Tia's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:28:30 -0800 60 Tia's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]>
56 Hugh Howey Tia 4 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Tia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 4
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date added: 2025/01/09
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Autocracy, Inc. 183932735 224 Anne Applebaum 0241627893 Tia 0 to-read 4.21 2024 Autocracy, Inc.
author: Anne Applebaum
name: Tia
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/04
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<![CDATA[The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism]]> 195790583 A sardonic chronicle of how conservatism turned into a racketeering enterprise â€� and why Donald Trump became the living emblem of the American right’s moral decay.The Longest Con tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics in our time, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump, a bumptious fraud whose checkered career and tawdry retinue, including his presidential cabinet, have featured almost every variety of scam. But long before he appeared, Trump’s path to power was blazed by the motley horde of swindlers and quacks who preceded him.From the “professional anti-communistsâ€� (whose tactics even J. Edgar Hoover despised) to the “populistâ€� grifters of the Tea Party movement and the religious charlatans of the “prosperity gospelâ€� (who provided a pious front for Trump), the right-wing ripoff has remained remarkably consistent, even as personalities change and new technologies Stir up anger and resentment, demonize political opponents, promise vengeance, and collect donations from the gullible. It’s a highly lucrative game that any unscrupulous charlatan can play, as many have â€� and they are named in these pages.In an unsparing and often comic narrative, Joe Conason explores the right’s long, steep descent into a movement whose principal aim is not to protect freedom or defend the Constitution, but merely to line the pockets of pretenders and blowhards whose malevolent tactics now endanger the nation.]]> 320 Joe Conason 125062116X Tia 0 to-read 4.09 2024 The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism
author: Joe Conason
name: Tia
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/04
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<![CDATA[The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)]]> 68429
The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler—the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years—has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protĂ©gĂ©, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies - one of them composed of ferocious giants - now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.]]>
590 Brandon Sanderson 0765316889 Tia 0 currently-reading 4.38 2007 The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Tia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Half Wild (The Half Bad Trilogy, #2)]]> 20814989 "You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad."

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he's on the run--but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.]]>
432 Sally Green 0670017132 Tia 4 3.98 2015 Half Wild (The Half Bad Trilogy, #2)
author: Sally Green
name: Tia
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/12/31
date added: 2024/10/16
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<![CDATA[Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation]]> 48926013 A scholar of American Christianity presents a seventy-five-year history of evangelicalism that identifies the forces that have turned Donald Trump into a hero of the Religious Right.

How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate’s staunchest supporters? These are among the questions acclaimed historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez asks in Jesus and John Wayne, which delves beyond facile headlines to explain how white evangelicals have brought us to our fractured political moment. Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majorityâ€� backed Donald Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Donald Trump in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicalsâ€� most deeply held values.

Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.â€� As Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the role of culture in modern American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals may not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex—and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes—mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.â€� Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.

Trump, in other words, is hardly the first flashy celebrity to capture evangelicalsâ€� hearts and minds, nor is he the first strongman to promise evangelicals protection and power. Indeed, the values and viewpoints at the heart of white evangelicalism today—patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community—are likely to persist long after Trump leaves office.

A much-needed reexamination, Jesus and John Wayne explains why evangelicals have rallied behind the least-Christian president in American history and how they have transformed their faith in the process, with enduring consequences for all of us.]]>
365 Kristin Kobes Du Mez 1631495747 Tia 0 to-read 4.38 2020 Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
author: Kristin Kobes Du Mez
name: Tia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/17
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<![CDATA[The Lost Art of Listening: How Learning to Listen Can Improve Relationships]]> 828448 251 Michael P. Nichols 1572301317 Tia 0 to-read 4.08 1994 The Lost Art of Listening: How Learning to Listen Can Improve Relationships
author: Michael P. Nichols
name: Tia
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/27
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<![CDATA[A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)]]> 31076583 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X Tia 0 to-read 3.77 2019 A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.5)
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Tia
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/02
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<![CDATA[Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers]]> 53952310 How did America end up with a leader who acts so crudely and despotically, and counter to our democratic principles? Why do his followers stick with him, even when he acts against their own interests?

To fully understand, John Dean, a man with a history of standing up to autocratic presidents, joined with Bob Altemeyer, a professor of psychology with a unique area of expertise: Authoritarianism.

Relying on social science findings and psychological diagnostic tools (such as the "Power Mad Scale" and the "Con Man Scale"), as well as research and analysis from the Monmouth University Polling Institute (one of America's most respected public opinion research foundations), the authors provide us with an eye-opening understanding of the Trump phenomenon � and how we may be able to stop it.]]>
368 John W. Dean 1612199062 Tia 0 to-read 4.14 2020 Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and His Followers
author: John W. Dean
name: Tia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/03
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<![CDATA[Gleanings (Arc of a Scythe, #3.5)]]> 60320602
There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years, humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control.

Neal Shusterman—along with collaborators David Yoon, Jarrod Shusterman, Sofía Lapuente, Michael H. Payne, Michelle Knowlden, and Joelle Shusterman—returns to the world throughout the timeline of the Arc of a Scythe series. Discover secrets and histories of characters you’ve followed for three volumes and meet new heroes, new foes, and some figures in between.

Gleanings shows just how expansive, terrifying, and thrilling the world that began with the Printz Honor–winning Scythe truly is.]]>
423 Neal Shusterman 1534499970 Tia 0 to-read 4.01 2022 Gleanings (Arc of a Scythe, #3.5)
author: Neal Shusterman
name: Tia
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/03/20
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Bullshit Jobs: A Theory 34466958 From bestselling writer David Graeber, a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs, and their consequences.

Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.â€� It went viral. After a million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer.

There are millions of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs.

Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation.]]>
335 David Graeber 150114331X Tia 0 to-read 4.03 2018 Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
author: David Graeber
name: Tia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/03/09
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<![CDATA[Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy, #1)]]> 18079804 394 Sally Green 0670016780 Tia 3 3.79 2014 Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy, #1)
author: Sally Green
name: Tia
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/27
date added: 2023/10/27
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<![CDATA[Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala]]> 102729 374 Stephen C. Schlesinger 067401930X Tia 0 to-read 4.29 1982 Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala
author: Stephen C. Schlesinger
name: Tia
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1982
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/09/23
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<![CDATA[One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America]]> 25182015 The provocative and authoritative history of the origins of Christian America in the New Deal era

We’re often told that the United States is, was, and always has been a Christian nation. But in One Nation Under God, historian Kevin M. Kruse reveals that the belief that America is fundamentally and formally Christian originated in the 1930s.

To fight the “slaveryâ€� of FDR’s New Deal, businessmen enlisted religious activists in a campaign for “freedom under Godâ€� that culminated in the election of their ally Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. The new president revolutionized the role of religion in American politics. He inaugurated new traditions like the National Prayer Breakfast, as Congress added the phrase “under Godâ€� to the Pledge of Allegiance and made “In God We Trustâ€� the country’s first official motto. Church membership soon soared to an all-time high of 69 percent. Americans across the religious and political spectrum agreed that their country was “one nation under God.â€�

Provocative and authoritative, One Nation Under God reveals how an unholy alliance of money, religion, and politics created a false origin story that continues to define and divide American politics to this day.]]>
386 Kevin M. Kruse 0465040640 Tia 0 to-read 4.20 2015 One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America
author: Kevin M. Kruse
name: Tia
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/28
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<![CDATA[The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)]]> 2767793
Who is the Hero of Ages?

To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.

Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. Vin can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!]]>
572 Brandon Sanderson 0765316897 Tia 0 to-read 4.54 2008 The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Tia
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2008
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/20
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<![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

Mistborn
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]>
541 Brandon Sanderson Tia 5 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Tia
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/20
date added: 2023/06/20
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<![CDATA[I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban]]> 17851885 I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.]]>
327 Malala Yousafzai 0316322407 Tia 5 4.15 2012 I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
author: Malala Yousafzai
name: Tia
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/22
date added: 2023/04/22
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<![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]>
480 Ernest Cline 030788743X Tia 4 4.21 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Tia
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/15
date added: 2023/03/15
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The Alchemist (Marathi) 58572311
Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.]]>
182 Paulo Coelho 9389143470 Tia 0 dnf 4.11 1988 The Alchemist (Marathi)
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Tia
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1988
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/14
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Birdbrain 22727611
Major influences: Ed Abbey, Tom Robbins, John Irving, Rachel Carson, T.C. Boyle, J.D. Salinger, Pam Houston, Kurt Vonnegut, many others.]]>
375 Virginia Arthur Tia 0 to-read 4.09 2013 Birdbrain
author: Virginia Arthur
name: Tia
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/01/24
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<![CDATA[How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them]]> 38255329
“No single book is as relevant to the present moment.”—Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS� CHOICE � With a new preface � A Yale philosopher identifies the ten pillars of fascist politics, and charts their horrifying rise and deep history.

As the child of refugees of World War II Europe and a renowned philosopher and scholar of propaganda, Jason Stanley has a deep understanding of how democratic societies can be vulnerable to fascism: Nations don’t have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics. In fact, fascism’s roots have been present in the United States long before Donald Trump.

Alarmed by the pervasive rise of fascist tactics both at home and around the globe, Stanley focuses here on the structures that unite them, laying out and analyzing the ten pillars of fascist politics—the language and beliefs that separate people into an “usâ€� and a “them.â€� He knits together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India, Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations. He makes clear the immense danger of underestimating the cumulative power of these tactics, which include

â€� exploiting a mythic version of a nation’s past
� propaganda that twists the language of democratic ideals against themselves
� anti-intellectualism directed against universities and experts
� law and order politics predicated on the assumption that members of minority groups are criminals
� fierce attacks on labor groups and welfare

These mechanisms all build on one another, creating and reinforcing divisions and shaping a society vulnerable to the appeals of authoritarian leadership.

By uncovering disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley reveals that the stuff of politics—charged by rhetoric and myth—can quickly become policy and reality. Only by recognizing fascists politics, he argues, may we resist its most harmful effects and return to democratic ideals.]]>
240 Jason F. Stanley 0525511830 Tia 4 4.20 2018 How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them
author: Jason F. Stanley
name: Tia
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/05
date added: 2022/12/05
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<![CDATA[Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft]]> 3217221 168 Joe Hill 1600102379 Tia 4 4.14 2008 Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
author: Joe Hill
name: Tia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/16
date added: 2022/10/16
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Interesting. A little confusing at first. Certainly have to read the whole way through to get the big picture. Looking forward to the next in the series.
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<![CDATA[The Lost Girl of Neverland (Neverland in Chaos, #1)]]> 56327570 Peter Pan is an arrogant little wanker

Sorry, not sorry, you’d say it too if you’d ever been to Neverland. I know the big story is that Wendy Darling is the first girl to end up on Neverland because girls are too smart to fall out of their prams. I’m living proof that’s a lie. Wendy was just the first time Peter actually asked permission before he took a girl to Neverland to be his mother. I guess he learned his lesson from me. He kidnapped me from my bed while I was sleeping and just expected me to be his mother. I’d rather be a Lost Boy than his mother. Peter eventually gave up on me. He lost a mother and two Lost Boys that day that left with me.

I’ve been living away from Peter Pan. Me and my Lost Boys are now the Wildlings. We even have a fairy with us named Coale, who is a blacksmith fairy, but prefers making explosives. Coale and Blaize get along marvelously as Blaize loves to play with fire.

But we’ve committed the one crime on Neverland Peter won’t forgive. An instant death sentence for anyone on Neverland no matter how close to Peter you are. We already have one strike against us leaving him. We’ve now committed the ultimate Neverland sin. We woke up one morning and we’ve all grown up.

There is a legend on Neverland, someone Peter hates. Someone no one knows where to find. Someone everyone on Neverland only knows as the hook nosed hag. If she’s an old woman on Neverland, then she either predates Peter or she survived his culling. We have to stay out of Peter’s way and find this mysterious hag. We find some old villains who end up not being villains. Captain Hook is not dead and may have information on the hag.

We only have three days before Peter’s Spring Cleaning is over and he returns Wendy’s descendant back home. After that, he will be on the hunt for our blood. We don’t even know if the hag survived Peter’s culling. If not, everyone who has grown up on Neverland has died by Peter’s blade.]]>
246 J.B. Trepagnier Tia 4 3.75 2019 The Lost Girl of Neverland (Neverland in Chaos, #1)
author: J.B. Trepagnier
name: Tia
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/05
date added: 2022/10/05
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Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]>
393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 Tia 5 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: Tia
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/27
date added: 2022/08/27
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<![CDATA[A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present]]> 2767 Zinn portrays a side of American history that can largely be seen as the exploitation and manipulation of the majority by rigged systems that hugely favor a small aggregate of elite rulers from across the orthodox political parties.
A People's History has been assigned as reading in many high schools and colleges across the United States. It has also resulted in a change in the focus of historical work, which now includes stories that previously were ignored

Library Journal calls Howard Zinn’s book “a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those
whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories.”]]>
729 Howard Zinn 0060838655 Tia 0 to-read 4.07 1980 A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
author: Howard Zinn
name: Tia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1980
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/21
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<![CDATA[Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia, #2)]]> 317501 The four Pevensies help Caspian battle Miraz and ascend his rightful throne.

NARNIA... the land between the lamp-post and the castle of Cair Paravel, where animals talk, where magical things happen... and where the adventure begins.

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are returning to boarding school when they are summoned from the dreary train station (by Susan's own magic horn) to return to the land of Narnia—the land where they had ruled as kings and queens and where their help is desperately needed.]]>
216 C.S. Lewis 0020442408 Tia 4 3.94 1951 Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia, #2)
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Tia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1951
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/07/29
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<![CDATA[Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1)]]> 43448 Such wonderful children. Such a beautiful mother. Such a lovely house. Such endless terror! It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake—a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father. So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic. Just for a little while. But the brutal days swelled into agonizing years. Now Cathy, Chris, and the twins wait in their cramped and helpless world, stirred by adult dreams, adult desires, served a meager sustenance by an angry, superstitious grandmother who knows that the Devil works in dark and devious ways. Sometimes he sends children to do his work—children who—one by one—must be destroyed.... 'Way upstairs there are four secrets hidden. Blond, beautiful, innocent struggling to stay alive....']]> 389 V.C. Andrews 0743496310 Tia 4 3.84 1979 Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1)
author: V.C. Andrews
name: Tia
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1979
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/18
date added: 2022/07/18
shelves:
review:

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Hidden Bodies (You, #2) 29430824 YOU, NOW A NETFLIX SERIES

In the compulsively readable sequel to her widely acclaimed debut novel, You, Caroline Kepnes weaves a tale that Booklist calls “the love child of Holden Caulfield and Patrick Bateman.â€�

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.

In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice
]]>
448 Caroline Kepnes 1476785635 Tia 3 3.73 2016 Hidden Bodies (You, #2)
author: Caroline Kepnes
name: Tia
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/10
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Future of Another Timeline]]> 43263237 From Annalee Newitz, founding editor of io9, comes a story of time travel, murder, and the lengths we'll go to protect the ones we love.

1992: After a confrontation at a riot grrl concert, seventeen-year-old Beth finds herself in a car with her friend's abusive boyfriend dead in the backseat, agreeing to help her friends hide the body. This murder sets Beth and her friends on a path of escalating violence and vengeance as they realize many other young women in the world need protecting too.

2022: Determined to use time travel to create a safer future, Tess has dedicated her life to visiting key moments in history and fighting for change. But rewriting the timeline isn’t as simple as editing one person or event. And just when Tess believes she's found a way to make an edit that actually sticks, she encounters a group of dangerous travelers bent on stopping her at any cost.

Tess and Beth’s lives intertwine as war breaks out across the timeline--a war that threatens to destroy time travel and leave only a small group of elites with the power to shape the past, present, and future. Against the vast and intricate forces of history and humanity, is it possible for a single person’s actions to echo throughout the timeline?]]>
352 Annalee Newitz 0765392100 Tia 0 to-read 3.68 2019 The Future of Another Timeline
author: Annalee Newitz
name: Tia
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/30
shelves: to-read
review:

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You (You, #1) 36430011
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chanceâ€� meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation.]]>
464 Caroline Kepnes 1501195433 Tia 5 4.03 2014 You (You, #1)
author: Caroline Kepnes
name: Tia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/15
date added: 2022/06/15
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3)]]> 43822024
In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.]]>
625 Neal Shusterman 1481497065 Tia 5 4.16 2019 The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3)
author: Neal Shusterman
name: Tia
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/12
date added: 2022/06/12
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe, #2)]]> 33555224
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new orderâ€� scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadishâ€� so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?]]>
504 Neal Shusterman 1442472456 Tia 5 4.38 2018 Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe, #2)
author: Neal Shusterman
name: Tia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/05
date added: 2022/06/05
shelves:
review:
I loved this book! I actually like it better than the first in the series.
]]>
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) 28954189 Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “artâ€� of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

An alternate cover edition of ISBN: 9781442472426]]>
435 Neal Shusterman Tia 4 4.32 2016 Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1)
author: Neal Shusterman
name: Tia
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/28
date added: 2022/05/28
shelves:
review:
I love how original this story is, I just wish the POVs were a bit deeper.
]]>
Fahrenheit 451 17470674
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

--back cover]]>
227 Ray Bradbury 0007491565 Tia 5 4.01 1953 Fahrenheit 451
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Tia
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1953
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/15
date added: 2022/03/15
shelves:
review:

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Outlander (Outlander, #1) 10964
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.]]>
850 Diana Gabaldon 0440242940 Tia 0 no-thanks 4.25 1991 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
author: Diana Gabaldon
name: Tia
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/12
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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A Raisin in the Sun 5517 A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959.

Indeed Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of black America--and changed American theater forever.  The play's title comes from a line in Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem," which warns that a dream deferred might "dry up/like a raisin in the sun."

"The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun," said The New York Times.  "It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic."  This Modern Library edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff.]]>
162 Lorraine Hansberry 0375508333 Tia 5 3.84 1959 A Raisin in the Sun
author: Lorraine Hansberry
name: Tia
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1959
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/16
date added: 2022/02/16
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<![CDATA[Calm the F*ck Down: How to Control What You Can and Accept What You Can't So You Can Stop Freaking Out and Get On With Your Life (A No F*cks Given Guide)]]> 40163062 The no-f*cks-given guide to taming anxiety and taking back control of your life, from the bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck and Get Your Sh*t Together
Do you spend more time worrying about problems than solving them? Do you let unexpected difficulties ruin your day and do "what ifs" keep you up at night?
Sounds like you need to CALM THE F*CK DOWN.

Just because things are falling apart doesn't mean YOU can't pull it together. Whether you're stressed about sh*t that hasn't happened yet or freaked out about sh*t that already has, the NoWorries method from "anti-guru" Sarah Knight helps you curb the anxiety and overthinking that's making everything worse. Calm the F*ck Down explains:

The Four Faces of Freaking Out--and their Flipsides
How to accept what you can't control
Productive Helpful Effective Worrying (PHEW)
The Three Principles of Dealing With It
And much more!

Praise for Sarah Knight and the No F*cks Given Guides
"Self-help to swear by." --The Boston Globe
"Genius." --Vogue
"Hilarious, irreverent, and no-nonsense." --Bustle
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304 Sarah Knight 031652915X Tia 0 to-read 3.44 2018 Calm the F*ck Down: How to Control What You Can and Accept What You Can't So You Can Stop Freaking Out and Get On With Your Life (A No F*cks Given Guide)
author: Sarah Knight
name: Tia
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

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Supernova (Renegades, #3) 42771754 All's fair in love and anarchy...

The epic conclusion to Marissa Meyer's thrilling Renegades Trilogy finds Nova and Adrian fighting to keep their identities secret. While the battle rages on between their alter egos and their allies, there is a darker threat shrouding Gatlon City.

The Renegades' worst enemy is back among them, threatening to reclaim Gatlon City. Nova and Adrian must brave lies and betrayal to protect those they love. Their greatest fears are about to come to life, and unless they can bridge the divide between heroes and villains, they stand to lose everything. Including each other.

Intrigue and action will leave readers on edge until the final, shocking secrets are revealed.]]>
549 Marissa Meyer 1250078385 Tia 3
After Nova was found out and she was already in prison and everyone is just automatically on her side when decoy Nightmare shows up is just so disingenuous to the characters. Are we supposed to believe they are this stupid??

The last 1/3 picks up again a bit drawn out, but much better compared to the soggy middle.

In my opinion the middle should have been gutted out and more emotions to situations drawn out at the end.]]>
4.38 2019 Supernova (Renegades, #3)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Tia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/12/22
date added: 2021/12/22
shelves:
review:
The first 2 in this series blew me away. I was hoping for the same with the third in this trilogy, but this one fell a bit flat for me. It was fine the first 1/3 but....spoiler

After Nova was found out and she was already in prison and everyone is just automatically on her side when decoy Nightmare shows up is just so disingenuous to the characters. Are we supposed to believe they are this stupid??

The last 1/3 picks up again a bit drawn out, but much better compared to the soggy middle.

In my opinion the middle should have been gutted out and more emotions to situations drawn out at the end.
]]>
Archenemies (Renegades, #2) 35425827
Time is running out.
Together, they can save the world.
But they each other's worst nightmare.

In Renegades, Nova and Adrian (aka Insomnia and Sketch) fought the battle of their lives against the Anarchist known as the Detonator. It was a short-lived victory.

The Anarchists still have a secret weapon, one that Nova believes will protect her. The Renegades also have a strategy for overpowering the Anarchists, but both Nova and Adrian understand that it could mean the end of Gatlon City - and the world - as they know it.]]>
560 Marissa Meyer 1250311446 Tia 5 4.25 2018 Archenemies (Renegades, #2)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Tia
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/20
date added: 2021/12/20
shelves:
review:

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Renegades (Renegades, #1) 28421168 Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies � humans with extraordinary abilities � who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone... except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice � and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.]]>
552 Marissa Meyer 1250044669 Tia 4 4.12 2017 Renegades (Renegades, #1)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Tia
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/20
date added: 2021/07/20
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Council (Witch's Ambitions Trilogy #1)]]> 33228838
At the Arcane Ceremony, an attack from a rogue witch forces Lilith to use her newfound ability to save another witch. Intrigued, the Council recruits her. Fearing the consequences of saying no, Lilith accepts. Under their wing, Lilith is gradually let in on the truth—everything she’s learned about the Land of Five, herself included, have been nothing but lies.




**Winner of the 2019 Fiction - Fantasy Pencraft Award of Literary Excellence**]]>
402 Kayla Krantz Tia 0 to-read 4.03 The Council (Witch's Ambitions Trilogy #1)
author: Kayla Krantz
name: Tia
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/16
shelves: to-read
review:

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Alonica: Splitting Heirs 43895770 Eleja in search of a new home for the elves comes across a disturbing secret, Zintare and Ankhil encounter new companions while journeying to give his father a ceremonial burial. Nissassa finds out her assassination attempt against her father turns into a rescue mission as Zobia has been kidnapped by the Goddess Maalynxia in Oglar.
Meanwhile, Thresall, the All Mother, is in route with a deadly army to begin her attack on Taalaan. Will the heroes be able to join forces in time to save their home or will it be too late?]]>
297 G.M. Kelso Tia 5 5.00 Alonica: Splitting Heirs
author: G.M. Kelso
name: Tia
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/16
date added: 2021/07/16
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)]]> 32075671 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062498533 can be found here.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.]]>
454 Angie Thomas 0062498533 Tia 5 4.46 2017 The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)
author: Angie Thomas
name: Tia
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/09
date added: 2021/07/09
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Flawed Professor (Cocky Hero Club)]]> 56852737 čó±ôČč·É±đ»ćâ€�
That’s how I’d been my whole life.
Moving from one woman to the next.
I even threw away my marriage for a rump with a student.
Commitment is a difficult thing to stick to.
At this point, no one will have me.
It doesn’t stop me from wanting Sophie.
She’s smart and gorgeous.
To top it off, she gives me the cold shoulder.
It makes me crave her even more.

Sophie
I take one look and know
Tobias will eat me up and spit me out.
He’ll leave me behind picking up all the pieces of my broken heart.
I couldn’t let him know how much I crave him â€� his smarts, his touch.
Oh, but I want him
bad.


*Flawed Professor is a standalone story written by Sarah Stein, inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s Park Avenue Players. It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.

**Contains mature content.**]]>
Sarah Stein Tia 5 3.23 Flawed Professor (Cocky Hero Club)
author: Sarah Stein
name: Tia
average rating: 3.23
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/17
date added: 2021/06/01
shelves:
review:
The professor is pretty flawed, but everyone deserves a chance to find the right one. The chemistry in this book is on point. Enjoyable read.
]]>
Singing for No Reason 45292143 145 F. Andre Cruz 1733745505 Tia 5 4.50 Singing for No Reason
author: F. Andre Cruz
name: Tia
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/27
date added: 2021/06/01
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[When Night Falls: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems]]> 50542892
A company that secretly experiments on the minds of the mentally ill.

The Angel of Death with a deathwish of her own.

Monsters who can kill with just one look into their eyes.

These are just some of the stories When Night Falls has to offer.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and filled to the brim with darkness and characters driven by the voices in their head, this collection focuses on the darker side of life.

**Trigger Warning: Not for the faint of heart. This collection contains stories that deal with difficult subject matter such as murder and suicide.**]]>
235 Kayla Krantz Tia 5
Not dark in the gory sense, but dark in the physiological sense. Each story grabs you into the plot right away. I'm blown away by Krantz's prose and the way she writes. Even the stories I didn't like as much I found myself having to read the whole short story because the writing was just so good. These stories can be quite dense for short stories and take you on quite the rollercoaster ride, so for me, it was easier to read in chunks instead of all in one day. With that said the POV is so deep and has you in a trance and some of the stories stop so abruptly it's a bit startling, but it just made me want to read the next story. I plan on reading more of Krantz, this time a full novel to get a more complete feel of her writing. ]]>
3.57 When Night Falls: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems
author: Kayla Krantz
name: Tia
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/11
date added: 2021/04/11
shelves:
review:
If I could describe this book in one word it would be: dark.

Not dark in the gory sense, but dark in the physiological sense. Each story grabs you into the plot right away. I'm blown away by Krantz's prose and the way she writes. Even the stories I didn't like as much I found myself having to read the whole short story because the writing was just so good. These stories can be quite dense for short stories and take you on quite the rollercoaster ride, so for me, it was easier to read in chunks instead of all in one day. With that said the POV is so deep and has you in a trance and some of the stories stop so abruptly it's a bit startling, but it just made me want to read the next story. I plan on reading more of Krantz, this time a full novel to get a more complete feel of her writing.
]]>
<![CDATA[Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)]]> 113436 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780375826696 can be found here.

One boy...
One dragon...
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.]]>
503 Christopher Paolini 0375826696 Tia 3
First, the pacing was just way too slow for me. I don't mind a story where travel is necessary, but it is not necessary to explain the entire (horse ride/dragon ride) journey unless something really important is happening a lot of the time I'm just thinking please, please get to the destination already have a time-hop, please!

Second, there is way too much telling for me and not enough action. Eragon asks soooo many questions. Soooo many!! Possibly this book would have been better with multiple POVs instead of one. Which honestly for a 15 yo would have probably been very difficult to pull off, but would have made this story much better than having Eragon play 50 questions with each new character he meets. I think it comes off as the author trying to keep up with any loose ends to stay within the story, but there are better ways to accomplish that. It's sometimes better to leave some questions unanswered because it doesn't fit into the narrative and the MC needs to find answers in an organic way.

Third, it held my attention just enough to want to finish the novel. It was an okay story, but I don't feel the need to finish the series. I hear this series is better read at a younger age and that is true for some books for whatever reason. ]]>
3.96 2002 Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Tia
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/11
date added: 2021/04/11
shelves:
review:
I wasn't sure if I was going to write a review for this one or not, but why not? First, like everyone else typically states, hats of to Paolini for writing this at such a young age. With that being said, there were some issues I had with this book that really bothered me and slowed down the story way too much.

First, the pacing was just way too slow for me. I don't mind a story where travel is necessary, but it is not necessary to explain the entire (horse ride/dragon ride) journey unless something really important is happening a lot of the time I'm just thinking please, please get to the destination already have a time-hop, please!

Second, there is way too much telling for me and not enough action. Eragon asks soooo many questions. Soooo many!! Possibly this book would have been better with multiple POVs instead of one. Which honestly for a 15 yo would have probably been very difficult to pull off, but would have made this story much better than having Eragon play 50 questions with each new character he meets. I think it comes off as the author trying to keep up with any loose ends to stay within the story, but there are better ways to accomplish that. It's sometimes better to leave some questions unanswered because it doesn't fit into the narrative and the MC needs to find answers in an organic way.

Third, it held my attention just enough to want to finish the novel. It was an okay story, but I don't feel the need to finish the series. I hear this series is better read at a younger age and that is true for some books for whatever reason.
]]>
American Dirt 45046527
Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?]]>
459 Jeanine Cummins Tia 0 to-read 4.32 2020 American Dirt
author: Jeanine Cummins
name: Tia
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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Mexican Gothic 53152636
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

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

And NoemĂ­, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]>
320 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 0525620788 Tia 0 to-read 3.66 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Tia
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)]]> 52397
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.]]>
345 Octavia E. Butler 0446675504 Tia 0 to-read 4.21 1993 Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: Tia
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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From Within (Phoenyx #3) 51942744
It's been a bumpy road for Jane Grimshaw (aka The Phoenyx), sexy, badass supernatural assassin, keeping the streets of Crystal Haven safe from the devilish creatures of the night. Trauma seems to find her at every turn, and it hasn't let up yet.

Seek, vanquish, destroy, bury.

She's battled her fair share of the pearly fanged vamps that prowl the night and even faced off with demons straight from the very bowels of Hell. But a wicked half-sister and an undead nemesis who want her head on a platter are trying her patience. Not to mention the shifters that want to see her dead for reasons even she can't fathom.

Those who are lost make the tastiest prey.

Confronting her own demons may prove to be her most challenging adventure yet--and this time, she's lost too much to succumb to any repeat performances. Anyone who dares to venture near will ignite the unadulterated wrath of The Phoenyx.

She bows to no one.]]>
196 Daisy St. James Tia 0 to-read 4.50 2019 From Within (Phoenyx #3)
author: Daisy St. James
name: Tia
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[We Have Always Lived in the Castle]]> 89724 Shirley Jackson’s beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family’s dark secret

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem.]]>
152 Shirley Jackson 0143039970 Tia 0 to-read 3.93 1962 We Have Always Lived in the Castle
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Tia
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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Women Don't Owe You Pretty 52252715 WOMEN DON'T OWE YOU PRETTY will tell you to...
love sex, hate sexism,
protect your goddamn energy,
life is short, dump them,
And that you owe men nothing, least of all pretty.

Florence's debut book will explore all progressive corners of the feminist conversation; from insecurity projection and refusing to find comfort in other women's flaws, to deciding whether to date or dump them, all the way through to unpacking the male gaze and how it shapes our identity.

WOMEN DON'T OWE YOU PRETTY is an accessible leap into feminism, for people at all stages of their journey who are seeking to reshape and transform the way they view themselves. In a world that tells women we're either not enough or too much, it's time we stop directing our anger and insecurities onto ourselves, and start fighting back to re-shape the toxic structures of our patriarchal society.

Florence's book will help you to tackle and challenge the limiting narrative you have been bombarded with your whole life, and determine feminism on your own terms. After all, you are the love of your own life.

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193 Florence Given 1788402278 Tia 0 to-read 3.71 2020 Women Don't Owe You Pretty
author: Florence Given
name: Tia
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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Catch-22 168668
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.]]>
453 Joseph Heller 0684833395 Tia 3 3.99 1961 Catch-22
author: Joseph Heller
name: Tia
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1961
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/03
date added: 2020/12/03
shelves:
review:
I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I liked certain things about it, but then there were a lot of things that annoyed me or left me feeling flat. I had a hard time liking Yoserian, yet I could also relate to him. It was frustrating that there were so many stories that overlapped and you were getting the same stories over and over again. Each chapter is almost a mini-story so this is almost like a collection of stories that kind of interwove together, but the timeline was all over the place. I didn't realize someone was already dead in the story or it backtracked and they were still alive, it was very confusing. Were all of our grandpas all this sleazy with the women overseas? (Don't anyone answer that I don't actually want to know). The ending was weird/abrupt and I know there is a second book, but I turned a few pages before I realized that was the end and the rest was all commentary (at least in the book I bought). I didn't think this book was as funny as it was trying to be (well there was one funny part, but that was about it). I think this is better translated on the big screen, it kind of reminded me of the show/movie MASH (which I wasn't a big fan of either).
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I Love You So Mochi 41473865
She's obsessed with transforming everyday ephemera into Kimi Originals: bold outfits that make her and her friends feel like the Ultimate versions of themselves. But her mother disapproves, and when they get into an explosive fight, Kimi's entire future seems on the verge of falling apart. So when a surprise letter comes in the mail from Kimi's estranged grandparents, inviting her to Kyoto for spring break, she seizes the opportunity to get away from the disaster of her life.

When she arrives in Japan, she's met with a culture both familiar and completely foreign to her. She loses herself in the city's outdoor markets, art installations, and cherry blossom festival -- and meets Akira, a cute aspiring med student who moonlights as a costumed mochi mascot. And what begins as a trip to escape her problems quickly becomes a way for Kimi to learn more about the mother she left behind, and to figure out where her own heart lies.

In I Love You So Mochi, author Sarah Kuhn has penned a delightfully sweet and irrepressibly funny novel that will make you squee at the cute, cringe at the awkward, and show that sometimes you have to lose yourself in something you love to find your Ultimate self.]]>
308 Sarah Kuhn 1338302884 Tia 0 to-read 3.79 2019 I Love You So Mochi
author: Sarah Kuhn
name: Tia
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Elemental Rising (Elemental Trilogy, #1)]]> 29277049 342 Toni Cox 1504999479 Tia 3 4.60 2016 Elemental Rising (Elemental Trilogy, #1)
author: Toni Cox
name: Tia
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/24
date added: 2020/07/24
shelves:
review:

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Siren's Call (Dark Tides #1) 7092396 There are some things that can't stay buried - even in the deep of the ocean.

As a woman with a secret, lighthouse keeper Tessa Lonike savors her solitude on the island of Little Mer, off the coast of Maine. During a violent storm, Tessa spots a man thrashing in the ice-cold waters and dives in to save him, using her ability as a mermaid to easily pull him to shore.

When Kenneth Randall awakens on the beach, he is alone, left with the haunting memory of his beautiful flame-haired savior. And a year later, when Kenneth meets Tessa again, he's determined not to let her slip away. Just as the desire between them begins to burn, Tessa's ex-lover comes back to town with a tantalizing clue to her murky heritage.

The trio travels to the Mediterranean in search of answers, and what they find there will change Tessa's life forever. She'll have to choose between the world of her people and the call of her heart....

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375 Devyn Quinn 0451230930 Tia 4 3.68 2010 Siren's Call (Dark Tides #1)
author: Devyn Quinn
name: Tia
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/22
date added: 2020/06/22
shelves:
review:

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Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1) 8709527
Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist - one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.]]>
432 Richelle Mead 1595143173 Tia 0 to-read 4.20 2011 Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)
author: Richelle Mead
name: Tia
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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Always Yours 52684033 Drinks.
A hot guy.
A mind blowing night you can’t remember.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Right?

Gertie Anderson had never wished for anything as badly as she wished for that statement to be true when she wakes up married to her high school bully.

A bully who has grown up into a man who has no intentions of letting her go when he finally has her exactly where he wants her. As his.

Cailean Baker ruined my life and now he’s done it again when he tied me down in ways a divorce can’t even fix.]]>
267 Grace Owens Tia 0 to-read 4.04 Always Yours
author: Grace Owens
name: Tia
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/02
shelves: to-read
review:

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Lolita 7604 Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141182537.

Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.]]>
368 Vladimir Nabokov 0679723161 Tia 0 no-thanks 3.87 1955 Lolita
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Tia
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1955
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/01
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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Love in the Time of Cholera 9712 348 Gabriel GarcĂ­a MĂĄrquez 140003468X Tia 0 no-thanks 3.92 1985 Love in the Time of Cholera
author: Gabriel GarcĂ­a MĂĄrquez
name: Tia
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/01
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) 43263680
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombsâ€� are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.]]>
461 Leigh Bardugo 1250313074 Tia 0 no-thanks 4.00 2019 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Tia
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/22
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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The Sun Is Also a Star 28763485
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parentsâ€� high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?]]>
344 Nicola Yoon 0553496689 Tia 0 to-read 3.96 2016 The Sun Is Also a Star
author: Nicola Yoon
name: Tia
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/21
shelves: to-read
review:

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Brightly Burning 35721194 This is a previously published edition of ISBN 9781328948939. An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he’s kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.]]>
394 Alexa Donne Tia 0 to-read 3.68 2018 Brightly Burning
author: Alexa Donne
name: Tia
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/13
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[How To Write That Scene: Professional Techniques For Fiction Authors (Writer's Craft)]]> 38928546 144 Rayne Hall Tia 4 4.35 How To Write That Scene: Professional Techniques For Fiction Authors (Writer's Craft)
author: Rayne Hall
name: Tia
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/08
date added: 2020/05/08
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Darkness Descending (Vampire Armageddon, #1)]]> 9654828
For one year, Jesse Burke has been suppressing the beast within, driven by vengeance to destroy the vampiric fallen angels terrorizing New Orleans. But a war of biblical proportions is too much for one girl to handle, and she must turn to slayer Maddox deValois for training, though it threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. At the same time, the sinister demon Queen Amonate is doing everything in her power to lure Jesse into embracing the darkness inside her soul—a power play that will trap her in a deadly web of deception between the forces of good and evilâ€�

Before this war is over, everyone will learn that hell hath no fury like a woman possessed
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384 Devyn Quinn 0451234332 Tia 5 3.43 2011 Darkness Descending (Vampire Armageddon, #1)
author: Devyn Quinn
name: Tia
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2020/05/07
date added: 2020/05/07
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this book so much! It is very dark and gritty. It's about a novice vampire slayer with a beef with the vampires that propels her. I loved the characters in this book. They all had flaws that held them back and made some characters worse and some better. I would love to read more stories of the characters in the book. The ending left me wanting more.
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<![CDATA[Something Borrowed (Darcy & Rachel, #1)]]> 42156 Something Borrowed tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan.

Rachel has always been the consummate good girl—until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy's fiancĂ©. Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness.

Something Borrowed is a phenomenal debut novel that will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friend.
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336 Emily Giffin 031232118X Tia 0 no-thanks 3.89 2004 Something Borrowed (Darcy & Rachel, #1)
author: Emily Giffin
name: Tia
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/06
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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Possession 6329565
Night after night, in his secret chamber, Kendra explores her most intimate and hottest sexual fantasies. His passion for her is a supernatural force. He controls her body. He steals her soul. He is her demon lover
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302 Devyn Quinn 075822852X Tia 0 to-read 3.32 1999 Possession
author: Devyn Quinn
name: Tia
average rating: 3.32
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Dark Truth 48531589
Part 2: Jessy intrigues everyone with her tale of the events that happened years ago with Celia and Isaac. A true story that will shock the group. But the tale is just beginning as she reveals a secret no one expects.

*Novella]]>
55 Sarah Stein Tia 5 4.86 The Dark Truth
author: Sarah Stein
name: Tia
average rating: 4.86
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/05/01
shelves:
review:
This book is a great dark read. I love the twists and turns in this quick short read and even though it's a quick read it sucks you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
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The Couple Next Door 28815474 You never know what's happening on the other side of the wall.

Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying.

Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour.

Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone.

You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.

What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?]]>
308 Shari Lapena 0735221081 Tia 5 3.80 2016 The Couple Next Door
author: Shari Lapena
name: Tia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/25
date added: 2020/04/25
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Angel Time (The Songs of the Seraphim, #1)]]> 6282915
The novel opens in the present. At its center: Toby O’Dare—a contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill once again. A soulless soul, a dead man walking, he lives under a series of aliases—just now: Lucky the Fox—and takes his orders from “The Right Man.â€�

Into O’Dare’s nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions comes a mysterious stranger, a seraph, who offers him a chance to save rather than destroy lives. O’Dare, who long ago dreamt of being a priest but instead came to embody danger and violence, seizes his chance. Now he is carried back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made against Jews, where children suddenly die or disappear . . . In this primitive setting, O’Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.]]>
274 Anne Rice 1400043530 Tia 0 dnf 3.31 2009 Angel Time (The Songs of the Seraphim, #1)
author: Anne Rice
name: Tia
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/04/23
shelves: dnf
review:

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Damsel 36260155
When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court.

However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.]]>
320 Elana K. Arnold 0062742345 Tia 0 no-thanks 3.28 2018 Damsel
author: Elana K. Arnold
name: Tia
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/04/08
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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Elysium Girls 52782471
When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she's a liar, she knows she's a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn't shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa's exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.

Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium's favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game.]]>
400 Kate Pentecost 1368041868 Tia 0 to-read 3.71 2020 Elysium Girls
author: Kate Pentecost
name: Tia
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/29
shelves: to-read
review:

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Show, Don't Tell 32470912
In this book, Sandra Gerth draws on her experience as an editor and a best-selling author to show you how to show and tell you when to tell.

Each chapter includes concrete examples and exercises that will hone your writing skills.

Whether you’re a novice writer working on your first story or an established author who has already learned the basics of showing and telling, this book will help you to:

Grasp the difference between showing and telling.
Understand why showing is such a powerful tool.
Spot telling in your own manuscript.
Fix bland passages and turn them into compelling scenes.
Keep from telling what you have already shown.
Avoid the three danger areas of telling.
Describe your characters and your setting in interesting ways.
Put powerful emotions into your writing.
Incorporate backstory into your novel without resorting to telling.
Recognize telling in dialogue.
Avoid overshowing and swamping your readers with too many details.
Learn when telling is actually a good thing.
Immerse your readers into your story and keep them captivated from beginning to end.
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60 Sandra Gerth Tia 5 4.32 Show, Don't Tell
author: Sandra Gerth
name: Tia
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/19
date added: 2020/03/19
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression, Second Edition (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 1)]]> 43666740 Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writersâ€� and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded to include 55 new entries!

One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and compelling way. When showing our characters� feelings, we often use the first idea that comes to mind, and they end up smiling, nodding, and frowning too much.

If you need inspiration for creating charactersâ€� emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-don’t-tell guide for emotion can help. It includes:

â€� Body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for 130 emotions that cover a range of intensity from mild to severe, providing innumerable options for individualizing a character’s reactions
� A breakdown of the biggest emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome them
� Advice on what should be done beforedrafting to make sure your characters� emotions will be realistic and consistent
� Instruction for how to show hidden feelings and emotional subtext through dialogue and nonverbal cues
� And much more!

The Emotion Thesaurus, in its easy-to-navigate list format, will inspire you to create stronger, fresher character expressions and engage readers from your first page to your last.]]>
308 Angela Ackerman 0999296353 Tia 5 4.64 2012 The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression, Second Edition (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 1)
author: Angela Ackerman
name: Tia
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/19
date added: 2020/03/19
shelves:
review:

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30 Days 51822035
Easy peasy, right?

Hell no.

Nothing about Isabella Andrews turned out to be easy peasy. If anything, she made my life more complicated.

But she was all worth it and then some.

This is a short story with less than 30,000 words.]]>
153 Grace Owens Tia 5
Yes, the beginning of the plot is similar to She's All That, but the heroine of this book is so much different than the MC in the movie. Bella is sarcastic, beautiful, and refuses to date anyone at her high school, which makes Collin's advances difficult.

I loved how the relationship between the two blossoms and their relationship turns into more than just a bet. I also found myself fully invested in Bella because she had a complicated past that shaped the way she was now.

There is some language in this book which at times didn't bother me and at other times felt unnecessary. There was also one erotic seen in the book which I didn't mind and I know high school students have sex all the time, but I just wasn't expecting it in an otherwise YA book.

Overall, this was a great book with well-rounded characters. I recommend this book to those who love YA romance with a spicy twist. ]]>
4.39 30 Days
author: Grace Owens
name: Tia
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/19
date added: 2020/02/27
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this book by Grace Owens. When I first read the synopsis I thought this sounds like the plot of She's All That. A bad boy has a bet with his brother to make a girl homecoming queen. But to my delight, the author spun the story and made it her own.

Yes, the beginning of the plot is similar to She's All That, but the heroine of this book is so much different than the MC in the movie. Bella is sarcastic, beautiful, and refuses to date anyone at her high school, which makes Collin's advances difficult.

I loved how the relationship between the two blossoms and their relationship turns into more than just a bet. I also found myself fully invested in Bella because she had a complicated past that shaped the way she was now.

There is some language in this book which at times didn't bother me and at other times felt unnecessary. There was also one erotic seen in the book which I didn't mind and I know high school students have sex all the time, but I just wasn't expecting it in an otherwise YA book.

Overall, this was a great book with well-rounded characters. I recommend this book to those who love YA romance with a spicy twist.
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<![CDATA[One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)]]> 32571395 This is an alternate cover edition of ASIN B01M98J44U.
---
One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

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.]]>
360 Karen M. McManus Tia 0 to-read 4.00 2017 One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)
author: Karen M. McManus
name: Tia
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/19
shelves: to-read
review:

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Lost in Grey 36662465 186 Lindsey Behee 1978221622 Tia 5 4.67 Lost in Grey
author: Lindsey Behee
name: Tia
average rating: 4.67
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/19
date added: 2020/01/19
shelves:
review:
A chilling, dark and haunting read.
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<![CDATA[A Map of Days (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #4)]]> 39650714
Vintage photographs reveal the never-before-seen world of peculiar America with a stunning addition—full-color images.

Having defeated the monstrous threat that nearly destroyed the peculiar world, Jacob Portman is back where his story began, in Florida. Except now Miss Peregrine, Emma, and their peculiar friends are with him, and doing their best to blend in. But carefree days of beach visits and normalling lessons are soon interrupted by a discovery—a subterranean bunker that belonged to Jacob’s grandfather, Abe.

Clues to Abe’s double-life as a peculiar operative start to emerge, secrets long hidden in plain sight. And Jacob begins to learn about the dangerous legacy he has inherited—truths that were part of him long before he walked into Miss Peregrine’s time loop.

Now, the stakes are higher than ever as Jacob and his friends are thrust into the untamed landscape of American peculiardom—a world with few ymbrynes, or rules—that none of them understand. New wonders, and dangers, await in this brilliant next chapter for Miss Peregrine’s peculiar children. Their story is again illustrated throughout by haunting vintage photographs, but with a striking addition for this all-new, multi-era American adventure—full color.]]>
480 Ransom Riggs 0735232148 Tia 0 dnf 4.15 2018 A Map of Days (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #4)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: Tia
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/12
shelves: dnf
review:

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Mistletoe 42779033
Flying to New York during the holidays, Elizabeth Richardson’s focus is on two things, the Soulful Heart benefit and sightseeing. That is until she’s face-to-face with the stormy-eyed man who compels her against her better judgment, making her want to throw caution to the wind. She does the only thing she knows, express her dislike and run away.

The moment Elizabeth enters the room; her beauty captures Chris Bennett, stealing his heart. When he runs into her again at the charity, he takes advantage of the tradition of the mistletoe. Elizabeth melts into him confirming her attraction. What he doesn’t expect is for Elizabeth to leave him hanging without exchanging numbers, thinking he’s lost her forever.

*For a mature audience. Instalove romance novella with a HEA.]]>
73 Sarah Stein Tia 5 4.00 Mistletoe
author: Sarah Stein
name: Tia
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/12
date added: 2020/01/12
shelves:
review:
This was a very sweet and short Christmas romance. There is Elizabeth who is beautiful, brilliant and a Dr. who just wants to enjoy her time off in NYC. Then there is Chris who is a sexy photographer. Their worlds collide with a little help from the mistletoe and sparks fly. I enjoyed this cute love story and the steamy scenes. If you want something cute and sweet and to the point, this book is for you with a little bonus story at the end.
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<![CDATA[Vermilion Tears (Vermilion Series Book 1)]]> 35706295 257 Tia Lee Tia 5
Even after that first re-write and the plot was along the lines of how I originally envisioned it, it still needed some cleanup. After writing several other books and doing my fair share of reading for fun and understanding writing better I knew I could still make my first attempts at writing even better. Hence a second re-write.

For example, this book started off in first person POV of both characters, but as I understood how to write in third person I completely changed the whole book to third (just one of the many changes I made). Of course, the main plot is the same, but it so much tighter and just better.

On top of all that I finally saved up enough money for a proper editor and my book is so much better for her help.

So for the first time in two and a half years, I finally feel like Vermilion Tears is exactly how I want it to be and is deserving of the 5 stars I give it today.

I hope those new to the book and series enjoy it as much as I loved making it.]]>
3.63 Vermilion Tears (Vermilion Series Book 1)
author: Tia Lee
name: Tia
average rating: 3.63
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/01
date added: 2020/01/12
shelves:
review:
I'm the author and I don't usually rate my own books, but I decided to do so this time. It's been 2 and a half years since I published this book and it was my first. It was a huge learning experience/experiment. In the beginning, I knew nothing so I took everyone's advice, which wasn't always a good idea, until one day someone told me this was my book I should take ownership of it. If it wasn't something I had initially wanted it to be to fix it to what it was always supposed to be. Unfortunately, this was after I had published and gotten some reviews back. I appreciate everyone who has reviewed so far because you all helped me create my first re-write of Vermilion Tears.

Even after that first re-write and the plot was along the lines of how I originally envisioned it, it still needed some cleanup. After writing several other books and doing my fair share of reading for fun and understanding writing better I knew I could still make my first attempts at writing even better. Hence a second re-write.

For example, this book started off in first person POV of both characters, but as I understood how to write in third person I completely changed the whole book to third (just one of the many changes I made). Of course, the main plot is the same, but it so much tighter and just better.

On top of all that I finally saved up enough money for a proper editor and my book is so much better for her help.

So for the first time in two and a half years, I finally feel like Vermilion Tears is exactly how I want it to be and is deserving of the 5 stars I give it today.

I hope those new to the book and series enjoy it as much as I loved making it.
]]>
<![CDATA[All the Ugly and Wonderful Things]]> 26114135
As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.

By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. When tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world. A powerful novel you wont soon forget, Bryn Greenwood's All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love.]]>
432 Bryn Greenwood Tia 0 no-thanks 3.96 2016 All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
author: Bryn Greenwood
name: Tia
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/12
shelves: no-thanks
review:

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Icebound 32426 408 David Axton 0553582909 Tia 0 dnf 3.78 1976 Icebound
author: David Axton
name: Tia
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1976
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/11
shelves: dnf
review:

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Memoirs of a Geisha 930
In "Memoirs of a Geisha," we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.]]>
434 Arthur Golden 0739326228 Tia 0 to-read 4.07 1997 Memoirs of a Geisha
author: Arthur Golden
name: Tia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

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Where the Crawdads Sing 36809135
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.]]>
384 Delia Owens 0735219117 Tia 3
For someone who has always been shy I couldn't understand how Kya wouldn't want to be around any person. She didn't have to talk to them or even acknowledge them, but to not even want to be near them is weird to me. Or at the very least put up with the drama from school for the free hot meal.

The romance was ok to me, but a stretch. The mystery was kind of interesting.]]>
4.35 2018 Where the Crawdads Sing
author: Delia Owens
name: Tia
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/03
date added: 2020/01/03
shelves:
review:
I really wanted to love this book, but I just didn't. It was meh. The prose was beautiful, but to me to plotline kind of meandered and got kind of boring. On top of that I found the plot kind of unbelievable.

For someone who has always been shy I couldn't understand how Kya wouldn't want to be around any person. She didn't have to talk to them or even acknowledge them, but to not even want to be near them is weird to me. Or at the very least put up with the drama from school for the free hot meal.

The romance was ok to me, but a stretch. The mystery was kind of interesting.
]]>
<![CDATA[Violet: Second in the Lotus series]]> 50225194 228 Shirley Nolan 1548786888 Tia 5 As she works for the DA she finds an old case file on a missing girl she believes was trafficked like she had almost been by the same people. Now Chan-lei feels the pull to find Violet and save her from the terrible life of sex trafficking.
I liked the characters in this story, but my favorite part was the detective work Chan does to save this girl. ]]>
5.00 Violet: Second in the Lotus series
author: Shirley Nolan
name: Tia
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/15
date added: 2019/12/31
shelves:
review:
In this second series in the Lotus series, we find Chan-lei five years after Lotus ended. She had avoided capture by the sex trade in the last book and now she has decided to get her law degree to help other girls who have been victims like she almost was. Her daughter is now starting kindergarten and her family life is moving along.
As she works for the DA she finds an old case file on a missing girl she believes was trafficked like she had almost been by the same people. Now Chan-lei feels the pull to find Violet and save her from the terrible life of sex trafficking.
I liked the characters in this story, but my favorite part was the detective work Chan does to save this girl.
]]>
<![CDATA[The Dark Awakening (Immortals of East Greenwich #1)]]> 43456578
Secrets begin to reveal themselves to Mercy, and she’s thrown into a haunting, supernatural world. Vampires, witches, and werewolves roam the land, and as newfound power grows within her, Mercy must decide where her heart and strength lie. To become a warrior and fight the monsters who thirst for her blood, or to open her heart to love and the man in her dreams—visions of her past life she doesn’t remember.]]>
250 Diana B. Lynn Tia 4 4.11 2018 The Dark Awakening (Immortals of East Greenwich #1)
author: Diana B. Lynn
name: Tia
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/24
date added: 2019/11/24
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this book with Mercy who seems to be just a normal teen with a tragic past, who finds out her past is far more complicated than she originally thought. The characters in the book were my favorite part. The twist and turns were great and kept me turning pages. Great read for that paranormal itch for witches, vampires, and werewolves.
]]>
Allegiant (Divergent, #3) 18710190
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, ALLEGIANT, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the DIVERGENT series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.]]>
531 Veronica Roth 0007524277 Tia 3 3.59 2013 Allegiant (Divergent, #3)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Tia
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/03
date added: 2019/11/03
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Keto Quick Start: A Beginner's Guide to a Whole-Foods Ketogenic Diet]]> 40680096 New York Times bestselling author and health and wellness pioneer Diane Sanfilippo brings her own experience with a ketogenic diet to Keto Quick Start, a comprehensive and easy-to-follow road map to transitioning to a keto lifestyle.

There’s a good reason keto has attracted so many followers: it’s an effective tool for fat loss as well as a way of eating with proven benefits for many health concerns, including unstable blood sugar, neurological conditions, and epilepsy, to name a few. But getting started with keto and sticking with it can be tough. That’s where Keto Quick Start comes in. 

In her signature practical style, Diane makes keto doable for everyone, whether you’re completely new to very low carb eating or you’ve tried it before and want to find a better way to make it work for you. Keeping the focus on real foods that nourish your body, she walks you through a gentle transition to keto and helps you figure out how to make it sustainable for the long term. Keto Quick Start targets everyday real-world concerns such as what to expect in the first few weeks and how to know if you’re on the right track, how to determine if you need more carbs and how to incorporate those carbs in a healthy way, how to customize keto for your personal goals (especially weight loss), and things to be aware of if you’re concerned about a particular health issue.

Keto Quick Start includes 100 delicious keto recipes, four weekly meal plans, more than a dozen easy meal ideas (no recipe required!), and troubleshooting tips and tricks. It also features a unique and easy-to-use template that makes tracking your food quick and simple. The recipes include:

- Lemon Blueberry Keto Muffins

- Kale, Bacon & Goat Cheese Frittata

- Spaghetti Bolognese Bake

- Powered-Up Bacon Cheeseburger

- Shrimp Pad Thai

- Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms

- Chocolate Orange Fudge

- Creamy Peanut Butter Bites]]>
384 Diane Sanfilippo 162860347X Tia 5
This book is very comprehensive and answers almost any question you could think to ask. The layout is easy to read and well organized. One thing I really appreciated about this book is that it really breaks down the science behind the diet. ]]>
4.26 Keto Quick Start: A Beginner's Guide to a Whole-Foods Ketogenic Diet
author: Diane Sanfilippo
name: Tia
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/08
date added: 2019/10/23
shelves:
review:
I love this book so much more than the other I read about keto. This book is pretty comprehensive for a "quick start", but that made me like it all the more. This book is written by a long time nutritionist who started on the diet before it became a fad and she really brings a lot to the table.

This book is very comprehensive and answers almost any question you could think to ask. The layout is easy to read and well organized. One thing I really appreciated about this book is that it really breaks down the science behind the diet.
]]>
Insurgent (Divergent, #2) 11735983
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.]]>
525 Veronica Roth 0007442912 Tia 5 3.97 2012 Insurgent (Divergent, #2)
author: Veronica Roth
name: Tia
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/11
date added: 2019/10/11
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Bittersweet Alliance (Donahue Cousins #3)]]> 46030813
Bizarre kidnappings stun the Big Island of Hawaii, pulling Danker Donahue back into the game and forcing him to partner with Jolene Kualoha, the woman who left him seven years ago when his DNA showed up in paternity lawsuit. The prejudice-motivated hate crimes are the wildest anyone has ever seen. Victims are being poisoned then released once the ransoms are paid, many losing their lives.

In the shadow of Jolene's success as a helicopter pilot, a troubled woman develops a fixation on Jolene and imitates her appearance. Matters turn dark when the copycat is shot dead. Was Jolene the target? Threats mount when she barely survives an accident after her brake cables are severed.

When these crimes threaten her sanity, Jolene is forced to trust the one person she thought she’d lost forever, Danker. Instantly, sparks fly between them, and as much as she wants to rekindle their relationship, she must protect her heart.

An old enemy, Seamus McGinn, breaks out of a maximum-security prison and invites Danker to a meet-up. Surprisingly, the kidnapper joins forces with McGinn along with his sick fans. McGinn trumpets his ‘murders by ice pickâ€�, and it’s up to Danker to stop him. The whole island is on edge with a live feed from the maniac’s website.

In a stolen moment, Jolene shows him hope, and he makes a snap decision that will change their lives forever. Will he make it back to her?]]>
167 Kathleen Rowland Tia 4
Danker and Jolene have a history that was cut short by an unexpected pregnancy by Danker’s ex, but seven years later things have changed and now they are thrown together to figure out a crime that has hit The Big Island and they must make amends to figure out this crime. I loved the banter and chemistry between the two main characters. It feels as though they are meant to be together, but Jolene has troubles keeping her hurt feelings from seven years ago from seeping in.

I loved that the setting is in Hawaii. The descriptions and culture were described so well it felt like I was on the Big Island with them with the humid breeze through my hair.
]]>
4.36 Bittersweet Alliance (Donahue Cousins #3)
author: Kathleen Rowland
name: Tia
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/01
date added: 2019/09/01
shelves:
review:
Bittersweet Alliance is a suspenseful mystery and romance. In this story, we get POV from Danker an FBI agent, Jolene a helicopter pilot, and one of the villains, Violet. I thought it was interesting to get a POV from the villain because that is not usually done, but it gave the story and extra layer.

Danker and Jolene have a history that was cut short by an unexpected pregnancy by Danker’s ex, but seven years later things have changed and now they are thrown together to figure out a crime that has hit The Big Island and they must make amends to figure out this crime. I loved the banter and chemistry between the two main characters. It feels as though they are meant to be together, but Jolene has troubles keeping her hurt feelings from seven years ago from seeping in.

I loved that the setting is in Hawaii. The descriptions and culture were described so well it felt like I was on the Big Island with them with the humid breeze through my hair.

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<![CDATA[Steam Geared: Victorian Steampunk Erotica]]> 44441547 ‱A sexy engineer and her artist partner construct a dazzling Victorian-style extravaganza, but on opening night, disaster strikes. Can she resurrect the show and revive their burning desire?
‱Meeting for a date, a house maid and tailor can find no privacy. Where can they go to satisfy their sexual yearnings?
‱Together at a dinner party, a gentleman and his fiancĂ©e long to speak openly of their desires, but are thwarted by their watchful chaperones. Will they find a secret way to communicate their mutual lust?
Set in a Victorian world with steampunk sensibilities, these erotic tales follow the adventures and misadventures of inventors, domestics, explorers, and aristocrats, with sometimes humorous, but always amorous, results. From merely steamy, to highly erogenous, to downright graphic, the engaging characters of these interrelated stories find paths to satisfaction in a world replete with bustles, cogs, top hats, and train whistles.
Robinette Waterson is an exciting new voice in the tradition of Fanny Hill , Moll Flanders , and My Secret Life
â€�. If you like alternate history, a diverse set of diverting characters, and erotica ranging from steamy to blow-the-boiler hot, you’ll love this new series.
Get ready for action, because these stories are all Steam Geared!
Average review of 4.7 stars. Book 1 of Steam Geared series.]]>
229 Robinette Waterson Tia 5
There are stories for everyone, married couples, engaged couples, rendezvous, etc engaging intimately. The best part of all these stories are the lovely way they are written. The writing transports you straight to Victorian England and just so well crafted. The stories all have whimsical and endearing endings which draws you in for the next story.

I really enjoyed reading these stories and there is also a second book in the same steampunk world. ]]>
4.23 Steam Geared: Victorian Steampunk Erotica
author: Robinette Waterson
name: Tia
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2019/08/09
date added: 2019/08/09
shelves:
review:
Steam Geared is a delightful set of steampunk short stories. The first several stores are intertwined and minor characters become main characters. I really liked these stories and I think Minnie and Al were my favorite of all the characters.

There are stories for everyone, married couples, engaged couples, rendezvous, etc engaging intimately. The best part of all these stories are the lovely way they are written. The writing transports you straight to Victorian England and just so well crafted. The stories all have whimsical and endearing endings which draws you in for the next story.

I really enjoyed reading these stories and there is also a second book in the same steampunk world.
]]>
<![CDATA[Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)]]> 26114463
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?]]>
427 Jay Kristoff 1250073022 Tia 0 to-read 4.19 2016 Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Tia
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

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

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

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

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]>
400 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376458 Tia 0 to-read 4.04 2015 A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Tia
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/03
shelves: to-read
review:

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Dark Water Rising 24962
I yelled at Josiah, but my words disappeared on the wind. I grabbed his arm, pointed, and we stood together, shoulder to shoulder, mouths gaping, watching the impossible.

Like a wounded Goliath, the great bathhouse shuddered, folded in on its long legs, and collapsed into the sea.

Galveston, Texas, may be the booming city of the twentieth century, but to Seth it is the end of a dream. He wants to be a carpenter like his father, but the family has moved so Seth can become a doctor. Just as things begin to look up for Seth, a storm warning is raised one sweltering afternoon. A north wind always brings change, but no one could have imagined anything like this. The acclaimed author of The Truth About Sparrows has crafted an unforgettable story set during the Galveston Storm of 1900. Dark Water Rising is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.]]>
240 Marian Hale 0805075852 Tia 4 3.84 2006 Dark Water Rising
author: Marian Hale
name: Tia
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/27
date added: 2019/07/27
shelves:
review:

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Landline 18081809
Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her â€� Neal is always a little upset with Georgie â€� but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?]]>
320 Rainbow Rowell 1250049377 Tia 0 to-read 3.54 2014 Landline
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Tia
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/26
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Bone Wall 29076467 Librarian's Note: Alternate-cover edition for ASIN B00TFWFDAG

Blue light ripples and crackles as the shield walls fracture. The remnants of a doomed civilization stand vigil outside, intent on plunder and slaves, desirous of untainted blood to strengthen their broken lives. With the poisons, came deformities and powers, enhanced senses and the ability to manipulate waves of energy—lightbenders and fire-wielders.

For those who thrived for generations within the walls, the broken world looms, strange and deadly, slowly dying. While the righteous pray for salvation, Rimma prepares for battle, fueled by rage and blinded by vengeance. Her twin, Angel, bound to her by unbreakable magic, seeks light in the darkness, hope in the future, and love in a broken world.

Trigger Warning.]]>
332 D. Wallace Peach Tia 3 Twins Rimma and Angel are of the Heaven people and while they are still innocent of the world outside they know Heaven’s time is up and try to prepare for that which is unknown. At times it seems they are bonded in a unique way when they are together often people only see one of them at a time, this often gives the twins frustrations in wanting to be seen. Rimma is the more adventurous twin ready to fight and battle. Angel is more fragile and innocent wanting to do things in a peaceful manor and seeing the good in everyone.
This was a fun and entertaining story, although the prose was so purple and detailed at points I forgot what the main point was and had to reread often. Some of the book was a bit confusing and I wasn’t really sure what had happened or what was going on which also made this a slow read for me.
Overall this was a fun, unique book with poetically written prose.
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4.14 2015 The Bone Wall
author: D. Wallace Peach
name: Tia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2019/07/25
date added: 2019/07/25
shelves:
review:
Bone wall is a unique book. I love dystopian literature, but I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book quite like this. This dystopian takes place in a fantasy world. People believed to be decedents of God live in domed worlds, sheltered from those outside. They bide by Gods words and rules without question, that is until their utopia is about to crumble from wear and tear. The 2,000 people of Heaven are about to experience the world outside the Bone Wall.
Twins Rimma and Angel are of the Heaven people and while they are still innocent of the world outside they know Heaven’s time is up and try to prepare for that which is unknown. At times it seems they are bonded in a unique way when they are together often people only see one of them at a time, this often gives the twins frustrations in wanting to be seen. Rimma is the more adventurous twin ready to fight and battle. Angel is more fragile and innocent wanting to do things in a peaceful manor and seeing the good in everyone.
This was a fun and entertaining story, although the prose was so purple and detailed at points I forgot what the main point was and had to reread often. Some of the book was a bit confusing and I wasn’t really sure what had happened or what was going on which also made this a slow read for me.
Overall this was a fun, unique book with poetically written prose.

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<![CDATA[Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)]]> 33643994 There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I've gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map―the key to a legendary treasure trove―seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

In Daughter of the Pirate King, author Tricia Levenseller blends action, adventure, romance, and a little bit of magic into a thrilling pirate tale.]]>
308 Tricia Levenseller 1250095964 Tia 0 to-read 3.95 2017 Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King, #1)
author: Tricia Levenseller
name: Tia
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/23
shelves: to-read
review:

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Becoming 38746485
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.]]>
426 Michelle Obama 1524763136 Tia 0 to-read 4.42 2018 Becoming
author: Michelle Obama
name: Tia
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[A People's History of the Vampire Uprising: A Novel]]> 42283337 In this ambitious and wildly original debut--part social-political satire, part international mystery--a new virus turns people into something a bit more than human, upending society as we know it.

This panoramic fictional oral history begins with one small mystery: the body of a young woman found in an Arizona border town, presumed to be an illegal immigrant, disappears from the town morgue. To the young CDC investigator called in to consult with the local police, it's an impossibility that threatens her understanding of medicine.

Then, more bodies, dead from an inexplicable disease that solidified their blood, are brought to the morgue, only to also vanish. Soon, the U.S. government--and eventually biomedical researchers, disgruntled lawmakers, and even an insurgent faction of the Catholic Church--must come to terms with what they're too late to stop: an epidemic of vampirism that will sweep first the United States, and then the world.

With heightened strength and beauty and a stead diet of fresh blood, these changed people, or "Gloamings," rapidly rise to prominence in all aspects of modern society. Soon people are beginning to be "re-created," willingly accepting the risk of death if their bodies can't handle the transformation. As new communities of Gloamings arise, society is divided, and popular Gloaming sites come under threat from a secret terrorist organization. But when a charismatic and wealthy businessman, recently turned, runs for political office--well, all hell breaks loose.

Told from the perspective of key players, including a cynical FBI agent, an audacious campaign manager, and a war veteran turned nurse turned secret operative, A People's History of the Vampire Uprising is an exhilarating, genre-bending debut that is as addictive as the power it describes.

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432 Raymond A. Villareal 0316561665 Tia 0 to-read 3.11 2018 A People's History of the Vampire Uprising: A Novel
author: Raymond A. Villareal
name: Tia
average rating: 3.11
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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