Lara's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 31 Mar 2025 17:47:32 -0700 60 Lara's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Nine Perfect Strangers 39280445 Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever?

These nine perfect strangers are about to find out...

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer—or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

Combining all of the hallmarks that have made Liane Moriarty's writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.]]> 453 Liane Moriarty 1250069823 Lara 3 3.53 2018 Nine Perfect Strangers
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Lara
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves:
review:
I lost interest about 3/4 of the way through. Could have just been my life but also I wasn’t sure how I felt about what was happening. I enjoyed the ending once I picked it back up.
]]> <![CDATA[Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up]]> 198332459 350 Abigail Shrier Lara 0 to-read 3.98 2024 Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up
author: Abigail Shrier
name: Lara
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)]]> 16054217 The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.]]> 561 Deborah Harkness 0670025593 Lara 0 to-read 4.15 2014 The Book of Life (All Souls, #3)
author: Deborah Harkness
name: Lara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know]]> 23551616 These ten simple truths can build onebigchange in your daughter’s life.

When Kari Kampakis wrote a blog post in July 2013 titled �10 Truths Young Girls Should Know,� the post went viral and was shared more than 65,000 times on Facebook. Obviously her message strikes a chord with moms and dads across the country. This nonfiction book for teen girls expands on these ten truths andbrings a Christian messagetothe hearts of both moms and daughters.

Teen girls deal daily with cliques, bullying, rejection, and social media nightmares. Kari Kampakis wants girls to know that they don’t have to compromise their integrity and future to find love, acceptance, and security. Her ten truths

Kindness is more important than popularity.People peak at different times of life. Trust God’s plan for you.Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Otherwise, you’ll never stick to your guns.Today’s choices set the stage for your reputation.You were born to fly.Fans of Kari's blog and newspaper column will not want to miss her first book. Filled with practical advice, loving support, and insightful discussion questions,10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Knowis a timely and approachable list of guidelines that will help young girls navigate a broken world and become the young women God made them to be.]]> 198 Kari Kampakis Lara 0 4.25 2014 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know
author: Kari Kampakis
name: Lara
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2022/03/31
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Grave's a Fine and Private Place (Flavia de Luce, #9)]]> 35098071 The Seattle Times), Flavia de Luce, returns in a twisty new mystery novel from award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Alan Bradley.]]> 384 Alan Bradley 0345540018 Lara 4 4.22 2018 The Grave's a Fine and Private Place (Flavia de Luce, #9)
author: Alan Bradley
name: Lara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce, #10)]]> 40044422 A finger in a wedding cake is only the beginning in this deliciously shocking mystery featuring Flavia de Luce, "the world's greatest adolescent British chemist/busybody/sleuth" (The Seattle Times).

Flavia de Luce, the twelve-year-old chemist and amateur detective "with better than an average brain," is eager to turn professional. She and her father's valet, Dogger, have founded a detective agency, Arthur Dogger & Associates, and unexpectedly cut into their first case during the revelry at her sister Ophelia's wedding reception.

After an eventful ceremony with a missing best man and spontaneous ventriloquist act, spirits are high as Feely and her new husband head for the towering and beautifully iced wedding cake. But as Feely slices into the first piece, a scream rings out--the bridal cake contains a severed human finger. Delighted, Flavia wraps the finger in a napkin and whisks it away to her chemical laboratory. By studying the embalmed skin, the indentation of a ring, and the slope of the fingernail, she'll not only be able to determine the identity of the victim--but also point a finger at a killer.]]> 352 Alan Bradley Lara 4 4.27 2019 The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce, #10)
author: Alan Bradley
name: Lara
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Medical Medium Cleanse to Heal: Healing Plans for Sufferers of Anxiety, Depression, Acne, Eczema, Lyme, Gut Problems, Brain Fog, Weight Issues, Migraines, Bloating, Vertigo, Psoriasis]]> 53502860 From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Celery Juice and Liver Rescue, here's everything you need to know about cleansing to transform your health--and your life.

If you think you don't have any need to do a cleanse--if you're sure you couldn't possibly be harboring any toxins in your body--think again. In today's world, there are poisons and pathogens that threaten our health starting before we're even born, and they continue to hold us back as we encounter them in our everyday life.

Cleansing is a vital tool for fighting against these burdens--as long as you go about it the right way. That's why you need this book. Anthony William, the Medical Medium, has placed a vast wealth of insight and information into a one-stop resource for cleansing of all kinds, starting with his acclaimed nine-day 3:6:9 Cleanse and expanding into life-saving protocols for specific health needs--including an anti-bug cleanse, a morning cleanse, and a heavy metal detox.

You'll discover:
- How to choose the cleanse that's right for you
- A deep dive into the causes of your symptoms and conditions
- Critical cleanse dos and don'ts, including modifications and substitutions
- The truth about trendy topics such as intermittent fasting and the microbiome
- A guide to supplements you may choose to add to your cleanse
- The physical reasons why cleansing can be an emotional experience
- More than 75 recipes and sample menus to get you through your Medical Medium cleanse
- Spiritual and soul support to remind you that healing is possible

"The cleanses in this book speak to what's truly going wrong inside of our bodies that no trendy lifestyle approach can ever address," Anthony writes. "Have compassion for yourself and know that your suffering is not your fault. Your struggles are not your fault. You're accomplishing great things every single hour and day as you work on your healing process with the powerful tools in this book. I believe you can heal."]]> 586 Anthony William 140195846X Lara 0 4.20 Medical Medium Cleanse to Heal: Healing Plans for Sufferers of Anxiety, Depression, Acne, Eczema, Lyme, Gut Problems, Brain Fog, Weight Issues, Migraines, Bloating, Vertigo, Psoriasis
author: Anthony William
name: Lara
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read, unfinished-will-finish-eventually
review:

]]> <![CDATA[American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers]]> 28587592 Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales’s riveting and explosive American Girls.

With extraordinary intimacy and precision, Sales captures what it feels like to be a girl in America today.From Montclair to Manhattan and Los Angeles, from Florida and Arizona to Texas and Kentucky, Sales crisscrossed the country, speaking to more than two hundred girls, ages thirteen to nineteen, anddocumenting a massive change in the way girls are growing up, a phenomenon that transcends race, geography, and household income.American Girls provides a disturbing portrait of the end of childhood as we know it and of the inexorable and ubiquitous experience of a new kind of adolescence—one dominated by new social and sexual norms, where a girl’s first crushes and experiences of longing and romance occur in an accelerated electronic environment; where issues of identity and self-esteem are magnified and transformed by social platforms that provide instantaneous judgment.

What does it mean to be a girl in America in 2016?

It means coming of age online in a hyper-sexualized culture that has normalized extreme behavior, from pornography to the casual exchange of nude photographs; a culture rife with a virulent new strain of sexism and a sometimes self-undermining notion of feminist empowerment; a culture in which teenagers are spending so much time on technology and social media that they are not developing basic communication skills. From beauty gurus to slut-shaming to a disconcerting trend of exhibitionism, Nancy Jo Sales provides a shocking window into the troubling world of today’s teenage girls.

Provocative and urgent, American Girls is destined to ignite a much-needed conversation about how we can help our daughters and sons negotiate unprecedented new challenges.]]> 418 Nancy Jo Sales 0385353936 Lara 0 3.59 2016 American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers
author: Nancy Jo Sales
name: Lara
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2019/01/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country]]> 24359966 When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn’t Disneyland, but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries.

What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born, or made? Helen decides there is only one way to find out: she will give herself a year, trying to uncover the formula for Danish happiness.

From childcare, education, food and interior design to SAD, taxes, sexism and an unfortunate predilection for burning witches, The Year of Living Danishly is a funny, poignant record of a journey that shows us where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves.

]]> 389 Helen Russell 1848318138 Lara 3 4.07 2015 The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
author: Helen Russell
name: Lara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2017/09/22
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Silent Wife 33225794
Lara’s life looks perfect on the surface. Gorgeous doting husband Massimo, sweet little son Sandro and the perfect home. Lara knows something about Massimo. Something she can’t tell anyone else or everything Massimo has worked so hard for will be destroyed: his job, their reputation, their son. This secret is keeping Lara a prisoner in her marriage.

Maggie is married to Massimo’s brother Nico and lives with him and her troubled step-daughter. She knows all of Nico’s darkest secrets � or so she thinks. Then one day she discovers a letter in the attic which reveals a shocking secret about Nico’s first wife Caitlin. Will Maggie set the record straight or keep silent to protect those she loves?

For a family held together by lies, the truth will come at a devastating price.

A heart-wrenching, emotionally gripping read for fans of Amanda Prowse, Liane Moriarty, and Diane Chamberlain.]]> 385 Kerry Fisher 178681126X Lara 0 3.91 2017 The Silent Wife
author: Kerry Fisher
name: Lara
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2018/01/29
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle]]> 11741247 310 Fiona Carnarvon 1444730827 Lara 0 3.80 2011 Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle
author: Fiona Carnarvon
name: Lara
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2012/01/31
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mastering Affluence: 6 Lessons to Create a Life You Love]]> 41454236 330 Carol Tuttle Lara 0 4.45 Mastering Affluence: 6 Lessons to Create a Life You Love
author: Carol Tuttle
name: Lara
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Malibu Rising 55404546 Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.

Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them... and what they will leave behind.]]> 369 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1524798657 Lara 0 4.02 2021 Malibu Rising
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Lara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: unfinished-will-finish-eventually, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ten Little Girls (Rebekka Franck #9)]]> 40179136 Every Mother's Worst Fear!

Imagine waiting for the school bus, waiting for your daughter to come home, looking forward to spending the afternoon with her, but as the bus stops and the children start to come out, your daughter isn't there.

Ten little girls go missing on the same day in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Ten little girls all from the same school. Ten abductions that hold the entire town captive...until the letters start to arrive. Letters with lines from the nursery rhyme Ten Little Indians letting the parents know where to find their daughter's bodies.

Rebekka Franck’s daughter Julie is one of the missing girls and together with local detective Jack Ryder, she is launched into the most unsettling case of her career. What follows is a heart-pounding race to find the girls before they all end up dead.

Ten Little Girls is a spine-tingling standalone mystery featuring Willow Rose’s iconic characters Rebekka Franck and Jack Ryder. If you like horrifying scares, courageous parents and a tug on your heartstring, then you’ll love Willow Rose’s fast-paced Thriller.

Pre-order Ten Little Girls now to get it delivered wireless as soon as it is out! ]]> 264 Willow Rose Lara 0 to-read 4.25 2018 Ten Little Girls (Rebekka Franck #9)
author: Willow Rose
name: Lara
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Chemistry of Alchemy: From Dragon's Blood to Donkey Dung, How Chemistry Was Forged]]> 22302124 374 Cathy Cobb 1616149167 Lara 0 to-read 4.40 2014 The Chemistry of Alchemy: From Dragon's Blood to Donkey Dung, How Chemistry Was Forged
author: Cathy Cobb
name: Lara
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When I'm Gone 27401883 An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Dear Luke,First let me say—I love you…I didn’t want to leave you�

Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there’s something he’s not prepared for—a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie’s handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home.

The letter inside, written on the first day of Natalie’s cancer treatment a year ago, turns out to be the first of many. Luke is convinced they’re genuine, but who is delivering them? As his obsession with the letters grows, Luke uncovers long-buried secrets that make him question everything he knew about his wife and their family. But the revelations also point the way toward a future where love goes on—in written words, in memories, and in the promises it’s never too late to keep.

]]> 366 Emily Bleeker 150396440X Lara 0 4.00 2016 When I'm Gone
author: Emily Bleeker
name: Lara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2021/01/01
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Kitchen House 6837103
Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.]]> 369 Kathleen Grissom 1439153663 Lara 0 4.21 2010 The Kitchen House
author: Kathleen Grissom
name: Lara
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: unfinished-will-finish-eventually, to-read
review:

]]> Cry, the Beloved Country 6150 Cry, the Beloved Country, the most famous and important novel in South Africa’s history, was an immediate worldwide bestseller in 1948. Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

The eminent literary critic Lewis Gannett wrote, “We have had many novels from statesmen and reformers, almost all bad; many novels from poets, almost all thin. In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country the statesman, the poet and the novelist meet in a unique harmony.�

Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.]]> 316 Alan Paton 074326195X Lara 0 to-read 3.91 1948 Cry, the Beloved Country
author: Alan Paton
name: Lara
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1948
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Witch of Blackbird Pond 703292
Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!]]> 256 Elizabeth George Speare Lara 0 to-read 4.01 1958 The Witch of Blackbird Pond
author: Elizabeth George Speare
name: Lara
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1958
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hide (Detective Harriet Foster, #1)]]> 60845564 A mystery featuring hard-boiled Chicago detective Harriet Foster, who’s on the hunt for a serial killer with a deadly affinity for redheads.

When a young red-haired woman is found brutally murdered in downtown Chicago, one detail stands out: the red lipstick encircling her wrists and ankles.

Detective Harriet Foster is on the case, even though she’s still grieving the sudden death of her partner. As a Black woman in a male-dominated department, Foster anticipates a rocky road ahead acclimating to a new team—and building trust with her new partner isn’t coming easily.

After another victim turns up with the same lipstick markings, Foster suspects she’s looking for a serial killer. Through a tip from a psychiatrist, Foster learns about Bodie Morgan: a troubled man with a twisted past and a penchant for pretty young redheads with the bluest eyes. As Foster wades into Morgan’s sinister history, the killer continues their gruesome assault on Chicago’s streets.

In her desperate race to catch the murderer before they strike again, Foster will have to confront the darkest of secrets—including her own.]]> 377 Tracy Clark 1542037581 Lara 0 4.15 2023 Hide (Detective Harriet Foster, #1)
author: Tracy Clark
name: Lara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: unfinished-will-finish-eventually, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom]]> 214151420 From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.�

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.� No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty.]]> 320 Shari Franke 1668065398 Lara 5 4.44 2025 The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
author: Shari Franke
name: Lara
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury]]> 41038946
Alice Pendelbury believes everything in her life is pretty much in order—from her good friends to her burgeoning career. But even Alice has to admit it’s been an odd week. Not only has her belligerent neighbor, Mr. Daldry, suddenly become a surprisingly agreeable confidant, but he’s encouraging her to take seriously the fortune-teller who told her that only by traveling to Turkey can Alice meet the most important person in her life.

What’s more, the peculiarly insistent Mr. Daldry has even agreed to finance Alice’s trip—one that against all reason seems to be predestined. It’s on this journey, crazy from the outset and strangely irresistible, that Alice will find out that nothing in her life is real, that her past is not true, and that the six people she’s about to encounter will shape her future in ways she could never have dreamed.]]> 283 Marc Levy 1542090563 Lara 0 to-read 4.05 2011 The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury
author: Marc Levy
name: Lara
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Let Them Theory 216351768
If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated with where you are, the problem isn't you. The problem is the power you give to other people. Two simple words�Let Them—will set you free. Free from the opinions, drama, and judgments of others. Free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. The Let Them Theory puts the power to create a life you love back in your hands—and this book will show you exactly how to do it.

In her latest groundbreaking book, The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins�New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's most respected experts on motivation, confidence, and mindset—teaches you how to stop wasting energy on what you can't control and start focusing on what truly YOU. Your happiness. Your goals. Your life.

Using the same no-nonsense, science-backed approach that's made The Mel Robbins Podcast a global sensation, Robbins explains why The Let Them Theory is already loved by millions and how you can apply it in eight key areas of your life to make the biggest impact. Within a few pages, you'll realize how much energy and time you've been wasting trying to control the wrong things—at work, in relationships, and in pursuing your goals—and how this is keeping you from the happiness and success you deserve.

Written as an easy-to-understand guide, Robbins shares relatable stories from her own life, highlights key takeaways, relevant research and introduces you to world-renowned experts in psychology, neuroscience, relationships, happiness, and ancient wisdom who champion The Let Them Theory every step of the way.

Learn how

Stop wasting energy on things you can't control Stop comparing yourself to other peopleBreak free from fear and self-doubtRelease the grip of people's expectationsBuild the best friendships of your lifeCreate the love you deservePursue what truly matters to you with confidenceBuild resilience against everyday stressors and distractionsDefine your own path to success, joy, and fulfillment. . . and so much more.

The Let Them Theory will forever change the way you think about relationships, control, and personal power. Whether you want to advance your career, motivate others to change, take creative risks, find deeper connections, build better habits, start a new chapter, or simply create more happiness in your life and relationships, this book gives you the mindset and tools to unlock your full potential.

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory now and discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words.]]> 311 Mel Robbins 1401971377 Lara 0 to-read 4.20 2024 The Let Them Theory
author: Mel Robbins
name: Lara
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Women of the Copper Country]]> 43374311 From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Sparrow comes “historical fiction that feels uncomfortably relevant today� (Kirkus Reviews) about “America’s Joan of Arc”—the courageous woman who started a rebellion by leading a strike against the largest copper mining company in the world.In July 1913, twenty-five-year-old Annie Clements has seen enough of the world to know that it’s unfair. She’s spent her whole life in the mining town of Calumet, Michigan, where men risk their lives for meager salaries—and have barely enough to put food on the table for their families. The women labor in the houses of the elite, and send their husbands and sons deep underground each day, dreading the fateful call of the company man telling them their loved ones aren’t coming home. So, when Annie decides to stand up for the entire town of Calumet, nearly everyone believes she may have taken on more than she is prepared to handle. Yet as Annie struggles to improve the future of her town, her husband becomes increasingly frustrated with her growing independence. She faces the threat of prison while also discovering a forbidden love. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will see just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the families of Calumet. From one of the most versatile writers in contemporary fiction, this novel is an authentic and moving historical portrait of the lives of the crucial men and women of the early labor movement “with an important message that will resonate with contemporary readers� (Booklist).]]> 370 Mary Doria Russell 1982109602 Lara 0 to-read 4.30 2019 The Women of the Copper Country
author: Mary Doria Russell
name: Lara
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Betting on the Brainiac (Betting on Love)]]> 175970133
But the sparks fly anyway when Madison Benedict offers Oliver Hayes a quiet space to work in the daylight hours of Austin's premiere nightclub where she makes major bank working bottle service for VIPs.

Oliver sees more to Madison than she ever shows the rest of the world, and as he begins to challenge her choices, she finds it harder and harder to hide...herself. Her ambitions. Her dreams.

And her feelings.

But Oliver isn't the only one who sees past the exterior everyone else takes for granted. Madison sees a man driven by secrets, and she's determined to uncover them.

Will their determination to see behind the other's mask send them each further into hiding? Or will their teasing and scorching kisses draw them deeper into a relationship each of them is sure they don't want?]]> 344 Melanie Jacobson Lara 0 to-read 4.23 Betting on the Brainiac (Betting on Love)
author: Melanie Jacobson
name: Lara
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> Such Charming Liars 201055456 The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie—except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job—at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn’t know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father—a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter.

Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can’t trust anyone—except each other.

Or can they? Because if there’s one thing both Kat and Liam know, it’s how to lie. They learned from the best.]]> 320 Karen M. McManus 0241676983 Lara 0 to-read 3.72 2024 Such Charming Liars
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Lara
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Killing Cold 211004079 A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.]]> 291 Kate Alice Marshall 1250343054 Lara 4 3.80 2025 A Killing Cold
author: Kate Alice Marshall
name: Lara
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/12
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]]> Icebreaker (UCMH, #1) 61767292
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

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

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried . . . because she could never like a hockey player, right?]]> 447 Hannah Grace Lara 0 to-read 3.75 2022 Icebreaker (UCMH, #1)
author: Hannah Grace
name: Lara
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Educated 35133922
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.]]> 352 Tara Westover 0399590501 Lara 5 4.46 2018 Educated
author: Tara Westover
name: Lara
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> How to Ruin the Holidays 59627752 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B09LTN5NNL

After a disastrous family Thanksgiving, all I wanted was to avoid anything holly and jolly this year, so an unexpected business trip seemed like the perfect escape plan . . . until I landed smack dab in the middle of a freaking winter wonderland, otherwise known as Carole Cove, Montana. It’s merrier and brighter than the North Pole. The town even comes with its own Mr. Holiday—Noel Holiday, that is. Not only is he holly and jolly but he’s hotter than the lattes he sells at his café. And for some reason he would love nothing more than to share the magic of the season with me.

Unfortunately, this little trip of mine isn’t exactly filled with good cheer. But Noel’s kisses have a way of making me believe in Christmas miracles. And a miracle might be exactly what it takes to keep the holidays from being ruined forever.]]> 226 Becky Monson Lara 3 4.06 2021 How to Ruin the Holidays
author: Becky Monson
name: Lara
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/22
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Filled with His Love : Strengthening Our Attachment to God and to Others [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe]]> 59384848 184 Russell T. Osguthorpe 1462141447 Lara 0 to-read 4.29 Filled with His Love : Strengthening Our Attachment to God and to Others [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe [Paperback] Russell T. Osguthorpe
author: Russell T. Osguthorpe
name: Lara
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scam Goddess: Lessons from a Life of Cons, Grifts, and Schemes]]> 204593464 A hilarious,delightfullysubversive essay collection from Laci Mosley, host of the award-winning “Scam Goddess� podcast, about the frauds, cons, and schemes that make up our world—and how the scammer mindset has affected her own upbringing, career, friendships, love life, and more. From an early age, comedian and actress Laci Mosley knew her path would be riddled with scams, cons, robberies, and frauds. Little ones. Ones that didn’t hurt people or get her in trouble. But ones that would get her where she needed to be.“You see,� she writes,“everyone’s a scammer and everything’s a scam. Some people are better at it than others, but we all do it.The system wasn’t built for people like me. Scamming saved me and has taught me how to navigate a messy and unfair world while looking out for myself, too.� InScam Goddess, Laci recounts how her scammer instincts have guided her throughout her life—from a religious childhood inruralTexas, to a stint as a city bartender at whatmighthave been a drug front, to swindling her way past the gatekeepers of Hollywood—recounting the greatest true-crime scam stories that inspired her along the way. Whether it’s by the beauty industry, capitalism, or the people we date, we’re all getting scammed. In this book, Laci identifies the secrets to flipping the script and coming out ahead.]]> 256 Laci Mosley 0762484659 Lara 0 to-read 4.07 Scam Goddess: Lessons from a Life of Cons, Grifts, and Schemes
author: Laci Mosley
name: Lara
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)]]> 57932307 The global phenomenon returns with the third book in the One of Us Is Lying series, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen M. McManus. When someone from the Bayview Four’s past resurfaces, history begins to repeat itself—and the consequences are deadly.

The third time’s a charm.

It’s been almost two years since Simon died in detention, and the aftermath has been hard to shake. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation outwitted a vengeful copycat. Now the entire Bayview Crew is back home for the summer, and everyone is trying to move on.

Only, this is Bayview, and life is never that simple.

At first the mysterious billboard seems like a bad Time for a new game, Bayview. But when a member of the Bayview Crew disappears, it’s clear this “game� is serious—and whoever’s in charge isn’t sharing the rules. Or maybe there aren’t any.

Bronwyn. Cooper. Addy. Nate. Maeve. Phoebe. Knox. Luis. Kris. Everyone’s a target. And now that someone unexpected has returned to Bayview, things could start getting deadly.

The thing is, Simon was right about secrets—they all come out eventually. And Bayview has a lot it’s still hiding.]]> 368 Karen M. McManus 0593485033 Lara 3 3.96 2023 One of Us Is Back (One of Us Is Lying, #3)
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Lara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year]]> 199531989 Knives Out gets a rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers Christmas romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-Time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.]]> 293 Ally Carter 0063276682 Lara 4 3.92 2024 The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
author: Ally Carter
name: Lara
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/30
date added: 2024/12/29
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]]> Then She Was Gone 35297426 She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?]]> 359 Lisa Jewell 1501154648 Lara 4 4.02 2017 Then She Was Gone
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Lara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/20
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves:
review:
Well written and a wonderful ride. I figured out what must have happened as soon as Laurel met Poppy but I still enjoyed the read even though I guessed exactly right.
]]> One-Star Romance 201245798 A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.

Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.

Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.

When the reception ends, these two opposites hope they’ll never meet again. But, as they slip from their twenties into their thirties, they’re forced together whenever their fast-track best friends celebrate another milestone. Through housewarmings and christenings, life-changing triumphs and failures, Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.

After all, even the truest love stories sometimes need a bit of rewriting.]]> 400 Laura Hankin 0593438213 Lara 3 3.65 2024 One-Star Romance
author: Laura Hankin
name: Lara
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/31
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves:
review:
Wasn’t a huge fan of the main character but she redeemed herself enough in the end.
]]> <![CDATA[The Sequel (The Book Series, #2)]]> 203578763 The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone wrong, and someone out there knows far too much about her late brother, her late husband, and possibly about Anna herself. What does this person want, and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far and worked too hard to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story—and she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.]]> 304 Jean Hanff Korelitz 1250875471 Lara 0 to-read 3.60 2024 The Sequel (The Book Series, #2)
author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
name: Lara
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

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

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing� of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?]]> 320 Jean Hanff Korelitz 125079076X Lara 3 3.75 2021 The Plot (The Book Series, #1)
author: Jean Hanff Korelitz
name: Lara
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves:
review:
The idea was interesting enough for me to keep reading even though it was slow. I figured out the twist fairly early but I did want to see how it played out. Solid story, wish things had been a bit less easy to predict.
]]> <![CDATA[Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust]]> 18930958 242 Immaculée Ilibagiza 1401919286 Lara 5
I wasn't sure I wanted to read it when it was chosen for my book club, but then I noticed that nearly all of my friends here on ŷ who had read it spoke highly of it. I also noticed that I had put it on my to-read list a long time ago!

Still, I began reading with some trepidation because I didn't want to know all the gory details.

And I read one of the most beautiful books about faith and forgiveness that I have ever read. What a beautiful person Immaculee is. Her story made me want to better my own relationship with God.]]> 4.62 2006 Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
author: Immaculée Ilibagiza
name: Lara
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2012/07/01
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves:
review:
Excellent book.

I wasn't sure I wanted to read it when it was chosen for my book club, but then I noticed that nearly all of my friends here on ŷ who had read it spoke highly of it. I also noticed that I had put it on my to-read list a long time ago!

Still, I began reading with some trepidation because I didn't want to know all the gory details.

And I read one of the most beautiful books about faith and forgiveness that I have ever read. What a beautiful person Immaculee is. Her story made me want to better my own relationship with God.
]]> <![CDATA[The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary]]> 6570718 A New York Times Notable Book

The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary—and literary history.

The making of the OED was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, was stunned to discover that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. But their surprise would pale in comparison to what they were about to discover when the committee insisted on honoring him. For Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

Masterfully researched and eloquently written, The Professor and the Madman “is the linguistic detective story of the decade.� (William Safire, New York Times Magazine)

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.]]> 288 Simon Winchester 0061807605 Lara 0 to-read 3.88 1998 The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
author: Simon Winchester
name: Lara
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)]]> 45932891 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •There's a new mystery to solve at Bayview High, and there's a whole new set of rules. The highly anticipated sequel to One of Us Is Lying! Come on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.Until now.This time it's not an app, though—it's a game.Truth or Dare.Phoebe's the first target. If you choose not to play, it's a truth. And hers is dark.Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare.But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it's that they can't count on the police for help. Or protection.Simon's gone, but someone's determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive.And the rules have changed. Fans of the hit thriller that started it all can watch the secrets of the Bayview Four be revealed in the One of Us is Lying TV series now streaming on NBC's Peacock! ]]> 374 Karen M. McManus 0525707980 Lara 4 4.05 2020 One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying, #2)
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Lara
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/08
date added: 2024/09/08
shelves:
review:

]]> Nothing More to Tell 51559209
The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex–best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin’s murder—but instead, thanks to Tripp, they're now at the top of the Saint Ambrose social pyramid. Tripp’s friends have never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day, and neither has he. Just like he hasn’t forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie.

Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and when Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she uncovers secrets that might change everything—about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot.

Four years ago someone got away with murder. More terrifying is that they might be closer than anyone thinks.]]> 358 Karen M. McManus 0593175905 Lara 3 3.89 2022 Nothing More to Tell
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Lara
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/04
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)]]> 58679358 On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.]]> 416 Karen M. McManus 0593565371 Lara 4 3.87 2017 One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Lara
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/26
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Funny Story 194802722 A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right?]]> 400 Emily Henry Lara 4 4.21 2024 Funny Story
author: Emily Henry
name: Lara
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/08
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> When We Were Enemies 123184854
It’s 1943 when Vivian, a small-town Indiana girl, lends her home front support to the war effort. As a translator in the nearby Italian POW camp, she’s invaluable. As a celebrated singer for the USO, she lifts men’s spirits and falls in love with a soldier. But behind this all-American love story is a shocking secret—one vital to keep buried if Vivian is to achieve the fame and fortune she covets.

For Elise and Vivian, what’s hidden—and what’s exposed—threatens to unravel their lives. The heart-wrenching choices they must make will change them both forever.]]> 345 Emily Bleeker 1662509898 Lara 0 3.96 2023 When We Were Enemies
author: Emily Bleeker
name: Lara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bishop's Wife (A Linda Wallheim Mystery Book 1)]]> 24180077 In the predominantly Mormon city of Draper, Utah, some seemingly perfect families have deadly secrets.

Linda Wallheim is a devout Mormon, the mother of five boys and the wife of a bishop. But Linda is increasingly troubled by her church’s structure and secrecy, especially as a disturbing situation takes shape in her ward. One cold winter night, a young wife and mother named Carrie Helm disappears, leaving behind everything she owns. Carrie’s husband, Jared, claims his wife has always been unstable and that she has abandoned the family, but Linda doesn’t trust him. As Linda snoops in the Helm family’s circumstances, she becomes convinced that Jared has murdered his wife and painted himself as a wronged husband.

Linda’s husband asks her not to get involved in the unfolding family saga. But Linda has become obsessed with Carrie’s fate, and with the well-being of her vulnerable young daughter. She cannot let the matter rest until she finds out the truth. Is she wrong to go against her husband, the bishop, when her inner convictions are so strong?

Inspired by a chilling true crime and written by a practicing Mormon, The Bishop’s Wife is both a fascinating look at the lives of modern Mormons as well as a grim and cunningly twisted mystery.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 353 Mette Ivie Harrison 1616954787 Lara 4 3.32 2014 The Bishop's Wife (A Linda Wallheim Mystery Book 1)
author: Mette Ivie Harrison
name: Lara
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/10/01
date added: 2024/06/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle]]> 36337550
There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.

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

Understood? Then let's begin . . .

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

The most inventive debut of the year twists together a mystery of such unexpected creativity it will leave listeners guessing until the very last second.]]> 432 Stuart Turton Lara 0 to-read 3.78 2018 The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
author: Stuart Turton
name: Lara
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Season's Schemings (Cyclones Christmas, #1)]]> 201919785 ‘Tis the season to get even�

When Maddie Grainger’s longtime boyfriend dumps her on TV for the entire world to see, she thinks she’s hit rock bottom.

Until her parents announce that they’re spending the holidays with her ex’s family� And he’ll be bringing the woman he left her for.

All Maddie wants for Christmas is to stick it to her cheating ex. But how?

Enter Sebastian Slater, the NHL’s most infamous player.

On a drunken night out in Vegas, Maddie asks the superstar athlete to pose as her new boyfriend. She’s kidding, mostly. But Seb shocks her by making a counter offer: he doesn’t want to date Maddie for the holidays� he wants to marry her.

Show up at her ex’s cabin alone, or with a surprise new hockey-playing husband? Maddie opts for the ultimate level up.

Because maybe, just maybe, revenge is a dish best served betrothed.

Sparks fly and Christmas cheer is abundant in this festive marriage of convenience rom com. Season’s Schemings is a closed door/fade to black romance that includes mild language, innuendo, and tons of sizzle without the spice.]]> 262 Katie Bailey Lara 3 4.02 Season's Schemings (Cyclones Christmas, #1)
author: Katie Bailey
name: Lara
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/12/11
date added: 2023/12/11
shelves:
review:

]]> Book Lovers 58690308 One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

Nora Stephens� life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters� trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.]]> 377 Emily Henry 0593334833 Lara 0 to-read 4.09 2022 Book Lovers
author: Emily Henry
name: Lara
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]]> 58784475 In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.]]> 401 Gabrielle Zevin 0735243344 Lara 0 to-read 4.12 2022 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: Lara
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Never Lie 62080187
But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate� with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.]]> 286 Freida McFadden Lara 2 4.09 2022 Never Lie
author: Freida McFadden
name: Lara
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2023/08/27
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Perfect Marriage (Perfect, #1)]]> 58747122
Out in the secluded woods, at the couple’s lake house, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers. But one morning everything changes. Kelly is found brutally stabbed to death and now, Sarah must take on her hardest case yet, defending her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.

The Perfect Marriage is a juicy, twisty, and utterly addictive thriller that will keep you turning pages. You won’t see the ending coming . . . guaranteed!]]> 344 Jeneva Rose 1504071573 Lara 2 I'm giving it two stars only because I finished it. I guessed the ending as soon as I found out [spoilers removed]
The idea was good, but needed a lot of tightening up to work. If this is really going to be a movie, I am curious to know if they are able to tighten up all of the plot holes.
And really? [spoilers removed]
PS None of the characters had redeeming qualities. They were all horrible people and I didn't care about any of them.]]> 4.12 2020 The Perfect Marriage (Perfect, #1)
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Lara
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2023/11/07
date added: 2023/11/07
shelves:
review:
I am going to stop trusting BookTok because the last couple books I read that were so hyped up over there were awful. Including this one.
I'm giving it two stars only because I finished it. I guessed the ending as soon as I found out [spoilers removed]
The idea was good, but needed a lot of tightening up to work. If this is really going to be a movie, I am curious to know if they are able to tighten up all of the plot holes.
And really? [spoilers removed]
PS None of the characters had redeeming qualities. They were all horrible people and I didn't care about any of them.
]]> <![CDATA[The Fall Back Plan (Sweater Weather, #2)]]> 196722584 The bad boy and the golden girl have traded places�

I’m back in Harvest Hollow after ten years to prove a point and to even a few scores. I’ve opened a new bar, and anyone expecting the old sweet and shy Jolie McGraw to be running it is in for a shock.

I’m not the only one who’s changed: when the sheriff comes to tell me I’m the prime suspect in the most ridiculous crime in town history, it’s none other than Lucas Cole, the former star of my teenage stress dreams, wearing the badge.

Seriously? The smack-talking punk I was forced to tutor in math is now one of the town’s most upstanding citizens? This isn’t what I had in mind for turning the tables on my former tormentors.

I blow him off…until I meet the niece he’s raising. I see so much of my younger self in her. But when I agree to help when she needs a woman in her life, Lucas uses it as a chance to build a case that he’s the man I need in mine.

That’s a hard no. No to love. No to Lucas.

But when Harvest Hollow’s nosiest forces combine to push us together, I’m not sure my heart stands a chance.]]> 234 Melanie Jacobson Lara 4 3.87 2023 The Fall Back Plan (Sweater Weather, #2)
author: Melanie Jacobson
name: Lara
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/29
date added: 2023/10/29
shelves:
review:

]]> None of This Is True 62334530 Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?]]> 390 Lisa Jewell 1982179007 Lara 4 4.08 2023 None of This Is True
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Lara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/27
date added: 2023/10/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)]]> 60784546 After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again�

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands � that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper � an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.]]> 357 Rebecca Ross 1250857430 Lara 0 to-read 4.14 2023 Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)
author: Rebecca Ross
name: Lara
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Happy Place 61761938 A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends.

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

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

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends� hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week� in front of those who know you best?]]> 395 Emily Henry 0593441206 Lara 4 4.06 2023 Happy Place
author: Emily Henry
name: Lara
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/09
date added: 2023/06/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing]]> 60390589
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that shares the most intimate details of the love Perry lost, his darkest days, and his greatest friends.

Unflinchingly honest, moving, and hilarious: this is the book fans have been waiting for.]]> 272 Matthew Perry Lara 3
That said, the book was hard to follow and I often couldn’t figure out where we were in his life. Maybe that’s intentional because it is like the mind of an addict.

I hated how often he said “did I make you laugh in Friends? Then you owe me ________.� Kind of a weird attitude and one I think he really believes.

Finally, I appreciated his willingness to talk about his experiences with god. ]]> 4.22 2022 Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
author: Matthew Perry
name: Lara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/27
date added: 2023/05/27
shelves:
review:
I am conflicted about this book. I appreciated the vulnerability and raw honesty about his addiction. I even appreciated his willingness to admit to his narcissism and the way fame made him a not very nice person. It was eye-opening to really understand the horror of such addiction.

That said, the book was hard to follow and I often couldn’t figure out where we were in his life. Maybe that’s intentional because it is like the mind of an addict.

I hated how often he said “did I make you laugh in Friends? Then you owe me ________.� Kind of a weird attitude and one I think he really believes.

Finally, I appreciated his willingness to talk about his experiences with god.
]]> The Midnight Library 52578297
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?]]> 288 Matt Haig 0525559477 Lara 5
Also I wonder if Nora being from Bedford and if the actor John Bailey we’re both little nods to Its a Wonderful Life? ]]> 3.96 2020 The Midnight Library
author: Matt Haig
name: Lara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/24
date added: 2023/05/26
shelves:
review:
This book was exactly what I needed to read right now. I see that many reviewers found it trite and predictable, and maybe it was a little. But for me it was profound and I am so glad I picked it up. Best book I’ve read this year.

Also I wonder if Nora being from Bedford and if the actor John Bailey we’re both little nods to Its a Wonderful Life?
]]> I Am the Messenger 19057 protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?]]> 357 Markus Zusak Lara 4 4.03 2002 I Am the Messenger
author: Markus Zusak
name: Lara
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/18
date added: 2023/05/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Romantic Comedy 62628727 A comedy writer thinks she’s sworn off love, until a dreamily handsome pop star flips the script on all her assumptions. Romantic Comedy is a hilarious, observant and deeply tender novel from New York Times–bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld.

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for "The Night Owls," the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.

But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actor who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the "Danny Horst Rule," poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.

Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder whether there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her...right?

With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age.]]> 309 Curtis Sittenfeld 0399590943 Lara 4 3.60 2023 Romantic Comedy
author: Curtis Sittenfeld
name: Lara
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/21
date added: 2023/04/21
shelves:
review:
I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
]]> <![CDATA[Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1)]]> 18465945
The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found—and lost—an important part of herself. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different.

In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a working farm known as The Retreat, that acts as a convalescent refuge for ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat, she must finally confront the ghost that has haunted her for over a decade.]]> 304 Jacqueline Winspear Lara 0 to-read 3.95 2003 Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Lara
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Soulmate 60784540
Picture a lovely cottage on a cliff, with sloping lawns, walking paths, and beautiful flowers. It’s Gabe and Pippa Gerard’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Over the past several months, Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge.

Until one day, he doesn’t. When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral. . . .Did the victim jump? Was she pushed? And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate . . . lie? As the perfect façade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel. Because sometimes, the most convincing lies are the ones we tell ourselves.]]> 327 Sally Hepworth 1250229707 Lara 4 3.78 2022 The Soulmate
author: Sally Hepworth
name: Lara
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/11
date added: 2023/04/11
shelves:
review:
I had a hard time getting into this book—mostly because I was reading before bed and kept falling asleep. I loved the format, and while I guessed at some things, there were still some very surprising twists.
]]> Just One More 61032487

Over a year before her death, Jenn begins to notice her husband acting strangely. Using her skills as a librarian, she digs into Rick’s past—and falls down a rabbit hole far deeper and darker than she bargained for. She’s already beaten the odds by living longer than his other dead wives. But now she fears her time is up.


This page-turning story of marriage, friendship, and motherhood is a first foray into thriller by USA Today bestseller Annette Lyon.]]> 312 Annette Lyon 1613163762 Lara 4 3.81 2023 Just One More
author: Annette Lyon
name: Lara
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/28
date added: 2023/03/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Someone Else's Shoes 62971668 A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The Giver of Stars.

Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope--she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp � in the bleakest point of her life � has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag--she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.

Full of Jojo Moyes� signature humor, brilliant storytelling, and warmth, Someone Else’s Shoes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change everything.]]> 438 Jojo Moyes 1984879294 Lara 3 3.88 2023 Someone Else's Shoes
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Lara
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/26
date added: 2023/03/26
shelves:
review:
My life is admittedly insane right now and if I sit down to read I tend to fall asleep. I had a rough time getting into this book—it was just slow to start and slow to make me care about the characters. I only really started getting into it about the last 100 pages, which I finished in one sitting. The rest of the time reading was a bit of a slog, but not so much that I wanted to abandon it. It turned out to be a sweet story and I enjoyed the surprises in the end.
]]> The Guest List 52656911
The bride � The plus one � The best man � The wedding planner � The bridesmaid � The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?]]> 319 Lucy Foley Lara 4 3.82 2020 The Guest List
author: Lucy Foley
name: Lara
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/03/26
shelves:
review:

]]> The Writing Retreat 61273863
Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she must discover the truth—or suffer the same fate.]]> 313 Julia Bartz 1982199458 Lara 3 3.41 2023 The Writing Retreat
author: Julia Bartz
name: Lara
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/18
date added: 2023/02/18
shelves:
review:
This book was completely insane. I appreciated the fact that it wasn’t predicable but man, some of these characters!
]]> Lessons in Chemistry 58065033 390 Bonnie Garmus Lara 5 4.23 2022 Lessons in Chemistry
author: Bonnie Garmus
name: Lara
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/18
date added: 2023/01/18
shelves:
review:

]]> What Lies in the Woods 60784373
For decades afterward, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods―no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.]]> 336 Kate Alice Marshall 1250859883 Lara 4 3.93 2023 What Lies in the Woods
author: Kate Alice Marshall
name: Lara
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/15
date added: 2023/01/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Life Without Parole (Kate Conway Mysteries, #2)]]> 13047432 275 Clare O'Donohue 0452297826 Lara 3 3.57 2012 Life Without Parole (Kate Conway Mysteries, #2)
author: Clare O'Donohue
name: Lara
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/08
date added: 2023/01/08
shelves:
review:
I picked this up from goodwill thinking the story sounded interesting. I realized it was the second book in a series after I started but the story stands alone fine. It was fine. Sometimes hard to follow and I didn’t care a whole lot about the characters but I did like Kate.
]]> The Turn of the Key 42080142
What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.

Writing to her lawyer from prison, she struggles to explain the unravelling events that led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the girls, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.

It was everything.

She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware’s signature suspenseful style, The Turn of the Key is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.]]> 337 Ruth Ware 1501188771 Lara 0 to-read 3.91 2019 The Turn of the Key
author: Ruth Ware
name: Lara
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Reading List 55276648 An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list� hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.]]> 368 Sara Nisha Adams 0063025280 Lara 0 to-read 4.02 2021 The Reading List
author: Sara Nisha Adams
name: Lara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain 3153910
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life ... as only a dog could tell it.]]> 336 Garth Stein 1554681723 Lara 5 4.22 2008 The Art of Racing in the Rain
author: Garth Stein
name: Lara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2014/05/06
date added: 2023/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]> The Swan Thieves 7806618
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Theives is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.]]> 561 Elizabeth Kostova 031606579X Lara 4 3.65 2010 The Swan Thieves
author: Elizabeth Kostova
name: Lara
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/08
date added: 2023/01/06
shelves:
review:

]]> I Must Betray You 56970272 Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the number one New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.]]> 321 Ruta Sepetys 198483603X Lara 0 to-read 4.38 2022 I Must Betray You
author: Ruta Sepetys
name: Lara
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scrooge and the Girls Next Door (Creekville Kisses, #4)]]> 62057968 When the sunniest woman in Creekville buys the house next to the grumpiest man on the street, sparks fly . . . and not just because she keeps blowing his fuses...

Twenty-six-year-old Paige Redmond, single mom and go-getter, can’t wait to give her daughter, Evie, the Christmas of her dreams. Nothing can get in Paige’s way, not even her newly purchased fixer-upper cottage needing way more fixing than she planned.

Paige tackles the holiday with Clark Griswold spirit, amusing the entire town—except for her humbug next door neighbor, the grumpy but deliciously handsome Professor Henry Hill. With the help of colorful friends and found family—plus a feral cat and a pancake snowman—Paige and Evie wage a campaign to cure the cranky professor of his Christmas blues.

When Paige's feelings for Henry wind up as tangled as her Christmas lights, there's suddenly more than Christmas spirit on the line. Will Henry pull the plug on their first solo Christmas? Or can Paige and Evie convince the town's biggest scrooge to open his grinchy heart to the holiday . . . and to them?

Experience the laughter and magic of a Creekville Christmas from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Jacobson today!]]> 229 Melanie Jacobson Lara 4 4.15 2022 Scrooge and the Girls Next Door (Creekville Kisses, #4)
author: Melanie Jacobson
name: Lara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/24
date added: 2022/12/24
shelves:
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]]> All the Dangerous Things 60784636
Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.

Isabelle's entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle's past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust... including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.]]> 326 Stacy Willingham 1250803853 Lara 5 4.04 2023 All the Dangerous Things
author: Stacy Willingham
name: Lara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2022/12/13
date added: 2022/12/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Love Off-Limits (Some Kind of Love, #3)]]> 59348609
Romance is the last thing on my mind when I meet Tyler at a wedding.

Yes, he’s gorgeous. Yes, we have instant chemistry.

But I can’t go there with him. I’m too busy convincing my skeptical parents I’m ready to run our family farm to give Tyler’s smoldering smile a passing glance.

Fine. I glanced. And possibly . . . kissed.

But then I went home all the way in a different state. See? Crisis averted.

Until Tyler shows up in North Carolina looking for a job. Of course, I give him one. We’ve already established I’m terrible at resisting his charm.

It’s a disaster waiting to happen, really. Tyler doing manual labor within easy sight of my office window. Me trying NOT to randomly tumble into his arms. But no matter how cute he looks holding a baby goat (or how much I wish I was that baby goat), he’s off-limits until I earn my dad’s trust.

The trouble is, there’s always a risk when you push away something good. If you push too hard, you just might lose it forever.

Love Off-Limits is a stand-alone novel in a connected series. Enjoy the charming small-town appeal of a mountain farm, characters with closed-door but still sizzling chemistry, and of course, a baby goat named Penelope to tug on all your heartstrings.]]> 293 Jenny Proctor Lara 4 4.11 Love Off-Limits (Some Kind of Love, #3)
author: Jenny Proctor
name: Lara
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/10
date added: 2022/12/10
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]]> <![CDATA[A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)]]> 40916679
Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

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

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.]]> 433 Holly Jackson 1405293187 Lara 4 4.30 2019 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)
author: Holly Jackson
name: Lara
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/09
date added: 2022/10/18
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]]> Beach Read 52867387 A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

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

They’re polar opposites.

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

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no-one will fall in love. Really.]]> 400 Emily Henry 1984806734 Lara 5 3.99 2020 Beach Read
author: Emily Henry
name: Lara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/11
date added: 2022/10/18
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[One Step Too Far (Frankie Elkin, #2)]]> 58082194 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner, a thrilling new novel that sends Frankie Elkin into the woods in search of a lost man--and the shocking truth about why he went missing in the first place.

Frankie Elkin, who readers first met in Before She Disappeared, learns of a young man who has gone missing in a national forest. Law enforcement has abandoned the search, but a crew of people led by the young man's father are still looking. Sensing a father's desperation, Frankie agrees to help--but soon sees that a missing person isn't all that's wrong here. And when more people start to vanish, Frankie realizes she's up against something very dark--and she's running out of time.]]> 416 Lisa Gardner 0593185412 Lara 3 4.14 2022 One Step Too Far (Frankie Elkin, #2)
author: Lisa Gardner
name: Lara
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/09/01
date added: 2022/10/18
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]]> Verity 59344312
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.]]> 336 Colleen Hoover 153872474X Lara 2 4.29 2018 Verity
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Lara
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2022/09/13
date added: 2022/10/18
shelves:
review:
I read this in a day which is rare for me lately, but I still can’t give it more than two stars. The story draws you in but it feels like there are too many loose ends and I can’t really get behind either the manuscript or the letter 100%. I wasn’t rooting for Lowen or Verity as they were both so unlikable. Jeremy wasn’t much better!
]]> <![CDATA[The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2)]]> 55556706 The specter of graduation looms large as Naomi Novik’s trilogy continues in the sequel to A Deadly Education.

In Wisdom, Shelter. That’s the official motto of the Scholomance. I suppose you could even argue that it’s true—only the wisdom is hard to come by, so the shelter’s rather scant.

Our beloved school does its best to devour all its students—but now that I’ve reached my senior year and have actually won myself a handful of allies, it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving for me. And even if I somehow make it through the endless waves of maleficaria that it keeps throwing at me in between grueling homework assignments, I haven’t any idea how my allies and I are going to make it through the graduation hall alive.

Unless, of course, I finally accept my foretold destiny of dark sorcery and destruction. That would certainly let me sail straight out of here. The course of wisdom, surely.

But I’m not giving in—not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. I’m going to get myself and my friends out of this hideous place for good—even if it’s the last thing I do.]]> 389 Naomi Novik Lara 0 currently-reading 4.44 2021 The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2)
author: Naomi Novik
name: Lara
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/15
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Say Her Name 58656129
It’s twenty years since Eva, a biracial woman, was adopted as an eight-year-old, and Cherry and Carlton ‘Sugar� McNeil have always been the only parents she’s wanted or needed. But when she’s dealt the double blow of Cherry’s death and her own suspension from work, Eva decides it’s time to discover who she was before she was theirs.

Against Sugar’s advice, Eva joins a DNA database, desperate for a match that will unlock her identity. And when a positive hit comes, she’s excited to learn there are relations out there who might hold the key. But the closer Eva gets to uncovering her past, the more it appears someone is trying to stop her finally finding the truth�

As she continues to dig, Eva is drawn into a dark and merciless underside to society, where black women disappear without a word. Names erased from history, no search parties, no desperate pleas for their return. Once, someone tried to save Eva from all this. Someone wanted a better life for her. But now that she’s torn down the facade of her life, has she come too far to be spared again?]]> 308 Dreda Say Mitchell 1542029678 Lara 3 4.03 2022 Say Her Name
author: Dreda Say Mitchell
name: Lara
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/15
date added: 2022/07/15
shelves:
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]]> Woman on Fire 58275730 Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan's help to find it. But Jules doesn't have much time; the famous designer is dying.

Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family's millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis's grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux's clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he'll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first.]]> 416 Lisa Barr 0063040883 Lara 3 3.94 2022 Woman on Fire
author: Lisa Barr
name: Lara
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/01
date added: 2022/07/01
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[So Not My Thing (Love in New Orleans, #1)]]> 58642012
26-year-old New Orleans native Elle Jones used to be the internet's most famous meme for rejection thanks to an embarrassing teenage TV appearance. But she's finally put that past behind her and now she’s killing it as a commercial real estate agent in the coolest neighborhoods in the city.

When Miles Crowe—the former pop star who made her notorious—insists on hiring her to find a property for his jazz club, she’ll do everything she can to get herself fired before he realizes who she is.

But Miles has grown up too, and Elle soon discovers that he is as passionate about the city as she is…and even sexier now than he was then. Will she risk exposing her humiliating past to claim a future with the guy who once nearly ruined her life?

Whitney Award winner Melanie Jacobson returns with her trademark wit and warmth in this delightful story about taking a chance on love.]]> 236 Melanie Jacobson Lara 4 3.92 So Not My Thing (Love in New Orleans, #1)
author: Melanie Jacobson
name: Lara
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/20
date added: 2022/03/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1)]]> 54018267 Finlay Donovan is Killing It.

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moment, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.]]> 368 Elle Cosimano Lara 4 4.07 2021 Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1)
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Lara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/06
date added: 2022/03/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Firekeeper's Daughter 50762972
After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known?]]> 496 Angeline Boulley Lara 4 4.40 2021 Firekeeper's Daughter
author: Angeline Boulley
name: Lara
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/13
date added: 2022/01/13
shelves:
review:

]]> The Love Potion 57823906 Can a magic love potion help her see what’s right in front of her?

Ally Hawkins, ever cheerful and always willing to see the bright side of things, has never had a date for Valentine’s Day. But this is her year. She can feel it in her little optimistic heart. Even if she, a full-grown woman, resorts to believing in a love potion she bought at a county fair. After all, the day she accidently got some of the smelly concoction on herself, the object of her desire asked her out to lunch. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?

But ever since the potion came into her life, Josh Wise, Ally’s coworker and office BFF, has been acting strange. He’s been pulling away from her, and she finds that she’s missing his playful antics and the way he can always make her laugh and smile. The potion, it would seem, is lifting the curtain on a reality that Ally has been blind to. But will she recognize what’s been right in front of her all along before it’s too late?

**Please note, this novella was originally part of the Love in the City box set.**]]> 79 Becky Monson Lara 3 3.93 2021 The Love Potion
author: Becky Monson
name: Lara
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Finding Jack (Fairy Tale Flip, #1)]]> 43033532 Can their online flirtation become something real?

When smart, practical Emily finds herself in the crosshairs of an Internet prankster, her orderly world goes topsy-turvy. Instead of getting mad at the handsome stranger behind the joke, she finds herself drawn to him. But Jack Dobson, though hilarious and thoughtful, has a lot of secrets. Despite her growing feelings for her new and unexpected long-distance friend, his biggest secret of all might be the one that breaks the spell they've been weaving around each other.]]> 389 Melanie Jacobson Lara 0 4.12 2019 Finding Jack (Fairy Tale Flip, #1)
author: Melanie Jacobson
name: Lara
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The Orphan Keeper 31690566 359 Camron Wright 1629734667 Lara 0 4.47 2016 The Orphan Keeper
author: Camron Wright
name: Lara
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
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]]> Where the Crawdads Sing 42421761
But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world–until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.]]> 370 Delia Owens Lara 0 4.60 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing
author: Delia Owens
name: Lara
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
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]]> The Melody Lingers On 24376695 A headline-making finance scandal and a breathtaking tale of deception collide in #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark’s finest thriller yet.As the sole assistant to a famous upscale interior designer, Lane Harmon is accustomed to visiting opulent homes. So her latest job at a modest New Jersey townhouse is unusual. Then she learns the home belongs to the wife of disgraced finance magnate Parker Bennett, who vanished two years earlier, along with the five billion dollar hedge fund he managed. The debate over whether Bennett was suicidal or staged his disappearance still continues. Both his clients and the federal government want to trace the money and find him. But Lane is surprisingly moved by Mrs. Bennett’s steadfast faith in her husband’s innocence. Gradually, Lane is also drawn to the Bennetts� son, Mark, who is equally determined to prove his father is not guilty. What she doesn’t realize is the closer she gets to the notorious family, the more her life—and that of her five-year-old daughter—is in jeopardy.]]> 273 Mary Higgins Clark 1476749132 Lara 0 4.20 2015 The Melody Lingers On
author: Mary Higgins Clark
name: Lara
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Let the Dead Speak (Maeve Kerrigan, #7)]]> 33831340
London detective Maeve Kerrigan and the homicide team turn their attention to the neighbours. The ultra-religious Norrises are acting suspiciously; their teenage daughter and Chloe Emery definitely have something to hide. Then there’s William Turner, once accused of stabbing a schoolmate and the neighborhood’s favorite criminal. Is he merely a scapegoat, or is there more behind the charismatic façade?

As a body fails to materialize, Maeve must piece together a patchwork of testimonies and accusations. Who is lying, and who is not? And soon Maeve starts to realize that not only will the answer lead to Kate Emery, but more lives may hang in the balance.

With Let the Dead Speak, Jane Casey returns with another taut, richly drawn novel that will grip readers from the opening pages to the stunning conclusion.]]> 352 Jane Casey 1250100844 Lara 0 4.28 2017 Let the Dead Speak (Maeve Kerrigan, #7)
author: Jane Casey
name: Lara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cruel Acts (Maeve Kerrigan, #8)]]> 35919776
Detectives Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent are tasked with re-examining the evidence. Before long, they uncover links between Stone and a possible third victim.

But with Stone behind bars, a fourth woman disappears in similar circumstances. Is there a copycat killer out there, or have they been wrong about Stone from the start? And will Maeve discover the truth before another innocent victim is killed?]]> 400 Jane Casey Lara 0 4.32 2019 Cruel Acts (Maeve Kerrigan, #8)
author: Jane Casey
name: Lara
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cutting Place (Maeve Kerrigan, #9)]]> 52850091 Everyone's heard the rumours about elite gentlemen's clubs, where the champagne flows freely,the parties arethe height of decadence . . . and the secrets are darker than you could possibly imagine.

DS Maeve Kerrigan finds herself in an unfamiliar world ofwealth, luxury and ruthless behaviour when she investigates the murder of a young journalist, Paige Hargreaves. Paige was working on a story about the Chiron Club, a private society for the richest and most privileged men inLondon. Then she disappeared.

It's clear to Maeve that the members have many secrets. But Maeve is hiding secrets of her own � even from her partner DI Josh Derwent. Will she uncover the truth about Paige’s death? Or will time run out for Maeve first?

]]> 400 Jane Casey Lara 0 4.30 2020 The Cutting Place (Maeve Kerrigan, #9)
author: Jane Casey
name: Lara
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[You Can't Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong-Willed Child]]> 18912801 Turn Conflict into Cooperation.

Many parents suspect their strong-willed child is deliberately trying to drive them crazy. Difficult to discipline and seemingly impossible to motivate, these children present unique, exhausting, and often-frustrating challenges to the those who love them.

But strong will is not a negative trait. These same children have firm convictions, high spirits, a sense of adventure—all the makings of a great adult. In this book you’ll discover how to channel that passion and determination in positive ways as you build a healthy relationship. Through insights gained from strong-willed people of all ages, you’ll�
· better understand how their minds really work
· discover positive ways to motivate your strong-willed child
· learn how to share control without compromising parental authority
· apply key tactics to survive a meltdown
· get practical tips for parents who disagree, blended families, and single parents

Packed with immediately useful strategies to drastically reduce the level of tension in the home or classroom, You Can’t Make Me shows how you can start today to build a stronger, more positive relationship with your strong-willed child.

Գܻ�
· Top Ten Tips for Bringing Out the Best in a Strong-Willed Child of Any Age
· A Strong-Willed Child Emergency Kit]]> 194 Cynthia Ulrich Tobias Lara 5 4.19 1999 You Can't Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong-Willed Child
author: Cynthia Ulrich Tobias
name: Lara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/30
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The Guest List 51933429
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?]]> 330 Lucy Foley Lara 0 3.64 2020 The Guest List
author: Lucy Foley
name: Lara
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/07/13
date added: 2021/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The Accidental Text 56572430
Once upon a time, Maggie Cooper lived for adventure. Jumping out of planes was child’s play. Now she can’t even work up the nerve to ask out her coworker. For a bit of self-therapy, she begins to text her recently deceased mother’s phone—the only problem is that the number has been reassigned and for weeks she’s been unknowingly texting a stranger her deepest thoughts and feelings. There have also been some not-so-deep texts, like the ones about her appreciation for her coworker’s butt.

When Chase Beckett, the unsuspecting stranger who has more in common with Maggie than he’d like to admit, texts back, Maggie is beyond mortified. But message after message and night after night, Maggie realizes that Chase’s wit, charm, and advice are exactly what the doctor ordered. Is it enough, though, to get her back up in the sky? And what about her heart? Can she risk taking a leap of faith for the man on the other end of her accidental texts?]]> 331 Becky Monson Lara 0 4.17 2021 The Accidental Text
author: Becky Monson
name: Lara
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/25
date added: 2021/12/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death in a Strange Country (Commissario Brunetti, #2)]]> 19013014 The New York Times-bestselling series continues with the murder of an American soldier in "This is definitely an author to watch (Kirkus Reviews).

Early one morning, Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police confronts a grisly sight when the body of a young man is fished out of a fetid canal. All clues point to a violent mugging, but for Brunetti the motive of robbery seems altogether too convenient. When something discovered in the victim's apartment suggests the existence of a high-level conspiracy, Brunetti becomes convinced that somebody, somewhere, is taking great pains to provide a ready-made solution to the crime.

Rich with atmosphere and marvelous plotting, Death in a Strange Country is a superb novel in Donna Leon's chilling Venetian mystery series.

Praise for Donna Leon and the Commissario Brunetti Mysteries
"One of the best international crime writers is Donna Leon, and her Commissario Guido Brunetti tales set in Venice are at the apex of continental thrillers." --Rocky Mountain News

"Leon's books shimmer in the grace of their setting and are warmed by the charm of her characters." --The New York Times Book Review

"Brunetti . . . long ago joined the ranks of the classic fictional detectives." --Evening Standard

"Commissario Brunetti, most charismatic current Euro-cop, uncovers deadly ants' nest of corruption. A highly accomplished, scary read." --The Guardian]]> 401 Donna Leon 1555848982 Lara 0 4.20 1993 Death in a Strange Country (Commissario Brunetti, #2)
author: Donna Leon
name: Lara
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/25
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death at La Fenice (Commissario Brunetti, #1)]]> 33799144 356 Donna Leon Lara 0 4.17 1992 Death at La Fenice (Commissario Brunetti, #1)
author: Donna Leon
name: Lara
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/17
date added: 2021/06/24
shelves:
review:

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