ana's bookshelf: all en-US Sun, 13 Apr 2025 10:00:14 -0700 60 ana's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg The Lamb 216867498
But Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires, and make her own bid for freedom.

With this gothic coming-of-age tale, novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire, and animal instincts—and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.]]> 336 Lucy Rose 1399619713 ana 0 to-read 3.95 2025 The Lamb
author: Lucy Rose
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Her, Him & I: Poems 197470148 A poignant collection of poetrythat tells the coming-of-age story ofa queer man� exploringthe complexities of heartache, sexual assault, and toxic masculinity.

Her, Him & Iis a love letter to queerness� the joy, grief, ecstasy, and hope that accompanies it. Weissmann offers the readers an unfiltered view into his psyche during several romantic relationships. Thesepoems magnify the reality of exploring emotional and physical intimacy with multiple genders, all whilegetting to know oneself in the process.

A bold affirmation of identity and its fluid nature, this book is an unforgettable exploration of what it means to love and be loved in all forms.]]> 142 Christian Weissmann 1771683740 ana 5 4.08 Her, Him & I: Poems
author: Christian Weissmann
name: ana
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves:
review:
Need to read everything Christian Weissmann has ever written ever
]]> Beartown (Beartown, #1) 33413128
People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.]]> 432 Fredrik Backman ana 0 to-read 4.27 2016 Beartown (Beartown, #1)
author: Fredrik Backman
name: ana
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[God of Fury (Legacy of Gods, #5)]]> 197769061 From USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a new STANDALONE MM college romance.

I’m not attracted to men.
Or so I thought before I slammed into Nikolai Sokolov.
A mafia heir, a notorious bastard, and a violent monster.
An ill-fated meeting puts me in his path.
And just like that, he has his sights set on me.
A quiet artist, a golden boy, and his enemy’s twin brother.
He doesn’t seem to care that the odds are stacked against us.
In fact, he sets out to break my steel-like control and blur my limits.
I thought my biggest worry was being noticed by Nikolai.
I’m learning the hard way that being wanted by this beautiful nightmare is much worse.

This book can be read on its own, but for a better understanding of the world, you might want to start with God of Malice.]]> 522 Rina Kent ana 4 4.54 2023 God of Fury (Legacy of Gods, #5)
author: Rina Kent
name: ana
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves:
review:
"I'll never let him go. Not even if I burn with him. For him. In him. I'd willingly catch fire if he so much as asked me to."
]]> A Streetcar Named Desire 12220 Death of a Salesman and The Crucible), and Williams� essay “The World I Live In.�

It is a very short list of 20th-century American plays that continue to have the same power and impact as when they first appeared�57 years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams� A Streetcar Named Desire is one of those plays. The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Streetcar launched the careers of Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden, and solidified the position of Tennessee Williams as one of the most important young playwrights of his generation, as well as that of Elia Kazan as the greatest American stage director of the �40s and �50s.]]> 107 Tennessee Williams 0822210894 ana 4 3.98 1947 A Streetcar Named Desire
author: Tennessee Williams
name: ana
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1947
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves:
review:
That scene where Stanley was shouting Stella's name while crying was perfection
]]> Open Throat 62039259 A lonely, lovable, queer mountain lion narrates this star-making fever dream of a novel.

A queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Lonely and fascinated by humanity’s foibles, the lion spends their days protecting the welfare of a nearby homeless encampment, observing obnoxious hikers complain about their trauma, and, in quiet moments, grappling with the complexities of their gender identity, memories of a vicious father, and the indignities of sentience. “I have so much language in my brain,� our lion says, “and nowhere to put it.�

When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city the hikers call “ellay.� As the lion confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, they take us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles and the toll of climate grief, while scrambling to avoid earthquakes, floods, and the noise of their own conflicted psyche. But even when salvation finally seems within reach, they are forced to face down the ultimate question: Do they want to eat a person, or become one?

In elegiac prose woven with humor, imagination, sensuality, and tragedy, Henry Hoke’s Open Throat is a marvel of storytelling, a universal journey through a wondrous and menacing world told by a lovable mountain lion. Both feral and vulnerable, profound and playful, Open Throat is a star-making novel that brings mythmaking to real life.]]> 160 Henry Hoke 037460987X ana 5 4.02 2023 Open Throat
author: Henry Hoke
name: ana
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves:
review:
I didn't expect this little book about a queer mountain lion to hit so hard
]]> <![CDATA[A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #3)]]> 205363976 Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.]]> 400 Stephanie Garber 1250851211 ana 0 to-read 4.42 2023 A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #3)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: ana
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Collided (Dirty Air, #2) 50026069 Sophie Mitchell
Liam is Formula 1's golden boy.
But he's nothing but a fraud.
Charming. Devious. Seductive.
And someone who promises to fulfill all my naughty bucket list items.
I force him behind the safe lines of the friend zone.
Instead of accepting our friendship, he strikes a deal.
One season. One list. One dirty secret.

Liam Zander
Sophie is my greatest fantasy brought to life.
And a major threat to my contract renewal.
She's a part of the rival team and someone I should resist at all costs.
Everyone is against our friendship.
My boss. Her dad. Me.
Yet, I'm captivated by her and the naughty list she created.
Screw platonic, I want catastrophic.

Collided is a steamy standalone romance in the Dirty Air world.]]> 560 Lauren Asher 173425873X ana 3 3.81 2020 Collided (Dirty Air, #2)
author: Lauren Asher
name: ana
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)]]> 22055262
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]> 400 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376458 ana 0 currently-reading 4.04 2015 A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: ana
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Notes from Underground 49455 Notes from Underground marks the dividing line between nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, and between the visions of self each century embodied. One of the most remarkable characters in literature, the unnamed narrator is a former official who has defiantly withdrawn into an underground existence. In complete retreat from society, he scrawls a passionate, obsessive, self-contradictory narrative that serves as a devastating attack on social utopianism and an assertion of man’s essentially irrational nature.

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, whose Dostoevsky translations have become the standard, give us a brilliantly faithful edition of this classic novel, conveying all the tragedy and tormented comedy of the original.]]> 136 Fyodor Dostoevsky 067973452X ana 4 4.21 1864 Notes from Underground
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: ana
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1864
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves:
review:
This is one of those stories that takes you for quite a loop and has you feeling whiplashed, but then you read those last few lines and a feeling of contentment just washes over you.
]]> Blood Over Bright Haven 208430658 Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.

An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)]]> 430 M.L. Wang 0593873351 ana 0 currently-reading 4.41 2023 Blood Over Bright Haven
author: M.L. Wang
name: ana
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> In Five Years 54304141
Where do you see yourself in five years?

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.

But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.

After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.

That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.

Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.]]> 288 Rebecca Serle 1982137452 ana 0 to-read 3.83 2020 In Five Years
author: Rebecca Serle
name: ana
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Little Children 37426 355 Tom Perrotta 0312315732 ana 0 to-read 3.63 2004 Little Children
author: Tom Perrotta
name: ana
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Go Tell It on the Mountain 17143 Go Tell It On The Mountain, first published in 1953, is Baldwin's first major work, a semi-autobiographical novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.]]> 256 James Baldwin 0141185910 ana 3 4.06 1953 Go Tell It on the Mountain
author: James Baldwin
name: ana
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1953
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves:
review:
This book was... quite conflicting?
]]> The Left Hand of Darkness 18423 The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.]]> 304 Ursula K. Le Guin ana 0 to-read 4.11 1969 The Left Hand of Darkness
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: ana
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Light We Lost 32956365 He was the first person to inspire her, to move her, to truly understand her. Was he meant to be the last?

Lucy is faced with a life-altering choice. But before she can make her decision, she must start her story—their story—at the very beginning.

Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something, to matter. When they meet again a year later, it seems fated—perhaps they’ll find life’s meaning in each other. But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East and Lucy pursues a career in New York. What follows is a thirteen-year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and, ultimately, of love. Was it fate that brought them together? Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and Gabe continents apart, but never out of each other’s hearts.]]> 328 Jill Santopolo 0735212759 ana 0 to-read 3.80 2017 The Light We Lost
author: Jill Santopolo
name: ana
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Memory Police 37004370
When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.

A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.]]> 274 Yōko Ogawa 1101870605 ana 0 to-read 3.72 1994 The Memory Police
author: Yōko Ogawa
name: ana
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Watch Me (Shatter Me: The New Republic, #1)]]> 216364830 Lose yourself in this exhilarating return to the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe, the first book in a new series set ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment. This breathtaking custom deluxe edition

Shimmery jacket with holographic foilGorgeous designed endpapersFoil case design with a quote from the novelStunning holographic edgesQuantities are limited for this deluxe editionso be sure to preorder now!

James Anderson had a plan.Or half of one. All that matters is that he managed to do what his older brother, the famous Aaron Warner Anderson, never infiltrate Ark Island, the last refuge of The Reestablishment. In the past decade no outsider has breached the stronghold of the authoritarian regime, but James isin. In a prison cell, sure, but as far as James is concerned, a win is a win.

It’s been ten years since the fall of The Reestablishment. Ten years since the notorious duo—Juliette Ferrars and Aaron Warner Anderson—led a worldwide rebellion and established the New Republic of the West. But after a decade of unsettling quiet, The Reestablishment is ready to make a devastating move, and they have the perfect person for the job.

Rosabelle Wolff had a plan.She always has a plan. On Ark Island, where constant surveillance is packaged as security, even emotions must be experienced with caution. A trained assassin, her every movement is monitored by synthetic intelligence—and when she’s given an order to kill, she never hesitates.

Brimming with pulse-pounding action and torturous romance,Watch Meis an explosivejourney through a dystopian landscape where enemies-to-lovers has never felt moreimpossible. Step into a beloved and breathtaking world that demands an answer to a desperate question�

Who are we when no one is watching? ]]> 368 Tahereh Mafi 0063425181 ana 0 to-read 4.62 2025 Watch Me (Shatter Me: The New Republic, #1)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: ana
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Summer Fridays 198137999
Summer 1999: Twentysomething Sawyer is striving to make it in New York. Between her assistant job in publishing, her secret dreams of becoming a writer, and her upcoming wedding to her college boyfriend, her is plate full. Only one problem: She is facing an incredibly lonely summer as her fiancé has been spending longer and longer hours at work . . . with an all-too-close female colleague, Kendra.

When Kendra’s boyfriend, Nick, invites Sawyer to meet up and compare notes about their suspicions, the meeting goes awry. She finds Nick cocky and cynical, and he finds her stuck in her own head. But then Nick seeks out Sawyer online to apologize, and a friendship develops.

Soon, Sawyer’s lonely summer takes an unexpected turn. She and Nick begin an unofficial ritual—exploring New York City together every summer Friday. From hot dogs on the Staten Island Ferry and Sea Breezes in a muggy East Village bar to swimming at Coney Island, Sawyer feels seen by Nick in a way that surprises her. He pushes her to be braver. To ask for what she wants. Meanwhile, Sawyer draws Nick out of his hard shell, revealing a surprisingly vulnerable side. They both begin living for their Friday afternoons together.

But what happens when the summer is over?]]> 432 Suzanne Rindell 0593473914 ana 0 to-read 3.94 2024 Summer Fridays
author: Suzanne Rindell
name: ana
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Plot (The Book Series, #1)]]> 55315487 Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a psychologically suspenseful novel about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it.

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that—a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing� of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?]]> 320 Jean Hanff Korelitz 125079076X ana 0 to-read 3.75 2021 The Plot (The Book Series, #1)
author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
name: ana
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Spring (Seasonal Quartet, #3) 40545817 336 Ali Smith 0241207053 ana 4 4.08 2019 Spring (Seasonal Quartet, #3)
author: Ali Smith
name: ana
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves:
review:
It was political, it was genuine, it was simply so fucking good.
]]> <![CDATA[This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom #1)]]> 56554281 Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir, this is the explosive first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi.]]> 512 Tahereh Mafi 0062972464 ana 0 to-read 3.95 2022 This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom #1)
author: Tahereh Mafi
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch, #1)]]> 195530544
For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy� Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.

Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her.

Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?]]> 346 Lyla Sage 0593732421 ana 0 to-read 3.91 2023 Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch, #1)
author: Lyla Sage
name: ana
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke]]> 46201
The influence and popularity of Rilke’s poetry in America have never been greater than they are today, more than fifty years after his death. Rilke is unquestionably the most significant and compelling poet of romantic transformation, of spiritual quest, that the twentieth century has known. His poems of ecstatic identification with the world exert a seemingly endless fascination for contemporary readers.

In Stephen Mitchell’s versions, many readers feel that they have discovered an English rendering that captures the lyric intensity, fluency, and reach of Rilke’s poetry more accurately and convincingly than has ever been done before.

Mr. Mitchell is impeccable in his adherence to Rilke’s text, to his formal music, and to the complexity of his thoughts; at the same time, his work has authority and power as poetry in its own right. Few translators of any poet have arrived at the delicate balance of fidelity and originality that Mr. Mitchell has brought off with seeming effortlessness.

Originally published: New York : Random House, 1982.]]> 356 Rainer Maria Rilke 0679722017 ana 0 to-read 4.40 1926 The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke
author: Rainer Maria Rilke
name: ana
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1926
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2)]]> 11857408 Fifty Shades Darker is the irresistibly addictive second part of the Fifty Shades trilogy.]]> 532 E.L. James 1612130585 ana 3 3.84 2011 Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2)
author: E.L. James
name: ana
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Destructively Mine (Webs We Weave, #2)]]> 216970877
Ex-grifter Phoebe Graves� new life threatens to come crashing down around her in the next unputdownable novel from the New York Times bestselling authors of the Addicted series.

As the daughter of a con artist, Phoebe Graves only knew a life of swindling the rich until her best friend and fellow grifter, Hailey Tinrock, proposed an idea to start a new, honest life in a wealthy college town of Connecticut. Once there, they decided to leave behind their deceitful tricks and be truthful for once. But you know what they say about best intentions. . . .

While Phoebe is fake-dating Jake Waterford, the third-born son to an uber-wealthy and influential family, she’s actually dating and falling deeper in love with Brayden “Rocky� Tinrock—Hailey’s older brother. To make matters more complicated, Phoebe’s mother shows up out of the blue with conniving match-making designs of her own.

Her mother’s arrival threatens to unravel Phoebe’s plans. To keep her love, her friends, and her newfound happiness, Phoebe will have to return to her old games . . . and win.]]> 512 Krista Ritchie 0593549570 ana 0 to-read 4.07 2025 Destructively Mine (Webs We Weave, #2)
author: Krista Ritchie
name: ana
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Maurice 214488980 Maurice is heartbroken over unrequited love, which opened his heart and mind to his own sexual identity. In order to be true to himself, he goes against the grain of society’s often unspoken rules of class, wealth, and politics.
Forster understood that his homage to same-sex love, if published when he completed it in 1914, would probably end his career. Thus, Maurice languished in a drawer for fifty-seven years, the author requesting it be published only after his death (along with his stories about homosexuality later collected in The Life to Come).
Since its release in 1971, Maurice has been widely read and praised. It has been, and continues to be, adapted for major stage productions, including the 1987 Oscar-nominated film adaptation starring Hugh Grant and James Wilby.]]> 272 E.M. Forster 0571388183 ana 0 to-read 4.20 1971 Maurice
author: E.M. Forster
name: ana
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1971
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Yellowface 213562784
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.]]> 322 R.F. Kuang 0063250853 ana 0 to-read 3.80 2023 Yellowface
author: R.F. Kuang
name: ana
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> In the Absence of Men 220160188 From the author of the international bestseller Lie with Me comes the tale of an affair between an aristocratic teenager and a soldier, as they discover the possibilities and perils of first love.

Summer, 1916. With German Zeppelins on the skyline, the men of Paris are off at war. For Vincent, sixteen and still too young to fight, this moment of dread is also a moment of possibility. An electrifying encounter with Marcel, an enigmatic middle-aged writer, draws Vincent’s desires out into the light. As he’s taken under Marcel’s wing, Vincent begins a dangerous affair with Arthur, the son of his governess and a young soldier on leave. Together, they share a secret that everyone seems to know and yet everyone remains silent about.

In this stunning portrait of young love, Philippe Besson depicts a young man who plays by his own rules and is not afraid of who he is. In the afternoons, Vincent is mentored by Marcel, the great novelist, in the city’s opulent cafés as they draw the judgment of society. And at night, he hides Arthur in his bedroom as the two risk everything to be together. Their affair initiates them into a world of pleasure and shields them from the encroaching war. During this magical week away from the trenches, Vincent shelters Arthur with happiness, reassuring him, “Nothing will happen to you.�

Tender and harrowing, In the Absence of Men captures how exhilarating and heart-crushing it is to fall in love for the first time. Besson’s award-winning novel “beautifully captures the romance and amorality of gilded youth� (The Independent).]]> 176 Philippe Besson 1668089823 ana 0 to-read 3.82 2001 In the Absence of Men
author: Philippe Besson
name: ana
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1)]]> 201017011 “I don’t need another kink.�

That thought pops into my head whenever I pull up my favorite social media app, but alas, every time I scroll, I learn something new about myself, and another one is born. And yes, I know I’m responsible for what the algorithm shows me, but I’m trying to ignore that fact.

Lately, my feed has been dominated by masked men. I’ve favorited videos with them dressed in full cosplay, decked out in futuristic military apparel, and wrapped up like ghouls.

But more than anything else, my FYP is filled with shirtless men wearing ghost masks. Bonus points if they’re heavily tattooed, wielding a knife, or covered in fake blood. At night, I dream about being chased by them, of them catching me and doing deliciously dark things to my more than willing body.

I never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become my new reality.

Lights Out is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the TWs at the beginning of the book. ]]> 338 Navessa Allen ana 1 4.17 2024 Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1)
author: Navessa Allen
name: ana
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves:
review:
respectfully, what did i just read!?
]]> Vicious (Villains, #1) 40874032 A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.]]> 402 Victoria E. Schwab ana 0 to-read 4.17 2013 Vicious (Villains, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: ana
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Night Flight 8842 216 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1417996501 ana 0 to-read 3.90 1931 Night Flight
author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
name: ana
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1931
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Daydream (Maple Hills, #3) 199798652
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.

Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rule book.

Oh, and not fall in love.]]> 433 Hannah Grace 1668026252 ana 0 to-read 3.92 2024 Daydream (Maple Hills, #3)
author: Hannah Grace
name: ana
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The State of Siege 34006742 192 Albert Camus ana 0 to-read 3.87 1948 The State of Siege
author: Albert Camus
name: ana
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1948
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone]]> 25667449
When Olivia Laing moved to New York City in her mid-thirties, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. Increasingly fascinated by this most shameful of experiences, she began to explore the lonely city by way of art. Moving fluidly between works and lives -- from Edward Hopper's Nighthawks to Andy Warhol's Time Capsules, from Henry Darger's hoarding to the depredations of the AIDS crisis -- Laing conducts an electric, dazzling investigation into what it means to be alone, illuminating not only the causes of loneliness but also how it might be resisted and redeemed.]]> 336 Olivia Laing 1250039576 ana 0 to-read 3.91 2016 The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone
author: Olivia Laing
name: ana
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Say You Swear (Boys of Avix, #1)]]> 58925247
For years, I’ve dreamt of what college life could bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant.
It didn’t matter how wild I allowed my imagination to run, it always led me to the same place in the end.

It led me to him.
My future was clear, and he was it.


Until suddenly ... he wasn’t.


Now I’m a shell of who I was, on a path too blurry to follow, and I see no way out.
No way up.


They say first loves last forever.
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.]]> 681 Meagan Brandy ana 0 to-read 4.19 2022 Say You Swear (Boys of Avix, #1)
author: Meagan Brandy
name: ana
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Keeping 13 (Boys of Tommen, #2)]]> 146943394 667 Chloe Walsh 1728299985 ana 0 currently-reading 4.51 2018 Keeping 13 (Boys of Tommen, #2)
author: Chloe Walsh
name: ana
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)]]> 146943294 626 Chloe Walsh 1728299950 ana 5 absolute-favs 4.45 2018 Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)
author: Chloe Walsh
name: ana
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: absolute-favs
review:
my heart hurts this book was so devestatingly wonderful
]]> Caraval (Caraval, #1) 27883214 A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.]]> 407 Stephanie Garber 1250095255 ana 3 3.97 2016 Caraval (Caraval, #1)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: ana
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves:
review:
The story, the romance, the sisterhood, the drama, the mystery, the plot twists, had it all not been so confusing, I would've loved it even more.
]]> Havoc 209594864 In the vein of The Bad Seed comes a twisty, atmospheric psychological suspense about a meddlesome elderly guest at a decadent luxury hotel who believes she has left her problematic past behind, until she decides to interfere in the lives of a young mother and her eight-year-old son, and finally meets her wicked match.

The war between age and youth has never been so vicious.

Eighty-one-year-old widow Maggie Burkhardt came to the Royal Karnak to escape. But not in quite the same way as most other guests who are relaxing at this threadbare luxury hotel on the banks of the Nile. Maggie, a compulsive fixer of other people’s lives, may have found herself in hot water at her last hotel in Switzerland and just might have needed to get out of there fast... But here at the Royal Karnak, under the hot Saharan sun, she has a comfortable suite, a loyal confidante in the hotel manager, Ahmed, and a handful of sympathetic friends, similar “long-termers� who understand her still-vivid grief for her late husband, Peter. Here, she is merely the sweet old lady in Room 309.

One morning, however, Maggie notices a new arrival at a mournful-looking young mother named Tess and her impish eight-year-old, Otto. Eager to help, Maggie invites them into her world. But it isn’t long before Maggie realizes that in her longing to be a part of their family, she has let in an enemy much stronger than she bargained for. In scrawny, homely Otto, Maggie Burkhardt has finally met her match.]]> 256 Christopher Bollen 0063378892 ana 0 to-read 3.58 2024 Havoc
author: Christopher Bollen
name: ana
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Can't Pay? We Won't Pay! (Pluto Plays)]]> 1004508 63 Dario Fo 0861042042 ana 4 3.95 1974 We Can't Pay? We Won't Pay! (Pluto Plays)
author: Dario Fo
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/03
date added: 2024/12/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Enter Ghost 59725231 A bold, evocative new novel from the Sue Kaufman, Betty Trask and Plimpton Prize Award winner Isabella Hammad that follows actress Sonia as she returns to Palestine and takes a role in a West Bank production of Hamlet

After years away from her family’s homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. This is her first trip back since the second intifada and the deaths of their grandparents: while Haneen made a life here commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia stayed in London to focus on her acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.

At Haneen’s, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Sonia is soon rehearsing Gertude’s lines in classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than in Haifa, along with a dedicated group of men from all over historic Palestine who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer it becomes clear just how many violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.

A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad’s highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation.]]> 336 Isabella Hammad 080216238X ana 0 to-read 4.13 2023 Enter Ghost
author: Isabella Hammad
name: ana
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Mamut (Tríptic, #3) 60167059 Mamut és una dona arcaica atrapada en la vida moderna. El seu medi és la ciutat, on signa contractes per viure. Vol tenir un fill i això l’obliga a fer-se amb homes. ¿Com resistir el formiguer humà quan tens instint de caçador solitari?

Se’n va. Canvia d’hàbitat i esdevé la mestressa d’un mas aïllat. Hi ha un pastor, la solitud i les bèsties que t’alimenten o t’amenacen. L’instint treballa, la consciència s’esvera. Comet coses que esquincen el pacte del nou mil·lenni: aprèn a viure sense intermediaris.

Mamut és la tercera ala d’un tríptic que inclou Permagel i Boulder. ¿De què tracta? La resposta és polièdrica i això explica la multitud de lectors concernits per aquesta obra. Si sou capaços d’imaginar un Houellebecq que sapigués escriure sense ressentiment les llagues de la societat contemporània, aquesta quimera existeix i es diu Eva Baltasar.]]> 148 Eva Baltasar 8473293223 ana 0 to-read 3.60 2022 Mamut (Tríptic, #3)
author: Eva Baltasar
name: ana
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Permafrost 42200387
Repleto de imágenes poéticas, contundentes y muy físicas, este carácter tan palpable del texto no es gratuito en una novela que nos habla del cuerpo, del sexo, del yo; una obra aguda y directa que reivindica la libertad femenina en el placer y en la soledad.

Eva Baltasar inicia con "Permafrost" un tríptico de protagonistas femeninas que quiere explorar distintas etapas en la vida de las mujeres.]]> 144 Eva Baltasar 8439735146 ana 0 to-read 3.81 2018 Permafrost
author: Eva Baltasar
name: ana
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lathe of Heaven 59924
In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes.

The Lathe of Heaven is an eerily prescient novel from award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin that masterfully addresses the dangers of power and humanity's self-destructiveness, questioning the nature of reality itself. It is a classic of the science fiction genre.]]> 176 Ursula K. Le Guin 0060512741 ana 0 to-read 4.12 1971 The Lathe of Heaven
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: ana
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1971
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Husband 63017297 In this suspenseful and darkly funny debut novel, a sophisticated French woman spends her life obsessing over her perfect husband--but can their marriage survive her passionate love?

At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. After all, would a truly infatuated man ever let go of his wife's hand when they're sitting on the couch together?

Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, charting every mistake and punishing him accordingly to help him improve. And she tests him--setting traps to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met.

Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far . . .

The winner of France's First Novel Prize in 2021, My Husband builds on the premise of hits like Gone Girl and Fates and Furies--how well can you really know your spouse?--and adds the tension and creepy obsession of You. The result is an irresistible read--compelling, tense, and engaging, infused with sly subversive humor, and told in an utterly original voice that makes it unforgettable.

Translated from the French by Emma Ramadan]]> 272 Maud Ventura 0063274825 ana 0 to-read 3.67 2021 My Husband
author: Maud Ventura
name: ana
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The God of Carnage 3070605
Christopher Hampton's translation of Yasmina Reza's sharp-edged new play The God of Carnage premiered at Wyndham's Theatre, London, in March 2008 and at Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, New York City, in March 2009.]]> 80 Yasmina Reza 0571242588 ana 4 3.81 2007 The God of Carnage
author: Yasmina Reza
name: ana
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves:
review:

]]> The Things We Didn’t Know 176442848
Andrea Rodríguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they’ve known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return.

Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family’s values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.

A heartfelt, evocative portrait of another side of life in 1950s America, The Things We Didn’t Know establishes Elba Iris Pérez as a sensational new literary voice.]]> 320 Elba Iris Pérez 1668012065 ana 0 to-read 3.83 2024 The Things We Didn’t Know
author: Elba Iris Pérez
name: ana
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> American Psycho 28676 American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.]]> 399 Bret Easton Ellis 0679735771 ana 0 to-read 3.82 1991 American Psycho
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: ana
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bride 181350812 A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

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

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

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.]]> 416 Ali Hazelwood 0593550404 ana 0 to-read 4.07 2024 Bride
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: ana
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Doll's House 37793

A Doll's House (1879), is a masterpiece of theatrical craft which, for the first time portrayed the tragic hypocrisy of Victorian middle class marriage on the stage. The play ushered in a new social era and "exploded like a bomb into contemporary life".

The Student Edition contains these exclusive features:

· A chronology of the playwright's life and work

· An introduction giving the background of the play

· Commentary on themes, characters. language and style

· Notes on individual words and phrases in the text

· Questions for further study

· Bibliography for further reading.

]]> 122 Henrik Ibsen 1406914835 ana 4
___

Read this in an hour for my english lit class and I genuinely didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did.]]> 3.76 1879 A Doll's House
author: Henrik Ibsen
name: ana
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1879
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves:
review:
You have never loved me. You have only thought it was pleasant to be in love with me.

___

Read this in an hour for my english lit class and I genuinely didn't think I would enjoy this as much as I did.
]]> <![CDATA[Naked Lunch: The Restored Text]]> 7437 Naked Lunch is one of the most important novels of the twentieth century, a book that redefined not just literature but American culture. An unnerving tale of a narcotics addict unmoored in New York, Tangier, and ultimately a nightmarish wasteland known as Interzone, its formal innovation, taboo subject matter, and tour de force execution have exerted a significant influence on authors like Thomas Pynchon, J. G. Ballard, and William Gibson; on the relationship of art and obscenity; and on the shape of music, film, and media generally. Naked Lunch: The Restored Text includes many editorial corrections to errors present in previous editions, and incorporates Burroughs’s notes on the text, several essays he wrote over the years about the book, and an appendix of 20 percent new material and alternate drafts from the original manuscript, which predates the first published version. For the Burroughs enthusiast and the neophyte, this volume is a valuable and fresh experience of this classic of our culture.]]> 289 William S. Burroughs 0802140181 ana 0 to-read 3.48 1959 Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
author: William S. Burroughs
name: ana
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1959
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls, #1)]]> 209773181
He’s everything I’m not: grumpy, rude, and more than a little attached to his solitude. It doesn’t matter how many times I try to kill him with kindness; the man simply won’t crack.

Until he sees me shatter.

Because when my world comes crashing down around me, Anson is the one catching me as I fall. And as so-called accidents start plaguing every part of my life, it’s Anson who steps in to keep me safe.

As he does, I can’t help but feel a flicker of heat. And it only takes a single moment for that spark to ignite into flames, engulfing us both.

But Anson’s a man with secrets, and they have a price. When they’re revealed, neither of us will make it out unscathed…]]> 366 Catherine Cowles 1951936574 ana 0 to-read 4.10 2024 Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls, #1)
author: Catherine Cowles
name: ana
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Your Lie in April, Vol. 1 23995516 A LIFE IN MONOTONE

Kosei Arima was a piano prodigy until his cruel taskmaster of a mother died suddenly, changing his life forever. Driven by his pain to abandon piano, Kosei now lives in a monotonous, colorless world. Having resigned himself to a bland life, he is surprised when he meets Kaori Miyazono, a violinist with an unorthodox style. Can she bring Kosei back to music, and back to life?]]> 223 Naoshi Arakawa 163236171X ana 4 4.28 2011 Your Lie in April, Vol. 1
author: Naoshi Arakawa
name: ana
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/05
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Writing Screenplays That Sell: The Complete, Step-By-Step Guide for Writing and Selling to the Movies and TV, from Story Concept to Development Deal]]> 190217 The up-to-date, acclaimed guide to writing and selling screenplays to today′s film and TV markets. This is the new screenwriter′s bible.

]]> 325 Michael Hauge 0062725009 ana 0 to-read 4.04 1988 Writing Screenplays That Sell: The Complete, Step-By-Step Guide for Writing and Selling to the Movies and TV, from Story Concept to Development Deal
author: Michael Hauge
name: ana
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Auctioneer 923832
Published to wide acclaim in 1976, but almost neglected since then, The Auctioneer is a bona fide classic of American literature. The story of John Moore, his wife Mim, and his mother, it is a gripping tale of greed in a small town being quietly overrun by auctioneer Perly Dunsmore. Acclaimed by writers including Stephen King, and an influence on King’s Needful Things, The Auctioneer is here reprinted for the first time in thirty years.]]> 260 Joan Samson 1933618191 ana 0 to-read 3.72 1976 The Auctioneer
author: Joan Samson
name: ana
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Twisted Ones 42527596 When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods.

When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.

From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher.]]> 385 T. Kingfisher 1534429573 ana 0 to-read 3.60 2019 The Twisted Ones
author: T. Kingfisher
name: ana
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Piranesi 50202953
There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.]]> 272 Susanna Clarke 163557563X ana 4
"This is where I lost myself."

I must admit, it took me much longer than it should have to really get into the book but that's only because I was only starting uni at the time and barely had time to read, that being said, once i really got into it (literally today) I COULD NOT put it down, it just got way to good.

Didn't expect this to be a kind of psych thriller at all but I really really liked this book, very good place-esque and it's really got me questioning my own sanity now]]> 4.22 2020 Piranesi
author: Susanna Clarke
name: ana
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/10/10
shelves:
review:
4.5/5

"This is where I lost myself."

I must admit, it took me much longer than it should have to really get into the book but that's only because I was only starting uni at the time and barely had time to read, that being said, once i really got into it (literally today) I COULD NOT put it down, it just got way to good.

Didn't expect this to be a kind of psych thriller at all but I really really liked this book, very good place-esque and it's really got me questioning my own sanity now
]]> Storm 209526013
Just as he’s about to get lost, he meets Eliah, an acting student whose open presence brings a rare kind of stability. Eliah balances Storm’s intricate personality, and the two get close. An encounter with Eliah’s ominous boss leads them into a night in Amsterdam that blurs the boundaries of their friendship.

Storm begins to feel a connection to Eliah, which he can’t quite define. But things take a darker turn when he meets Sky—Eliah’s enigmatic girlfriend. The single encounter ignites an obsession that overtakes him, and he finds himself in a surreal triangle of feelings.

As Berlin’s cold streets mirror Storm’s spiraling mind, he loses grip on reality. Driven by jealousy, desire, and the twisted guidance of his darker self, he descends into a series of reckless encounters that nearly cost him his life.

Sky, battling her own demons with drugs and the toxicity of her relationship with Eliah, yearns for escape. She runs to the shores of Ibiza just to be captured and brought back to Berlin, where her path crosses with Storm once more.

“A raw reflection of Berlin.�

“Storm is an extremely complex character. The narrative is as fragmented as his mind written in a poetic way.�

“Euphoria (the TV series) + Supermarket (book by Bobby Hall) = STORM�

...a descent into the depths of a fragmented mind
...a tale of love; lost and found
...a portrait smeared with the hues of delirium
...a trip into the heart of obsession
...a search for identity and understanding
...a reflection of the silent struggles fought unseen
...a story for those who find beauty in the broken

Storm is a haunting psychological journey that captures Berlin's gritty but beautiful essence. This novel explores the fine line between love and obsession. It stands at the intersection of contemporary fiction, gothic coming of age, dark romance, and psychological suspense.]]> 318 Noam Leon ana 0 to-read 3.68 Storm
author: Noam Leon
name: ana
average rating: 3.68
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Boulder 49236083
La protagonista d'aquesta novel·la és una dona atreta per la solitud com per un imant. Es guanya la vida en un buc, la situació perfecta: una cabina, l'oceà, moltes hores per encara el buit i algún port per conèixer dones. Fins que una la reté, se l'emporta entre les quatre parets d'una casa i l'embarca en la gestació assistida d'una criatura. ¿Què en farà, la maternitat, de l'amant coneguda en un bar?

Working as a cook on a merchant ship, a woman comes to know and love Samsa, a woman who gives her the nickname “Boulder.� When Samsa gets a job in Reykjavik and the couple decides to move there together, Samsa decides that she wants to have a child. She is already 40 and can’t bear to let the opportunity pass her by. Boulder is less enthused, but doesn’t know how to say no―and so finds herself dragged along on a journey that feels as thankless as it is alien.

With motherhood changing Samsa into a stranger, Boulder must decide where her priorities lie, and whether her yearning for freedom can truly trump her yearning for love.

Once again, Eva Baltasar demonstrates her preeminence as a chronicler of queer voices navigating a hostile world―and in prose as brittle and beautiful as an ancient saga.]]> 128 Eva Baltasar 8439736967 ana 0 to-read 3.89 2020 Boulder
author: Eva Baltasar
name: ana
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When He Reads to Me 217002972 In the middle.
But maybe not at the end.
His love for me was full of possibilities, hopes, and dreams a girl like me wasn’t accustomed to.
He was a nightmare that cracked and bled through my hands, and I stood there watching as it seeped into the ground.
Until him.
He put me back together.
Without even knowing he was doing so.
And he wasn’t even my husband.

*Standalone*]]> 360 T.L. Smith 0645534099 ana 0 to-read 3.46 2024 When He Reads to Me
author: T.L. Smith
name: ana
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Bright Years 214152211 One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they’re unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.

Ryan and Lillian Bright are deeply in love, recently married, and now parents to a baby girl, Georgette. But Lillian has a son she hasn’t told Ryan about, and Ryan has an alcohol addiction he hasn’t told Lillian about, so Georgette comes of age watching their marriage rise and fall.

When a shocking blow scatters their fragile trio, Georgette tries to distance herself from reminders of her parents. Years later, Lillian’s son comes searching for his birth family, so Georgette must return to her roots, unearth her family’s history, and decide whether she can open up to love for them—or herself—while there’s still time.

Told from three intimate points of view, The Bright Years is a tender, true-to-life novel that explores the impact of each generation in a family torn apart by tragedy but, over time, restored by the power of grace and love.]]> 288 Sarah Damoff 1668061449 ana 0 to-read 4.48 2025 The Bright Years
author: Sarah Damoff
name: ana
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Snapshot (Lessons in Love, #2)]]> 208183283
Be loud. Lean in. Take your seat at the head of the table. I want the whole room to know that when my wife speaks, it’s time to sit down and listen.

Thanks to my reckless roommate, I’m about two skips away from being homeless. Temp jobs aren’t paying the bills, and now I have to cancel the scuba diving trip I can no longer afford.

At least I’ll be spared from my instructor’s tempting smile and rock-hard abs. Dex is wonderful, but he’s only ever treated me like a friend…a really good friend. In fact, when he hears I’m having money problems, he comes up with a way we can help each other.

In a clever scheme to ensure her jaded, love-doubting grandson didn’t end up alone, Dex’s grandma left her company to Dex’s…wife. Except he isn’t married. Until me, that is.

Now I’m suddenly the CEO and majority shareholder of a billion-dollar cruise corporation. I’m unprepared, and the sharks in the boardroom are scarier than the great whites in the water. But the plan is simple. Play the part for a year, hand the company back over to Dex, then get divorced. Easy. In exchange, I’ll never have to worry about money again.

But it’s not long before I realize the company is in danger and a lot of people need my help. And now that I’m acting like the boss, there’s a look in Dex’s eyes I’ve never seen before. Something more than friendly� Because when he calls me “wife� lately, it doesn't seem like it's for show.]]> 384 Kay Cove ana 0 to-read 3.95 Snapshot (Lessons in Love, #2)
author: Kay Cove
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hush Hush (Hush Hush Duet, #1)]]> 202399008 A new, seductive forbidden romance that caters to Manhattan's elite...

I knew the rules:

Never reveal my true identity.
Play the game, give the illusion.
Don’t get close to the clients.

The dark and glamorous lifestyle of the rich and shameless open my eyes to a lavish world of sin and wealth, and a man I can’t have.

A man I desperately want—James Riviera.

We're treading a fine line as we live the ultimate double life until we make a startling discovery that tests both our loyalties.

I only had to follow the rules, but rules are meant to be broken.]]> 448 Lucia Franco ana 0 to-read 3.80 2019 Hush Hush (Hush Hush Duet, #1)
author: Lucia Franco
name: ana
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Beasts We Bury (The Broken Citadel, #1)]]> 208840724 Deceit and betrayal abound in this dark YA romantasy about an heir to the throne who can summon an army of animals and a thief who plans to manipulate her to pull off a once-in-a-lifetime heist.

Will he steal her heart... or her chance at the throne?

Daughter and heir to the throne, Mancella Cliff yearns for a life without bloodshed. But as a child, she emerged from the Broken Citadel with the power to summon animals—only after killing them with her bare hands. Her magic is a constant reminder of the horrors her father, the ruler of the realm, has forced upon her to strengthen their power.

Silver is a charming thief struggling to survive in a world torn apart by Mancella’s father’s reign. When a mysterious benefactor recruits him for the heist of a lifetime, a chance to rob the castle, Silver relishes the opportunity for a real future—and revenge. But he'll have to manipulate Mance and earn her trust to pull it off.

As the deception and carnage mount, Mance must find a way to save her realm without becoming the ruthless monster she's been bred to be. And when Silver discovers that his actions are fueling the violence that Mance wants to prevent, he'll have to choose between his ambition and the girl he’s falling for.]]> 368 D.L. Taylor 1250331684 ana 0 to-read 3.81 2025 The Beasts We Bury (The Broken Citadel, #1)
author: D.L. Taylor
name: ana
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beg, Borrow, or Steal (When in Rome, #3)]]> 211164792 Two feuding second-grade teachers (and neighbors) find themselves teaming up in this rivals-to-lovers romance.

Emily Walker hates having her carefully crafted world disrupted by anyone, most of all her legendary nemesis, Jack Bennett. He's the opposite of the wonderful heroes she dreams up in her double life as a romance writer, which is why Emily was perfectly happy when Jack left Rome, Kentucky, mid-school year, with his fiancée. The last thing Emily saw coming was Jack’s return at the start of the summer after calling off the wedding and ending his relationship, but he’s here to stay—as her colleague and her neighbor.

Jackson Bennett is glad to be back, eager to renovate his house and work on the next mystery novel under his bestselling pen name. But when he realizes he’s now neighbors with the one woman who has always pushed his buttons, he discovers something he’s even more excited for—thwarting Emily and her petty plans to sabotage his return.

With their chemistry-fueled animosity at an all-time high, Emily accidentally sends an email to their school’s principal that could reveal her secret literary side hustle. She needs to steal back her manuscript, and Jack—she hates to admit—is just the man to help her. Surprisingly, Jack agrees. Will their unlikely alliance put an end to their rivalry? Or could it lead to a steamy plot twist they never saw coming?]]> 384 Sarah Adams 0593723694 ana 0 to-read 4.07 2025 Beg, Borrow, or Steal (When in Rome, #3)
author: Sarah Adams
name: ana
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hardwired (Hacker, #1) 25208536
Determined to overcome a difficult past, Erica Hathaway learns early on how to make it on her own. Days after her college graduation she finds herself face to face with a panel of investors who will make or break her fledgling startup. The only thing she didn't prepare for was going weak in the knees over an arrogant and gorgeous investor who's seemingly determined to derail her presentation.

Billionaire and rumored hacker Blake Landon has already made his fortune in software, and he's used to getting what he wants with very little resistance. Captivated by Erica's drive and unassuming beauty, he's wanted nothing more since she stepped into his boardroom. Determined to win her over, he breaks down her defenses and fights for her trust, even if that means sacrificing a level of control he's grown accustomed to.

But when Blake uncovers a dark secret from Erica's past, he threatens not just her trust, but the life she's fought so hard to create.]]> 267 Meredith Wild 145556513X ana 0 to-read 3.96 2013 Hardwired (Hacker, #1)
author: Meredith Wild
name: ana
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Where I End 204294822 At night, my mother creaks. The house creaks along with her. Sometimes in the morning we find her in places. We never see her move. We just come upon her.

Aoileann is cursed. She has no friends, never gone to school. She has never left this windswept craggy isle off the coast of Ireland.

Her mother is cursed: a silent wreck Aoileann calls the “bed-thing.� Alongside her grandmother, Aoileann’s days are an endless monotony of feeding, changing, and caring for the bed-thing.

Their island seems cursed, whispering secrets only Aoileann hears. Then Rachel, a vivacious artist from the mainland, arrives with her colicky newborn. Rachel arouses yearnings Aoileann cannot fully comprehend. Soon, the unfolding of her mother’s secret tragedy and Aoileann’s pursuit of her own dark desires are both destined to unleash a maelstrom upon all three of their lives.]]> 256 Sophie White 1645661857 ana 0 to-read 3.68 2022 Where I End
author: Sophie White
name: ana
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Holidating: Three Sizzling Holiday Romances]]> 218141325 Boyfriend: a complete holiday novel with a hilarious premise.
Rent a boyfriend for the holiday. For $25, I will be your Thanksgiving date. I will show up in a nice shirt, talk hockey with your dad and bring your mother flowers�
Everyone knows it’s a bad idea to introduce your hockey crush to your messed-up family. But Abbi really needs a date for Thanksgiving, even if she can’t say why. But when she tears Weston’s number off of a flyer, she accidentally entangles Moo U’s star defenseman in a ruse that neither of them can easily unwind.

Crossroads: a novella of missed connections, broken dreams and two hearts that just won’t quit. Damien Rossi drives a taxi but dreams of more. Specifically, he dreams about Nicolette Overland, his favorite client, a lonely beauty who lives in an actual mansion on a hill.

Nicolette can’t stop thinking about the hunky guy with the soulful brown eyes, either. She looks forward to every Christmas holiday when she knows he’ll be waiting for her at the airport. But when she screws up her courage to finally tell him how she feels, it might be too late�

Blonde Date: a novella of hot nerds, basketball and revenge. Katie is done with bad boys after some very poor treatment by a fraternity guy. Now, facing a holiday Greek event, she needs a date. A nice guy this time. Good thing a certain nerdy basketball player wants to audition for the role…]]> 413 Sarina Bowen 1950155838 ana 0 to-read 3.95 2024 Holidating: Three Sizzling Holiday Romances
author: Sarina Bowen
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Other March Sisters 213870670 Giving all the “Little Women� the stories they deserve at last, this imaginative historical novel and companion to the much-loved classic draws Meg, Beth, and Amy March from behind the shadow of Jo � Louisa May Alcott’s alter-ego and the “author� of Little Women � asvibrant and unforgettable characters grappling with societal strictures, queer love, motherhood, chronic illness, artistic ambition, and more.

A riveting reimagining for readers of March by Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Miller’s Caroline and Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.

I’m sure you believe you know their story from reading that other book, which told you an inspiring tale about four sisters. It told you a story, but did it tell you the story?

Four sisters, each as different as can be. Through the eyes and words of Jo, their characters and destinies became known to millions. Meg, pretty and conventional. Jo, stubborn, tomboyish, and ambitious. Beth, shy and good-natured, a mortal angel readily accepting her fate. And Amy, elegant, frivolous, and shallow. But Jo, for all her insight, could not always know what was in her sisters� thoughts, or in their hearts.

With Jo away in New York, pursuing her dreams of being a writer, Meg, Beth, and Amy follow their own paths. Meg, newly married with young twins, struggles to find the contentment that Marmee assured her would come with domesticity. Unhappy and unfulfilled, she turns to her garden, finding there not just a hobby but a calling that will allow her to help other women in turn.

Beth knows her time is limited. Still, part of her longs to break out of her suffocating cocoon at home, however briefly. A new acquaintance turns into something more, offering unexpected, quiet joy.

Amy, traveling in Europe while she pursues her goal of becoming an artist, is keenly aware of the expectation that she will save the family by marrying well. Through the course of her journey, she discovers how she can remain true to herself, true to her art, and true to the love that was always meant to be.

By purposefully leaving Jo off the page, authors Liz Parker, Ally Malinenko, and Linda Epstein give the other March sisters room to reveal themselves through conversations, private correspondence, and intimate moments—coming alive in ways that might surprise even daring, unconventional Jo.
]]> 368 Linda Epstein 149675025X ana 0 to-read 3.47 The Other March Sisters
author: Linda Epstein
name: ana
average rating: 3.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Drowned (Quirke, #10 and St. John Strafford, #5)]]> 203647816 From the renowned Booker Prize winner and nationally bestselling author of Snow comes a richly atmospheric new mystery about a woman’s sudden disappearance in a small coastal town in Ireland, where nothing is as it seems.

"John Banville is one of my favorite writers alive, and I pick up his books whenever I need a reminder how to write a good sentence.”—R.F. Kuang

“He had seen drowned people. A sight not to be forgotten.�

1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field. Knowing he shouldn’t approach but unable to hold back, he soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea.

Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who soon turns to his old ally—the flawed but brilliant pathologist Quirke—a man he is linked to in increasingly complicated ways. But as the case unfolds, events from the past resurface that may have life-altering ramifications for all involved.

At once a searing mystery and a profound meditation on the hidden worlds we all inhabit,The Drownedis the next great Strafford and Quirkenovel from a beloved writer at the top of his game.]]> 336 John Banville 1335000593 ana 0 to-read 3.51 2024 The Drowned (Quirke, #10 and St. John Strafford, #5)
author: John Banville
name: ana
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Promise Me Sunshine 214269328 Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn romance by the author of Ready or Not

Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Her best friend, Lou, recently passed away after a battle with cancer, and her death has left Lenny feeling completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with Lou, and the list of things she’s supposed to do to help her live again. The only thing she can do is temporary babysitting gigs, and luckily, she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. It’s not perfect: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of... a huge jerk. But if Lenny acts like she has it all together, maybe no one will notice she’s falling apart.

Miles sees right through her though. Turns out, he knows a lot about grief and, surprisingly, he offers her a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again� list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the Lou has left behind, but she begins to spend more time with Miles, Lenny is surprised to discover that, sometimes, losing everything is only the first step to finding yourself, and love, again.]]> 416 Cara Bastone 0593595734 ana 0 to-read 4.26 2025 Promise Me Sunshine
author: Cara Bastone
name: ana
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Storm 210324671
Just as he’s about to get lost, he meets Eliah, an acting student whose open presence brings a rare kind of stability. Eliah balances Storm’s intricate personality, and the two get close. An encounter with Eliah’s ominous boss leads them into a night in Amsterdam that blurs the boundaries of their friendship.

Storm begins to feel a connection to Eliah, which he can’t quite define. But things take a darker turn when he meets Sky—Eliah’s enigmatic girlfriend. The single encounter ignites an obsession that overtakes him, and he finds himself in a surreal triangle of feelings.

As Berlin’s cold streets mirror Storm’s spiraling mind, he loses grip on reality. Driven by jealousy, desire, and the twisted guidance of his darker self, he descends into a series of reckless encounters that nearly cost him his life.

Sky, battling her own demons with drugs and the toxicity of her relationship with Eliah, yearns for escape. She runs to the shores of Ibiza just to be captured and brought back to Berlin, where her path crosses with Storm once more.

“A raw reflection of Berlin.�

“Storm is an extremely complex character. The narrative is as fragmented as his mind written in a poetic way.�

“Euphoria (the TV series) + Supermarket (book by Bobby Hall) = STORM�

...a descent into the depths of a fragmented mind
...a tale of love; lost and found
...a portrait smeared with the hues of delirium
...a trip into the heart of obsession
...a search for identity and understanding
...a reflection of the silent struggles fought unseen
...a story for those who find beauty in the broken

Storm is a haunting psychological journey that captures Berlin's gritty but beautiful essence. This novel explores the fine line between love and obsession. It stands at the intersection of contemporary fiction, gothic coming of age, dark romance, and psychological suspense.]]> 318 Noam Leon ana 0 to-read 4.00 Storm
author: Noam Leon
name: ana
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wrinkled Rebels 210512757
During their three days together, they confront their inner demons, each other, and their future. Does Rebecca, the prime mover of the event, find solace after losing her wife and career? Can Malaika regain her sense of self after stepping down from her successful law practice? Mourning the loss of her youthful athletic prowess and attractiveness, what happens when Deanna faces her old friends?

Struggling with two divorces and a failing marriage, can Russell attain peace of mind? How will Max, an expat living in Canada, manage with his incipient dementia? Will the demoralized Keith recover his idealism?

Wrinkled Rebels is a story of how six people achieve meaningful lives through the struggle for social justice. It is also a tale of love, the bonds of friendship, and growing old positively.]]> 306 Laura Katz Olson 3988320757 ana 0 to-read 4.21 2024 Wrinkled Rebels
author: Laura Katz Olson
name: ana
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Side Project 218561154
Ten years ago, Carson's Harvard plans were dashed by his girlfriend’s unexpected pregnancy. So he stayed in Bemidji. Now he’s a single dad/high school teacher. He loves his son–yet, he wants more.

Rylee is shocked when Carson enrolls in her graduate fiction course. Despite their unresolved past, they become writing partners and take on a secret side project - a passionate-no-strings fling that must end with the class. Otherwise, hearts will be broken and secrets revealed. Yet, as their feelings grow, Rylee and Carson are faced with a difficult decision:

Should they risk everything for a chance at happily-ever-after?

"Sparks will fly and hearts will break, but you're guaranteed a good time with The Side Project." -- Indies Today]]> 267 Laurel Osterkamp 1509257756 ana 0 to-read 4.27 The Side Project
author: Laurel Osterkamp
name: ana
average rating: 4.27
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe]]> 60394651 *** STARRED REVIEWS from Kirkus and the American Library Association (ALA) ***

If your moral character is flimsy
Or your wit be rather slow,
Oh dare not read these tales of whimsy
For often do they end in woe.

Quite possibly the most dangerous book of poetry ever written. Do you dare? It’s so good it will make you sneeze. What becomes of a girl who absolutely detests the color green? What about a king who joins a punk band? And the little boy who calls up God on the telephone? Monsters, bears, wizards, and talking vegetables—This book has something for everyone. Winner of the prestigious Baldersquash Medal, which honors the very best in highfalutin nonsense.

Tim DeRoche and Daniel González, author and illustrator of the best-selling Ballad of Huck & Miguel, return with a book of verse that will delight anyone who loves Lemony Snicket or Shel Silverstein.

"This illustrated collection of verse indulges in fairy-tale absurdity and is sufficiently zany to have children and adults squealing with glee... A rare work of pure, unbridled fun."
-- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A wacky, fantastical collection of lyrical poems that will entertain children and adults alike. Great for fans of Shel Silverstein and Lemony Snicket.�
––Publishers Weekly BookLife Reviews, "Editor's Pick"

"Like Ogden Nash or Shel Silverstein before him, Tim DeRoche delivers a book of subversive, tall-tale poetry that will delight children and their grownups, especially those ready to squirm free of the confines of adult logic."
––Aaron Becker, Caldecott Honoree and author/illustrator of the Journey series

“Clever and witty, with charming illustrations. Makes me nostalgic for Shel Silverstein and Edward Gorey."
––Katy Towell, author of Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow

“Marshmallow cars! Mudshakes with hollandaise sauce! Airborne ungulates! A fun, fantastical collection—chock full of creative wordplay, memorable characters, and wild scenarios.�
––Calef Brown, NYT bestselling author of Polkabats and Octopus Slacks ]]> 92 Tim DeRoche 0999277618 ana 0 to-read 3.70 2023 Tales of Whimsy, Verses of Woe
author: Tim DeRoche
name: ana
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lost in Embers (Rising From Ash, #1)]]> 218358609
For years, I’ve hidden the scars from the burns of my dreams, but they’re a constant reminder that my fears came true. My dreams are more like an alternate reality, but maybe that means the Irish man who captivates my dreams is real, too? My vision blurs between two realms, unable to tell the difference.

What’s more, my brother, Victor, and his dark and unexpected presence for more than the occasional call means something is amiss. As I pull the thread to the mystery of my destiny and connect with people who can help me fulfill it, the darkness I discover lurking behind every corner waits to consume me.

A rebellion brews around me, and the humans � a group I once called my own � are blissfully unaware of the power surrounding them. With grave danger everywhere, they require me to make the ultimate sacrifice.

My life.

To survive, I make a desperate bargain to train with a man I barely know, but will he give me answers? Or is he the reason those beautiful deep Irish irises I dream of are replaced by the most intense green eyes I’ve ever seen, staring back into mine.]]> 364 M.L. Barrie ana 0 to-read 4.05 Lost in Embers (Rising From Ash, #1)
author: M.L. Barrie
name: ana
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lucky Night 215361984 Two people, one hotel room, and all the choices and complications that make up a life.

After six years of a stolen hour here, another there, tonight is going to be different—very different—for Nick Holloway and Jenny Parrish. They’ve booked a room in a new luxury hotel in Manhattan, where they’ll spend the entire night together for the first time. Expectations are running high for this brief reprieve from ordinary life: they both need a good bout of ravishing sex and witty conversation.

But that’s not what they get.

Because they’ve barely gotten started when a smoke alarm goes off. Nick is annoyed, but not worried about what must be only a minor glitch. Jenny is anxious, guilty—is karma coming for them at last?

This existential page-turner seamlessly shifts between Nick and Jenny’s perspectives as the reality of their situation becomes apparent, and all their secrets, evasions and regrets come spilling out. Stripped of their defenses, disagreeing about everything, these two flawed, funny, very different people are forced to be honest—with each other and themselves—about what they want, where they’ve screwed up, and whether their affair is really as casual as it seems.]]> 288 Eliza Kennedy 0593800834 ana 0 to-read 3.63 2025 Lucky Night
author: Eliza Kennedy
name: ana
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> After the Ocean 210366432 A painful unsolved mystery resurfaces after decades of confusion in this emotional story about inter-generational trauma, family, and the beauty of Puerto Rico.

Thirty years ago young music student Emilia Oliveras married Paul, her dream man. Their Caribbean honeymoon cruise was idyllic—until the night he disappeared from their ship, presumed drowned. Reeling from the loss, Emilia was horrified when Paul's wealthy, vindictive family tried to railroad her as a gold-digging murderer. She escaped home to Puerto Rico and then across the country, where she became Emily Oliver, suburban wife and mother of two. Still, the trauma and secrets of her past ruined her second marriage, and created a disconnect with, and between, her grown daughters. But now a mysterious phone call suggests Paul is alive and well.]]> 288 Lauren E. Rico 1496744667 ana 0 to-read 3.95 2024 After the Ocean
author: Lauren E. Rico
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> This Girl's a Killer 202204691 Ask Cordelia Black why she did it. The answer will always be: He had it coming.

Cordelia Black loves exactly three things: Her chosen family, her hairdresser (worth every penny plus tip), and killing bad men.

By day she's an ambitious pharma rep with a flawless reputation and designer wardrobe. By night, she culls South Louisiana of unscrupulous men—monsters who think they've evaded justice, until they meet her. Sure, the evening news may have started throwing around phrases like "serial killer," but Cordelia knows that's absurd. She's not a killer, she is simply karma. And being karma requires complete and utter control.

But when Cordelia discovers a flaw in her perfectly designed system for eliminating monsters, pressure heightens. And it only intensifies when her best friend starts dating a man Cordelia isn't sure is a good person. Someone who might just unravel everything she has worked for.

Soon enough Cordelia has to come face to face with the choices she's made. The good, the bad, and the murderous. Both her family, and her freedom, depend on it.]]> 432 Emma C. Wells 1464218625 ana 0 to-read 3.65 2024 This Girl's a Killer
author: Emma C. Wells
name: ana
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Penitence 211003837 For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.

Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of post-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval’s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.]]> 320 Kristin Koval 1250342996 ana 0 to-read 3.69 2025 Penitence
author: Kristin Koval
name: ana
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lifescapes: A Biographer's Search for the Soul]]> 216052842
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor for The Economist, reflects on the art and impossibility of capturing life on the page. Through her experiences and through people she has known, studied, or merely glimpsed in windows, she movingly explores what makes a life and how that life lingers after in this breathtaking combination of poetry, memoir, and observation.

'What is life?' asked the poet Shelley, and he could not come up with an answer. Scientists, too, for all their understanding of how life manifests, thrives and evolves, have still not answered that fundamental question. Yet biographers and obituarists continue to corral lives in a few columns, or a few hundred pages, aware all the time how fleeting and elusive their subject is.

In this dazzlingly original blend of poetry, biography, observation, and memoir, Wroe explores the experience of trying to capture the essence of a person. Animated by her rare imagination, eye for the telling detail, and the wit, beauty and clarity of her writing, Lifescapes is a luminous, deeply personal answer to Shelley's question.]]> 224 Ann Wroe 1400347939 ana 0 to-read 3.41 Lifescapes: A Biographer's Search for the Soul
author: Ann Wroe
name: ana
average rating: 3.41
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Fun for the Whole Family 216522634 A breathtaking, joy-filled novel about the people we love, the secrets we keep, and the enduring power of family, from the bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James.

The four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—were once inseparable, a bond created by the absence of their dazzling, mercurial mother, who would return for a few weeks each summer to whisk them off on sprawling road trips around the country.

Decades later, the unthinkable has happened: the Endicotts haven’t spoken in years . . . until an out-of-the-blue text arrives from Jude, now a famous actress, summoning them to a small town in North Dakota. They’re each at a crossroads: Gemma, who put her own ambitions aside to raise the others, now isn’t sure if she wants to be a mother herself; Connor, a celebrated novelist, is floundering after his recent divorce and suffering from an epic case of writer’s block; and Roddy, at the tail end of a professional soccer career, is dangerously close to losing his future husband for the chance at one last season.

Jude is the only Endicott who seems to have it all together—but appearances can be deceiving. As the weekend unfolds, and the siblings wrestle with their shared past and uncertain futures, they’ll discover that Jude has been keeping three secrets . . . each of which could change everything.

A captivating journey and an ode to forgiveness that takes readers across all fifty states, Fun for the Whole Family brims with heart and resonates long after the final page.]]> 368 Jennifer E. Smith 0593358309 ana 0 to-read 4.26 2025 Fun for the Whole Family
author: Jennifer E. Smith
name: ana
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> After (After, #1) 207293955
But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.

But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn't the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless…could this be love?

Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!

There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER ... Life will never be the same.]]> 640 Anna Todd 1668035766 ana 0 to-read 3.99 2014 After (After, #1)
author: Anna Todd
name: ana
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Strange Case of Jane O. 213870076
In the first year after her child is born, Jane suffers a series of strange episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations, and an inexplicable sense of dread. As her psychiatrist struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening to Jane’s mind, she suddenly goes missing. A day later she is found unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, in the midst of what seems to be an episode of dissociative fugue; when she comes to, she has no memory of what has happened to her.

Are Jane’s strange experiences related to the overwhelm of single motherhood, or are they the manifestation of a long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died twenty years ago, who warns her of a disaster ahead? Jane’s symptoms lead her psychiatrist ever-deeper into the furthest reaches of her mind, and cause him to question everything he thought he knew about so-called reality—including events in his own life.

Karen Thompson Walker’s profound and beautifully written novel is a speculative mystery about memory, identity, and fate, a mesmerizing story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and those who we’ve lost but may still be alive among us.]]> 288 Karen Thompson Walker 1984853945 ana 0 to-read 3.92 2025 The Strange Case of Jane O.
author: Karen Thompson Walker
name: ana
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pianist's Only Daughter: A Memoir]]> 202261456 The Pianist's Only Daughter presents an unvarnished portrayal of two creative academics—a concert pianist and a poet—from their early quests for artistic expression and academic recognition, to their poignant efforts in old age to hold on to their unique gifts and their humanity.

First-time memoirist Kathryn Betts Adams, a social worker and academic gerontologist, depicts the evolving family dynamics through more than six decades that she is immersed in her parents' vivid emotional lives. Her story culminates in a hero’s shepherding her parents through their final years. Despite her professional expertise, a series of terrible constraints and no-win decisions litter the path to finding quality care, and bearing witness to their declining health proves heartbreaking.

Grounded in insights about mental health, health, and aging, and overlaid with a deep devotion to music and words, The Pianist’s Only Daughter is the story of one family’s—one daughter’s—experience of the human condition. Although it is not a self-help book, readers will find useful information and ideas that resonate with their own experiences with aging and family relationships.

About The Pianist’s Only Daughter

"Excellent read! A book I couldn't put down—Kathryn Betts Adams shares an intimate family portrait which is skillfully woven and will resonate with you in your own journey. The Pianist’s Only Daughter brings the joys and sorrows of caring for aged parents to the forefront and offers spot-on observations of the way early family dynamics reenact themselves in old age. It’s a must-read for all facing this stage of life, especially poignant for only children. I will be recommending this book to the adult children of my elderly clients."
~Heidi Sward, LCSW, Geriatric Social Worker, Hamden, Connecticut

"It’s both a beautiful narrative history of your/our parents� era and creative life, as well as the bittersweet, difficult decline of our loved ones and the challenges of caregiving all at once. Brava!"
~Ginger McKnight-Chavers, Author of In the Heart of Texas: A Novel]]> 242 Kathryn Betts Adams ana 0 to-read 4.55 The Pianist's Only Daughter: A Memoir
author: Kathryn Betts Adams
name: ana
average rating: 4.55
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cloning the King 205395191 A Bolt from the Blue by Timothy B. Brown

Lisa and Tom Duffield are university professors whose careers are rocketing in different directions. Lisa, under the guidance of her mentor Jeff Wolf, is a rising star in the field of genetics, while her husband Tom is rapidly becoming the scapegoat for all the History Department’s woes. Their inability to conceive a child stresses their marriage further.When Lisa discovers a means to revitalize dead human cells, her career is made, but the excitement of her discovery is shattered by Wolf’s sudden death. Lisa devises a bold plan—to use a surrogate mother to clone her dead mentor.

When Tom learns of the plan, he’s furious. He’s not averse to fatherhood, but he despised Wolf. He decides to replace Wolf’s DNA sample with genetic material collected from the arrow which killed King Richard the Lionheart. The surrogate, a postdoctoral student, has placed her trust in the Duffields, who tell her the DNA has come from commercial bio-stock.

Three people, each convinced they know the source of the growing baby’s DNA.
They’re all wrong.
The true nature of the child will trigger events no one can foresee—for good or ill.]]> 444 Timothy B. Brown ana 0 to-read 4.07 Cloning the King
author: Timothy B. Brown
name: ana
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bastard King (The Bastard Duology, #1)]]> 212230316 With just one fiery embrace I could destroy her…or love her until the end of time.

I am fire and death. My very presence brings terror and panic. For most, I am the last thing they will ever see. For there is only one thing I live for � freeing my kin.

Every action, every battle brings me a step closer. Nothing distracts me from my purpose.

Until she crosses my path.

Brave and fearless, she holds me utterly enthralled. I have to know her. Her past and her future. But especially the secrets she keeps closely guarded.

One taste of her lips, and I’m caught. Trapped. Seized. The more I’m with her, the harder it is to leave. But I have sworn allegiance to another who promises to free the dragons.

Her or my kin. It was once an easy choice.

Before my heart got involved.

A dragon without a family. An outcast running from her past. They might be able to stop the impending doom—if they learn to trust each other. A Dragon King duology from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant.]]> 319 Donna Grant 1958353396 ana 0 to-read 4.06 2024 The Bastard King (The Bastard Duology, #1)
author: Donna Grant
name: ana
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Truly Madly Deeply (Forbidden Love, #1)]]> 206351785 This old flame just might set them on fire.

Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life—food.

Women are a distraction, and he doesn’t do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister’s best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she’s awkward, eccentric, infuriating�

And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.

Ambrose has a lot on his a new restaurant to open, a multimillion-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.

Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.

Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.

Now? She’s the woman he’ll do anything to conquer.

***

Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can’t catch a break, and not just because she swore off running.

Back in her hometown to nurse her mother’s broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother—the one Cal’s been secretly crushing on since middle school.

Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.

Too bad she’s always been clumsy.

Truly, Madly, Deeply, is a grumpy x sunshine, enemies to lovers romance. It is the first in the Forbidden Love series, but can be read as a standalone.]]> 512 L.J. Shen 1464223734 ana 0 to-read 3.95 2024 Truly Madly Deeply (Forbidden Love, #1)
author: L.J. Shen
name: ana
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Midnights with You 109253821 Two high school seniors with family trauma keeping them up at night fall in love over a series of secret late-night driving lessons.

“An achingly beautiful coming-of-age story�Midnights With You is everything I’ve ever wanted in a book.� —Ann Liang, New York Times best-selling author of I Hope This Doesn’t Find You

***

“Where were you thinking of going?�
“NǷɳ.�
“Great,� he says lightly, putting the car in gear. “Then we’ll go there.�

Seventeen-year-old Deedee’s life is full of family ghosts and questions she can’t ask. She longs for an escape, but guilt holds her back—that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won’t let her learn to drive. But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise.

As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.]]> 368 Clare Osongco 1368101933 ana 0 to-read 4.19 2024 Midnights with You
author: Clare Osongco
name: ana
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lost Love's Return 58371872 For fans of Nicholas Sparks, Kristin Hannah, and Kate Quinn, comes a tale that asks one important question Can love prevail from the battlefields of WW1 Europe, to postwar Mississippi and into WWII?

In 1918, in a dramatic battlefield scene on the Western Front, young American soldier Peter Montgomery sustains a severe wound. He’s transported to a British hospital, where he falls hard for Elizabeth, a young English nurse, and she for him. Upon his release, they engage in an intense love affair, forever changing both of their lives.

Separated and shipped home, Peter tries desperately to reconnect with Elizabeth, but the War and the Spanish flu epidemic have the world in turmoil. Despite his every effort, desperate and in great distress, he is unable to reconnect with her. And then, suddenly, all hope is gone.

For the next twenty-seven years, Peter stoically meets many challenges in his finding a way to make a living during the Depression; being a devoted father to his son, born eleven months after marriage to a woman he does not love.

This debut novel from Alfred Nicols takes you from the battlefields of Europe during WWI to postwar Mississippi and into WWII and begs one question. Will true love prevail?]]> 294 Alfred Nicols 1953865178 ana 0 to-read 4.22 2021 Lost Love's Return
author: Alfred Nicols
name: ana
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us]]> 211004927 What is the difference between men and women? Jennifer Finney Boylan, bestselling author of She’s Not There and co-author of Mad Honey with Jodi Picoult, examines the divisions—as well as the common ground—between the genders, and reflects on her own experiences, both difficult and joyful, as a transgender American.

Jennifer Finney Boylan’s She’s Not There was the first bestselling work written by a transgender American. Since its publication twenty years ago, she has become the go-to person for insight into the impact of gender on our lives, from the food we eat to the dreams we dream, both for ourselves and for our children. But Cleavage is more than a deep dive into gender identity; it’s also a look at the difference between coming out as trans in 2000—when many people reacted to Boylan’s transition with love—and the present era of blowback and fear.

How does gender affect our sense of self? Our body image? The passage of time? The friends we lose—and keep? Boylan considers her womanhood, reflects on the boys and men who shaped her, and reconceives of herself as a writer, activist, parent, and spouse. With heart-wrenching honesty, she illustrates the feeling of liminality that followed her to adulthood, but demonstrates the redemptive power of love through it all.

With Boylan’s trademark humor and poignancy, Cleavage is a sharp, witty, and captivating look at the triumphs and losses of a life lived in two genders. Cleavage provides hope for a future in which we all have the freedom to live joyfully as men, as women, and in the space between us.]]> 256 Jennifer Finney Boylan 1250261880 ana 0 to-read 3.81 2025 Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us
author: Jennifer Finney Boylan
name: ana
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wild Love (Rose Hill, #1) 199368721 She's been driving him wild for years . . . the good kind of wild.

The kind of wild that comes with wanting your best friend's little sister and knowing you can't have her.

Forbes may have labeled Ford Grant the World's Hottest Billionaire, but all he cares about is escaping the press and opening a recording studio in gorgeous small town Rose Hill. Something that comes to a screeching halt when he ends up face-to-face with a young girl who claims he's her biological father. Now, he spends his days balancing business with parenting a sullen twelve-year-old, all while trying desperately to keep his hands the hell off his best friend's sister, Rosie Belmont.

After living in the city, Rosie came blasting back into town like a storm. Beautiful, messy, and chaotic. And one wide-eyed, desperate plea for a job is all it takes for Ford to hire her. He vows to keep her at arm's length. Tries to stick to scowls and grumpy one-liners. But with her, verbal sparring is a type of foreplay―friction that soon turns to blistering heat.

Ford knows damn well he shouldn't cross this line. But shouldn't and can't are two very different things.

And the only thing he truly can't do is resist her.]]> 402 Elsie Silver 0349441626 ana 4 3.98 2024 Wild Love (Rose Hill, #1)
author: Elsie Silver
name: ana
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/21
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:
"I broke every speed limit to get to you." WHAT THE FUCK??!??!?
]]> <![CDATA[Unravel Me (Playing for Keeps, #3)]]> 216425499
That’s what the headlines say about me, at least. I wish I could say they’re not accurate, but truthfully? I don’t even know who I am anymore.

Between a soul-crushing ex-girlfriend and a never-ending queue of dates gone wrong, one thing has become glaringly obvious: I don’t want to be Adam Lockwood.

So when my dog decides to play matchmaker, taking down a sweet little thing with rose gold waves, brilliant green eyes, and a smile for days, I can’t believe my luck that she doesn’t have a clue who I am. I know I should tell her, but for once in my life someone sees the man behind the goalie mask.

Rosie gives me all of her–her heartache, her laughter, and her son. But me? I’m holding on a little too tightly to the pieces I’m scared to give up, the pieces she might not like.

One small lie becomes a secret hanging above my head, but what if there’s another one hiding right around the corner?

Suddenly, my deepest desire becomes my biggest fear.

I’m terrified she’s going to unravel me.

- - - - -

Unravel Me is book #3 in the Playing For Keeps series, a series of interconnected standalone mature hockey romance stories that contain relatable characters, lots of heat, swoon, laughs, and a ride on an emotional rollercoaster!

Please note: Unravel Me contains emotional references to the past death of parents and its surrounding grief, as well as brief discussions of foster care. If you are sensitive to these subjects, please use this information to make an informed decision about whether to proceed with this story.]]> 464 Becka Mack 1638932433 ana 0 to-read 4.33 2023 Unravel Me (Playing for Keeps, #3)
author: Becka Mack
name: ana
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Play with Me (Playing for Keeps, #2)]]> 216425277
Don’t touch my captain’s little sister.

Seems easy enough. She’s snarky and bossy and has a mouth like a sailor. Truthfully, I’m bordering on the edge of terrified when she’s around.

The problem is I’ve seen too much. Too much of her, inside and out. And now? Now I want more.

But she’s my best friend’s little sister, and nobody’s ever been as off limits as Jennie Beckett is to me.

Her collection of toys is impressive, but I plan on showing her how a real man can make her vibrate without all the batteries. These hands can handle a hockey stick; surely they can handle her.

C’mon, Jennie. Play with me.]]> 496 Becka Mack 1638932425 ana 0 to-read 4.18 2022 Play with Me (Playing for Keeps, #2)
author: Becka Mack
name: ana
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)]]> 43763
Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.
source: annerice.com]]> 346 Anne Rice 0345476875 ana 0 to-read 4.04 1976 Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
author: Anne Rice
name: ana
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> ’Salem’s Lot 11590 Librarian's Note: Alternate-cover edition for ISBN 0450031063

Thousands of miles away from the small township of 'Salem's Lot, two terrified people, a man and a boy, still share the secrets of those clapboard houses and tree-lined streets. They must return to 'Salem's Lot for a final confrontation with the unspeakable evil that lives on in the town.]]> 483 Stephen King 0450031063 ana 0 to-read 4.06 1975 ’Salem’s Lot
author: Stephen King
name: ana
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A New Name: Septology VI-VII 58382687 also a painter but lonely and consumed by alcohol. Asle and Asle are doppelgängers � two versions of the same person, two versions of the same life, both grappling with existential questions.

In this final instalment of Jon Fosse’s Septology, the major prose work by ‘the Beckett of the twenty-first century� (Le Monde), Christmas is approaching. Tradition has it that Åsleik and Asle eat lutefisk together, but this year Asle has agreed for the first time to celebrate Christmas with Åsleik and his sister, Guro. On Christmas Eve, Åsleik, Asle, and the dog Bragi take Åsleik’s boat out on the Sygnefjord. Meanwhile, we follow the lives of the two Asles as younger adults in flashbacks: the narrator meets his lifelong love, Ales; joins the Catholic Church; starts exhibiting with Beyer; and can make a living by trying to paint away all the pictures stuck in his mind. After a while, Asle and Ales leave the city and move to the house in Dylgja. The other Asle gets married too, but his wedding ends with a sobbing bride and is followed soon after by a painful breakup.

Written in melodious and hypnotic ‘slow prose�, A New Name: Septology VI-VII is a transcendent exploration of the human condition by Jon Fosse, and a radically other reading experience � incantatory, hypnotic, and utterly unique.]]> 228 Jon Fosse 1913097722 ana 0 to-read 4.43 2021 A New Name: Septology VI-VII
author: Jon Fosse
name: ana
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I Is Another: Septology III-V 55434012 In this second instalment of Jon Fosse’s Septology, ‘a major work of Scandinavian fiction� (Hari Kunzru), the two Asles meet for the first time in their youth. They look strangely alike, dress identically, and both want to be painters. At art school in Bjørgvin, Asle meets and falls in love with his future wife, Ales. Written in melodious and hypnotic ‘slow prose�, I Is Another: Septology III-V is an exquisite metaphysical novel about love, art, God, friendship, and the passage of time.]]> 271 Jon Fosse 1913097382 ana 0 to-read 4.41 2020 I Is Another: Septology III-V
author: Jon Fosse
name: ana
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>