 125087906X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.43 2025
author: Philip Fracassi
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 222698027 Moonflow is three-time Hugo Award nominee Bitter Karella's debut horror novel-a gloriously queer and irreverent psychedelic trip into the heart of an eldritch wood and the horrors of sisterhood. Answer the call of the forest, if you dare.

I see something out there, in the woods. It does not have a face.

They call it the King's Breakfast. One bite and you can understand the full scope of the universe; one bite and you can commune with forgotten gods beyond human comprehension. And it only grows deep in the Pamogo forest, where the trees crowd so tight that the forest floor is pitch black day and night, where rumors of strange cults and disappearing hikers abound.

Sarah makes her living growing mushrooms. When a bad harvest leaves her in a desperate fix, the lure of the King's Breakfast has her journeying into those vast uncharted woods. Her only guide is the most annoying man in the world, and he's convinced there's no danger. But as they descend deeper, they realize they're not alone. Something is luring them into the heart of the forest, and they must answer its call.]]> Bitter Karella 0356528316 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 5.00 2025
author: Bitter Karella
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 218218717 In this laugh-out-loud murder mystery, three women dating the same man band together to get revenge, but when they discover his body, they'll need to solve his murder before they go down for it.

The body in the closet was going to be a problem. Kathryn Hu knew it. Yes, Tucker Jones was a cheating scumbag, and yes, she’d agreed to meet Olivia and Elle—Tucker’s other girlfriends—to exact revenge for all he’d put them through�� But then they found him. Dead.����

Do they look guilty? Yes.

Do they feel guilty for having wished him dead just hours before? Maybe a little.

But—solid motive and a crime scene covered in their DNA aside—they’re innocent. They swear.

To clear their names, Kat, Olivia, and Elle team up to find the real killer. But as they go undercover and lie to everyone, including the hot detective working the case, they realize that every person in their ex's life had a reason to want him dead. Will they uncover the truth before they go down for a murder they didn't commit?

Filled with humor and shenanigans,��The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club��is a romp of an adventure by award-winning author Gloria Chao, perfect for fans of��Dial A for Aunties,��Finlay Donovan Is Killing It�����Ի���John Tucker Must Die.]]> Gloria Chao 0369761294 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.08 2025
author: Gloria Chao
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 223434406 Stable hand Dakota Green would rather compete in the Hunger Games than Aubergine’s annual beauty pageant. But her late mother’s last wish is about to see her trading her muck boots for Jimmy Choos �� and uncover a decades-old mystery of a missing beauty queen.

Welcome to Aubergine, Virginia, where the mountains are blue, the air is sweet, and the beauty queens have secrets darker than last year’s spray tan.

Armed with more sarcasm than sequins, Dakota reluctantly enters the cutthroat world of sashes and smiles to save her family home. But when the pageant owner vanishes faster than she can shimmy into an evening gown, suspicion lands on Dakota’s beloved Aunt DeeDee.

Now Dakota must navigate a minefield of catty contestants, skeptical judges, the infuriatingly handsome new sheriff and a decades-old mystery of a missing beauty queen �� all while mastering the art of walking in heels without looking like a newborn foal. Can this reluctant pageant star unmask a killer, clear her aunt’s name, and claim the crown? Or will she be the next to disappear?

Hilarious and heartfelt, A Beauty Queen��s Guide to Murder and Mayhem is perfect for fans of small-town mysteries with big laughs. If you love the wit of Janet Evanovich and Elle Cosimano, the charm of Only Murders in the Building, and beauty queens with a penchant for trouble, this book is a must-read.]]> 327 Kristen Bird 1805088963 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.87 2025
author: Kristen Bird
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 221739726 From entertainment journalist Ashley Cullins, the definitive story of the Scream movie franchise, with more than eighty exclusive interviews from key players and an in-depth exploration of the creation and legacy of the films that revived a dying genre

It has been more than three decades since Drew Barrymore’s iconic scream first pierced through the night, Scream is as popular today as ever before.

In Your Favorite Scary Movie, journalist Ashley Cullins examines the legacy and making of the Scream films with behind-the-scenes insight from cast, creators, and crew, as well as sharp analysis on how the movies�� special blend of gruesome violence and humorous self-awareness rewrote the horror playbook. This intimate and thorough history tells the complete story of Scream with brand-new interviews from Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Kevin Williamson, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jack Quaid, Parker Posey, Hayden Panettiere, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Radio Silence, Roger Jackson, and so many more.

Perfect for fans of Scream, horror lovers, and cinephiles, this is the story of how a little movie about a ghost-faced killer terrorizing high schoolers overcame countless obstacles to become an historic success that still has audiences screaming to this day.]]> Ashley Cullins 0593474716 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.33 2025
author: Ashley Cullins
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 222361681 Beloved author Kasie West's sparkling adult rom-com debut about a hopeless romantic falling for the one man she never expected

Can a swipe right turn into swept away?

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic. That’s why she wants to be a literary agent—to help bring romance books to the world. It’s also why she hates dating apps with all her romance loving soul. She wants her own love story to be just as much fun as the books she reads—a mixed up coffee order, a mistaken identity. She’s not going to tell the story that she swiped right on future husband’s shirtless pic for the rest of her life.

The problem is that her most consistent relationship over the last several years is with Oliver, a guy she keeps rematching with on the apps. They’ve only been on one date and it was a disaster…well, until the make out session in the car before parting ways. But, she keeps reminding herself, a make out session does not a relationship make. And so there will not be a date two regardless of how witty their app banter is.

When Margot gets fired from her job on the same day she meets Oliver again, her life becomes a veritable shit show. Her dream career is dying right before her eyes, and Oliver thinks she’s interested in only one a repeat of the hot make out session they had three years ago so she can get him out of her system. And maybe that is all she wants from him, because she and Oliver are definitely not compatible—he doesn’t hit the snooze button, he runs five miles every morning, he reads nonfiction, and worst of all, she didn’t meet him in cute way! But in her scramble to keep her dream career alive, by opening her own agency, Oliver is there with his golden retriever energy, more steady and helpful than any man she’s ever dated. Just when she thinks she’s overcome her app bias, she realizes that maybe it’s not her who’s holding back, but him. And his reasons are more than she bargained for.

Kasie West's romantic adult debut is full of witty banter, meet cutes gone awry and, ultimately, true love.]]> Kasie West 125034915X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.15 2025
author: Kasie West
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 222419258 From the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Roots and Ruin, comes an irresistible blend of dark fairytale and romantic fantasy set in the beautiful but brutal Canadian wilderness.

Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious Scottish lumber merchant, the tiny town on the edge of the American continent is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks�� pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Swiftly realizing that the stories she was raised on might be more myth than fact, Greer figures out a way to escape Mistaken for the very first time. Determined to rescue Ellis, she begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But Greer is being hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding, as well as her own origins.

Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman’s relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and claim her own future.]]> 368 Erin A. Craig 0593686802 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.00 2025
author: Erin A. Craig
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 216223604 The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.
]]> 384 Freida McFadden 1464232989 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 2025-releases 3.58 2025
author: Freida McFadden
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: 2025-releases
review:

]]> 196407998 A lying Twitch streamer
A demon hungry for her secrets

After spending the summer wracked with guilt about causing the accident that killed her little sister, ambitious gamer and chronic liar Viv returns to Twitch streaming. She never told her parents the truth about the accident, but she hopes that maybe making it big in streaming and giving the money to them is penance enough for her mistakes.

The weekend before school starts, Viv finds the perfect horror game to make her Twitch comeback, and during an offline practice run, an NPC asks Viv for a secret. She decides to tell them the truth about her sister’s death since a game could never share her secret―in doing so, she accidentally welcomes a demonic mimic into her life.

No one believes Viv when she tells them about her evil doppelganger. Viv has lied to get her best friend’s sympathy and has spread rumors for attention, so why should anyone trust her now? The only person who believes her is Ash, a cute social outcast whom Viv once bullied. In trying to clear her name and kill the mimic, Viv discovers that her lies have hurt people who never deserved it, herself included.]]> 304 Tatiana Schlote-Bonne ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 3.88 2024
author: Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves:
review:

]]> 210532883 So why is the one woman who is completely off limits knocking on my door?
Someone (my meddling brothers) told her I'm the love guru.
And she wants lessons in falling in love. Just not with me.
]]> 374 Amy Award ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.90 2024
author: Amy Award
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 202468451 From a #1 internationally bestselling author comes an��atmospheric, chilling novel about a family who thinks there's someone hiding in their attic.

“Andrea Mara is a star.�� —Lee Child

You thought you were home alone.

Anya is enjoying a relaxing bath when she hears a noise coming from the ceiling. Through the open bathroom door, she sees the attic hatch swing down, and a masked figure drops to the floor. Thirty seconds later, Anya is dead.

You're not afraid of being alone in the dark. You're afraid you're not alone.

Across town, Anya's old school friend, Julia, sees an online video of a masked figure climbing out of an attic. She suddenly realizes why the footage is eerily familiar: it was filmed inside her house in a luxury gated community, designed to keep intruders out.

And now your worst fears are coming true.

Why would a stranger target Julia? Unless of course, it's not a stranger at all.]]> 368 Andrea Mara ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 2 3.62 2024
author: Andrea Mara
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 199531882
All Kris wants for Christmas is for his uncle to move back to Winter Wonderland to be the first gay Santa. And so, he needs to win the Race, his grade’s annual competition to see who can get a guest to fall in love with them first. Winning means a trip to New York, where Kris would be able to plead his case for his uncle to the founder of Winter Wonderland himself.

Then Aaron and Kris flop into each other during a flash mob and Kris agrees to help Aaron with his plan to keep Casey single. Soon, both can’t stop thinking about kissing the other, and it’s not just because of the mistletoe around every corner. Too bad true love isn’t on either of their Christmas lists��

This adorable rom-com from bestselling author Jason June unwraps the healing power of love and the magic of the Christmas season.]]> 368 Jason June 0063260085 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.67 2024
author: Jason June
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 223478303
When We Love You, Bunny opens, Sam has just published her first novel to critical acclaim. But at a New England stop on her book tour, her one-time frenemies, furious at the way they’ve been portrayed, kidnap her. Now a captive audience, it’s her (and our) turn to hear the Bunnies�� side of the story. One by one, they take turns holding the axe, and recount the birth throes of their unholy alliance, their discovery of their unusual creative powers—and the phantasmagoric adventure of conjuring their first creation. With a bound and gagged Sam, we embark on a wickedly intoxicating journey into the heart of dark academia: a fairy tale slasher that explores the wonder and horror of creation itself. Not to mention the transformative powers of love and friendship, Bunny.

Frankenstein by way of Heathers, We Love You, Bunny is both a prequel and a sequel, and an unabashedly wild and totally complete stand-alone novel. Open your hearts, Bunny, to another dazzlingly original and darkly hilarious romp in the Bunny-verse from the queen of the fever-dream, Mona Awad.]]> Mona Awad ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.54 2025
author: Mona Awad
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 210490308 She's a shy fiddle player from the city.

He’s a small-town cowboy with the reputation of a playboy.

And they'll be working side-by-side, all day every day.

PRESLEY JAMES isn’t one for being impulsive. But now she’s found herself smack dab in the middle of Randall, Texas. Population 5,549. And to make matters worse, she can’t seem to get away from a cowboy whose love of giving her nicknames is testing her patience. A cowboy who is flirty, annoying, and too young for her.

KADE MONTGOMERY has enough on his plate. Between constant fights with his family and a brand new dude ranch to build, he doesn't do relationships. But he does do women, booze, and fun…until a certain purple-haired, tattooed city girl walks in and changes everything.

Will Kade and his playboy ways send Presley running for the hills, or will he be able to rope her in?

Read Kade & Presley's Story on July 17th, 2024. While you wait, check out Book #1: Rein Me In.]]> 408 Kayla Grosse ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.97 2024
author: Kayla Grosse
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 123610221
BLAKE TANNER never thought she’d return to her hometown after her brother Reed died in a tragic accident. But when her mom gets injured, she comes home to help out on her family's ranch. Now, only five years after her brother's accident, she can’t hide from the grief, the people, or the guilt that she's been running from.

GAVIN MONTGOMERY didn’t plan for his life to be this way. He didn’t ask to be stuck with a pile of debt, the responsibility of a failing family business, or a little brother with a drinking problem. But when his dad died nine months ago, Gavin had no choice but to step up and take care of his family, even if that involved hiding the truth from that they’re about to lose everything.

When Blake reluctantly agrees to attend a charity “date auction�� at the local townie bar, she figures supporting the family of her late brother's best friend is the right thing to do. Only Gavin is no longer the sweet young boy she remembers, and when he challenges her to ride the mechanical bull in front of the whole town, what choice does she have but to saddle up.

But getting back in the saddle might be a mistake. Because even if she's an expert rider, there’s no way in hell she's letting that cowboy hold the reins.

Will Blake and Gavin find a way to work through their grief and ride off into the sunset?

Or will they be over faster than an eight-second ride?

Authors Rein Me In is the first in The Cowboys of Night Hawk series. This book can be read as a standalone novel and has a HEA. Please know that while there are lots of fun and uplifting moments in this book, the characters also deal with themes of loss, grief, alcohol abuse, and depression.]]> 332 Kayla Grosse ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.81
author: Kayla Grosse
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> 199222361 The Pallbearers Club and The Cabin at the End of the World.

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid�� is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions—demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film�� that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.]]> 287 Paul Tremblay ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2024-releases 3.39 2024
author: Paul Tremblay
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: 2024-releases
review:

]]> 210331628 A suspenseful, satirical dark comedy about a struggling writer who wakes up to find his date from the night before dead—and must then decide how far he’s willing to go to spin the misadventure into his next big book.

A few years ago, David Alvarez had it all: a six-figure book deal, a loving boyfriend, and an exciting writing career. His debut novel was a resounding success, which made the publication of his second book—a total flop—all the more devastating. Now, David is single, lonely, and desperately trying to come up with the next great idea for his third manuscript, one that will redeem him in the eyes of readers, reviewers…and maybe even his ex-boyfriend.

The issue is, good ideas are hard to come by, and the mounting pressure of a near-empty bank account isn’t helping. But when David connects with a sexy stranger on a dating app, he figures a wild night out in New York City may be just what he needs to find inspiration. Lucky for him, his date turns out to be handsome, confident, and wealthy, not to mention the perfect distraction from yet another evening staring at a blank screen.

After one of the best nights of his life, David wakes up hungover but giddy—only to find prince charming dead next to him in bed. Horrified, completely confused, and suddenly faced with the implausible-but-somehow-plausible idea that he may have actually killed his date, David calls the only person he can trust in a moment of crisis: his literary agent, Stacey.

Together, David and Stacey must untangle the events of the previous night, cover their tracks, and spin the entire misadventure into David’s career-defining novel—if only they can figure out what to do with the body first.]]> 329 Daniel Aleman 1538766345 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 3.60 2024
author: Daniel Aleman
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 19161835 Her pupils killed her daughter.
Now, she will have her revenge.

After calling off her engagement in wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Narrated in alternating voices, with twists you'll never see coming, Confessions explores the limits of punishment, despair, and tragic love, culminating in a harrowing confrontation between teacher and student that will place the occupants of an entire school in danger. You'll never look at a classroom the same way again.]]> 240 Kanae Minato 0316200921 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 3.91 2008
author: Kanae Minato
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 51882998 USA Today Bestselling author K Webster comes an angst-filled, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers MM romance!

I’m in love with my best friend.
Lie.
I’m in love with my enemy.
Truth.

But they’re the same.
They. Are. The. Same.
Lines in my world are blurry between fantasy and reality.
Truth and lies. Love and hate.

Copeland Justice is my enemy. My once best friend. The sadist in my heart plucking and pulling at every thread of who I am until I’m unraveled at his feet.
His mouth says he hates me. His eyes burn with animosity for me. His heart beats for someone else.

But Copeland Justice is the best liar of us all.]]> 274 K. Webster ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 4.01 2019
author: K. Webster
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves:
review:

]]> 123280216 When an unexpected Player Two enters her life, a gamer must decide if their relationship is worth leveling up in this new romance from the author of The Love Con.

Samara Reynolds has built a large following as a gamer under an anonymous screen name, and uses her skills as a DEIA consultant to advocate for equal representation in video games. When she posted a video critiquing the popular game Legendsfall, she knew she’d get a reaction from her fans, but the video leads to hundreds of female gamers critiquing the game and its company, Artemis Games. The only thing more unexpected than starting an online movement is getting a job offer from the handsome CEO of Artemis.

Aron Galanis has been on a mission to get his company certified to create gaming content for people with disabilities. When he sees Artemis trending online for all the wrong reasons, he’s determined to right his wrongs and offers the originator a mea culpa, as well as a job offer to overhaul the character options in Legendsfall.

Working together turns Aron and Samara from adversaries into allies, allies into friends, and after that—something more. But once their relationship goes public, will Aron and Samara be able to weather the storm and fight for their happy ending, or is it game over?]]> 396 Seressia Glass 0593199073 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 5 2023-releases 3.77 2023
author: Seressia Glass
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: 2023-releases
review:

]]> 62334898 Trouble is brewing for cousins Yale and Celine Yee after a hot pot dinner gets overheated and ends in murder in this second novel of the L.A. Night Market series by Jennifer J. Chow.

Yale and Celine Yee’s food stall business is going so well that they’ve been invited to join an exclusive dinner with the local restaurant owners association. The members gather together for a relaxing hot pot feast…until Jeffery Vue, president of the group, receives a literal shock to his system and dies.

Everyone at the meal is a suspect, but the authorities are homing in on family friend Ai Ho, owner of the restaurant where Jeffery was killed—and Yale’s dad is a close second on their list. Yale and Celine step up to the plate and investigate the dinner attendees: the association’s ambitious VP, a familiar frenemy, a ramen king, a snacks shopkeeper, and a second-generation restaurateur. It’s up to the detecting duo to figure out what really happened before their friends and family have to close their businesses for good.]]> 304 Jennifer J. Chow 0593336550 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 2023-releases 3.77 2023
author: Jennifer J. Chow
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: 2023-releases
review:

]]> 217387750 The second in a witty, USA Today bestselling series following author Eleanor Dash as she goes from wedding guest to murder mystery investigator at her best friend’s wedding on Catalina Island.

Attending your best friend’s wedding should be a piece of (wedding) cake, but not for Eleanor Dash, bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series. Because murder seems to follow her every time she goes on vacation and is definitely her uninvited plus-one to the special occasion.

Emma Wood, Eleanor’s best friend since childhood, is starring in the movie adaptation of When in Rome, Eleanor’s first novel. Emma is also marrying Fred Winters, a major movie star and Emma’s co-star, who just happens to be playing Connor Smith, Eleanor’s ex and leading man of the series.

Filming wraps and they invite the whole cast and crew to their wedding at nearby Catalina Island. There may be a storm headed their way—because of course there is—but nothing will stop their nuptials . . . that is until Emma receives a note that says “Someone is going to die at the wedding.��

Eleanor is a professional at this point, and she’ll do everything she can to uncover the murderer so true love can prevail . . . before it’s too late for her and the rest of the storm-trapped wedding party.]]> 352 Catherine Mack 1250326133 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.98 2025
author: Catherine Mack
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 50534870 This book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.]]> 346 Jon Athan ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.60 2020
author: Jon Athan
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 150444501
Liana Sarkar lives and breathes music, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her A&R coordinator father. Maybe if she succeeds, he’ll finally give her the time of day instead of drowning himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing.

When Liana accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band, Third Eye, she makes it her mission to steer them towards success—without them discovering her role in their setback. But as she gets closer to Third Eye, especially their enigmatic leader Skyler Moon, it becomes harder to hide the truth.

With both her heart and their futures on the line, will Liana be able to undo the damage she’s caused?

Praise for A Show for Two
“You’ll fall head-over-heels in love with these characters while they fall in love with each other.”���� Chloe Gong,��#1 New York Times�� bestselling author of�� These Violent Delights
“Tender and bittersweet.�� �� Tahereh Mafi,��#1 New York Times�� bestselling author of Shatter Me

Praise for�� Counting Down with You
“I. Love. This. Book.�� �� Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of�� Anger Is a Gift
“Steals your heart from start to finish.�� �� Emma Lord,�� New York Times�� bestselling author of�� You Have a Match
“Hand to fans of Netflix hit�� Never Have I Ever .�� �� Booklist]]> 384 Tashie Bhuiyan 1335010033 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 5 to-read, 2024-releases 4.06 2024
author: Tashie Bhuiyan
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/17
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read, 2024-releases
review:

]]> 196848553 A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets.

Harry Adams loves horror movies,��so it’s no coincidence��that she accepted a job cleaning house for horror-movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding gray-stone��Chicago��mansion,��Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes as well as glittering awards from his career making movies that thrilled audiences—until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, and Harry always tries to keep the house immaculate, her head down, and her job safe. Then she hears noises from behind a locked door, noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help. Harry knows not asking questions is a vital part of keeping her job, but she soon discovers that the house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.]]> 317 Christina Henry 0593638212 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 3.19 2024
author: Christina Henry
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.19
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/09
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 211004023 A spine-tingling thriller by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things.

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It's not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears.

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 416 T.J. Klune 1250890438 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.12 2018
author: T.J. Klune
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 203608484
Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she's found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.

There aren't exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton's ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions--as well as a date.

Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He's thoughtful, he's kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She's not totally sure what "logistics" entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.

When a few of Rabbittown's residents suddenly pass away--a heart attack here, a car crash there--and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?

He's a logistics coordinator for Death.

When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?

Casket Case is the heartfelt story of a small-town girl who feels surrounded by death--literally and figuratively. This clever, endearing, and romantic debut explores how love and loss are forever intertwined . . . but death might not be as scary as it seems.]]> 398 Lauren Evans 0593873750 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 2 2.98 2024
author: Lauren Evans
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 2.98
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 213650748 She’s the one that got away. He’s the one that never let her go.

From the bestselling author of Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, the next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, a small town romance in which past lovers get a second chance to rediscover what they lost.

Camille Ashwood had always loved a plan. Her latest was her best yet. She was going to get married so she could secure her daughter’s future, get her overbearing parents off her back, and finally start building her own life in small town Meadowlark, Wyoming. Easy, right?

But when her groom doesn’t show up to the wedding, Cam’s life is turned upside down—she doesn’t even have a place to live. That is, until she finds out the house she’s loved since high school is available to rent. There’s only one problem: the neighbor.

Dusty Tucker has spent nearly all of his adult life running. Running from what, though? More like who: Cam Ashwood. But ever since he returned home last year, the girl who was his first, well, everything has become a woman seemingly determined to keep him at arm’s length. And he was okay with that—at least, that’s what he kept telling himself. She was getting married, after all. But now she’s single and living next door. Dusty wants to show her that they can be friends, and that he can stay put.

Despite her best attempts to stay far away from Dusty Tucker, Cam realizes that being close to him is like slipping on her favorite jeans. Easy. Comfortable. That is until past wounds start to open and feelings—both old and new—wreak havoc. Nearly ten years after they first met, Dusty and Cam begin to wonder if their first love can also be their last. And this time, will it be forever?]]> Lyla Sage ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.27 2025
author: Lyla Sage
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 204597659
and oh yeah, being haunted.

Inn manager Tana thinks it's all bullshit, no matter how many bumps in the night she heard. After an awful experience with a ghost hunter, she’s sworn off ghosts and lovers. Until the day she gets snowed in with a very alluring new guest.

But what secrets is this new guy hiding?

Amon is very real. Though he isn’t a ghost, but a demon, feeding off the fear of others. And he’s been trying to scare the Inn manager since she started working there. Everything changes when he finally scares her and finds her fear is delicious , and he knows he must scare her again�� And what better way than becoming a guest at the inn?

Snowed Inn (With a Demon) is a 30k novella featuring a socially awkward demon and a fiesty inn manager. You can expect high heat, fast pace, and an adorable cat. This story is standalone and does not have any cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed!]]> 134 L.E. Eldridge ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 3 3.70 2022
author: L.E. Eldridge
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]> 150246151 Just My Type and Lease on Love comes a new romantic comedy in which a former actress-turned-screenwriter finds herself back in the spotlight, only for her romantic lead to be the one man she can’t stand.

Hollywood darling Emmy Harper is considered the queen of writing romantic comedies. That is, until tragedy struck and she swore she’d never write another happy ending again. After some time away, and lots of encouragement from family and friends, Emmy is finally ready to dive back into the genre with her latest project. But more is riding on this movie than just her return to the big screen. This time, Emmy’s also been convinced to star as the lead, dusting off acting skills she hasn’t used in over a decade.

Emmy’s nervous, yet excited, to give performing another shot, until a last-minute injury benches her trusted co-star. With filming about to start, there’s only one other actor available on such short Grayson West. A blockbuster action star known for his mega-watt smile and impossible abs, Grayson is anyone’s dream of a romantic lead. Anyone except Emmy that is, who still blames him for her disastrous first movie and the early end to her acting career.

As filming begins, the friction between Emmy and Grayson is palpable and it’s anyone’s guess if it’s unresolved awkwardness or simmering sexual tension. The two are pushed to get their acts together—and quickly—or they risk tanking the entire movie, but if working things out leads to sizzling chemistry on screen, what might happen when the cameras stop rolling?]]> 336 Falon Ballard 0593712900 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 2024-releases 3.59 2024
author: Falon Ballard
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: 2024-releases
review:

]]> 173404080 Love & Other Disasters, named a "must-read" by USA Today, PopSugar, SheReads, and Harper Bazaar.��

When smart-mouthed Vanessa Lerner joins the high school basketball team Julie Parker coaches, Julie’s ready for the challenge. What she’s not ready for is Vanessa’s new foster parent, Elle Cochrane—former University of Tennessee basketball star. While star-struck at first, soon Julie persuades Elle to step into the unfilled position of assistant coach for the year.
��
Even though Elle has stayed out of the basketball world since an injury ended her short-lived WNBA career, the gig might be a way to become closer to Vanessa—and to spend more time with Julie, who makes Elle laugh. As the coaches grow closer, Elle has a hard time understanding how Julie is single. When Julie reveals her lifelong insecurity about dating and how she wishes it was more like sports—being able to practice first—it sparks an intriguing idea. While Elle still doubts her abilities as a basketball coach, helping Julie figure out dating is definitely something she can do. But as the basketball season progresses, and lines grow increasingly blurred, Julie and Elle must decide to join the game—or retreat to the sidelines.]]> 384 Anita Kelly 1538754916 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 4 2024-releases 4.10 2024
author: Anita Kelly
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/04
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: 2024-releases
review:

]]> 217387939 The next gripping, atmospheric horror novel from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden, set in a deteriorated, half-sunken freighter ship off the coast of Galveston, TX.

Charlie Book and Ruby Cahill have history. After their love ended in heartbreak, they never expected to see each other again, but when terror enters Ruby’s life, Charlie Book is the only safe harbor she can believe in.

In his work for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Book has been living aboard and studying the Christabel, a 19th century freighter that lies half-sunken in Gulf waters, just off the shore of Galveston. Over many years, a massive forest of mangrove trees has grown up through the deck of the ship, creating a startlingly beautiful enigma Book calls the Floating Forest, full of birds, crabs, and snakes. Though a powerful storm churns through the Gulf, Book intends to sleep on board as usual.

But when he arrives at the dock, preparing to motor out to the Christabel, he’s stunned to find Ruby there waiting for him. And Ruby’s not alone. With her are a mysterious, terrified woman named Johanna and an infant child. They need Book to hide them safely aboard the Christabel while they're on the run, only it isn’t the police who are after them. It’s the coven of witches Johanna has fled, stealing away the helpless infant for whom they had hideous plans…or so Johanna claims.

It’s lunacy. Book wants nothing to do with it. But after the way he and Ruby ended things, and the unspoken pain between them, he can’t refuse. Yet even as he brings them out to the ruined ship and its floating forest, back in Galveston there are shadowed figures out in the storm, sniffing the air like bloodhounds. And despite the worsening wind and rain, the night birds are flying, scouring the coastline as if searching for their prey.]]> 304 Christopher Golden 1250285917 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.86 2025
author: Christopher Golden
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 220160134 In this heartrending spin on the zombie mythos, a brilliant scientist desperately searches for a cure after a devastating epidemic while also hiding a monumental secret—her undead husband.

Having always preferred the company of microbes, British scientist Kesta Shelley has spent her life peering through a microscope rather than cultivating personal relationships. That changed when Kesta met Tim—her cheerleader, her best friend, her absolute everything. So when he was one of the last people in London to be infected with a perplexing virus that left the city ravaged, Kesta went into triage mode.

Although the government rounded up and disposed of all the infected, Kesta is able to keep her husband (un)alive—and hidden—with resources from the hospital where she works. She spends her days reviewing biopsy slides and her evenings caring for him, but he’s clearly declining. The sedatives aren’t working like they used to, and his violent outbursts are becoming more frequent. As Kesta races against the clock, her colleagues start noticing changes in her behavior and appearance. Her care for Tim has spiraled into absolute obsession. Whispers circulate that a top-secret lab is working on a cure, and Kesta clings to the possibility of being recruited, but can she save her husband before he is discovered?]]> 352 Leigh Radford 1668081210 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.77 2025
author: Leigh Radford
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 217247893
Enclosed herewith: a bloodcurdling correspondence of horror and intrigue, based on the original Victorian penny dreadful that started it all.

“Your fingers may bleed with paper cuts as you tear through The Butcher's Daughter . . . I am spellbound."—Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

London, 1887: At the abandoned apartment of a missing young woman, a dossier of evidence is collected, ordered chronologically, and sent to the Chief Inspector of the London Metropolitan Police. It contains a frightening correspondence between an inquisitive journalist, Miss Emily Gibson, and the woman Gibson thinks may be the infamous Mrs. Lovett—Sweeney Todd’s accomplice, “a wicked woman�� who baked men into pies and sold them in her pie shop on Fleet Street. The talk of London Town—even decades after her horrendous misdeeds.

As the woman relays the harrowing account of her life—from her upbringing on Butcher’s Row in the unruly streets of Victorian London to her daring escape from a mad doctor—her missives unlock an intricate mystery that brings Miss Gibson closer to the truth, even as that truth may cost her everything.

A hair-raising and breathtaking novel for fans of Sarah Waters and Gregory Maguire, The Butcher’s Daughter is an irresistible literary thriller that draws richly from historical sources and shines new light on the woman behind the counter of the most disreputable pie shop ever known.]]> 432 Corinne Leigh Clark 1641296429 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.17 2025
author: Corinne Leigh Clark
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 220161389 A real-life Latin American haunted mansion. A murky labyrinth of family secrets. A young, aristocratic woman desperate to escape her past. This haunting debut gothic horror novel is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and The Shining.

In 1923 Soacha, Colombia, La Casona—an opulent mansion perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall—was once home to Antonia and her family, who settle in despite their constant nightmares and the house’s malevolent spirit. But tragedy strikes when Antonia’s mother takes a fatal fall into El Salto and her father, consumed by grief, attempts to burn the house down with Antonia still inside.

Three years later, haunted by disturbing dreams and cryptic journal entries from her late mother, Antonia is drawn back to her childhood home when it is converted into a luxurious hotel. As Antonia confronts her fragmented memories and the dark history of the estate, she wrestles with unsettling questions she can no longer Was her mother’s death by her own hands, or was it by someone else’s?

In a riveting quest for answers, Antonia must navigate the shadows of La Casona, unearthing its darkest secrets and confronting a legacy that threatens to swallow her whole.]]> 256 Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro 1668062577 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.75 2025
author: Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 221211448

A smutty, super-queer horror-comedy featuring unbridled narcissism, Vampires at Sea is a hilarious and satisfying snack!]]> 168 Lindsay Merbaum 1951971221 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.60 2025
author: Lindsay Merbaum
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 219445683 A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nyugen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer’s Body and Little Fires Everywhere.

It's the summer before high school, and Ronny Nguyen finds herself too young for work, too old for cartoons. Her days are spent in a small backyard, dozing off to trashy magazines on a plastic lawn chair. In stark contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride and joy of their immigrant parents: a popular honor student destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college fills Ronny with dread, as she contemplates the quiet house she will be left alone in with her parents, Me and Ba.

Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. The family's meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with slim and salty nem chua, and steaming bowls of pho tái with thin, delicate slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.

But when tragedy strikes, Ronny's world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later, at her first high school party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for raw meat, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.

What Hunger is a visceral, emotional journey through the bursts and pitfalls of female rage. Ronny’s Vietnamese lineage and her mother’s emotional memory play a crucial role in this tender ode to generational trauma and mother-daughter bonding.]]> 288 Catherine Dang 0349125775 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.08
author: Catherine Dang
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 220160939 A would-be influencer's dreams of online fame spiral into nightmare territory when she encounters a mysterious and dangerous social media platform.

When a video depicting the brutal murder of a former classmate leaks online, Kylie Bennington’s curiosity gets the better of her, leading to the discovery of an off-the-grid social media app called MonoLife. As it turns out, she must adhere to certain cryptic and frightening rules in MonoLife's user agreement—for this is a platform that primarily rewards the worst in human behavior. Now Kylie’s going to find out just how far she’s willing to go on her unyielding rise to the top—even if that means coming face-to-face with the ruthless forces behind the app.]]> 416 Matt Serafini 1668060973 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.50 2025
author: Matt Serafini
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 221633230 From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.

When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to “kill thirteen innocents and one guilty�� in “an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,�� Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.

Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women’s rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-state lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors. Someone who vehemently opposes Kate’s message of female empowerment is targeting her and disrupting her events. At first, no one is hurt, but the stalker is growing bolder, and Holly is hired to be Kate’s bodyguard—a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness.

Featuring a riveting cast of characters both old and new, including world-famous gospel singer Sista Bessie and an unforgettable villain addicted to murder, these twinned narratives converge in a chilling and spectacular conclusion—a feat of storytelling only Stephen King could pull off.

Thrilling, wildly fun, and outrageously engrossing, Never Flinch is one of King’s richest and most propulsive novels.]]> 448 Stephen King 1668089335 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.60 2025
author: Stephen King
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 216684507 Pitlaw is itching for change. Enter the Freakslaw �� a travelling funfair populated by deviant queers, a contortionist witch, the most powerful fortune teller, and other architects of mayhem. It doesn’t take long for the Freakslaw folk to infiltrate Pitlaw’s grey world, where the town’s teenagers �� none more so than Ruth and Derek �� are seduced by neon charms and the possibility of escape. But beneath it all, these newcomers are harbouring a darker revenge. And as tensions reach fever pitch between the stoic locals and the dazzling intruders, a violence that’s been simmering for centuries is about to be unleashed…]]> 368 Jane Flett 1638932662 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.65 2024
author: Jane Flett
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 211003724
At a passing glance, County Road 951 is an entirely unremarkable stretch of blacktop, a two-lane scar across the Cascade foothills of Central Oregon.

But the road is known by another name, coined by those who’ve had to clean up after all those scenic detours went horribly wrong: The Devil’s Driveway.

When Livia and her long-time friends take the Driveway as a shortcut to a much-needed weekend getaway, what begins as a morning joyride quickly becomes anything but. Soon, they’re driving for their lives, pursued by a horror beyond anything they ever imagined.

The Devil’s Driveway might be only 15 miles long, but with danger at every turn, it will take the four women to the very limits of their friendships and their sanity.

And there’s no telling what else lies in wait just beyond the bend.]]> 368 K.C. Jones 1250792711 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.53 2025
author: K.C. Jones
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 213395442 A young woman’s seasonal job takes a dark, surreal turn in this vivid and surprising debut.

When Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, set off for Minnesota, all she knows about harvesting sugar beets (Beta vulgaris) is that her paycheck will cover a few months�� rent on their Brooklyn apartment. She’ll try anything to escape the incessant debt collection calls—and chronic anxieties about her body and her relationship. But as the grueling graveyard shifts set in, Elise notices strange threatening texts, a mysterious rash, a string of disappearances from the workers�� campsite, and snatches of a hypnotic voice coming from the beet pile itself.

As crewmembers vanish, Elise obsesses over Tom’s closeness with their charismatic coworker Cee and falls back on self-destructive patterns of disordered eating and dissociation. Against the horrors of her uncertain future, is the siren song of the beet pile almost . . . appealing? Biting and eerie, Beta Vulgaris harnesses an audacious premise to undermine straightforward narratives of class, trauma, consumption, and redemption.]]> 296 Margie Sarsfield 1324078731 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.58 2025
author: Margie Sarsfield
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 219278636 A luxurious yacht, a gorgeous crew with secrets and rivalries...and murder! I Did Warn Her is a cunning locked room mystery set on a billionaire’s yacht, by the author of last year’s sensation She Started It.

The Ophelia is your typical billionaire yacht: ridiculously luxurious, owned by a ruthless money man, and staffed by a crew whose only job is to indulge the guests�� every wish.

Model-gorgeous Sasha is a last-minute hire for a weeklong Atlantic crossing. She joins fellow stewardesses Jade, Imogen, Euphemia, and Lola. The Ophelia’s stewardesses are almost identical—blonde and model-gorgeous—and all were lured to the Ophelia by high wages and a chance to leave their problems behind when they set sail. But despite its sleek opulence, the Ophelia isn’t as heavenly as it seems. A stewardess on the previous charter died under mysterious circumstances, the guests�� expensive jewelry keeps disappearing, and the crew grows steadily more and more suspicious of one another.

Then the yacht’s owner brings aboard his best friend and two more women, also beautiful. Also hiding something.

When a crew member turns up dead after a night of partying, everyone on the yacht is a suspect. Who is the jewel thief? Who is the murderer? What will happen when the lights go out, and the crew and the guests are finally on equal footing?

Endlessly twisty and delightfully voyeuristic, I Did Warn Her is a whodunnit on the high seas, where the dark secrets of the ultra-wealthy have nowhere to hide.]]> 384 Sian Gilbert 0063436639 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.78
author: Sian Gilbert
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.78
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 216775113 When a reality show about former child stars overcoming addiction culminates in murder, their therapist must take a closer look into their lives—and her own, from USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry.

Dr. Laurel Harlow can’t believe she’s agreed to do a reality TV show. But her years as a chemical dependency counselor and personal history with the show’s director make her the obvious choice. Treating a mansion full of former child stars on the road to recovery is the tallest order of her career—especially when one of them turns up dead while the cameras are still rolling.

In a house full of narcissists vying for the spotlight, everyone’s hiding something…including Laurel. An investigation could expose a past she’d rather keep buried. But among the attention-starved patients, only one of them is a predator. And Laurel is skilled at spotting a predator when she sees one.

As she hunts a killer in her present, the unsettling truths of Laurel’s past are forced into the light. But this time, she’ll face her demons head on. She’ll stop at nothing to expose a murderer, even if it means risking everything she holds dear.]]> 247 Lucinda Berry 1662526032 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.61 2025
author: Lucinda Berry
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
review:

]]> 217872593 A sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago, featuring the quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, proprietor of a soul food café.

When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.

Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident, Savvy quickly finds herself—and her beloved café—in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager, Penny Lopés, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.

But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?

After all, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for, she never meant literally.]]> Sandra Jackson-Opoku 125035191X ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.25
author: Sandra Jackson-Opoku
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
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]]> 219300993 Bestselling author James Lee Burke tells his most thrilling and insightful story yet through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Bessie Holland

At the beginning of the twentieth century, as America grapples with forces of human and natural violence more powerful than humanity has ever seen, Bessie Holland yearns for the love that she has never known. She finds a soulmate and mentor in a brilliant but tormented suffragette English teacher, who inspires Bessie to fight the forces of evil that permeate her world.

Watching the vast Texas countryside being destroyed by an oil company and a menacing figure with a violent past, Bessie is prepared to defend her home and her family. But when she accidentally kills an unarmed man to defend her father Hackberry, she must flee to New York. There, her older brother introduces her to boys who will grow into gangsters, but as children admire and respect Bessie’s spirit and fortitude as she is cast into a gangland that yearns for justice and mercy.

A welcome return to the beloved Holland series and populated with characters both radiant and despicable, Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie is an epic story of a remarkable young girl who fights against potentially overwhelming forces.]]> 368 James Lee Burke 0802164528 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.47 2025
author: James Lee Burke
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
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]]> 219833252 Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family—and the family business—together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.

Because everything burns.]]> 352 S.A. Cosby 1250832063 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.35 2025
author: S.A. Cosby
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/04
shelves: to-read, 2025-releases
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]]> 209203198
But these things happen only when Emily is alone, so are they happening at all? She is still medically fragile. Her post-sepsis condition can cause hallucinatory side effects, which means she cannot fully trust her senses. Freddie does not notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start. She, however, starts to believe the house is haunted by someone who had been murdered in it even though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge. But just as the house has secrets so do Emily and her husband.]]> Sarah Pinborough ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.38 2025
author: Sarah Pinborough
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/04
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]]> 221144907 “No one does suburban paranoia like Shari Lapena.”—Ruth Ware

The new gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden–working from home that day–has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.]]> Shari Lapena 0593832450 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.17 2025
author: Shari Lapena
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/04
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]]> 220161593 In this follow-up to #1 New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s multi-million copy mega-hit The Women in Cabin 10, Lo Blacklock returns to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, only to find herself in a white-knuckled race across Europe.

When the invitation to attend the press opening of a luxury Swiss hotel—owned by reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann—arrives, it’s like the answer to a prayer. Three years after the birth of her youngest child, Lo Blacklock is ready to reestablish her journalism career, but post-pandemic travel journalism is a very different landscape from the one she left ten years ago.

The chateau on the shores of Lake Geneva is everything Lo’s ever dreamed of, and she hopes she can snag an interview with Marcus. Unfortunately, he proves to be even more difficult to pin down than his reputation suggests. When Lo gets a late-night call asking her to come to Marcus’s hotel room, she agrees despite her own misgivings. She’s greeted, however, by a woman claiming to be Marcus’s mistress, and in life-or-death jeopardy.

What follows is a thrilling cat-and-mouse pursuit across Europe, forcing Lo to ask herself just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save this woman…and if she can even trust her?]]> 400 Ruth Ware 1668025620 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.79 2025
author: Ruth Ware
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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]]> 218671812 From the��New York Times��bestselling author of��The Kind Worth Killing�����Ի���Eight Perfect Murders��comes an inventive, utterly propulsive murder-mystery in reverse, tracing a marriage back in time to uncover the dark secret at its heart.

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early twenties, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave.]]> 288 Peter Swanson 0063433621 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 3.59 2025
author: Peter Swanson
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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]]> 217506549 368 Julie Clark 1464221286 ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 0 to-read, 2025-releases 4.25 2025
author: Julie Clark
name: ismael ˚₊‧꒰�� �� ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/04
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