en-US Wed, 18 Dec 2024 10:24:14 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 57800389
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

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

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> 301 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 052562080X Icarus 3
Actually, this was the issue i had with the book and the reason for my 3.5 stars review. Fcking Virgil. The bathroom dream? Ummm can you please not? Maybe this comes from my humble opinion as an aro-ace person and honestly, this was the true unsettling, (negatively) part of the book. It just wasn't for me. I didn't need that part and anything else remotely similar.

I liked how it delivered and even tho the main plot twist was that [spoilers removed] which I see a lot of people were sorta disappointed by, it was explained in a way that makes sense a tiny bit so I don't want more explanations, it went okay.

Except for those scenes. That entire part in which Virgil's true colors were shown through his... Ummm... Actions... Was the turning point for me. No. Absolutely not. Not worth my time.]]> 3.71 2020
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/22
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
As a lover of all things gothic and paranormal, this book was definitely something I looked forward to reading. The start was slow, maybe the first 4o pages. The atmosphere was really well-established and I liked most of the book and I want to burn Virgil at the stake because my man's not okay.

Actually, this was the issue i had with the book and the reason for my 3.5 stars review. Fcking Virgil. The bathroom dream? Ummm can you please not? Maybe this comes from my humble opinion as an aro-ace person and honestly, this was the true unsettling, (negatively) part of the book. It just wasn't for me. I didn't need that part and anything else remotely similar.

I liked how it delivered and even tho the main plot twist was that [spoilers removed] which I see a lot of people were sorta disappointed by, it was explained in a way that makes sense a tiny bit so I don't want more explanations, it went okay.

Except for those scenes. That entire part in which Virgil's true colors were shown through his... Ummm... Actions... Was the turning point for me. No. Absolutely not. Not worth my time.
]]> 58484148 Godslayers--Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane sequel to Gearbreakers--is perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series.

The only way to kill a god is from the inside...

The Gearbreakers struck a devastating blow against Godolia on Heavensday, but the cost of victory has been steep. Months later, the few rebels who've managed to escape the tyrannical empire's bloody retribution have fled to the mountains, hunted by the last Zenith--Godolia's only surviving leader.

Eris has been held prisoner since the attack on the capital city, which almost killed her. And she begins to wish it had when she discovers Sona--the girl she loves, the girl she would tear down cities for--also survived, only to be captured and Corrupted by the Zenith. The cybernetic brainwashing that Sona has forcibly undergone now has her believing herself a loyal soldier for Godolia, and Eris' mortal enemy.

With the rebellion shattered and Godolia moving forward with an insidious plan to begin inducting Badlands children into a new Windup Pilot program, the odds have never been more stacked against the Gearbreakers. Their last hope for victory will depend on whether Eris and Sona can somehow find their way back to each other from opposite sides of a war...]]> 416 Zoe Hana Mikuta 1250269520 Icarus 4 to-read 3.92 2022
author: Zoe Hana Mikuta
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 35535296 288 Lois Murphy 0995409803 Icarus 2 shit-shelf

Oh my fucking god. Let's get nitty gritty from the very start. What's with all the slurs? In no less than twenty pages I'd read the slur for queer people twice. Slurs are slurs for a reason, friends. Made me fucking uncomfortable.

Also, what's with the "Asian rice" this "Asian noodles" that. Fun fact, Asia is large. Fun fact number two, Asia isn't only Japan, China and the two Koreas and your stereotype of people with monolid eyes being just "Asian" is honestly jarring. Fun fact number three, not all noodles are interchangeable so dubbing everything that comes from Japan, China or Korea as just "Asian" denotes an insane lack of giving a shit about what you choose to include in your book.

Moreover, what's with the vague sense of having everything ever be a monolith that permeates this? "The women" did this or did that. Or that one time they say the aforementioned women had formed "a practical female bond around the children". See, people who are willingly taking care of kids aren't a problem, but that wording sure is something.

Also that one time they talk about the village population minus the main guy being "only women" and some other guy who's implied to be infertile or something because they're like "Yeah it'd be the guy too but nobody would do much with him".

I understand our main character is a (implied, I think) middle aged man but also this is downright uncomfortable to read.

Also this has immensely low stakes. If they could just leave and also cavortle around town during daytime, why don't they just fuck off and let the mist or whatever fuckery drag the town through the dirt? As long as it's stated that everyone simply left, what is the point of this book?

I could not connect with the characters either. Everything was introduced really fast and with no actual descriptions of what their deal is so I could not give a shit. Goodbye.
]]> 3.59 2017
author: Lois Murphy
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/14
date added: 2024/08/14
shelves: shit-shelf
review:
DNF. 2/5 for what I could read


Oh my fucking god. Let's get nitty gritty from the very start. What's with all the slurs? In no less than twenty pages I'd read the slur for queer people twice. Slurs are slurs for a reason, friends. Made me fucking uncomfortable.

Also, what's with the "Asian rice" this "Asian noodles" that. Fun fact, Asia is large. Fun fact number two, Asia isn't only Japan, China and the two Koreas and your stereotype of people with monolid eyes being just "Asian" is honestly jarring. Fun fact number three, not all noodles are interchangeable so dubbing everything that comes from Japan, China or Korea as just "Asian" denotes an insane lack of giving a shit about what you choose to include in your book.

Moreover, what's with the vague sense of having everything ever be a monolith that permeates this? "The women" did this or did that. Or that one time they say the aforementioned women had formed "a practical female bond around the children". See, people who are willingly taking care of kids aren't a problem, but that wording sure is something.

Also that one time they talk about the village population minus the main guy being "only women" and some other guy who's implied to be infertile or something because they're like "Yeah it'd be the guy too but nobody would do much with him".

I understand our main character is a (implied, I think) middle aged man but also this is downright uncomfortable to read.

Also this has immensely low stakes. If they could just leave and also cavortle around town during daytime, why don't they just fuck off and let the mist or whatever fuckery drag the town through the dirt? As long as it's stated that everyone simply left, what is the point of this book?

I could not connect with the characters either. Everything was introduced really fast and with no actual descriptions of what their deal is so I could not give a shit. Goodbye.

]]> 61190770
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.

Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means.]]> 367 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 0593317335 Icarus 3 4.13 2023
author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 75283912 There will be blood.

Ace of Spades meets House of Hollow in this villain origin story.

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.

The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is—monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.

From debut author Jamison Shea comes I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.]]> 339 Jamison Shea 1250909562 Icarus 4 3.69 2023
author: Jamison Shea
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 54860452
Moon Basin has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. It started when an explosion in the mine killed sixteen people. The disaster made it impossible to live in town, with underground fires spewing ash into the sky. But life in New Basin is just as fraught. The ex-mining town relies on its haunted reputation to bring in tourists, but there’s more truth to the rumors than most are willing to admit, and the mine still has a hold on everyone who lives there.

Clem and Nina form a perfect loop―best friends forever, and perhaps something more. Their circle opens up for a strange girl named Lisey with a knack for training crows, and Piper, whose father is fascinated with the mine in a way that’s anything but ordinary. The people of New Basin start experiencing strange phenomena―sleepwalking, night terrors, voices that only they can hear. And no matter how many vans of ghost hunters roll through, nobody can get to the bottom of what’s really going on. Which is why the girls decide to enter the mine themselves.]]> 320 Alison Ames 1645672069 Icarus 5 3.65 2021
author: Alison Ames
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 61884782 A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

They’ll scare you straight to hell.

Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold.

Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective�� gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.]]> 246 Chuck Tingle 1250874629 Icarus 0 3.90 2023
author: Chuck Tingle
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 156415922 Mexican Gothic meets The Lie Tree by way of Oscar Wilde and Mary Shelley in this delightfully witty horror debut. A captivating tale of two Victorian gentlemen hiding their relationship away in a botanical garden who embark on a Frankenstein-style experiment with unexpected consequences.

It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon and Gregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in their glass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London, they are free to follow their own interests without interference. For Simon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop, working his taxidermical art. Gregor's business is exotic plants �� lucrative, but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, a strange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he's seen, inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life from plant matter.

Driven by the glory he'll earn from the Royal Horticultural Society for such an achievement, Gregor ignores the flaws in his plan: that intelligence cannot be controlled; that plants cannot be reasoned with; and that the only way his plant-beast will flourish is if he uses a recently deceased corpse for the substrate.

The experiment �� or Chloe, as she is named �� outstrips even Gregor's expectations, entangling their strange household. But as Gregor's experiment flourishes, he wilts under the cost of keeping it hidden from jealous eyes. The mycelium grows apace in this sultry greenhouse. But who is cultivating whom?

Told with wit and warmth, this is an extraordinary tale of family, fungus and more than a dash of bloody revenge from an exciting new voice in queer horror.]]> 384 Noah Medlock 1803365927 Icarus 5 3.64 2024
author: Noah Medlock
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 17274667
More than 20 years have passed since the last plane took off from the earth. Rusted railways lead into emptiness. The ether is void and the airwaves echo to a soulless howling where previously the frequencies were full of news from Tokyo, New York, Buenos Aires. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms. Mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. Man's time is over.

A few score thousand survivors live on, not knowing whether they are the only ones left on earth. They live in the Moscow Metro - the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. It is humanity's last refuge. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters - or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, with no room for dreams, plans, hopes. Feelings have given way to instinct - the most important of which is survival. Survival at any price. VDNKh is the northernmost inhabited station on its line. It was one of the Metro's best stations and still remains secure. But now a new and terrible threat has appeared.

Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. He holds the future of his native station in his hands, the whole Metro - and maybe the whole of humanity.]]> 458 Dmitry Glukhovsky 1481845705 Icarus 3 4.07 2002
author: Dmitry Glukhovsky
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 13512568
„Revolta, încheierea perfectă a seriei extraordinare începute cu Jocurile Foamei şi continuate cu Sfidarea, va avea peste ani acelaşi ecou pe care l-au avut Împăratul muştelor de William Golding şi Apocalipsa lui Stephen King.��

School Library Journal

„Aşteptată cu frenezie, încheierea seriei Jocurile Foamei nu dezamăgeşte nicio clipă. Dimpotrivă, le oferă cititorilor şi mai mult decât ar fi putut spera: acţiune, iubire şi suferinţă la cote de neegalat.��

Booklist

„Suzanne Collins, alături de J.K. Rowling şi Stephenie Meyer, este una dintre autoarele ale căror cărţi pentru tineri sunt devorate în primul rând de adulţi.��

Bloomberg]]> 336 Suzanne Collins Icarus 0 currently-reading 4.26 2010
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 13509120
Katniss si Peeta au castigat impreuna sangeroasele Jocuri ale Foamei, sfidand pentru prima oara in istorie regulile impuse de Capitoliu. Reveniti in Districtul 12, dupa toate incercarile infruntate, convinsi ca au castigat o viata sigura si decenta pentru ei si familiile lor, spera ca va urma o lunga perioada de pace. Dar, in timp ce Katniss si Peeta parcurg obligatoriul Tur al Invingatorilor, apar zvonuri despre o revolta printre locuitorii districtelor. Iar in ochii conducatorilor, ei sunt sursa acestei rebeliuni. Daca nu vor reusi sa convinga natiunea Panemului ca sunt in continuare indragostiti nebuneste, consecintele ar putea fi dezastruoase��
--nemira.ro]]> 320 Suzanne Collins 6065792896 Icarus 5 4.49 2009
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/19
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 6148028 Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.]]> 391 Suzanne Collins 0439023491 Icarus 0 4.34 2009
author: Suzanne Collins
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 184617
Details: Count D is the mysterious caretaker of an exotic pet shop in Chinatown. Each pet purchased from the shop comes with a contract with three major points. These points differ for each animal sold, and breaking this contract usually results in dire (and sometimes disturbing) consequences for the buyer, for which the pet shop claims no liability.

Individual chapters of Pet Shop of Horrors are often based on these consequences, and are each written as a stand-alone story, usually introducing one or more new characters in each chapter. With the exception of the main characters and their families, it is rare for a character to carry over to a later chapter, providing the series with a very episodic nature.

The detective Leon Orcot is used to tie the chapters together into an ongoing plot, usually in the form of a subplot within each chapter. Initially he suspects Count D of malicious criminal activity and using the pet shop as a front for drug trafficking. As the series progresses, he learns more about the pet shop and Count D himself, entering into a strange friendship of sorts with the Count as he works to uncover the truth.]]> 280 Matsuri Akino 4257721715 Icarus 5 4.22
author: Matsuri Akino
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.22
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/19
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves:
review:

]]> 42036538
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.]]> 448 Tamsyn Muir 1250313198 Icarus 5 queer-fiction, wishlist 4.19 2019
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves: queer-fiction, wishlist
review:

]]> 215504518 A heart-breaking, LGBTQ dark romance for young adults, with star-crossed lovers �� perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and 90s cult-classic The Craft.

November 1999, North Dana, Massachusetts. The body of Bastion Attia �� high school quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit Nuñez’s even-more-secret boyfriend �� is discovered at the edge of Stepwood Cemetery. As Nesbit and his coven of queer misfits investigate Bastion’s death they discover local folktales of Mr. Nous, a terrifying wish-granting creature, one whose gifts come at a terrible price. The coven must do battle against an age-old evil before it strikes again ��

Now, Conjurers is a wildly original, spinechilling YA debut about queer found family and a love that outlasts death.

‘This book is charm itself �� smart, edgy, funny and heartfelt.�� �� Tamsyn Muir �� bestselling author of Gideon the Ninth]]> 448 Freddie Kölsch 000862349X Icarus 5 queer-fiction, tdcor-inspo 4.16 2024
author: Freddie Kölsch
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/07/08
shelves: queer-fiction, tdcor-inspo
review:

]]> 201906753
Nesbit Nuñez discovers the partially devoured body of Bastion Attia: star quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit’s even-more-secret boyfriend.
No one knew why brilliant, gentle Bastion lived his life by a seemingly arcane set of rules, including a strange manner of speech and an inability to say his own name.

Now the remaining members of North Coven—Nesbit, Dove, Drea, and Brandy—vow to get answers. Nothing can prepare them for what they uncover: Bastion had been locked in a terrifying battle of wits and wills with something living deep beneath an ancient mausoleum in the local
cemetery.

North Coven must confront the red-gloved monster that took piece after piece of Bastion, that he fought until his last breath. Not knowing that Bastion left behind the key to its destruction . . .

Now, Conjurers is a wildly original, spine-chilling YA debut about queer found family and a love that outlasts death.]]> 384 Freddie Kölsch 1454951591 Icarus 0 4.14 2024
author: Freddie Kölsch
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 52180399 The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.]]> 305 Stephen Graham Jones 1982136456 Icarus 5 kersei-vibes, tdcor-inspo 3.69 2020
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/05
date added: 2024/07/05
shelves: kersei-vibes, tdcor-inspo
review:

]]> 61484909 In Where Sleeping Girls Lie �� a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades �� a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.

It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again. To make me remember. But the switch isn’t there. Was it there before?

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. After being home-schooled all her life and feeling like a magnet for misfortune, she’s not sure what will happen. What she doesn’t expect though is for her roommate Elizabeth to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the most popular girls in school �� collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity�� �� and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them - especially Persephone, who Sade finds herself drawn to - playing catch-up in class, and trying to figure out what happened to Elizabeth, Sade has a lot on her plate. It doesn’t help that she’s already dealing with grief from the many tragedies in her family.

And then a student is found dead.

The more Sade investigates, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she realized. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.]]> 416 Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 1250800846 Icarus 5 4.01 2024
author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/05
shelves:
review:

]]> 30165203
Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what - and who - it finds there...]]> 635 Neil Gaiman Icarus 1 4.11 2001
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2001
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/03
date added: 2024/07/03
shelves:
review:
Genuinely if i hear about shadows �� or anyone's �� balls one more time I'm going to explode
]]> 25913570 Împreună cu prietenul ei Will, de care o leagă sentimente încă neînțelese, Lyra trebuie să coboare în lumea morţilor, unde se foloseşte de pumnal pentru a elibera sufletele închise acolo de la începutul timpului. În conflict cu Biserica, cu Autoritatea şi cu Moartea însăşi, ultima aventură a Lyrei nu poate să fie altfel decât spectaculoasă, pe măsura trilogiei pentru care stă ca epilog. fix pe dos]]> 523 Philip Pullman 6068620093 Icarus 5 4.13 2000
author: Philip Pullman
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/22
date added: 2024/06/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 59475768 Three girls, one supernatural killer on the loose . . .

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to consider—that her murdered sister is gone forever and there is nothing she can do about it. Rather than grieving and moving on, Zara decides she will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the grave—even trading in the occult.

Jude Wolf may be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul has been slowly turning necrotic. It’s a miserable existence marred by pain, sickness, and monstrous things that taunt her in the night. Now that she’s glimpsed what’s beyond the veil, Jude’s desperate to find someone to undo the damage she’s done to herself.

Enter Emer Byrne, an orphaned witch with a dark past and a deadly power, a.k.a. the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s problems. Though Emer lives a hardscrabble life, she gives away her most valuable asset—her invocations—to women in desperate situations who are willing to sacrifice a piece of their soul in exchange for a scrap of power. Zara and Jude are willing, but they first have to find Emer.

When Emer’s clients start turning up dead all over London, a vital clue leads Zara and Jude right to her. If a serial killer is targeting her clients, Emer wants to know why—and to stop them. She strikes a tenuous alliance with Zara and Jude to hunt a killer before they are next on his list, even if she can’t give them in return what Zara and Jude want most: a sister and a soul.]]> 400 Krystal Sutherland 0593532260 Icarus 4 4.07 2024
author: Krystal Sutherland
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/13
date added: 2024/06/13
shelves:
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]]> 42117981 The Hazel Wood and The Cruel Prince will relish this atmospheric and absorbing book based on Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed movie.

Oscar winning writer-director Guillermo del Toro and New York Times bestselling author Cornelia Funke have come together to transform del Toro’s hit movie Pan’s Labyrinth into an epic and dark fantasy novel for readers of all ages, complete with haunting illustrations and enchanting short stories that flesh out the folklore of this fascinating world.

This spellbinding tale takes readers to a sinister, magical, and war-torn world filled with richly drawn characters like trickster fauns, murderous soldiers, child-eating monsters, courageous rebels, and a long-lost princess hoping to be reunited with her family.

A brilliant collaboration between masterful storytellers that’s not to be missed.]]> 256 Guillermo del Toro 0062414461 Icarus 4 4.27 2019
author: Guillermo del Toro
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/10
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 193544852
Spirits are drawn to salt, be it blood or tears.

Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth—strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries—is the light of Roos' life. That is, until the wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop visits one of Roos' backroom seances, and the two strike up a connection.

Soon, Roos is whisked away to the crumbling estate Agnes inherited upon the death of her husband, where an ill woman haunts the halls, strange smells drift through the air, and mysterious stone statues reside in the family chapel. Something dreadful festers in the manor, but still, the attraction between Roos and Agnes is undeniable.

Then, someone is murdered.

Poor, alone, and with a history of 'hysterics', Roos is the obvious culprit. With her sanity and innocence in question, she'll have to prove who—or what—is at fault or lose everything she holds dear.

"A Sapphic seance of preternatural proportions, My Darling Dreadful Thing summons a stunning new literary voice to be reckoned with. Johanna van Veen reaches beyond the veil to conjure up a gothic shocker like no other."—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters

©2024 Johanna van Veen (P)2024 Tantor]]> 375 Johanna van Veen 1728281547 Icarus 0 to-read 3.85 2024
author: Johanna van Veen
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> 154462576 New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.

As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.]]> 325 Katherine Arden 0593128257 Icarus 0 to-read 3.97 2024
author: Katherine Arden
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> 18004320
As A World Without Princes closed, the end was written and former best friends Sophie and Agatha went their separate ways. Agatha was whisked back to Gavaldon with Tedros and Sophie stayed behind with the beautiful young School Master.

But as they settle into their new lives, their story begs to be re-written, and this time, theirs isn’t the only one. With the girls apart, Evil has taken over and the villains of the past have come back to change their tales and turn the world of Good and Evil upside down.

Readers around the world are eagerly awaiting the third book in The School for Good and Evil series, The Last Ever After. This extraordinary new journey delivers more action, adventure, laughter, romance and fairy tale twists and turns than you could ever dream of!]]> 655 Soman Chainani 0062104950 Icarus 3 I'm so back to the nostalgia 4.24 2015
author: Soman Chainani
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/08
date added: 2024/06/08
shelves:
review:
I'm so back to the nostalgia
]]> 111673641 A trans boy searches for a future―and a romance―in which he can live and love openly as himself in this heartrending young-adult reimagining of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, part of the Remixed Classics series.

London, 1812 . Oliver Bennet feels trapped—not just by the endless corsets, petticoats, and skirts he's forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society's expectations. The world, and the vast majority of his family and friends, think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone's wife.

But Oliver can't bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family's home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It's during one such excursion when Oliver becomes acquainted with Darcy, a sulky young man who had been rude to "Elizabeth" at a recent social function. But in the comfort of being out of the public eye, Oliver comes to find that Darcy is actually a sweet, intelligent boy with a warm heart, not to mention attractive.

As Oliver spends more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares to hope that his dream of love and life as a man can be possible. But suitors are growing bolder―and even threatening―and his mother is growing more desperate to see him settled into an engagement. Oliver will have to choose: settle for safety, security, and a life of pretending to be something he's not, or risk it all for a slim chance at freedom, love, and a life that can be truly his own.]]> 304 Gabe Cole Novoa 1250869803 Icarus 4 3.96 2024
author: Gabe Cole Novoa
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/08
date added: 2024/06/08
shelves:
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]]> 61387989
It should have been the trip of a lifetime.

When Liv lands an all-expenses-paid opportunity to study aboard luxury cruise ship The Eos for a semester, she can’t believe her luck. Especially since it will offer her the chance to spend time with Will, her ex–best friend, who’s barely spoken to her since the night their friendship changed forever.

But as soon as she steps on board, Liv realizes just how far in over her head she is. With Will, with the rest of the Seamester students—including the brittle and beautiful Constantine, who may be hiding his own ties to The Eos—and most of all, with the Sirens, three glamorous and mysterious influencers who seem to have the run of the ship.

Liv quickly discovers that the only reason she was invited to join the trip is because another girl disappeared shortly after enrolling—and no one seems to know what happened to her. When further disappearances rock the ship and strange creatures begin haunting Liv's dreams, she wonders: Is The Eos hiding a dark secret in its watery depths?

The truth will come at a price . . . only, how much is Liv willing to pay?]]> 416 Amy Goldsmith 059357009X Icarus 4 3.39 2023
author: Amy Goldsmith
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/06
date added: 2024/06/06
shelves:
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]]> 61237032
After her father’s murder at the hands of the Ombrazian military, Rossana Lacertosa is willing to do whatever it takes to dismantle the corrupt system—tapping into her powers as a disciple of Patience, joining the rebellion, and facing the boy who broke her heart. As the youngest captain in the history of Palazzo security, Damian Venturi is expected to be ruthless and strong, and to serve the saints with unquestioning devotion. But three years spent fighting in a never-ending war have left him with deeper scars than he wants to admit�� and a fear of confronting the girl he left behind.

Now a murderer stalks Ombrazia’s citizens. As the body count climbs, the Palazzo is all too happy to look the other way—that is, until a disciple becomes the newest victim. With every lead turning into a dead end, Damian and Roz must team up to find the killer, even if it means digging up buried emotions. As they dive into the underbelly of Ombrazia, the pair will discover something more sinister—and far less holy. With darkness closing in and time running out, will they be able to save the city from an evil so powerful that it threatens to destroy everything in its path?

Discover what’s lurking in the shadows in this dark fantasy debut with a murder-mystery twist, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Kerri Maniscalco.]]> 400 M.K. Lobb 031638688X Icarus 0 to-read 3.48 2023
author: M.K. Lobb
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> 65211848 In the morning, who’s alive?

In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.

Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local folklore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games...

An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, THE BAD ONES is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief.]]> 382 Melissa Albert 1250894891 Icarus 4 3.60 2024
author: Melissa Albert
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/04
date added: 2024/06/04
shelves:
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]]> 175852119
Prepare for more spooky, swoony YA from BookTok star @Merrowchild! Charlie Frith and his new love, Sam, have just saved the dead from the living! Now it's time to focus on being a normal couple - if such a thing exists?

But when a new threat lurks in the shadows, this time to the living, and all who Charlie and Sam hold near, they must put everything on the line - including their lives - to work out who is behind it. And even then, it may not be enough!

Perfect for fans of��Cemetery Boys, Becky Albertalli and��V E��Schwab Sixteen Souls was an instant YA bestseller and this is the second book in the series Dubbed by Book Tok as "Heartstopper with Ghosts" ��

Praise for Sixteen Souls:

"Delivers fun and frights in equal measure. A fantastically spooky, thrilling adventure!" - Kat Ellis, author of Wicked Little Deeds

"Flawless twists, this book immediately pulled me in." - H.M Long, author of Hall of Smoke

"A captivating take of loss, friendship and love that had me gripped from first to last." - Menna van Praag, author of The Sisters Grimm

"Absolutely gripped." - Amy McCaw, author of Mina and the Undead

"The writing is rich; the characters sharply drawn." - K.D Edwards, author of The Tarot Sequence Series

"Sixteen Souls is a boundlessly clever, heartfelt queer take on the story of a sensitive young man who sees dead people. Talbot has crafted something chillingly delightful! Perfect for any ghoul-lover's shelf!" - Adam Sass, author of Surrender Your Sons and The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers

"Deliciously dark" - Cynthia Murphy, author of Last One to Die,��Win Lose Kill Die and The Midnight Game

"A delectable mystery" - Dawn Kurtagich, author of The Dead House

"An outstanding debut" - Bex Hogan, author of Isles of Storm and Sorrow series]]> 424 Rosie Talbot Icarus 4
I thought these books were mid at first (Sixteen Souls) but this one deadass made me sob. I don't cry at books]]> 4.38
author: Rosie Talbot
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/03
date added: 2024/06/03
shelves:
review:
3.75 /5

I thought these books were mid at first (Sixteen Souls) but this one deadass made me sob. I don't cry at books
]]> 16225525
Holy Sh*t also explains the advancement of civility and corresponding censorship of language in the 18th century, considers the rise of racial slurs after World War II, examines the physiological effects of swearing and answers a question that preoccupies the FCC, the US Senate, and anyone who has recently overheard little kids at a playground: are we swearing more now than people did in the past?

A gem of lexicography and cultural history, Holy Sh*t is a serious exploration of obscenity.]]> 316 Melissa Mohr 0199742677 Icarus 0 to-read 3.86 2013
author: Melissa Mohr
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201737227
Kel este un orfan rupt de viața pe care o știa pentru a deveni sosia prințului moștenitor Conor Aurelian. Kel a fost crescut alături de prinț, fiind instruit într-ale luptei, dar și ale politicii. El și prințul se au ca frații, dar Kel știe că destinul lui este să moară pentru moștenitor. Niciun alt viitor nu este posibil.

Lin Caster face parte dintre ashkari, o comunitate mică ai cărei membri încă mai posedă abilități magice. Potrivit legii, aceștia trebuie să trăiască în spatele zidurilor din interiorul orașului, dar Lin, care este tămăduitoare, se aventurează dincolo de ele pentru a se putea ocupa de bolnavii și muribunzii din Castellane. În ciuda abilităților ei, tânăra nu o poate vindeca pe cea mai bună prietenă a sa fără acces la cunoștințe interzise.

După ce o tentativă eșuată de asasinat îi aduce împreună, Lin și Kel sunt atrași în rețeaua misteriosului Rege al Nelegiuiților, conducătorul lumii interlope din Castellane. Acesta îi oferă fiecăruia ceea ce își dorește cel mai mult; dar, pe măsură ce se afundă în lumea lui plină de intrigi și umbre, cei doi tineri descoperă o conspirație a corupției care se întinde din cele mai întunecate canale din Castellane până în cel mai înalt turn al palatelor din oraș. Pe măsură ce secrete îndelung păstrate încep să se dezvăluie, Lin și Kel ajung să se întrebe: merită cunoașterea prețul trădării? Poate dragostea interzisă să doboare un regat? Și este oare posibil ca descoperirile lor să arunce poporul în război și lumea în haos?]]> 624 Cassandra Clare 6060883842 Icarus 0 to-read 4.00 2023
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 415459 I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream contains seven stories with copyrights ranging from 1958 through 1967. This edition contains the original introduction by Theodore Sturgeon and the original foreword by Harlan Ellison, along with a brief update comment by Ellison that was added in the 1983 edition. Among Ellison's more famous stories, two consistently noted as among his very best ever are the title story and the volume's concluding one, Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes.

Since Ellison himself strongly resists categorization of his work, we won't call them science fiction, or SF, or speculative fiction or horror or anything else except compelling reading experiences that are sui generis. They could only have been written by Harlan Ellison and they are incomparably original.

CONTENTS
"I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream"
"Big Sam Was My Friend"
"Eyes of Dust"
"World of the Myth"
"Lonelyache"
"Delusion for Dragonslayer"
"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"]]> 134 Harlan Ellison 0441363954 Icarus 0 3.93 1967
author: Harlan Ellison
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1967
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/05/25
shelves:
review:

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

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

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

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.]]> 387 Leigh Bardugo 125088425X Icarus 4 3.74 2024
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/23
date added: 2024/05/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 201914164 My name is Jean Moreau. My place is at Evermore. I belong to the Moriyamas.

It is a truth Jean has built his life around, a reminder this is the best he can hope for and all he deserves. But when he is stolen from Edgar Allan University and sold to a more dangerous master, Jean is forced to contend with a life outside of the Nest for the first time in five years. The Foxes call his transfer to California a fresh start; Jean knows it is little more than a golden cage.

Captain Jeremy Knox is facing his final year with the USC Trojans and fifth straight year falling short of the championships trophy he desperately craves. Taking in the nation’s best defenseman is a no-brainer, even if that man is a Raven. But Jean is no monster, just a man with no hope or desire for a future, and when Evermore's collapse starts dragging Jean's hideous secrets to light, Jeremy is forced to contend with the cost of victory.]]> Nora Sakavic Icarus 5 4.54 2024
author: Nora Sakavic
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/29
date added: 2024/04/29
shelves:
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]]> 23594461
Befriending the Foxes was inadvisable. Kissing one is unthinkable. Neil should know better than to get involved with anyone this close to the end, but Andrew's never been the easiest person to walk away from. If they both say it doesn't mean anything, maybe Neil won't regret losing it, but the one person Neil can't lie to is himself.

He's got promises to keep and a team to get to championships if he can just outrun Riko a little longer, but Riko's not the only monster in Neil's life. The truth might get them all killed—or be Neil's one shot at getting out of this alive.]]> 556 Nora Sakavic Icarus 5 4.57 2014
author: Nora Sakavic
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/27
date added: 2024/04/27
shelves:
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]]> 18187013
Except Andrew doesn't give up anything for free and Neil is terrible at trusting anyone but himself. The two don't have much time to come to terms with their situation before outside forces start tearing them apart. Riko is intent on destroying Neil's fragile new life, and the Foxes have just become collateral damage.

Neil's days are numbered, but he's learning the hard way to go down fighting for what he believes in, and Neil believes in Andrew even if Andrew won't believe in himself.]]> 423 Nora Sakavic 1301824291 Icarus 4 queer-fiction
I'll read the next one but kindly what the ever loving fuck]]> 4.37 2013
author: Nora Sakavic
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/26
date added: 2024/04/26
shelves: queer-fiction
review:
Sincerest what the fuck

I'll read the next one but kindly what the ever loving fuck
]]> 41085084 HELP OR HINDRANCE?

Tasuku is starting to feel at home at the drop-in center―just in time for him to help a younger student who also hangs out there. Misora Shuji likes to wear girls�� clothing but is unsure about their gender identity. Will Tasuku’s guidance offer Shuji some clarity or just make things harder?]]> 166 Yuhki Kamatani 1642750611 Icarus 5 4.32 2016
author: Yuhki Kamatani
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/25
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
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]]> 43263519 AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

When Tasuku attends a workshop organized by Cat Clutter, the last person he is expecting to see there shows up: his crush, Tsubaki! Is this the beginning of a dream come true?]]> 170 Yuhki Kamatani 164275062X Icarus 5 4.36 2017
author: Yuhki Kamatani
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/25
date added: 2024/04/24
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]]> 43263394 A SECRET EXPOSED

Tchaiko has always been an enigma, but when he goes to visit his partner in the hospital, his story is finally revealed. Meanwhile, Saki’s biggest secret is thrust out in the open―despite her desperate attempts to keep it under wraps. The emotional final volume of Yuhki Kamatani’s tale of gender, sexuality, and self discovery!]]> 241 Yuhki Kamatani 1642750638 Icarus 5 4.57 2018
author: Yuhki Kamatani
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/25
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:

]]> 41085077 A beautiful tale of coming-out and coming-of-age.

Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he has been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.]]> 178 Yuhki Kamatani 1642750603 Icarus 5 4.29 2015
author: Yuhki Kamatani
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/25
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves:
review:
IT MADE ME CRY I DONT CRY AT BOOKS WTF
]]> 61054804 On the wheel of fortune, who will emerge on top... and who will die?

When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she hopes to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its collection of medieval and Renaissance art.

There she is drawn into a small circle of charismatic but enigmatic researchers, including Patrick Roland, the museum's mercurial curator who specializes in the history of tarot; Rachel Mondray, Patrick's beautiful curatorial associate and sometime muse; and Leo Bitburg, the gardener who nurtures the museum's precious collection of medicinal and poison plants.

Relieved to have left her troubled past in rural Washington behind her, Ann longs for the approbation of her colleagues and peers and is happy to indulge their more outlandish theories, only to find that their fascination with fortune-telling runs deeper than academic obsession. Patrick is determined to prove that ancient divination holds the key to the foretelling of the future. And when Ann stumbles across a breakthrough in the form of a mysterious and previously-believed lost deck of 15th-century Italian tarot cards, she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous game of power, toxic friendship and ambition.

Then there is an unexpected and devastating death, and suddenly everyone becomes a suspect. As the game being played within the Cloisters spirals out of control, Ann must decide if the tarot cards can not only teach her about the past, but also about her future.]]> 312 Katy Hays 1668004402 Icarus 4 3.35 2022
author: Katy Hays
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/22
date added: 2024/04/22
shelves:
review:

]]> 123262670 Bridgerton meets The Bachelor in this queer regency romance of a vampire competing for the heart of a duke.

After being run out of his castle by vampire hunters, Count Lucian encounters the god of vampires, Vrykolakas, while in hiding. Unhappy with how many vampires have been bested by hunters, Vrykolakas gives Lucian a test: Infiltrate the future duke’s marriage games as a suitor and uncover the clandestine vampire hunters Vrykolakas suspects lurk in their midst. The god strips Lucian of his immortality so he can walk amongst mortals―making him human for the first time in centuries. If Lucian succeeds, Vrykolakas will make him the most powerful vampire in existence, but if he fails, the god of vampires will torture him for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, Lucian isn’t prepared for the emotions that come with humanity, nor the treacheries of courting season with fellow nobles posing as friends, enemies, and wholly unsuitable romantic]]> David Ferraro Icarus 0 to-read 3.93 2024
author: David Ferraro
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 17259690
Signing a contract with the PSU Foxes is the last thing a guy like Neil should do. The team is high profile and he doesn't need sports crews broadcasting pictures of his face around the nation. His lies will hold up only so long under this kind of scrutiny and the truth will get him killed.

But Neil's not the only one with secrets on the team. One of Neil's new teammates is a friend from his old life, and Neil can't walk away from him a second time. Neil has survived the last eight years by running. Maybe he's finally found someone and something worth fighting for.]]> 237 Nora Sakavic 1301529044 Icarus 4 4.03 2013
author: Nora Sakavic
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/16
date added: 2024/04/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 1157900 The Horror in the Museum –Locked up for the night, a man will discover the difference between waxen grotesqueries and the real thing.
The Electric Executioner �� Aboard a train, a traveler must match wits with a murderous madman.
The Trap �� This mirror wants a great deal more than your reflection.
The Ghost-Eater �� In an ancient woodland, the past comes to life with a bone-crunching vengeance.
AND TWENTY MORE STORIES OF UNSPEAKABLE EVIL.]]> 480 H.P. Lovecraft 0345485726 Icarus 0 to-read 3.94 1933
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1933
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51553705 A companion to There's Someone Inside Your House.

Bears aren't the only predators in these woods.

Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest.

Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare; and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways.]]> 224 Stephanie Perkins 0525426027 Icarus 2 3.06 2021
author: Stephanie Perkins
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/04/02
date added: 2024/04/02
shelves:
review:
Genuinely very fuckin mid and predictable, also the characters felt indistinguishable from one another. Exact same voice. Why am I supposedly rooting for these people? I don't know, why do I care?
]]> 55922020
Povestea ilustrată de Alex Horghidan și scrisă de Elena Aerim, urmărește aventurile Anei, Făt-Frumos, cu al său suflet de voinică și cu a sa inimă de fecior viteaz. Din poveste nu lipsesc nici clarvăzătorii Cai, nici ciufuliții Zmei �� și mumele lor ��, și nici frumoasa Simziana cu cosițe de aur.]]> Elena Aerim Icarus 5 4.87
author: Elena Aerim
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.87
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/11
date added: 2024/03/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 61250159 An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.
��
Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he’s always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign—even if it means ending Wren, too.
��
��
With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It’s just a question of whom he will doom.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.
��]]> 359 Holly Black 0316592730 Icarus 5 3.89 2024
author: Holly Black
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/19
date added: 2024/03/27
shelves: 2023-24-anticipated-releases, fantasy-shit, favorites
review:

]]> 40197646 For the Romanian paperback, see ISBN13 9786064301895.

Au trecut patru luni de când Kell a intrat în posesia pietrei negre, de când a cunoscut-o pe Lila, de când i-a înfrânt pe gemenii Dane. Totul pare că a revenit la normal, dar Kell se simte vinovat și bântuit de coșmaruri rău-prevestitoare. În jurul lui, întreaga Londră Roșie se pregătește de Jocurile Elementelor �� o competiție interna]ională de magie, menită să întărească legăturile între statele vecine.
Dar în acest timp, o altă Londră e gata să revină la viață, iar cei crezuți dispăruți pentru totdeauna sunt pe cale să se întoarcă. Până la urmă, o umbră care se stinge noaptea reapare dimineața, iar dacă o Londră se ridică din nou din umbre, o alta trebuie să cadă în locul ei.

„Plin de magie, intrigi și înșelăciuni, chiar câteva aventuri cu pirați, acest roman va fermeca deopotrivă tinerii și adulții pasionați de fantasy.��
Booklist

„E ca o dependență!��
Entertainment Weekly

„De citit pe nerăsuflate!��
NPR]]> 608 Victoria E. Schwab 6064303069 Icarus 3 4.41 2016
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/06
date added: 2024/03/07
shelves:
review:
3.75 / 5 not as engaging as the last one in my humble opinion and it took SO LONG for thd conflict to actually start. Read it in a whole two days however
]]> 58438554 Frankenstein, which brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.

1978: at her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she's home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.

The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all.]]> 338 Jennifer McMahon 1982153954 Icarus 0 to-read 3.84 2022
author: Jennifer McMahon
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62991463
Always mindful of the debt she owes, the girl finds her worth as a weapon in the hand of the Prince. Her victories make him a king, then an emperor. The bards sing her name and her enemies fear it. But the war never ends and the cost keeps rising—how many times will she repeat her own story?]]> 31 Alix E. Harrow 166250957X Icarus 0 to-read 4.32 2022
author: Alix E. Harrow
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 209108655
The angel Azazel is miserable in Heaven.��In the aftermath of Satan's fall, the angels live in the reconstructed ruins of an old utopia, oppressive and paranoid of any new rebellion.

The angel Samyaza is content in Heaven, but he longs for the eternal city's former glory. Watching the feeble humans below, wallowing in sin for centuries after Adam and Eve, he sees opportunity to earn back the Lord’s favor.

On Earth, the Watcher angels arrive to lecture on God's love, but the love of a human soon begins to seem much warmer.]]> 450 Rafael Nicolás Icarus 0 to-read 4.47
author: Rafael Nicolás
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 65974479
However, Briar quickly learns the fey lady is impossible to please. Not only that, her demands are never-ending, enough to slowly unravel his life and his health. Only when a handsome stranger, Mal, arrives claiming he can help Briar break his deal and earn his freedom back, does Briar think he might be saved.


Lord Malric d'Alarie has finally broken free of dancing on command for his mother at her fey revels. But after hearing he's been replaced, he attends one of her parties to see for himself. The human performing in his place is breathtaking--but Malric dreads what kind of deal the dancer made with his mother in order to be there.

Wanting to rescue Briar from the same woman who stole his own love for ballet, Malric inserts himself into Briar's life from every angle possible. From posing as a dance instructor in the human world to hiding behind a mask in the fey world, Malric promises he can set Briar free of his fateful deal. Malric only has to keep his identity--and his intentions--secret, from both the dancer he's quickly falling for, and his mother, who controls their every move.]]> 416 Kellen Graves Icarus 0 4.24 2023
author: Kellen Graves
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction, wishlist
review:

]]> 182060397
But the expectations of being a perfect fey lord are suffocating enough, and are only made more difficult as the unfettered rowan magic in his body runs wild. Outside of the emotionally-charged nosebleeds that come whenever he's overwhelmed, he's able to keep the magic subdued--until one unfortunate confrontation outside of the school, where it manifests in the form of a nightmare he never thought he'd have to witness again. He desperately needs help understanding how to control his new magic, but there's only one person he knows who can offer mentorship: the stranger who appeared in his hospital room after the events on Ostara.

Between acting a high fey, pretending to be courted by Cylvan as strangers, the unexpected difficulties of attending school for the first time, and managing the ancient magic running wild in his veins, Saffron has no choice but to trust Ryder Kyteler who can skip through the veil with ease, and who has been gathering disenfranchised humans to teach them arid magic on the outskirts of Avren for years. Otherwise, the new, violent manifestation of Saffron's magic may hurt the people he cares about most.]]> 530 Kellen Graves Icarus 0 to-read, wishlist 4.45 2023
author: Kellen Graves
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, wishlist
review:

]]> 61830537
After two weeks in the attic of Danann House, Saffron anticipates the moment he can finally be reunited with Prince Cylvan--but that day is unexpectedly marred by a visit from Headmistress Elluin, who doesn't believe Saffron was the one to perform magic in Beantighe Village in the attempt to save Berry. Saffron will be expected to prove it; if he can't, every other human he loves will be arrested and executed for arid practice and conspiracy.

While slowly crushed beneath oppressive walls, rules, and oversight, Saffron must find glimmers of opportunity between hunts in the woods, maintaining the house he's tied to, desperation to be close to Cylvan, and uncovering any arid resource he can get his hands on. But as horrible truths surrounding Lord Taran come to light, Saffron struggles to find hope beneath the weight of his burdens.

However, Saffron knows secrets are kept for a reason. The more he uncovers, the more he understands. Whether it be Taran mac Delbaith or the cruel history of Morrígan Academy, perhaps exhuming centuries of buried blood is exactly what he needs to protect the people he loves most.]]> 518 Kellen Graves Icarus 0 4.28 2022
author: Kellen Graves
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction, wishlist
review:

]]> 60445521
When mistaken identity leads to Saffron learning the true name of brooding, self-centered, high fey Prince Cylvan, what begins as a risk of losing his life (or his tongue) becomes an opportunity to earn the future he wants. In exchange for an endorsement, he and Cylvan form a geis where Saffron agrees to find a spell to strip power from Cylvan's true name. While Prince Cylvan doesn't know Saffron can barely read, Saffron is determined to meet his end of the deal in order to remain in Alfidel—or, maybe, just to remain by Cylvan's side, as affections grow stronger every night they spend alone in the library together.

But as other human servants soon fall victim to a beast known only as “the wolf��, Saffron realizes he has embroiled himself in a manipulative reach for power like he never anticipated—and even Prince Cylvan cannot be trusted. Between the wolf, uncovering forbidden magic, and his growing feelings for the prince, Saffron will have to decide which is most important to him—his endorsement, the lives of his friends, or the prince’s life and wellbeing.

Prince of the Sorrows is a queer fantasy romance for New Adults.]]> 393 Kellen Graves Icarus 0 3.91 2022
author: Kellen Graves
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction, wishlist
review:

]]> 63933651 A teen girl looking for the truth about her missing mother forms a reluctant alliance with her former best friend...in exchange for hiding him from his cult-leading family.

Wil Greene's mom has been missing for over a year, and the police are ready to call the case closed--they claim she skipped town and you can't find a woman who wants to disappear. But she knows her mom wouldn't just leave...and she knows the family of her former best friend, Elwood Clarke, has something to do with it.

Elwood has been counting down the days until his 18th birthday--in dread. It marks leaving school and joining his pastor father in dedicating his life to their congregation, the Garden of Adam. But when he comes home after one night of after a final goodbye with his friends, already self-flagellating for the sins of drinking and disobeying his father, he discovers his path is not as virtuous as he thought. He's not his father's successor, but his sacrifice. For the woods he's grown up with are thirsty, and must be paid in blood.

Now on the run from a family that wants him dead, he turns to the only one who will believe him: Wil. Together, they form a reluctant partnership; she'll help him hide if he helps her find evidence that his family killed her mother. But in the end they dig up more secrets than they bargained for, unraveling decades of dark cult dealings in their town, led by the Clarke family.

And there's a reason they need Elwood's blood for their satanic rituals. Something inhuman is growing inside of him. Everywhere he goes, the plants come alive and the forest calls to him, and Wil isn't sure if she can save the boy she can't help but love.]]> 272 Skyla Arndt 0593526279 Icarus 0 3.54 2023
author: Skyla Arndt
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, 2023-24-anticipated-releases, cryptid-person-recommendations, wishlist
review:

]]> 53290204
As Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie’s death, he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most, discovering a family history soaked in blood and death. Whirling between the backstabbing academic world where Eddie spent his days and the circle of hot boys, fast cars, and hard drugs that ruled Eddie’s nights, the walls Andrew has built against the world begin to crumble, letting in the phantom that hungers for him.]]> 372 Lee Mandelo 125079028X Icarus 0 wishlist, to-read 3.80 2021
author: Lee Mandelo
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 195714010
While modern witches have taken matters into their own hands to ensure a fighting chance at survival for their children, their methods prove ineffective to the issue at large. For Gemma Eakley, her daughter's safety hinges on maintaining a suffocating proximity to the cottage they call home. For Aurelia Schwartz, preservation of the self is all that matters; and she is doing fine. Just fine.

More than half a year has passed since the disappearance of Townsend's resident auger, and Teddy Ingram doesn't know what he believes. With Louisa Eakley in his care and a house that still reeks of its matriarch, he haunts the rural haven like one of its many spirits. After an unexpected visit from his beloved ex-rival where she reveals her mother, Meredith, has passed away, a ghost forms from the pages of her farewell—and gives him a message.

One coven's efforts to reverse the looming extinction of witches involves resurrecting the dead, and Meredith will not be allowed to rest. Her old coven wants to know what secrets she took with her to the funeral pyre; did she have the key to fixing their botched attempts at necromancy? Before they can extract any answers from her, they'll need access to the other side.

A reaper who wields to key,

A girl incensed by grief,

Bound by blood to the sins of their parents.]]> 420 Isabel Agajanian Icarus 0 wishlist, to-read 4.33
author: Isabel Agajanian
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 62107762
Except, her gift of green magic has begun to fade, and if that wasn’t enough to upset the balance of her life, a fateful run-in with another power-hungry witch with a penchant for stolen magic has threatened to bring it all to ruin.

Cast into an unexpected alliance with her dreadfully arrogant classmate, Aurelia goes into hiding among a peculiar family of witches, where she discovers that the secret to their safety requires breaking rules she has followed all her life:
Make no promises,
Tell no one what you are,
and
Never stay the night.]]> 418 Isabel Agajanian Icarus 0 wishlist, to-read 3.65 2023
author: Isabel Agajanian
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 62870022 “You have money, I have blood. How would you like to buy it?��

No romantic story has ever lived up to Dr. Clementine Hughes�� reality but at least he has his steamy two-million-word fanfic and a prestigious research position at Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceuticals, where their benefits are superb and their experimentation on vampires highly unethical. When a mysterious accident turns Clementine into a vampire, discovery would demote him to lab rat and his growing thirst for his coworker’s veins forces him to the streets to hunt.

Justin Yu is usually the one attacking villains in alleys, not the other way around. After the tragedy he brought upon his local vampiric community in his youth, he’s struggled tirelessly to keep their vampires safe. So when a panicking Clementine botches a bite attempt, Justin takes pity—and advantage—and offers the vampire a trade: his blood in exchange for an exorbitant fee.

In desperation, Clementine accepts.

Justin’s blood is bland and unappealing, but the more Clementine learns to appreciate the man’s sharp humor and persistent compassion, the more he acquires a taste for Justin. Justin is determined not to let Clementine’s good looks and thoughtful intellect distract him as hunters from Vitalis-Barron close in on Justin’s neighborhood, and it turns out someone there knows Clementine’s vampiric secret��

Sell Your Blood is the second book in a series of loosely connected MM paranormal romances. It features an Ivy League a-spec vampire who’s never been in love before and an inner-city man who’s sworn off relationships for the last decade as they struggle to combine their different worlds and find a fire in each other hotter than they thought possible. While it can be enjoyed on its own, the optimal reading order is chronological. Note this story features blackmail, general violence, the smoking of prescription drugs to manage intense pain, and the acquisition of far too many salt and pepper shakers.]]> 493 D.N. Bryn 1958051071 Icarus 0 wishlist, to-read 4.08 2023
author: D.N. Bryn
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 61028601 "I WANT YOU TO BITE ME."

Vincent Barnes has suffered four years as a vampire, and they’ve been the most miserable years of his pathetic life. Too poor for black market blood, he feeds from sleeping humans to survive. He tries to never intrude on the same prey twice, but after a single delicious taste of a long-lost childhood neighbor, he can’t help returning for seconds.

Wesley Garcia has been waking up with fang marks. Lucky for him, he needs a vampire—to use as bait. He’s certain Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceutical killed his mother, but to gain access to their covert research labs, he has to bring them a bloodsucker for their experiments.

Step one, a dramatic offer: Stay, and you can bite me.

Vincent leaps at the chance to gobble Wesley up.

Wes’s plan is perfect. He’ll befriend the vampire, then trick him into coming to the lab. No fighting, no fuss. But Vincent is more than Wesley has bargained for: sweet and shy, with intoxicating fangs that awaken new desires in Wes. As the two bond, Vincent believes he might have finally found someone worth putting his trust in... and Wes fears neither of them will survive the betrayal he has planned.

How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win and Wager is a slow-burn paranormal mm romance full of laughter, angst, and thirsty pining. It is perfect for fans of fangs and scientific interpretations of vampirism, with a medium spice level that heats up further in the free bonus content. Content includes bite kink, bleeding (non-kinky), medical experimentation (not experienced by the point of view characters), one particular lesbian BFF who should be reported to HR, and the use of “bodice-ripping�� as a verb.]]> 396 D.N. Bryn 1958051047 Icarus 0 wishlist, to-read 3.71 2022
author: D.N. Bryn
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 62877213
In an eternal paradise, the most beautiful angel, Lucifer, struggles with shame, identity, and timidity, with little more than the desire to worship his creator.

It isn't until the strongest angel, Michael, comes into his life that Lucifer learns to love himself. Along the way, their friendship begins to bloom into something else. Maybe the first romance in the history of everything.

But this God is a jealous one, and maybe paradise is not paradise.]]> 398 Rafael Nicolás Icarus 0 4.13 2022
author: Rafael Nicolás
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: kersei-vibes, cryptid-person-recommendations, wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 58163724 384 Suzanne Young 0593487605 Icarus 0 wishlist, to-read 3.65 2023
author: Suzanne Young
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: wishlist, to-read
review:

]]> 58662507
The zombies are coming back.

And all Nona wants is a birthday party.

In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona's not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body, and she's afraid she might have to give it back.

The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.

And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face...]]> 480 Tamsyn Muir 1250854113 Icarus 0 4.36 2022
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction, wishlist
review:

]]> 39325105 Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor's haunted space station.

She answered the Emperor's call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.

In victory, her world has turned to ash.

After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath �� but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.

Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?]]> 512 Tamsyn Muir 1250313228 Icarus 0 4.30 2020
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction, wishlist
review:

]]> 63255868 Odinioară, a existat o fată îngrozitoare...

Vanja Schmidt știe că orice dar vine cu un preț, chiar și dragostea unei mame. Când viața îi este pusă în pericol și riscă să piardă protecția oferită de nașele ei, Moartea și Fortuna, Vanja se hotărâște să-i fure viața stăpânei sale, Gisele, folosind un colier de perle vrăjite pentru a-i lua locul.

Acum Vanja duce o viață dublă, ca prințesă și hoț de bijuterii în Minkja, fermecând nobilii în timp ce le golește cuferele pentru a-și finanța marea evadare. La un jaf distanță de libertate, atrage asupra ei furia unei Zeițe Inferioare și este blestemată să aibă parte de un sfârșit prematur: pentru lăcomia ei, se va transforma în perle și rubine până la următoarea lună plină.

Hoața talentată are doar două săptămâni la dispoziție să rupă blestemul și să fugă din Imperiul Binecuvântat al Almandyiei, însă este păzită zi și noapte de o semizeiță sălbatică, persecutată de logodnicul sinistru al Giselei și urmărită de un prefect junior care pare dispus să-i descopere toate secretele.

Iar când creaturi desprinse din cele mai întunecate coșmaruri încep să cutreiere străzile din Minkja, Vanja se trezește în mijlocul unui complot malefic, care o forțează să lucreze cot la cot cu cei pe care i-a trădat, jefuit sau mințit.

Hoți mărunți este un retelling întunecat după The Goose Girlși un roman fantasy YA despre vieți furate, adevăruri spinoase, fete rele, zeițăti ironice și monștri periculoși.]]> 600 Margaret Owen 6069072987 Icarus 5 tbr 4.34 2021
author: Margaret Owen
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/23
date added: 2024/02/23
shelves: tbr
review:

]]> 55858638 New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about, the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out--and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclavers, I saved them. Me, and Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves of the world.

Ha, only joking! Actually it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war on the horizon. And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously got out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.]]> 407 Naomi Novik 0593158369 Icarus 4
That, and the feeling that the writing downgraded from the last two books.]]> 4.08 2022
author: Naomi Novik
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves:
review:
The only bone I have to pick with this book is that the chapters were excruciatingly long and I don't have the attention span to read a 50 pages long chapter miss Novik.

That, and the feeling that the writing downgraded from the last two books.
]]> 48915408
But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut�� inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.]]> 448 Ava Reid 1529100739 Icarus 3
The religions were obviously based on real world ones, but while being fictional, they used terms from our very real religions in the fictional religions. I don't know how bad this is or how people see it, but it stood out to me. I'm going to point it out, as a neutral thing. In the same vein, when Évike leans how to write in the Yehuli script, the way she describes the process of writing her name is suspiciously Latin alphabet. Pray tell, why in the "flowing script of the Yehuli" you're writing with Roman letters. When in this world there isn't any mention of real Latin people or Rome. This might be a very nitpicky one on my part, but as soon as I noticed it pulled me out of it.

I'll give Miss Ava a gold star, however, for the diverse cultures in this. In her other book I've read, she dimmed it down dramatically. I have two more of her books to read at this point, and I will I think I liked this much better than I liked A Study In Drowning and I liked Évike more than I liked Effy.

And Miss Ava deserves another gold star for writing healthy male love interests. Of course, I did sense some splashes of traditional gender roles in my feminism here, but the guy LIs were surprisingly okay. It's a breath of fresh air from the possessive, demanding men of fantasy and other speculative fiction.

Needless to say, I'm out. Have a good read parasocial fellas!]]> 3.51 2021
author: Ava Reid
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/15
date added: 2024/02/15
shelves:
review:
Sigh. Miss Ava (I'm on a first name basis with her because I struggled through two of her books by now) has genuinely good ideas. Absolutely fire concepts. The writing is beautiful, a lot of the quotes in here spoke to me. HOWEVER. Why do I use the word "struggle" to describe my reading experience even though I praise her? Well, something about them is very... Cloggy, I think. That, and also the ever present white cishet feminism, if I may add. I KNOW not everything has to be queer or have representation, but my main problem with her storylines is this: pretty white girl has sex with a pretty white (pale or tan) boy and they save the day. The feminist, anti-discrimination lesson at the end excludes a lot of women and women-adjacent people. In The Wolf And The Woodsman, similarly to what happened in A Study In Drowning, the female empowerment works in very black and white shades, or, at least, that's how it came across to me. Yeah, in here there is a side sapphic couple, but nothing much is done with them, they're just kinda there and are cool or have beef with the main character, respectively.

The religions were obviously based on real world ones, but while being fictional, they used terms from our very real religions in the fictional religions. I don't know how bad this is or how people see it, but it stood out to me. I'm going to point it out, as a neutral thing. In the same vein, when Évike leans how to write in the Yehuli script, the way she describes the process of writing her name is suspiciously Latin alphabet. Pray tell, why in the "flowing script of the Yehuli" you're writing with Roman letters. When in this world there isn't any mention of real Latin people or Rome. This might be a very nitpicky one on my part, but as soon as I noticed it pulled me out of it.

I'll give Miss Ava a gold star, however, for the diverse cultures in this. In her other book I've read, she dimmed it down dramatically. I have two more of her books to read at this point, and I will I think I liked this much better than I liked A Study In Drowning and I liked Évike more than I liked Effy.

And Miss Ava deserves another gold star for writing healthy male love interests. Of course, I did sense some splashes of traditional gender roles in my feminism here, but the guy LIs were surprisingly okay. It's a breath of fresh air from the possessive, demanding men of fantasy and other speculative fiction.

Needless to say, I'm out. Have a good read parasocial fellas!
]]> 58082223 Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones in this thrilling fairytale retelling for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and All the Stars and Teeth.

Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles, who definitely doesn't believe in true love.

Shane is a tough-as-dirt girl warrior from the north who likes cracking skulls, pretty girls, and doing things her own way.

Briar Rose is a prince under a sleeping curse, who's been waiting a hundred years for the kiss that will wake him.

Cursed princes are nothing but ancient history to Fi--until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a long-lost ruin. Now she's stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose until she and Shane can break the century-old curse on his kingdom.

Dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes all stand in her way--not to mention a mysterious witch who might wind up stealing Shane's heart, along with whatever else she's after. But nothing scares Fi more than the possibility of falling in love with Briar Rose.

Set in a lush world inspired by beloved fairytales, The Bone Spindle is a fast-paced young adult fantasy full of adventure, romance, found family, and snark.]]> 404 Leslie Vedder 0593325826 Icarus 4 3.79 2022
author: Leslie Vedder
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/13
date added: 2024/02/13
shelves:
review:
3.75 rounded up to 4, proper review to come, the only bone I had to pick with this was that the characters were a bit too young for all them years of experience and also they used modern-ish language. In a medieval-ish fantasy setting. But I digress, this was enjoyable
]]> 23197975
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.

Mothers can disappear.

Visions can mislead.]]> Maggie Stiefvater Icarus 5 4.45 2014
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/02/10
shelves:
review:

]]> 63266156 The fate of a cursed kingdom rests on ancient secrets, broken promises, and fierce friendships in this gasp-worthy final book of the bestselling twisted fairytale Bone Spindle series.

Not all curses should be broken. Not all fairytales end happily ever after.

Fi is a prisoner. Briar, a monster.
Shane's a warrior. And Red is a traitor.

What was once a formidable group of four fighting to reawaken the kingdom is now ruptured, torn apart by the wicked Spindle Witch.

Confined to a tower with the monstrous Briar Rose, Fi is caught in the Spindle Witch’s ever-tightening web. With the Spindle Witch on the verge of finding the Siphoning Spells and crushing Andar—with Fi’s help, no less—Fi’s only hope lies in decoding the ancient riddle of the Rose Witches before she loses Briar forever.

Shane is desperate to save Andar—and her partner. She’s on the hunt for a weapon left by the mysterious Lord of the Butterflies, which holds the key to the Spindle Witch’s demise. Her love for Red has only fortified. But Red’s betrayal puts her in danger from a new enemy—the Spindle Witch’s executioner, the Wraith, a witch as powerful as he is cruel.

The future of Andar lies in the secrets of its past. Fi and Shane must take on the greatest lost ruin of them all—the Tomb of Queen Aurora.

Filled with vicious bone monsters, new alliances, and surprises at every turn, prepare to be swept away by this taut, clever, and heart-filled series conclusion.]]> 400 Leslie Vedder 0593625587 Icarus 0 to-read 4.18 2024
author: Leslie Vedder
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53254083 Which threads of fate will hold—and which will break?

Clever, bookish Fi and her brash, ax-wielding partner Shane are back in this action packed sequel to the bestselling The Bone Spindle, the gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling, perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and The Cruel Prince.

Fi has awakened the sleeping prince, but the battle for Andar is far from over. The Spindle Witch, the Witch Hunters, and Fi’s own Butterfly Curse all stand between them and happily ever after.

Shane has her partner’s back. But she’s in for the fight of her life against Red, the right hand of the Spindle Witch who she’s also, foolishly, hellbent on saving.

Briar Rose would do anything to restore his kingdom. But there’s a darkness creeping inside him—a sinister bond to the Spindle Witch he can’t escape.

All hopes of restoring Andar rest on deciphering a mysterious book code, finding the hidden city of the last Witches, and uncovering a secret lost for centuries—one that just might hold the key to the Spindle Witch’s defeat. If they can all survive that long��

Set in a world of twisted fairytales, The Severed Thread combines lost ruins, ride-or-die friendships, and heart-pounding romance.]]> 404 Leslie Vedder 0593325850 Icarus 0 to-read 4.01 2023
author: Leslie Vedder
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 19173 Those who love Dante best as a storyteller and teacher will find in this book what they have been waiting for...the freshest, clearest, most exact, and most readable Divine Comedy in the English language, with full-page illustrations and original notes.

]]> 399 Dante Alighieri Icarus 5 4.01 1321
author: Dante Alighieri
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1321
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/20
date added: 2024/01/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 63104676 Only the extraordinary are chosen. Only the cunning survive.

An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.

Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities, while elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage.

And still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them, while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed with a plan foreseen to have world-ending stakes. It’s a race to survive as the six Society recruits are faced with the question of what they're willing to betray for limitless power―and who will be destroyed along the way.]]> 672 Olivie Blake 1529095352 Icarus 4 2.82 2024
author: Olivie Blake
name: Icarus
average rating: 2.82
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/23
date added: 2024/01/23
shelves: queer-fiction, 2023-24-anticipated-releases
review:

]]> 56978089
When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom's greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning's only chance to save her sister's life.

But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger.]]> 374 Judy I. Lin 1250767083 Icarus 4 kersei-vibes 3.81 2022
author: Judy I. Lin
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/18
date added: 2024/01/18
shelves: kersei-vibes
review:
Good book technically but like it took me SO long to get through it because I wasn't in the mood��
]]> 54017833 Two girls on opposite sides of a war discover they're fighting for a common purpose--and falling for each other--in Zoe Hana Mikuta's high-octane debut Gearbreakers, perfect for fans of Pacific Rim, Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga, and Marie Lu's Legend series.

We went past praying to deities and started to build them instead...

The shadow of Godolia's tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords.

Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within.

As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia's reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer--as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more...]]> 405 Zoe Hana Mikuta 1250269504 Icarus 4 3.87 2021
author: Zoe Hana Mikuta
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/18
date added: 2024/01/18
shelves:
review:
Look might not be the best book technically and the beginning was eeeeh but it is free therapy so I'm giving it 4 stars because I did really enjoy it
]]> 39897752 When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It's been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers�� mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don't do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what's waiting for her in the woods.]]> 384 Aiden Thomas 125031397X Icarus 0 to-read 3.68 2021
author: Aiden Thomas
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 200982268 New York Times-bestselling author Aiden Thomas returns to the beloved world of The Sunbearer Trials in Celestial Monsters, a heart-stopping duology finale, in which three young semidioses travel through a dark monster-infested world, facing down chaotic Obsidian gods, in a quest to save their friends and return the sun to the sky.

Teo never thought he could be a Hero. Now, he doesn’t have a choice.

The sun is gone, the Obsidian gods have been released from their prison, and chaos and destruction are wreaking havoc on Reino del Sol. All because Teo refused to sacrifice a fellow semidiós during the Sunbearer Trials.

With the world plunged into perpetual night, Teo, his crush Aurelio, and his best friend Niya must journey to the dark wilderness of Los Restos, battling vicious monsters while dealing with guilt, trauma, and a (very distracting) burgeoning romance between Teo and Aurelio. Determined to rescue the captured semidioses and retrieve the Sol Stone, the trio races against the clock to return Sol and their protective light. With it, order can be restored.

The future of the whole world is in their hands.]]> 416 Aiden Thomas 1250822084 Icarus 0 to-read 4.19 2024
author: Aiden Thomas
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55878999 Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys.

“Only the most powerful and honorable semidioses get chosen. I’m just a Jade. I’m not a real hero.��

As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all―they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years.

Teo, a 17-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of Quetzal, goddess of birds, has never worried about the Trials…or rather, he’s only worried for others. His best friend Niya―daughter of Tierra, the god of earth―is one of the strongest heroes of their generation and is much too likely to be chosen this year. He also can’t help but worry (reluctantly, and under protest) for Aurelio, a powerful Gold semidiós and Teo’s friend-turned-rival who is a shoo-in for the Trials. Teo wouldn’t mind taking Aurelio down a notch or two, but a one-in-ten chance of death is a bit too close for Teo’s taste.

But then, for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidiós who isn’t a Gold. In fact, he chooses two: Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck, and…Teo. Now they must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful and better trained, for fame, glory, and their own survival.]]> 352 Aiden Thomas Icarus 0 to-read 4.32 2022
author: Aiden Thomas
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59365584
The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.

And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.]]> 340 Xiran Jay Zhao 1665900709 Icarus 0 to-read 4.07 2022
author: Xiran Jay Zhao
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59365195
All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new: A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion. But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.

Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected. When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.

If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.]]> 576 Tracy Deonn 1534441638 Icarus 5 4.31 2022
author: Tracy Deonn
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/16
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 46249012 From #1�� New York Times ��bestselling author Kathryn Purdie comes a high-stakes fantasy duology flush with doomed romance and macabre magic, perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber and Roshani Chokshi.

Bone Criers are the last descendants of an ancient famille charged with using the magic they draw from animal bones to shepherd the dead into the afterlife—lest they drain the light from the living.


Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become their matriarch, but first she must complete her rite of passage: to kill the boy she’s destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Now his vengeance must wait, as Ailesse’s ritual has begun and their fates are entwined—in life and in death.]]> 480 Kathryn Purdie 0062798774 Icarus 4 3.63 2020
author: Kathryn Purdie
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/01/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 194477936 Fans of Chloe Gong and Judy I. Lin will devour this Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling about two very wicked girls, forever bonded by blood and betrayal . . .

In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit—and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.

Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her vengeance: On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.

But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other��

Lush, terrifying, and uncanny, Zoe Hana Mikuta—author of Gearbreakers and Godslayers —takes a delicate knife straight through the heart of this beloved surrealist fairytale.]]> 408 Zoe Hana Mikuta 1368099068 Icarus 0 to-read 3.49 2024
author: Zoe Hana Mikuta
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 205064729 A beautifully dark YA set in Appalachia tinged with magic, mystery, murder, and romance. For fans of House of Hollow and Wilder Girls! As Caball Hollow slowly recovers after a tumultuous summer, the James family must also come to terms with their own newly revealed secrets.����������������

18-year-old Rowan James has spent her whole life harboring unpleasant truths—that’s what happens when you can smell people’s lies—and building walls around herself to block them out. Like her younger sister, Linden, who can taste the feelings of others, Rowan has long resented her gift, which has taught her that everyone lies and no one is who they seem to be. So when her old nemesis, Hadrian Fitch, the biggest liar of them all, shows up on her front porch—bloodied, broken, and asking for help only she can give—her first instinct is distrust. But something new is stalking the Forest that surrounds Caball Hollow.��������������

Now things are disappearing. At first, it’s small stuff—like letters, photos, and keys. But then, Rowan notices people around her are losing their memories. And when the body of a neighbor is found in the middle of town, Rowan knows there’s a link between this death and all the events disturbing the Hollow. Can she find what—or who—the link is before it takes another life?]]> 320 Kate Pearsall 0593531051 Icarus 0 to-read 4.10 2025
author: Kate Pearsall
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 48506393 The enthralling conclusion to Judy I. Lin's Book of Tea duology��A Magic Steeped in Poison and A Venom Dark and Sweet��is sure to enchant fans of Adrienne Young and Leigh Bardugo.

A great evil has come to the kingdom of Dàxi. The Banished Prince has returned to seize power, his rise to the dragon throne aided by the mass poisonings that have kept the people bound in fear and distrust.

Ning, a young but powerful shénnóng-shi—a wielder of magic using the ancient and delicate art of tea-making—has escorted Princess Zhen into exile. Joining them is the princess' loyal bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning's newly healed sister, Shu. Together the four young women travel throughout the kingdom in search of allies to help oust the invaders and take back Zhen's rightful throne.

But the golden serpent still haunts Ning's nightmares with visions of war and bloodshed. An evil far more ancient than the petty conflicts of men has awoken, and all the magic in the land may not be enough to stop it from consuming the world...]]> 352 Judy I. Lin Icarus 0 to-read 3.59 2022
author: Judy I. Lin
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 198998870
După secole de adormire, zeii se războiesc din nou. Tânăra Iris Winnow, în vârstă de 18 ani, nu vrea însă decât să își țină familia laolaltă. Mama ei a căzut pradă dependențelor, iar fratele, care a fost trimis pe front, a dispărut. Singura ei șansă este să câștige promovarea de la Gazeta de Oath, unde lucrează ca ziaristă.

Pentru a mai uita de griji, Iris îi scrie lungi epistole fratelui ei, pe care le strecoară pe sub ușa șifonierului, de unde dispar�� direct în mâinile lui Roman Kitt, fermecătorul și deopotrivă nepăsătorul ei rival de la ziar. Când acesta din urmă îi răspunde la scrisori sub protecția anonimatului, între cei doi se naște o legătură care o va însoți pe Iris până în prima linie a frontului, unde ajunge hotărâtă să-și salveze fratele, omenirea, dar și dragostea.

Rivali divini este un roman fantasy plin de speranță, dar și de suferință, despre puterea de neegalat a dragostei.]]> 448 Rebecca Ross 6069740882 Icarus 3
Really easy to read, enjoyable enough but I felt like it was a bit of instalove]]> 4.19 2023
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/07
date added: 2024/01/07
shelves:
review:
3.5

Really easy to read, enjoyable enough but I felt like it was a bit of instalove
]]> 57912066 Five are now members of the Society.
Two paths lie before them.

All must pick a side.

Alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and The Society of Alexandrians will be revealed for what it is: a secret society with raw, world-changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change life as we know it are already under way.]]> 560 Olivie Blake 1250855128 Icarus 3 queer-fiction Yeah fuck it I returned to this series and picked it up again and book two TOOK OFF now I see actual yes i do start to like these

I feel like I'm watching olivie blake grow as an author and I know these have technically been published before but whshshsjsjsjsjwj

Waiting for atlas 3 rn as we speak

(]]> 3.51 2022
author: Olivie Blake
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/24
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: queer-fiction
review:
Second review:
Yeah fuck it I returned to this series and picked it up again and book two TOOK OFF now I see actual yes i do start to like these

I feel like I'm watching olivie blake grow as an author and I know these have technically been published before but whshshsjsjsjsjwj

Waiting for atlas 3 rn as we speak

(
]]> 56163940
Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance, revenge, and an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.]]> 340 Hafsah Faizal Icarus 0 3.66 2024
author: Hafsah Faizal
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: 2023-24-anticipated-releases, to-read
review:

]]> 203578707 Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted when a group of troubled teens in a wilderness therapy program find themselves stranded in a forest full of monsters eager to take their place.

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they've all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.

Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn't be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

Atmospheric and sharp, What the Woods Took is a poignant story of transformation that explores the price of becoming someone—or something—new.]]> 336 Courtney Gould 1250340675 Icarus 0 3.89 2024
author: Courtney Gould
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: 2023-24-anticipated-releases, to-read
review:

]]> 203166772 Bestselling and award-winning author Andrew Joseph White returns with a queer Appalachian thriller, that pulls no punches, for teens who see the failures in our world and are pushing for radical change.

A gut-wrenching story following a trans autistic teen who survives an attempted murder, only to be drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them.

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident�� that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him.

The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners�� rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement. Now, Miles becomes the feud’s latest victim as the sheriff’s son and his friends sniff out the evidence, follow him through the woods, and beat him nearly to death.

In the hospital, the ghost of a soot-covered man hovers over Miles’s bedside while Sheriff Davies threatens Miles into silence. But when Miles accidentally kills one of the boys who hurt him, he learns of other folks in Twist Creek who want out from under the sheriff’s heel. To free their families from this cycle of cruelty, they’re willing to put everything on the line—is Miles?

A visceral, unabashedly political page-turner that won’t let you go until you’ve reached the end, Compound Fracture is not for the faint of heart, but it is for every reader who is ready to fight for a better world.]]> 370 Andrew Joseph White 1682636127 Icarus 0 4.45 2024
author: Andrew Joseph White
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: to-read, 2023-24-anticipated-releases
review:

]]> 61287784
Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past.

Those who enter the wood do not always return…]]> 336 A.B. Poranek Icarus 0 4.05 2024
author: A.B. Poranek
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: to-read, 2023-24-anticipated-releases
review:

]]> 64414866 An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from Sunday Times bestselling author S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua's College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and dark magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.]]> 352 S.T. Gibson 0356519325 Icarus 0 3.51 2024
author: S.T. Gibson
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: to-read, 2023-24-anticipated-releases
review:

]]> 157981739
When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven lands, they are both forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the the fae court.

The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world �� torn between their loyalty to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts. . .]]> 386 Saara El-Arifi 0593723007 Icarus 0 3.53 2024
author: Saara El-Arifi
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: to-read, 2023-24-anticipated-releases
review:

]]> 60521937
This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.]]> 292 S.T. Gibson 0316501077 Icarus 4 queer-fiction
This book is absolutely perfect save for one thing I didn't like that happened in part three, so I'll give it four stars. I wanted to read this in so long and here I am. The writing is genuinely some of the prettiest prose I've read in ages and props to the author for that]]> 3.91 2021
author: S.T. Gibson
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/05
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves: queer-fiction
review:
Poly queer vampires rebelling against their abusive maker 4/5

This book is absolutely perfect save for one thing I didn't like that happened in part three, so I'll give it four stars. I wanted to read this in so long and here I am. The writing is genuinely some of the prettiest prose I've read in ages and props to the author for that
]]> 23444482
The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They'll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she'll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.

But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

]]> 399 Seth Dickinson 0765380722 Icarus 0 to-read 4.04 2015
author: Seth Dickinson
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 128109471
Burr's debut is the first book in a dark fantasy series that challenges the nature of academia and the integrity of morality.]]> 358 Lucien Burr 0645549428 Icarus 4 queer-fiction
Look, this is by no means a bad book. Also, it is self published, which makes it all the better. I read it in one sitting and if I had a physical copy I'd have tabbed all the pretty quotes, but since I read an ebook, I can't do that. The writing is very pretty and I was eating up the way Cassius's religious guilt occurs and reoccurs, even after he's committed things he calls 'sins' repeatedly. He is the embodiment of "...and I'll do it again" and I really like that he doesn't shy away from being basically a little bastard (positively) also bonus points for the portrayal of religious trauma because Cassius my guy I feel ya with the guilt

I know I am petty and a bastard myself for this, specifically because I knew this would have what we now call 'spice', which I skipped because I made my peace with sex scenes in books, straight or queer, and I just skip them and shrug and continue enjoying the story. Yes i know that I mention being asexual in every single review where I discuss the horizontal past times in books, but it is a matter of person taste, a part of my identity that shapes my opinions on things.

This didn't really affect my rating, though, I just felt like mentioning it. So now you wonder, why only 3.5 stars? Well. What DID affect my rating is that this didn't leave a lasting impression on me. Maybe because I read it in a grand total of two hours (yes I read fast) in one morning and I wasn't bothered by anything else so I didn't have time to let it grow on me.

I feel like I didn't know to get to know most characters by the end of it, even though a lot of them die, though, so I couldn't really get attached to anyone else other than Leo and Cassius.

A thing I particularly enjoyed here was the description of Leo through Cassius's eyes in the non-sexual scenes. In the scenes where they long and yearn and look at each other like they're not men to each other but gods. I do in fact eat that shit up in general. I like my gays when they're a) evil b) overwhelmed with the want to know one person but in the worshipping emotionally affective way and this also had that which is a big plus.

I also liked the way the University was portrayed and the world building and I already have my predictions for the next book. What if the University created the Teras on the first place / offered a hand in the tearing apart of the world what then

That was fun, goodbye

Also go follow the author's Instagram, they're very silly /pos

Also i headcanon that Cassius has magic and he conjures cigarettes from thin air but can conjure nothing else than cigarettes /j]]> 4.18
author: Lucien Burr
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/03
date added: 2024/01/03
shelves: queer-fiction
review:
3.5 rounded to 4 / 5

Look, this is by no means a bad book. Also, it is self published, which makes it all the better. I read it in one sitting and if I had a physical copy I'd have tabbed all the pretty quotes, but since I read an ebook, I can't do that. The writing is very pretty and I was eating up the way Cassius's religious guilt occurs and reoccurs, even after he's committed things he calls 'sins' repeatedly. He is the embodiment of "...and I'll do it again" and I really like that he doesn't shy away from being basically a little bastard (positively) also bonus points for the portrayal of religious trauma because Cassius my guy I feel ya with the guilt

I know I am petty and a bastard myself for this, specifically because I knew this would have what we now call 'spice', which I skipped because I made my peace with sex scenes in books, straight or queer, and I just skip them and shrug and continue enjoying the story. Yes i know that I mention being asexual in every single review where I discuss the horizontal past times in books, but it is a matter of person taste, a part of my identity that shapes my opinions on things.

This didn't really affect my rating, though, I just felt like mentioning it. So now you wonder, why only 3.5 stars? Well. What DID affect my rating is that this didn't leave a lasting impression on me. Maybe because I read it in a grand total of two hours (yes I read fast) in one morning and I wasn't bothered by anything else so I didn't have time to let it grow on me.

I feel like I didn't know to get to know most characters by the end of it, even though a lot of them die, though, so I couldn't really get attached to anyone else other than Leo and Cassius.

A thing I particularly enjoyed here was the description of Leo through Cassius's eyes in the non-sexual scenes. In the scenes where they long and yearn and look at each other like they're not men to each other but gods. I do in fact eat that shit up in general. I like my gays when they're a) evil b) overwhelmed with the want to know one person but in the worshipping emotionally affective way and this also had that which is a big plus.

I also liked the way the University was portrayed and the world building and I already have my predictions for the next book. What if the University created the Teras on the first place / offered a hand in the tearing apart of the world what then

That was fun, goodbye

Also go follow the author's Instagram, they're very silly /pos

Also i headcanon that Cassius has magic and he conjures cigarettes from thin air but can conjure nothing else than cigarettes /j
]]> 32277642 The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a masterful collection of short stories that will transport you to a realm of eerie mystery, madness, and supernatural horror, where the boundaries between reality and the unknown are blurred.

The book is named after a play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories. The first half of the book features highly esteemed weird stories, and the book has been described by critics such as E. F. Bleiler, S. T. Joshi and T. E. D. Klein as a classic in the field of the supernatural. There are ten stories, the first four of which ("The Repairer of Reputations", "The Mask", "In the Court of the Dragon", and "The Yellow Sign") mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it. "The Yellow Sign" inspired a film of the same name released in 2001.

Stories:
- The Repairer of Reputations
- The Mask
- In the Court of the Dragon
- The Yellow Sign
- The Demoiselle D'ys
- The Prophets' Paradise
- The Street of the Four Winds
- The Street of the First Shell
- The Street of Our Lady of the Fields
- Rue Barree]]> 224 Robert W. Chambers 153905344X Icarus 3 3.58 1895
author: Robert W. Chambers
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1895
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/02
date added: 2024/01/02
shelves:
review:
The supernatural horror first six stories were neat, but then he abandoned that genre altogether and it bored me to death. Felt like I was reading a different book, but Chambers's writing style had me interested enough to finish it. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god" slaps tho
]]> 55977956 Love, Simon and I Wish You All the Best, a funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of a girl who realizes that love can be found in many ways that don't involve sex or romance.

From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about discovering that it's okay if you don't have sexual or romantic feelings for anyone . . . since there are plenty of other ways to find love and connection.

This is the funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of Georgia, who doesn't understand why she can't crush and kiss and make out like her friends do. She's surrounded by the narrative that dating + sex = love. It's not until she gets to college that she discovers the A range of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum -- coming to understand herself as asexual/aromantic. Disrupting the narrative that she's been told since birth isn't easy -- there are many mistakes along the way to inviting people into a newly found articulation of an always-known part of your identity. But Georgia's determined to get her life right, with the help of (and despite the major drama of) her friends.]]> 432 Alice Oseman 133875193X Icarus 0 to-read, queer-fiction 4.26 2020
author: Alice Oseman
name: Icarus
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/02
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction
review:

]]> 33385229
Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day.]]> 389 Adam Silvera 0062457799 Icarus 0 to-read, queer-fiction 3.76 2017
author: Adam Silvera
name: Icarus
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/02
shelves: to-read, queer-fiction
review:

]]>