Nicole's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:58:57 -0700 60 Nicole's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg All the Right Reasons 58437833 The Bachelor meets Gilmore Girls in this laugh-out-loud young adult romance about a girl who joins her mother on a reality dating show for single parents—only to fall for a contestant’s son.

Cara Hawn’s life fell apart after her father cheated on her mother and got remarried to a woman Cara can’t stand. When Cara accidentally posts a rant about her father online, it goes viral—and catches the attention of the TV producers behind a new reality dating show for single parent families.

The next thing Cara and her mother know, they’ve been cast as leads on the show and are whisked away to sunny Key West where they’re asked to narrow a field of suitors and their kids down to one winning pair. All of this is outside of Cara’s comfort zone, from the meddling producers to the camera-hungry contestants, especially as Cara and her mother begin to clash on which suitors are worth keeping around. And then comes Connor.

As the son of a contestant, Connor is decidedly off-limits. Except that he doesn’t fit in with the cutthroat atmosphere in all the same ways as Cara, and she can’t get him out of her head. Now Cara must juggle her growing feelings while dodging the cameras and helping her mom pick a bachelor they both love, or else risk fracturing their family even more for the sake of ratings. Maybe there’s a reason most people don’t date on TV.]]> 304 Bethany Mangle 1534499032 Nicole 0 currently-reading 3.38 2022 All the Right Reasons
author: Bethany Mangle
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) 50520939
Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.

Most of them.]]> 376 Olivie Blake Nicole 0 currently-reading 3.56 2020 The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1)
author: Olivie Blake
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> I Wish You Would 179031684 In this drama-filled romance novel, the senior class's private confessions are scattered on the beach during a school overnight and explosive secrets threaten to tear everyone apart, including best friends ( . . . or maybe more?) Natalia and Ethan.

It’s Senior Sunrise, the epic overnight at the beach that kicks off senior year. But for Natalia and Ethan, it’s the first time seeing each other after what happened at junior prom—when they almost crossed the line from best friends to something more and ruined everything. After ghosting each other all summer, Natalia is desperate to pretend she doesn’t care and Ethan is desperate to fix his mistake.

When the senior class carries out their tradition of writing private letters to themselves—what they wish they would do this year if they were braver—Natalia pours her heart out. So does Ethan. So does everyone in their entire class. But in Natalia’s panicked attempt to retrieve her heartfelt confession, the wind scatters seven of the notes across the beach. Now, Ethan and Natalia are forced to work together to find the lost letters before any secrets are revealed—especially their own.

Seven private confessions. Seven time bombs loose for anyone to find. And one last chance before the sun rises for these two to fall in love.]]> 280 Eva Des Lauriers 1250910544 Nicole 2
For me, it was too cheesy and neat, with everything working out for everyone in the end. The author went for the slow burn but it was relentlessly frustrating with all the delays and misunderstandings. The cover was beautiful though.

Books about the end of high school that really hit the mark in my opinion are The Spectacular Now and Six More Months of June. ]]> 3.70 2024 I Wish You Would
author: Eva Des Lauriers
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/27
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: california, fiction-read, young-adult, april, march
review:
Many teen girls will probably love this.

For me, it was too cheesy and neat, with everything working out for everyone in the end. The author went for the slow burn but it was relentlessly frustrating with all the delays and misunderstandings. The cover was beautiful though.

Books about the end of high school that really hit the mark in my opinion are The Spectacular Now and Six More Months of June.
]]> <![CDATA[The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez]]> 3729525 312 Alan Sitomer 1423110722 Nicole 0 currently-reading 4.17 2008 The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez
author: Alan Sitomer
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> When I Found You 17667452 410 Catherine Ryan Hyde 1611092078 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.16 2009 When I Found You
author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Once We Were Brothers (Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart, #1)]]> 17834834 The gripping tale about two boys, once as close as brothers, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust.

Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice. Solomon persuades attorney Catherine Lockhart to take his case, revealing that the true Piatek was abandoned as a child and raised by Solomon's own family only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has Solomon accused the right man?

Once We Were Brothers is Ronald H. Balson's compelling tale of two boys and a family who struggle to survive in war-torn Poland, and a young love that struggles to endure the unspeakable cruelty of the Holocaust. Two lives, two worlds, and sixty years converge in an explosive race to redemption that makes for a moving and powerful tale of love, survival, and ultimately the triumph of the human spirit.]]> 378 Ronald H. Balson 1250046394 Nicole 0 4.33 2010 Once We Were Brothers (Liam Taggart & Catherine Lockhart, #1)
author: Ronald H. Balson
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: to-read, literary-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> Promising Young Man 223727082 � A BOOKLIFE REVIEWS EDITOR'S PICK! �


Witty, Defiant Oscar Tells a Heartbreakingly Relatable Story About a Misunderstood, Mistake-Riddled Boy Who's Afraid of Becoming A Man (and His Other-minded Grammy Who's Tired of Living Someone Else's Life). It's Dark Humor, Raw Emotions, and a Teenage Existential Crisis Rolled into One Unforgettable, Second-Chance Adventure.


Oscar Danielsson isn’t ready for the real world—yet. But he’s 18 now, and everyone’s got expectations. Why not? With his sharp wit and melancholy good looks, his future's as promising as anybody’s.Lie. He’s not like anybody. He’ll take his bedroom over hanging out. Self-medication over whatever his shrink prescribes for his ADHD. And it’s hard enough to get out of bed in the morning, let alone write a stupid paper in time to graduate from high school. If it wasn't for his old spaniel, Enzo, he's not sure he'd even want to stick around. Just when he meets Bette, the weirdest cute girl on the planet, a scrape with the law Oscar’s too out of it to remember sends him blasting down America's highways with his eccentric Grammy. Leaving Bette, Enzo, and all his vices behind is torture but if they make good time, he can repay his debts to his boss, snag his diploma, and slip back into bed like nothing ever happened. Another lie.


If you fell for Charlie Kelmeckis in The Perks of Being a Wallflower , Sutter Keely in The Spectacular Now , or Theodore Finch in All the Bright Places , Promising Young Man’s Oscar Danielsson will melt, break, and then repair your heart.



"I love this book.� —Jill Wine-Banks, author, The Watergate Girl; MSNBC legal analyst; co-host, Webby-winning #SistersinLaw Podcast



"Axel is a natural... writes with a flow and energy that is absolutely compelling.� —Chris Canaan, Emmy Award-winning writer; co-creator Walker, Texas Ranger (starring Chuck Norris); screenplay, No Good Deed (starring Samuel L. Jackson & Stellan Skarsgård)



"At times funny, at times raw, at times so poignant you’ll find yourself tearing up, —Maggie Smith, award-winning author of Truth and Other Lies



"...deeply moving... absorbing... truly enjoyable� —Sarah C. Maza, Member American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Professor of History Emerita Northwestern University



"a powerful story of survival, resilience, and hope..."—Nathan Chung (early reader), Neurodivergent, recognized as a Top 50 Global Neurodiversity Evangelist, and a D-30 Impact List 2024 Honoree




Coming-of-Age (Contemporary Realistic Fiction with Elements of Humor)]]> 240 Elias Axel Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.79 Promising Young Man
author: Elias Axel
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.79
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Why I Still Believe (Hint: It's the Only Way the World Makes Sense)]]> 554114 160 Joseph Boot 0801066050 Nicole 0 4.09 2006 Why I Still Believe (Hint: It's the Only Way the World Makes Sense)
author: Joseph Boot
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read, christian-nonfiction-to-read
review:

]]> The Flatshare 48715812 here.

Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.

After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap.

Desperation makes her open-minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night-shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll be there only when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.

Of course, since they live together, sometimes they do need to share information. Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes—first about what day is garbage day, then politely establishing which leftovers are up for grabs and debating the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Soon, they're sharing details of their lives: their work, their families, their romances. And it's amazing how much they learn about their flatmate just by sharing a space.

Even though they are complete opposites, Tiffy and Leon soon become friends. And then maybe more.

But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea . . . especially if you've never met. What happens when you finally bump into each other?

A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of places—under the same roof.]]> 328 Beth O'Leary 1250295637 Nicole 1 3.98 2019 The Flatshare
author: Beth O'Leary
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2020/02/26
date added: 2025/04/23
shelves: fiction-read, chick-lit, english-fiction, romance, february, january, 1-star, popular-books-the-worst
review:
Tried so hard to be a rom-com but failed miserably. Leon was the only likable character and sometimes even he was annoying! The Flatshare is in the same vein as The Hating Game and How to Walk Away. It evokes plenty of eye rolls with all the corniness. The characters were superficial and the plot completely predictable. I hated it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo]]> 33160963
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the `80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501161938 Nicole 1
The story is so morally blurry and never agrees on any kind of standard. Evelyn Hugo is the type of character that I despise. Of course one can enjoy a book with an unlikeable main character. But one has to be able to have some kind of understanding or sympathy for them. I had none.

Monique was not much better. In fact, they struck me as two of a kind. They shared the attitude of “Take what you want. Make no apologies, even if it hurts others�.

Honestly, I would actually tell people not to read this. ]]> 4.48 2017 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2023/11/23
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: fiction-read, november, october, most-popular, literary-fiction
review:
Momentarily I was feeling generous and almost gave this 2 stars. It’s readable and has some clever plot twists. Ultimately, I could not permit myself.

The story is so morally blurry and never agrees on any kind of standard. Evelyn Hugo is the type of character that I despise. Of course one can enjoy a book with an unlikeable main character. But one has to be able to have some kind of understanding or sympathy for them. I had none.

Monique was not much better. In fact, they struck me as two of a kind. They shared the attitude of “Take what you want. Make no apologies, even if it hurts others�.

Honestly, I would actually tell people not to read this.
]]> Whiskey & Ribbons 36139786 Set in contemporary Louisville, Leesa Cross-Smith’s mesmerizing first novel surrounding the death of a police officer is a requiem for marriage, friendship and family.

Evi—a classically-trained ballerina—was nine months pregnant when her husband Eamon was killed in the line of duty on a steamy morning in July. Now, it is winter, and Eamon's adopted brother Dalton has moved in to help her raise six-month-old Noah.

Whiskey & Ribbons is told in three intertwining, melodic voices: Evi in present day, as she’s snowed in with Dalton during a freak blizzard; Eamon before his murder, as he prepares for impending fatherhood and grapples with the danger of his profession; and Dalton, as he struggles to make sense of his life next to Eamon’s, and as he decides to track down the biological father he’s never known.

In the vein of Jojo Moyes� After You, Whiskey & Ribbons explores the life that continues beyond loss, with a complicated brotherly dynamic reminiscent of Elizabeth Strout’s The Burgess Boys. It’s a meditation on grief, hope, motherhood, brotherhood and surrogate fatherhood. Above all, it’s a novel about what it means—and whether it’s possible—to heal.

]]> 272 Leesa Cross-Smith 193823538X Nicole 2 3.82 2018 Whiskey & Ribbons
author: Leesa Cross-Smith
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2024/07/26
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: july, june, kentucky, may, fiction-read, literary-fiction
review:
The only part that moved me was the last 20 or so pages. The author did a decent job of conveying grief. Other than that, I never particularly cared about the story or the characters. Also, I thought the dynamic between the two brothers and Evi was very strange and even off-putting.
]]> Lessons in Chemistry 58065033 390 Bonnie Garmus Nicole 1 4.23 2022 Lessons in Chemistry
author: Bonnie Garmus
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: california, february, fiction-read, march, literary-fiction
review:
This book has quite the superiority complex. The story wasn’t half bad but I was too put off by the attitude behind the writing. The author’s political ideology is relentlessly shoved down the reader’s throat. It was a real struggle for me from start to finish.
]]> Abide with Me 1292291
Tyler Caskey has come to love West Annett, “just up the road� from where he was born. The short, brilliant summers and the sharp, piercing winters fill him with awe–as does his congregation, full of good people who seek his guidance and listen earnestly as he preaches. But after suffering a terrible loss, Tyler finds it hard to return to himself as he once was. He hasn’t had The Feeling–that God is all around him, in the beauty of the world–for quite some time. He struggles to find the right words in his sermons and in his conversations with those facing crises of their own, and to bring his five-year-old daughter, Katherine, out of the silence she has observed in the wake of the family’s tragedy.

A congregation that had once been patient and kind during Tyler’s grief now questions his leadership and propriety. In the kitchens, classrooms, offices, and stores of the village, anger and gossip have started to swirl. And in Tyler’s darkest hour, a startling discovery will test his congregation’s humanity–and his own will to endure the kinds of trials that sooner or later test us all.

In prose incandescent and artful, Elizabeth Strout draws readers into the details of ordinary life in a way that makes it extraordinary. All is considered–life, love, God, and community–within these pages, and all is made new by this writer’s boundless compassion and graceful prose.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 304 Elizabeth Strout 1400062071 Nicole 2 The redemptive story that Strout attempts to tell didn’t completely work for me. I believed it for Tyler and was so glad for his victory. But I didn’t buy it concerning the members of the congregation.
I ultimately decided on a 2 star rating because there was too much about the story I didn’t care for. Tyler, Connie, and Carol Meadows were the only tolerable characters. Everyone else was abhorrent. I had zero interest in reading the mean-spirited gossip of the townspeople, which took up a lot of the book. And although there were a lot of elements explored throughout the story, I just didn’t find them very compelling.]]> 3.77 2006 Abide with Me
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2019/02/21
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: fiction-read, february, january, maine, literary-fiction
review:
I was in between a 2 and 3 star rating on this one. Abide with Me was toilsome and slow. Tyler Caskey is a young minister taking on his first parish in the small town of West Annett. He faces a crisis of faith when his wife passes and his congregation turns on him.
The redemptive story that Strout attempts to tell didn’t completely work for me. I believed it for Tyler and was so glad for his victory. But I didn’t buy it concerning the members of the congregation.
I ultimately decided on a 2 star rating because there was too much about the story I didn’t care for. Tyler, Connie, and Carol Meadows were the only tolerable characters. Everyone else was abhorrent. I had zero interest in reading the mean-spirited gossip of the townspeople, which took up a lot of the book. And although there were a lot of elements explored throughout the story, I just didn’t find them very compelling.
]]> The River We Remember 101160844 In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling standalone novel.

On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life, The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.]]> 432 William Kent Krueger 198217921X Nicole 0 currently-reading 4.19 2023 The River We Remember
author: William Kent Krueger
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Kingdom's Edge (Kingdom, #3) 1265593
Good and evil clash. Leinad and Cedric are determined to not only survive, but claim hope and victory! In Kingdom’s Dawn , Leinad and Tess, along with all the king’s people, must escape slavery by the powerful Lord Fairos. Kingdom’s Hope finds them free and arriving in the Chessington Valley . But when they forget the king, will Kergon and the Kessons capture them for good? After many years, Kingdom’s Edge finds Cedric living a hopeless life until a stranger appears with powerful words of a new kingdom and a grand army. Finally, Kingdom’s Reign marches you through the danger of earth’s last days as the evil dark knight threatens to defeat the prince once and for all. Swords, knights, and battles define these captivating tales that parallel biblical events from Genesis to Revelation!

He was doomed to a life of hopelessness and despair.

Then the stranger arrived�

For Cedric of Chessington, every day is the full of poverty and despair. And he knows that will never change.

Or so he thinks.

Then a stranger comes to the city. Drawn to the man’s mysterious ways, Cedric discovers the stranger’s humility belies great strength and wisdom. That’s when an astounding truth becomes clear—the stranger is a Master of the Sword, and He is there to train Cedric.

Suddenly propelled into a desperate battle against evil, Cedric must rely on the Master’s training if he is going to survive. But the ultimate battle is yet to come, for the Dark Knight is at work, implementing his plan to take over the kingdom. Will Cedric be ready to stand in the face of pure evil?

Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil; and where hope and compassion are as powerful weapons as the sword.



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDED

Story Behind the Book

“When my six kids� eyes glossed over during a reading from the Bible, I paused to explain the significance of redemption to a sin-sick soul. I was rewarded with patronizing elephant nods and more blank stares. Shortly thereafter, I awoke in the middle of the night with a medieval story enveloping my mind. I wrote it down and later read it to my children. Their waning attention transformed into complete anticipation. I was amazed and disappointed. Why did it take a fictional story, not a Bible passage, to get that response? Then I realized—that is how Jesus taught! Parables are powerful! I penned the Kingdom series to help young people get excited about the supremely significant story of Jesus Christ and His mission to save mankind.�

� Chuck Black]]> 144 Chuck Black 1590526813 Nicole 0 currently-reading 4.19 1999 Kingdom's Edge (Kingdom, #3)
author: Chuck Black
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Cross of Christ 73188 380 John R.W. Stott 083083320X Nicole 0 currently-reading 4.27 1986 The Cross of Christ
author: John R.W. Stott
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Small Town Sins 61796658 EDGAR AWARD FINALIST

Ken Jaworowski’s Small Town Sins is a gripping Rust Belt thriller that captures the characters of a down-and-out Pennsylvania town, revealing their troubled pasts and the crimes that could cost them their lives.

In Locksburg, Pennsylvania, a former coal and steel town whose best days seem long past, five thousand residents have toughed it out, and have reasons for both worry and hope as this neglected place teeters between decay and renewal. For some of them, their biggest troubles have just arrived.

After years of just scraping by, three restless souls have their lives upended: Nathan, a volunteer fireman who uncovers a secret stash of money in a burning building and takes it; Callie, a nurse whose tender patient may not have long to live, despite the girl’s fundamentalist parents� ardent beliefs; and Andy, a recovering heroin addict who undertakes a nightmare mission to hunt down and stop a serial predator.

Before long, Nathan’s stolen riches threaten to destroy everyone around him as he tries to cover his haphazard trail of lies. Callie risks her career to grant her young patient a final, and likely illegal, wish. And Andy’s hunger for vigilante justice becomes a fierce obsession that may end in violence.

As their stories barrel toward unexpected ends, Nathan, Callie, and Andy struggle to endure—or escape. They each face their pasts and gamble on their futures, and confront the underside of their rough Rust Belt town. Riveting, evocative, and unforgettable, Small Town Sins is a debut novel that marks the arrival of a major new talent.]]> 272 Ken Jaworowski 1250881676 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.85 2023 Small Town Sins
author: Ken Jaworowski
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Dive from Clausen's Pier 16059
THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER will speak to all those who have ever thought about leaving when they knew they should stay, anyone who has ever felt trapped, not only by circumstance, but by the strength of their own love, Carrie Bell has lived in Wisconsin all her life. She's had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend, for as long as anyone can remember. But when her fiance, Mike is paralyzed by a tragic accident, Carrie has to question everything she thought she knew about herself and about the meaning of home.

Ann Packer has written a morally complex, deeply satisfying novel about the desire to live fully and the conflict between who we want to be to others and who we must be for ourselves. A magnificent debut from a remarkable new talent.]]> 432 Ann Packer 0375727132 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.44 2002 The Dive from Clausen's Pier
author: Ann Packer
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will]]> 478388 In Willing to Believe, Sproul traces the free-will controversy from its formal beginning in the fifth century, with the writings of Augustine and Pelagius, to the present. Readers will gain understanding into the nuances separating the views of Protestants and Catholics, Calvinists and Arminians, and Reformed and Dispensationalists. This book, like Sproul's Faith Alone, is a major work on an essential evangelical tenet.]]> 224 R.C. Sproul 0801064120 Nicole 4 4.25 1997 Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will
author: R.C. Sproul
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: april, christian-nonfiction, february, march, non-fiction-read
review:
Some of this was over my head. But I absorbed the majority of it. Interesting to learn more about soteriology and all the different theological viewpoints of the human will.
]]> <![CDATA[The Starless Crown (Moonfall, #1)]]> 57693169
A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death.

Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of

A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home.

A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother's shadow and claims a purpose of his own.

An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact - one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe.

On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation.

But with each passing moment, doom draws closer.

WHO WILL CLAIM THE STARLESS CROWN?

The Moonfall
The Starless Crown
The Cradle of Ice]]> 560 James Rollins 1250816777 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.65 2022 The Starless Crown (Moonfall, #1)
author: James Rollins
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Lease on Love 57974961
After getting passed over for an overdue—and much needed—promotion, Sadie Green is in desperate need of three things: a stiff drink, a new place to live, and a one-night-stand. When one drink turns into one too many, Sadie mixes up a long-ignored dating app for a roommate-finding app and finds herself on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Too bad she’s more attracted to his impressive real estate than she is to the man himself.

Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.]]> 332 Falon Ballard 059341991X Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.71 2022 Lease on Love
author: Falon Ballard
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Dear Emmie Blue 52761268
Now, fourteen years later, Emmie is hiding the fact that she’s desperately in love with Lucas. She has pinned all her hopes on him and waits patiently for him to finally admit that she’s the one for him. So dedicated to her love for Lucas, Emmie has all but neglected her life outside of this relationship—she’s given up the search for her absentee father, no longer tries to build bridges with her distant mother, and lives as a lodger to an old lady she barely knows after being laid off. And when Lucas tells Emmie he has a big question to ask her, she’s convinced this is the moment he’ll reveal his feelings for her. But nothing in life ever quite goes as planned, does it?

Filled with heart and humor, Dear Emmie Blue “beautifully captures the heartache and frustrations of carrying our teenaged selves with us wherever we go� (Anstey Harris, author of Goodbye Paris) that is perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Evvie Drake Starts Over.]]> 312 Lia Louis 1982135913 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.08 2020 Dear Emmie Blue
author: Lia Louis
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Sweet Gum Tree 2761356
Through childhood disasters and teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night when Frank Anderson, Nick's abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy trailer.

Suddenly, Nick is gone—leaving Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick's abandonment, a bad marriage, her family and friends. But finally, she's starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is booming, and she's content if not happy—until the day she looks up and sees Nick standing across the counter. He's back…and he's not alone.

Once again Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something she resists with all her strength. Only one thing might break the protective wall she's built around her emotions—the truth about Frank Anderson's death. But when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal.]]> 301 Katherine Allred 1419953249 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.25 2005 The Sweet Gum Tree
author: Katherine Allred
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Paid Bridesmaid 57886856 From Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of Roommaid, comes a captivating romantic comedy about what happens when a wedding party mixes business with romance.

Rachel Vinson is a bridesmaid for part confidante, part wedding planner, and one hundred percent pretend BFF. Discretion guaranteed. Her next gig is a destination wedding—livestreamed and sponsored—for an Instagram influencer. That means a paradise of new contacts, which could be a boon to her already booming business. If Rachel can keep the very handsome and slightly too interested best man at bay, that is.

High-tech entrepreneur Camden Lewis must know: Who is this gorgeous, intelligent, and mysterious woman? Too good to be real. Convinced she’s a corporate spy out to tank his company, Camden’s not letting her out of his sight. But the constant surveillance is also opening his eyes to things about Rachel that he likes. If she’s a spy, she’s certainly the cutest one he’s ever seen.

As the week’s worth of wedding events march along, Rachel and Camden are learning almost everything there is to know about each other. Rachel’s made a career out of always a bridesmaid…but perhaps there’s a chance for her own trip down the aisle?]]> 304 Sariah Wilson 1542030552 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.89 2022 The Paid Bridesmaid
author: Sariah Wilson
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/16
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy, #1)]]> 75513900 She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites� powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.]]> 523 Lauren Roberts Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.17 2023 Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy, #1)
author: Lauren Roberts
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> On the Beach 38180 On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.]]> 296 Nevil Shute Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.95 1957 On the Beach
author: Nevil Shute
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Virgin River (Virgin River, #1)]]> 184850 A Netflix Original Series!

Welcome back to Virgin River with the book that started it all�

Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included.

When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad, she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving—the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she’s made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning.

But a tiny baby abandoned on a front porch changes her plans…and former marine Jack Sheridan cements them into place.]]> 386 Robyn Carr 0778324907 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.97 2007 Virgin River (Virgin River, #1)
author: Robyn Carr
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Kingdom's Hope (Kingdom, #2) 1953965
Good and evil clash. Leinad and Cedric are determined to not only survive, but claim hope and victory! In Kingdom’s Dawn , Leinad and Tess, along with all the king’s people, must escape slavery by the powerful Lord Fairos. Kingdom’s Hope finds them free and arriving in the Chessington Valley . But when they forget the king, will Kergon and the Kessons capture them for good? After many years, Kingdom’s Edge finds Cedric living a hopeless life until a stranger appears with powerful words of a new kingdom and a grand army. Finally, Kingdom’s Reign marches you through the danger of earth’s last days as the evil dark knight threatens to defeat the prince once and for all. Swords, knights, and battles define these captivating tales that parallel biblical events from Genesis to Revelation!

Fierce castle lords hold the kingdom hostage.

But a champion is coming�

Fairos thought he had sentenced Leinad to death in the Banteen desert. But he was wrong. Leinad survived. Now, trained by the King himself, Leinad returns—a true Knight of the King. His skill with the sword is unmatched this side of the Great Sea ; his resolve is unshakeable. He is determined to fulfill the mission given him by the King and to free the people from their bondage to Lord Fairos.

Leinad’s quest takes him from the chains of slavery, near the jaws of dragons, and close to the arms of love. And when the rest of the kingdom turns away from the King and the Code, Leinad turns to his most faithful ally, Tess. With her help, Leinad struggles to conquer his own doubt. But he must do so soon, for the King’s archenemy, the Dark Knight, is about to unleash his entire evil force, and only Leinad can stop them�

Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil; where the future of the kingdom is at the threshold of either victory or defeat—and one man holds the key.



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDED

Story Behind the Book

“When my six kids� eyes glossed over during a reading from the Bible, I paused to explain the significance of redemption to a sin-sick soul. I was rewarded with patronizing elephant nods and more blank stares. Shortly thereafter, I awoke in the middle of the night with a medieval story enveloping my mind. I wrote it down and later read it to my children. Their waning attention transformed into complete anticipation. I was amazed and disappointed. Why did it take a fictional story, not a Bible passage, to get that response? Then I realized—that is how Jesus taught! Parables are powerful! I penned the Kingdom series to help young people get excited about the supremely significant story of Jesus Christ and His mission to save mankind.�
—Chuck Black]]> 160 Chuck Black 1590526805 Nicole 4 4.19 2002 Kingdom's Hope (Kingdom, #2)
author: Chuck Black
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/14
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: christian-fiction, fiction-read, april
review:
The follow-up was just as enjoyable. Now on to the third.
]]> Fall on Your Knees 5174 Fall on Your Knees follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Their experiences will take them from their stormswept homeland, across the battlefields of World War I, to the freedom and independence of Jazz-era New York City.

Compellingly written, running the literary gamut from menacingly dark to hilariously funny, this is an epic saga of one family’s trials and triumphs in a world of sin, guilt, and redemption.]]> 672 Ann-Marie MacDonald 0743466527 Nicole 0 3.97 1996 Fall on Your Knees
author: Ann-Marie MacDonald
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: to-read, literary-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> Sick Kids in Love 39897323 It's easier--
It's safer--
It's better--
--for the other person.
She's got issues. She's got secrets. She's got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He's got a chronic illness Isabel's never heard of, something she can't even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who's a doctor.
He's gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's complicated--
It's dangerous--
It's never felt better--
--to consider breaking that rule for him.]]> 300 Hannah Moskowitz Nicole 4
Moskowitz is the kind of YA author I like. She writes in a way that is both smart and entertaining. These teens and their ailments felt real. The conversations between them were especially on point.

And for readers who love NYC, this book depicts it pretty well. ]]> 4.09 2019 Sick Kids in Love
author: Hannah Moskowitz
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/14
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction-read, new-york-city, young-adult, april
review:
This was so much better than Five Feet Apart. Not quite the same caliber as The Fault in Our Stars though.

Moskowitz is the kind of YA author I like. She writes in a way that is both smart and entertaining. These teens and their ailments felt real. The conversations between them were especially on point.

And for readers who love NYC, this book depicts it pretty well.
]]> <![CDATA[The Most Perfect Wrong (Chicago Series, #2)]]> 222824478
Ryan Brooks isn’t the kind of man who indulges in reckless flings, but from the moment he lays eyes on Cooper, something shifts. She’s magnetic, unpredictable, and impossible to forget.

Six months later, fate throws them back together in the same office, working side by side. What begins as flirtation quickly escalates into playful—and heated—tension. But Cooper’s in a toxic relationship, and Ryan’s situation is� complicated.

The more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore a connection that seems so right but feels impossibly wrong.

Still, there’s more to this story than temptation and forbidden lines. It’s about second chances, about realizing you are worthy of the love you never thought you deserved. About finding the courage to choose yourself, even when it feels impossible. Because sometimes, the most challenging paths lead to the most beautiful endings.

The Most Perfect Wrong is a steamy, slow-burn romance about unexpected connections, undeniable chemistry, and the complicated journey to finding yourself while navigating the delicate balance between right, wrong, and perfect.

This is the second book in an interconnected standalone series. While it can be read on its own, reading the series in order will provide a deeper appreciation of the characters' relationships.

This book is written in a dual POV, first-person narrative.

Content/Trigger Warning
This book contains strong language, mature content, and explicit romance scenes and is recommended for readers 18+. It also explores themes of emotional and psychological abuse, as well as infidelity.]]> Erin Cornia Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.49 2025 The Most Perfect Wrong (Chicago Series, #2)
author: Erin Cornia
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> If Tomorrow Never Comes 217087634 Fate connects two people in life-changing ways in a deeply romantic and emotional novel about hope and second chances by the author of Would You Rather and The Roommate Pact.

Uncertain of what tomorrow brings, Elliott Holland decides to live it up—on the eve of a stem cell transplant to treat her leukemia. It’s destiny when she crosses paths with handsome and charming Jamie Sullivan. The chemistry is magic. So is a beautiful evening that ends with a bittersweet kiss goodbye and no expectations of ever seeing each other again.

One year later, Elliott’s future looks good. Her cancer is in remission. Her career in graphic design is taking off. And she’s finally met Carly, the young woman whose stem cell donation gave Elliott a second chance at life. Then, in a twist of fate both blissful and unfair, she meets Carly’s boyfriend. It’s Jamie, the man Elliott kissed like it was her last day on earth. Neither of them has ever forgotten it.

Now, the most difficult decisions of all lie ahead. Whatever risks there are to the heart, one need wins to grab hold of everything that can make someone feel alive again.]]> 314 Allison Ashley 1662527268 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.02 2025 If Tomorrow Never Comes
author: Allison Ashley
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Becoming Chloe 229490 Until this girl comes along. She's 18 and blond and pretty--her world should be perfect. But she's seen things no one should ever see in their whole life--the kind of things that break a person. She doesn't seem broken, though. She seems . . . innocent. Like she doesn't know a whole lot. Only sometimes she does.
The one thing she knows for sure is that the world is an ugly place. Now her life may depend on Jordy proving her wrong. So they hit the road to discover the truth--and there's no going back from what they find out.
This deeply felt, redemptive novel reveals both the dark corners and hidden joys of life's journey--and the remarkable resilience of the human soul.]]> 215 Catherine Ryan Hyde 0375832580 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.78 2006 Becoming Chloe
author: Catherine Ryan Hyde
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The St. Ambrose School for Girls]]> 62919888
When Sarah Taylor arrives at the exclusive St. Ambrose School, she’s carrying more baggage than just what fits in her suitcase. She knows she’s not like the other girls—if the shabby, all-black, non-designer clothes don’t give that away, the bottle of lithium hidden in her desk drawer sure does.

St. Ambrose’s queen bee, Greta Stanhope, picks Sarah as a target from day one and the most popular, powerful, horrible girl at school is relentless in making sure Sarah knows what the pecking order is. Thankfully, Sarah makes an ally out of her roommate Ellen “Strots� Strotsberry, a cigarette-huffing, devil-may-care athlete who takes no bullshit. Also down the hall is Nick Hollis, the devastatingly handsome RA, and the object of more than one St. Ambrose student’s fantasies. Between Strots and Nick, Sarah hopes she can make it through the semester, dealing with not only her schoolwork and a recent bipolar diagnosis, but Greta’s increasingly malicious pranks.

Sarah is determined not to give Greta the satisfaction of breaking her. But when scandal unfolds, and someone ends up dead, her world threatens to unravel in ways she could never have imagined. The St. Ambrose School for Girls is a dangerous, delicious, twisty coming-of-age tale that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.]]> 358 Jessica Ward 1982194863 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.21 2023 The St. Ambrose School for Girls
author: Jessica Ward
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> When Crickets Cry 241387 A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.

It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest.

Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives.

Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry . . . and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.]]> 352 Charles Martin 1595540547 Nicole 0 to-read 4.25 2006 When Crickets Cry
author: Charles Martin
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Mountain Between Us 9636099 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

From the author of Where the River Ends, comes this page-turning story of love and survival.

On a stormy winter night, two strangers wait for a flight at the Salt Lake City airport.Ìý Ashley Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying East for her much anticipated wedding.Ìý Dr. Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to get back East for a slate of surgeries he has scheduled for the following day.ÌýÌý When the last outgoing flight is cancelled due to a broken de-icer and a forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection.ÌýÌý And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley knowing that she needs to get back just as urgently.ÌýÌý And then the unthinkable happens.Ìý The pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness-- one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States.Ìý
Ìý
Ben, who has broken ribs and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilot's dog, are faced with an incredibly harrowing battle to survive.ÌýÌý Fortunately, Ben is a medical professional and avid climber (and in a lucky break, has his gear from a climb earlier in the week).Ìý With little hope for rescue, he must nurse Ashley back to health and figure out how they are going to get off the mountain, where the temperature hovers in the teens.ÌýÌý Meanwhile, Ashley soon realizes that the very private Ben has some serious emotional wounds to heal as well.Ìý He explains to Ashley that he is separated from his beloved wife, but in a long standing tradition, he faithfully records messages for her on his voice recorder reflecting on their love affair.Ìý As Ashley eavesdrops on Ben's tender words to his estranged wife she comes to fear that when it comes to her own love story, she's just settling.Ìý And what's more: she begins to realize that the man she is really attracted to, the man she may love, is Ben.
Ìý
As the days on the mountains become weeks, their survival become increasingly perilous.Ìý How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever?
Ìý
Both a tender and page-turning read, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 336 Charles Martin 0767927028 Nicole 4
BUT how the story came together and in particular the ending made me give this 4 stars. Beautiful concept. And the values portrayed made me really happy. For those things alone, I highly recommend it. ]]> 4.13 2010 The Mountain Between Us
author: Charles Martin
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: fiction-read, christian-fiction
review:
I wasn’t crazy about this for majority of the book. I don’t enjoy survival stories. They are too suspenseful and harrowing for me. I also didn’t love the humor between the characters during their plight. It felt out of place and unrealistic.

BUT how the story came together and in particular the ending made me give this 4 stars. Beautiful concept. And the values portrayed made me really happy. For those things alone, I highly recommend it.
]]> Archer's Voice 32822135
Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.]]> 377 Mia Sheridan 1538727374 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.14 2014 Archer's Voice
author: Mia Sheridan
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Brink of Darkness (The Edge of Everything, #2)]]> 35715509
X is determined to break the lords' hold on him once and for all, but being stripped of his power pushes him toward a darkness he's never experienced and a past he's never known. The secrets that surface could be the key to reuniting X and Zoe... or they could mean the destruction of everything they have been fighting for.

Gripping and full of heart, this epic continuation of Jeff Giles' series - which already has rave reviews from New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia, Melissa de la Cruz, and Cassandra Clare, among others - will bring readers right to the edge of everything.]]> 341 Jeff Giles 1619637553 Nicole 0 currently-reading 3.98 2018 The Brink of Darkness (The Edge of Everything, #2)
author: Jeff Giles
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Edge of Everything (The Edge of Everything, #1)]]> 29566060 For the perfect love, what would you be willing to lose?

It’s been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who’s still reeling from her father's shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors� mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods—only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.

X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe’s evil attacker and others like him. X is forbidden from revealing himself to anyone other than his prey, but he casts aside the Lowlands� rules for Zoe. As they learn more about their colliding worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future.]]> 368 Jeff Giles 1619637537 Nicole 4 3.42 2017 The Edge of Everything (The Edge of Everything, #1)
author: Jeff Giles
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: april, fiction-read, march, ya-very-good, young-adult, montana
review:
This is some good YA storytelling! Why is this series not more popular? It’s got suspense, an interesting supernatural element, AND romance! What’s not to like? I already have the second book and I’m ready to start it! Highly recommended to all YA fans.
]]> <![CDATA[Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview]]> 278012 155 Albert M. Wolters 0802829694 Nicole 0 4.06 1985 Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview
author: Albert M. Wolters
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: to-read, christian-nonfiction-to-read
review:

]]> Teeth 12024430 A gritty, romantic modern fairy tale from the author of Break and Gone, Gone, Gone.

Be careful what you believe in.

Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house.

Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life.]]> 288 Hannah Moskowitz 1442465328 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.80 2013 Teeth
author: Hannah Moskowitz
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

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

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

***

“Where were you thinking of going?�
“N´Ç·É³ó±ð°ù±ð.â€�
“Great,� he says lightly, putting the car in gear. “Then we’ll go there.�

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

As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.]]> 368 Clare Osongco 1368101933 Nicole 0 to-read, dnf 4.18 2024 Midnights with You
author: Clare Osongco
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, dnf
review:
DNF at 29%. Beautiful cover but nothing special happens within its pages. At least from what I saw.
]]> Guy in Real Life 18599748
It is Labor Day weekend in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and boy and girl collide on a dark street at two thirty in the morning: Lesh, who wears black, listens to metal, and plays MMOs; Svetlana, who embroiders her skirts, listens to Björk and Berlioz, and dungeon masters her own RPG. They should pick themselves up, continue on their way, and never talk to each other again.

But they don't.

This is a story of two people who do not belong in each other's lives, who find each other at a time when they desperately need someone who doesn't belong in their lives. A story of those moments when we act like people we aren't in order to figure out who we are. A story of the roles we all play-at school, at home, with our friends, and without our friends-and the one person who might show us what lies underneath it all.]]> 405 Steve Brezenoff 0062266853 Nicole 0 to-read, dnf 3.40 2014 Guy in Real Life
author: Steve Brezenoff
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, dnf
review:
DNF at 41%. This got way too weird when male protagonist chose to play as a female in the game and modeled her after the girl he likes in real life. Like what?
]]> You Wouldn't Dare 60784552 A rom com about trying to have the summer of your life before everything changes - only to realize change might be exactly what you need...

When Juniper Nash Abreheart kissed Graham Isham for the first time, she had no idea it would nearly be the end of their friendship.

More specifically, she had no idea that the terrible, unforgivable thing she did to keep their summer fling a secret wouldn’t just ruin their friendship, but also Graham’s entire life. Now, months since the fallout, Junie and Graham spend most of their time sidestepping conversational landmines on the journey back to normalcy.

Junie is sure the strangeness between her and Graham is her biggest problem - until her mom hires Tallulah, her boyfriend’s surly teenage daughter, to work at their family café, and then announces they’ll all be moving in together at the end of the summer. The only bright spot ahead is Junie’s dad’s upcoming visit, just in time for her community theater production. And then poor turnout soon threatens that.

But when Junie starts to realize the feelings she swore to take care of last summer have lingered, saving her production and managing her hostile relationship with Tallulah might be the least of her problems. Graham isn’t just off limits - their friendship has been mended to barely withstand a breeze, and the gale force of Junie’s feelings could be just what breaks them.

Samantha Markum’s You Wouldn’t Dare is about the risks and triumphs that come with being brave enough to take a chance at what you really want, including love.]]> 368 Samantha Markum 1250846781 Nicole 0 to-read, young-adult-to-read 3.71 2023 You Wouldn't Dare
author: Samantha Markum
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, young-adult-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Two Wrongs Make a Right (The Wilmot Sisters, #1)]]> 60039565 Opposites become allies to fool their matchmaking friends in this swoony reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.

Jamie Westenberg and Bea Wilmot have nothing in common except a meet-disaster and the mutual understanding that they couldn’t be more wrong for each other. But when the people closest to them play Cupid and trick them into going on a date, Jamie and Bea realize they have something else in common after all—an undeniable need for revenge.

Soon their plan is in place: Fake date obnoxiously and convince the meddlers they’re madly in love. Then, break up spectacularly and dash everyone’s hopes, putting an end to the matchmaking madness once and for all.

To convince everyone that they’ve fallen for each other, Jamie and Bea will have to nail the performance of their lives. But as their final act nears and playing lovers becomes easier than not, they begin to wonder: What if Cupid’s arrow wasn’t so off the mark? And what if two wrongs do make a right?]]> 326 Chloe Liese 0593441508 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.78 2022 Two Wrongs Make a Right (The Wilmot Sisters, #1)
author: Chloe Liese
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (Hart and Mercy, #1)]]> 58510253
Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend�. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most � Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares � each other?]]> 449 Megan Bannen 0356518655 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.04 2022 The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (Hart and Mercy, #1)
author: Megan Bannen
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lovelight Farms (Lovelight, #1)]]> 122753311
A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, Stella enters a contest with Instagram-famous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, Stella might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on her application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only…there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just stopped by for some hot chocolate and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process. But fake dating his best friend might be the best Christmas present he’s ever received.]]> 332 B.K. Borison 0593641124 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.74 2021 Lovelight Farms (Lovelight, #1)
author: B.K. Borison
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cold-Hearted Rake (The Ravenels, #1)]]> 24431358 A twist of fate.

Devon Ravenel, London's most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl's three innocent sisters are still occupying the house—along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon's own.

A clash of wills.

Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows to do whatever it takes to possess her. As Kathleen finds herself yielding to his skillfully erotic seduction, only one question remains: can she keep from surrendering her heart to the most dangerous man she's ever known?]]> 419 Lisa Kleypas Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.82 2015 Cold-Hearted Rake (The Ravenels, #1)
author: Lisa Kleypas
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Long Shot (Hoops, #1) 86176366 480 Kennedy Ryan 1728284961 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.13 2018 Long Shot (Hoops, #1)
author: Kennedy Ryan
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/09
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Ghosted 36065344
She's a single mother, assistant manager at a grocery store, existing in monotony with her five-year-old daughter. Every day when she goes to work, lurid tabloids surround her, the face of a notorious bad boy haunting her from their covers.

A man and a woman, living vastly different lives, but that wasn't always the case. Once, they were just a boy and a girl who bonded over comic books and fell in love unexpectedly.

When Kennedy Garfield met Jonathan Cunningham back in high school, she knew he had all the makings of a tragic hero. With stars in his eyes, and her heart on her sleeve, the pair ran away together to follow their dreams.

But dreams, sometimes, turn into nightmares.

Now, years later, the only thing they share is a daughter—one who has no idea her father plays her favorite superhero. But Jonathan is desperate to make amends, and at the top of his list is the woman who gave up everything for him and the little girl he hasn't yet met.]]> 452 J.M. Darhower 1942206232 Nicole 0 currently-reading 3.95 2017 Ghosted
author: J.M. Darhower
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Wish You Were Here 32620360
Then Charlotte collides with Adam, a gorgeous and soulful painter who seems just as lost as she feels. Their instant connection turns into a midnight drink� and a whirlwind night of champagne, Chinese food, and the kind of conversation that only happens in romantic comedies. But the next morning, Adam gives Charlotte the cold shoulder, leaving her confused and hurt—and wondering if the few odd moments between them the night before were red flags in disguise.

Months later, Charlotte hasn’t been able to shake Adam, so she decides to find out what happened the morning after their magical night together. This fateful decision rewrites their wild love story, but what Charlotte doesn’t know yet is that the ending has already been written.]]> 320 Renee Carlino 1501105825 Nicole 4
I wasn’t totally sold on this at first. I’m not a believer in love at first sight. But I decided to just go with it as I considered the fact that nearly every romance is usually far-fetched. Once I did that I could just enjoy this for what it was.

This is my third by Carlino and I just like her writing. She creates really good side characters which is rare. Chucky and Helen, and even Roddy (although he didn’t have much of a role) were just classic. It was unsurprising then, to discover that Carlino is a screen writer. I would love to see her books turned into movies.]]> 3.97 2017 Wish You Were Here
author: Renee Carlino
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: april, california, fiction-read, march, romance
review:
One thing I have to say right off the bat about this one: You gotta stretch your imagination.

I wasn’t totally sold on this at first. I’m not a believer in love at first sight. But I decided to just go with it as I considered the fact that nearly every romance is usually far-fetched. Once I did that I could just enjoy this for what it was.

This is my third by Carlino and I just like her writing. She creates really good side characters which is rare. Chucky and Helen, and even Roddy (although he didn’t have much of a role) were just classic. It was unsurprising then, to discover that Carlino is a screen writer. I would love to see her books turned into movies.
]]> Awake & Alive: To Truth 55809214 127 John L. Cooper 1636843360 Nicole 5
I think I first saw Skillet perform when I was a teen with my youth group. I followed them some through my college years at a Christian university. I came across John’s podcast a few years ago and have watched several episodes. And now l have read his first book in my early 40’s.

Great to see John, his family, and Skillet still standing strong for Jesus! ]]> 4.44 2020 Awake & Alive: To Truth
author: John L. Cooper
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: christian-nonfiction, march, april
review:
Great disciplining tool! Read it for book club, youth group, or adult small group. John Cooper’s theology is spot on.

I think I first saw Skillet perform when I was a teen with my youth group. I followed them some through my college years at a Christian university. I came across John’s podcast a few years ago and have watched several episodes. And now l have read his first book in my early 40’s.

Great to see John, his family, and Skillet still standing strong for Jesus!
]]> The Last Letter 40045986
Beckett,

If you’re reading this, well, you know the last-letter drill. You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have.

I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride.

My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. It’s not fair.

And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart. She’s going to need help.

So if I’m gone, that means I can’t be there for Ella. I can’t help them through this. But you can. So I’m begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family.

Please don’t make her go through it alone.

Ryan]]> 426 Rebecca Yarros 1640635335 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.43 2019 The Last Letter
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/05
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Someday Daughter 158649467
Years before Audrey St. Vrain was born, her mother, Camilla, shot to fame with Letters to My Someday Daughter, a self-help book encouraging women to treat themselves with the same love and care they’d treat their own daughters. While the world considers Audrey lucky to have Camilla for a mother, the truth is that Audrey knows a different side of being the someday daughter. Shipped off to boarding school when she was eleven, she feels more like a promotional tool than a member of Camilla’s family.

Audrey is determined to create her own identity aside from being Camilla’s daughter, and she’s looking forward to a prestigious summer premed program with her boyfriend before heading to college and finally breaking free from her mother’s world. But when Camilla asks Audrey to go on tour with her to promote the book’s anniversary, Audrey can’t help but think that this is the last, best chance to figure out how they fit into each other’s lives—not as the someday daughter and someday mother, but as themselves, just as they are.

What Audrey doesn’t know is that spending the summer with Camilla and her tour staff—including the disarmingly honest, distressingly cute video intern, Silas—will upset everything she’s so carefully planned for her life.]]> 336 Ellen O'Clover 0063255081 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.86 2024 The Someday Daughter
author: Ellen O'Clover
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Love, Off the Record 181696373
Wyn is going to beat Three even if it kills her—or, preferably, him. Being freshmen staffers on the university newspaper puts them at the bottom of the pecking order—until a rare reporter spot opens up. Wyn and Three are both determined to get the position, starting a game of sabotage that pushes them to do their worst, from stealing each other’s ideas to playing twisted mind games. No road is too low when it comes to winning.

As Wyn’s search for the perfect story leads her to an anonymous, campus-wide dating app, she hits it off with a mystery man she thinks might be the cute RA from her dorm. But Wyn is all too familiar with being rejected because of her weight, and she’s hesitant to reveal her identity, even as she grows closer with someone who might be the guy of her dreams.

When Three breaks a story that’s closer to home than he or Wyn expects, the two must put aside their differences to expose the truth—and face their real feelings for each other, which threaten everything Wyn has built with her anonymous match.]]> Samantha Markum Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.03 2024 Love, Off the Record
author: Samantha Markum
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Just Some Stupid Love Story: A sparkling opposites-attract rom-com!]]> 212343430 For fans of Emily Henry, a debut about a rom-com screenwriter who doesn't believe in love and a divorce attorney who does, forced together at their high school reunion fifteen years after their breakup

Molly Marks writes Hollywood rom-coms for a living—which is how she knows “romance� is a racket. The one and only time she was naive enough to fall in love was with her high school boyfriend, Seth—who she ghosted on the eve of graduation and hasn’t seen in fifteen years.

Seth Rubinstein believes in love, the grand, fated kind, despite his job as, well…one of Chicago’s most successful divorce attorneys. Over the last decade, he’s sought “the one� in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there. But so far, no one can compare to Molly Marks, the first girl who broke his heart.

When Molly’s friends drag her to Florida for their fifteenth high school reunion, it is poetic justice that she’s forced to sit with Seth. Too many martinis and a drunken hookup later, they decide to make a whoever can predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion must declare that the other is right about true love. The catch? The fifth couple is the two of them.

Molly assures Seth they are a tale of timeless heartbreak. Seth promises she’ll end up hopelessly in love with him. She thinks he’s delusional. He has five years to prove her wrong.

Wickedly funny, sexy, and brimming with laughs and heart like the best romantic comedies, Just Some Stupid Love Story is for everyone who believes in soulmates—even if they would never admit it.]]> 336 Katelyn Doyle 0349440239 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.61 2024 Just Some Stupid Love Story: A sparkling opposites-attract rom-com!
author: Katelyn Doyle
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)]]> 8755785
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!]]> 725 Cassandra Clare 1481426303 Nicole 4 Still great but one complaint: I feel the Blackthorns introduction slowed this one down. I love Emma and Jules, but I didn’t need the characters of TDA taking up space here when they have would have a whole series for themselves.


Re-read 2020:
Great conclusion. It has become my favorite series.


First Review 2018:
I am seriously bummed to see the end of the Mortal Instruments. I just have to rave about these books. I would say this is my favorite series alongside Harry Potter. What a fascinating, addicting world Clare created! I grew to love these characters so much: Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Magnus, Jocelyn, and Luke. The only characters I didn’t really care about were Maia and the newly introduced Blackthorn children and Emma Carstairs. I hated to be torn away from the storylines of the former characters with these other people. I am honestly reluctant to start any other book for fear of it not being near as captivating and enjoyable as these books were.]]> 4.38 2014 City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/25
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: fiction-read, fantasy, young-adult, may, ya-best-of-the-best, ya-2022, favorite-all-time, 4-star, read-four-times
review:
Re-read 2022:
Still great but one complaint: I feel the Blackthorns introduction slowed this one down. I love Emma and Jules, but I didn’t need the characters of TDA taking up space here when they have would have a whole series for themselves.


Re-read 2020:
Great conclusion. It has become my favorite series.


First Review 2018:
I am seriously bummed to see the end of the Mortal Instruments. I just have to rave about these books. I would say this is my favorite series alongside Harry Potter. What a fascinating, addicting world Clare created! I grew to love these characters so much: Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Magnus, Jocelyn, and Luke. The only characters I didn’t really care about were Maia and the newly introduced Blackthorn children and Emma Carstairs. I hated to be torn away from the storylines of the former characters with these other people. I am honestly reluctant to start any other book for fear of it not being near as captivating and enjoyable as these books were.
]]> The Book of Ruth 5187 328 Jane Hamilton 0385265700 Nicole 3 3.86 1988 The Book of Ruth
author: Jane Hamilton
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/28
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: fiction-read, march, may, illinois, literary-fiction, april
review:
Well, I didn’t see that coming. This a tragedy and that’s all I will say. It’s a book worth reading if you can deal with its sadness.
]]> <![CDATA[Written in Red (The Others, #1)]]> 15711341 cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.]]> 433 Anne Bishop 0451464966 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.22 2013 Written in Red (The Others, #1)
author: Anne Bishop
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)]]> 38619 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780441014897.

Ilona Andrews invites you to experience the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring the intriguing fantasy world of mercenary Kate Daniels�

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…]]> 260 Ilona Andrews Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.06 2007 Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> A Whole Life 26853635 160 Robert Seethaler 1447283902 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.99 2014 A Whole Life
author: Robert Seethaler
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Kingdom's Reign (Kingdom, #6) 1133398 Only the King can save them�

While the Knights of the Prince train in the Kingdom Across the Sea, the Dark Knight, Lucius, reigns in Arrethtrae with complete authority. But when a small group of loyalists swears allegiance to the King, the Prince returns, and in a mighty battle, Lucius and the Shadow Warriors are vanquished and imprisoned in the Wasteland.

Peace and prosperity renew the land, and the Prince rules from the royal city of Chessington. While the heroic Cedric travels as ambassador, he sees that every corner of Arrethtrae reaps the benefits of prosperity brought to the land by the Prince’s reign.

But not everyone will swear allegiance to the King, and it seems this paradise may be lost yet again because of the pride and greed of evil men who plot to free the Dark Knight and his minions. Cedric rides desperately to bring the news before it’s too late�

Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil–where the King reigns…along with His Son!]]> 176 Chuck Black 1590526821 Nicole 0 4.30 2003 Kingdom's Reign (Kingdom, #6)
author: Chuck Black
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read, christian-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> Kingdom's Quest (Kingdom, #5) 1953964 A quest to bring hope to the kingdom�

Having narrowly escaped death at the hands of the evil Shadow Warriors, Sir Gavin is given a new name by the Prince to signify his new allegiance–to the cause of the one he once swore to kill. Called to share this message to everyone in the land of Arrethtrae, Sir Gavinaugh takes up his sword and embarks on an epic journey.

Winning hearts and minds with the power of his words and his skill with a sword, Gavinaugh travels from one end of the kingdom to the other, telling Outdwellers about the Prince, convincing them to join him. And though Gavinaugh is at times beaten, thrown in prison, or stranded far from home, the Prince himself guides his words, his sword, and his pilgrimage.

Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil–and the Prince’s chosen messenger speaks boldly of his quest.]]> 176 Chuck Black 1590527496 Nicole 0 4.32 2007 Kingdom's Quest (Kingdom, #5)
author: Chuck Black
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read, christian-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> Kingdom's Call (Kingdom, #4) 620750 A sworn enemy of the Prince vows to eliminate his Followers.
Until the Prince saves his life�

For generations the Noble Knights have been in service to the King. Following a strict code of conduct, they preserve the peace in Chessington, the King’s chosen city, and rule its citizenry. Sir Gavin is a young and promising Noble Knight, devoted to King and Code.

Then a peasant disrupts the tranquility of Chessington, brazenly challenging the Code while claiming to be the son of the King–a Prince. When it is learned that he is actively training a force of men in defiance of the law, the stranger is arrested and executed.

But his Followers continue to defy the Code, and Sir Gavin swears to destroy this threat to Chessington–until he himself is grievously wounded in battle. As he faces his own death, Gavin is saved by someone who will transform his heart and change his life�

Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil–and one brave man stands against the Dark Knight.]]> 160 Chuck Black 159052750X Nicole 0 4.28 2007 Kingdom's Call (Kingdom, #4)
author: Chuck Black
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read, christian-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Flat-Out Love (Flat-Out Love, #1)]]> 15994590 Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.

It's not what you know - or when you see - that matters. It's about a journey.

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it. When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well ... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.

Flat-Out Love comes complete with emails, Facebook status updates, and instant messages.]]> 355 Jessica Park 1477860258 Nicole 0 to-read 3.98 2011 Flat-Out Love (Flat-Out Love, #1)
author: Jessica Park
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:
DNF 25%. This seemed more about the mystery behind Celeste’s quirkiness rather than the budding relationship between the MC and Celeste’s older brother Finn.
]]> Next of Kin (Next, #1) 107525389
Enter Warren, a surly mechanic’s apprentice attempting to get custody of his deaf fifteen-year-old brother after failing CPS� housing evaluation. The two strangers immediately clash but agree to live together until Warren can find housing elsewhere and Chloe can further grow her freelance career.

As their lives intertwine, Chloe and Warren both realise that they’re far more similar than they could have imagined. What started as forced begins to feel natural—and far less lonely. Chemistry soon intensifies beyond what either of them can stand, but they must each decide if what burns between them is worth risking their arrangement and, ultimately, the well-being of their siblings.

With banter, heart, and steam that will have the reader blushing, Next of Kin is a true underdog story of two young adults redefining what family can look like.]]> 295 Hannah Bonam-Young Nicole 2 fiction-read, march, romance

Original review:
Several aspects of this plot held a lot of promise. There were some moments in the beginning and the end that demonstrated that. But honestly the entire middle had nothing to offer.]]> 3.71 2022 Next of Kin (Next, #1)
author: Hannah Bonam-Young
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: fiction-read, march, romance
review:
Update: After further thought, I’m bringing this down to 2 stars. It really wasn’t very good. (Original review I gave it 3).


Original review:
Several aspects of this plot held a lot of promise. There were some moments in the beginning and the end that demonstrated that. But honestly the entire middle had nothing to offer.
]]> <![CDATA[Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1)]]> 61827543 Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective� work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could � because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands � Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.]]> 339 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593549228 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.01 2023 Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1)
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1)]]> 46019039 Alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here

The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now?
Ìý
She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.
Ìý
Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He's way out of Corey's league.
Ìý
Also, he's taken.
Ìý
Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.
Ìý
They're just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she's falling. Hard.
Ìý
But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won't, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness -- one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who's afraid to love her back.]]> 274 Sarina Bowen Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.85 2014 The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1)
author: Sarina Bowen
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices, #3)]]> 13541056
Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of theÌýparabataiÌýcurse destroys them and everyone they love.]]> 893 Cassandra Clare 1442468459 Nicole 4
First read: After completing a second series of Clare, I look forward to reading another. The Infernal Devices will be next. I have officially become an urban fantasy fan.]]> 4.32 2018 Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices, #3)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/14
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: fiction-read, young-adult, ya-2019, re-reads, ya-2022, honorable-mentions-ya, ya-very-good, 4-star, march
review:
Re-read: This was a lot slower the second time around. I feel like there are too many characters in this series. I adore Emma and Julian. I wished I could have had more of them rather than the storyline of Gywn and Diana.

First read: After completing a second series of Clare, I look forward to reading another. The Infernal Devices will be next. I have officially become an urban fantasy fan.
]]> <![CDATA[Gracie Harris Is Under Construction]]> 220999078
Gracie Harris never intended to become the queen of grief. But when an essay she writes the night of her husband Ben’s memorial goes viral, she lands a popular column on love and loss and an impressive book deal.

Now, the biggest tragedy of her life is the center of her world. With a looming book deadline and her kids at summer camp, Gracie escapes for a summer of solitude to the ramshackle mountain house she and Ben bought for their family before his death. When charming contractor Josh arrives on her doorstep to help renovate the home, Gracie discovers an unexpected connection that is energizing . . . and surprisingly flirtatious.

As her feelings and resilience grow, Gracie must decide whether she’s ready to embrace a new version of her life. Gracie’s first Happily Ever After didn’t last as long as she’d expected. Now she has to wonder: Could Josh be her chance for a second great love story?]]> 368 Kate Hash Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.32 Gracie Harris Is Under Construction
author: Kate Hash
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)]]> 43204703 here.

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.]]> 484 Brigid Kemmerer 1681195089 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.94 2019 A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)
author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> House of Hollow 54613751
Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous � and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.]]> 292 Krystal Sutherland 059311034X Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.03 2021 House of Hollow
author: Krystal Sutherland
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Radio Silence 30653843 You probably think that Aled Last and I are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and I am a girl.

I just wanted to say—we don’t.

Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. When she’s not studying, she’s up in her room making fan art for her favorite podcast, Universe City.

Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. But no one knows he’s the creator of Universe City, who goes by the name Radio Silence.

When Frances gets a message from Radio Silence asking if she’ll collaborate with him, everything changes. Frances and Aled spend an entire summer working together and becoming best friends. They get each other when no one else does.

But when Aled’s identity as Radio Silence is revealed, Frances fears that the future of Universe City—and their friendship—is at risk. Aled helped her find her voice. Without him, will she have the courage to show the world who she really is? Or will she be met with radio silence?]]> 476 Alice Oseman 0062335715 Nicole 3 4.12 2016 Radio Silence
author: Alice Oseman
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/01
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: fiction-read, ya-2020, young-adult, february, january
review:
I see why this is a big hit with readers, particularly those who are into fandom. I’m not really so I wasn’t overexcited about it. I was charmed by Aled and Francis� friendship. I think most people have had that deep non-romantic connection with someone at some point in their lives...where you feel like one person in two bodies. So that aspect of the story was really endearing. Other than that, I thought it was just a slightly above average read.
]]> Kingdom's Dawn (Kingdom, #1) 352828 In Kingdom's Dawn , Leinad and Tess, along with all the king's people, must escape slavery by the powerful Lord Fairos. Kingdom's Hope finds them free and arriving in the Chessington Valley.
But when they forget the king, will Kergon and the Kessons capture them for good? After many years, Kingdom's Edge finds Cedric living a hopeless life until a stranger appears with powerful words of a new kingdom and a grand army.
Finally, Kingdom's Reign marches you through the danger of earth's last days as the evil dark knight threatens to defeat the prince once and for all.
Swords, knights, and battles define these captivating tales that parallel biblical events from Genesis to Revelation!]]> 160 Chuck Black 1590526791 Nicole 4 3.92 2001 Kingdom's Dawn (Kingdom, #1)
author: Chuck Black
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: fiction-read, march, christian-fiction
review:
A quick and enjoyable tale of young Leinad and his journey of being called by the King. Great Christian material for young adults and adults alike. I’m ordering the next book in the series.
]]> <![CDATA[We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine]]> 207611500 A revolutionary new offering from Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, renowned psychologist and author of the global bestseller 12 Rules for Life.In We Who Wrestle with God, Dr. Peterson guides us through the ancient, foundational stories of the Western world. In riveting detail, he analyzes the Biblical accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering, and triumph that stabilize, inspire, and unite us culturally and psychologically. Adam and Eve and the eternal fall of mankind; the resentful and ultimately murderous war of Cain and Abel; the cataclysmic flood of Noah; the spectacular collapse of the Tower of Babel; Abraham’s terrible adventure; and the epic of Moses and the Israelites.Ìý What could such stories possibly mean? What force wrote and assembled them over the long centuries? How did they bring our spirits and the world together, and point us in the same direction?ÌýÌýIt is time for us to understand such things, scientifically and spiritually; to become conscious of the structure of our souls and our societies; and to see ourselves and others as if for the first time.ÌýÌýÌýJoin Elijah as he discovers the Voice of God in the dictates of his own conscience and Jonah confronting hell itself in the belly of the whale because he failed to listen and act. Set yourself straight in intent, aim, and purpose as you begin to more deeply understand the structure of your society and your soul. Journey with Dr. Peterson through the greatest stories ever told.ÌýÌýDare to wrestle with God.]]> 576 Jordan B. Peterson 0593542533 Nicole 0 to-read, nonfiction-to-read 3.91 2024 We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine
author: Jordan B. Peterson
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read, nonfiction-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, #4)]]> 17378527
All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.]]> 439 Maggie Stiefvater 0545424984 Nicole 3 Upped it to 3 stars. Henry was a great addition to the cast. I wish he would have appeared sooner. Still don’t love this book though.

Third read:
Still only 2 stars. The ending was satisfying but the rest of it was still disappointing.


Re-read 2021:
I could only bump this one up to 2 stars after a re-read. I wasn’t as frustrated with it this time around, but it was an unsatisfactory conclusion to the series. Raven King still felt really random with everything jumbled together. Steifvater is a good writer but didn’t seem to know where this series was going.


First read 2017:
What a mess of a book! The Raven Cycle started out quite good with the first book but went downhill from there. Stiefvater was all over the place in this one. I continued to like the characters but the storyline was chaotic and uninteresting. I am really disappointed with this series.]]> 4.26 2016 The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, #4)
author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: fiction-read, young-adult, ya-2017, january, december, november, read-three-times, virginia, 2-star
review:
Fourth read:
Upped it to 3 stars. Henry was a great addition to the cast. I wish he would have appeared sooner. Still don’t love this book though.

Third read:
Still only 2 stars. The ending was satisfying but the rest of it was still disappointing.


Re-read 2021:
I could only bump this one up to 2 stars after a re-read. I wasn’t as frustrated with it this time around, but it was an unsatisfactory conclusion to the series. Raven King still felt really random with everything jumbled together. Steifvater is a good writer but didn’t seem to know where this series was going.


First read 2017:
What a mess of a book! The Raven Cycle started out quite good with the first book but went downhill from there. Stiefvater was all over the place in this one. I continued to like the characters but the storyline was chaotic and uninteresting. I am really disappointed with this series.
]]> The Two of Us 123160766
If there’s no place like home, that’s more than okay for Mara Makinen. In fact, she prefers it that way. Going back to the place where she made the worst mistake of her life? Not ideal.

So when a family emergency forces Mara to return home to her small lake town in Maine after seven years, she knows there’s only one way she’ll get through it unscathed: Avoid Ambrose King at all costs.

But that might prove difficult considering he lives right across the street.]]> 349 Taylor Torres Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.03 The Two of Us
author: Taylor Torres
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Thing with Feathers 29325285
Then Emilie’s mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj’s to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn’t told anyone about her epilepsy.

Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she’ll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet’s advice and “dwell in possibility.â€]]> 304 McCall Hoyle 0310758513 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.86 2017 The Thing with Feathers
author: McCall Hoyle
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[When My Heart Joins the Thousand]]> 35098416 Obviously I’m not what most people would describe as happy. But that has nothing to do with anything. Happiness is not a priority. Survival is.

Alvie Fitz doesn’t fit in, and she doesn’t care. She’s spent years swallowing meds and bad advice from doctors and social workers. Adjust, adapt. Pretend to be normal. It sounds so easy.

If she can make it to her eighteenth birthday without any major mishaps, she’ll be legally emancipated. Free. But if she fails, she’ll become a ward of the state and be sent back to the group home.

All she wants is to be left alone to spend time with her friend, Chance, the one-winged hawk at the zoo where she works. She can bide her time with him until her emancipation. Humans are overrated anyway. Then she meets Stanley, a boy who might be even stranger than she is—a boy who walks with a cane, who turns up every day with a new injury, whose body seems as fragile as glass. Without even meaning to, she finds herself getting close to him. But Alvie remembers what happened to the last person she truly cared about.

Her past stalks her with every step, and it has sharp teeth. But if she can find the strength to face the enemy inside her, maybe she’ll have a chance at happiness after all.]]> 352 A.J. Steiger 0062656473 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.04 2018 When My Heart Joins the Thousand
author: A.J. Steiger
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend]]> 17450338 326 Becca Ann 1481924060 Nicole 0 to-read, dnf
Nice idea but reads as if it was written by a high schooler ]]> 3.58 2013 Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend
author: Becca Ann
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read, dnf
review:
DNF 30%

Nice idea but reads as if it was written by a high schooler
]]> A Thousand Miles 59089883 After a decade of silence, Dee and Ben reunite for a road trip they once promised to take. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Dee Matthews is the cohost of the smash-hit podcast Did I Forget To Tell You?, where she interviews family, friends, and past lovers. Nothing is off limits, except for one man (known on the show only as Name Redacted) who happens to be her high school best friend Ben. During their senior year spring break, Dee and Ben took a road trip to visit Ben's grandma. They buried a time capsule in her backyard, pledging to return in ten years to open it. Then their friendship fell apart in spectacular fashion. They haven't spoken to each other since.

Ben Porter's life since that moment has been unexciting but comfortable, until his grandma reveals a family secret that flips his whole world upside down. Her dying wish is for him to stop doing what is safest and go after what he really wants. He starts by showing up on Dee's doorstep with every intention of fulfilling their long-ago promise. Despite her reservations, Dee can't say no. This trip could be her chance to give her listeners the Name Redacted interview they've been begging for--and finally put her unresolved feelings for Ben to rest.

As the miles fly by, Dee and Ben's friendship reignites. But the closer they get to reaching their destination, the more apparent it becomes that their attraction to each other cannot be ignored. Their last adventure ended in disaster, and they're about to find out if any hope of a future together is in the rear view mirror.]]> 368 Bridget Morrissey 0593201175 Nicole 2 3.52 2022 A Thousand Miles
author: Bridget Morrissey
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: february, fiction-read, january, march, romance
review:
This is only getting a 2 because there was nothing I explicitly hated about it. But this was so very boring that I started to get actually annoyed about it. There is no chemistry and no funny moments. Yet it tried to present itself as a rom com. And the sad thing is that it had every opportunity to be the kind of story I loved. But it failed in every way.
]]> Rites of Passage 18285437
So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty... no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active� and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust... and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.]]> 416 Joy N. Hensley 0062295195 Nicole 0 dnf, to-read 3.96 2014 Rites of Passage
author: Joy N. Hensley
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: dnf, to-read
review:
DNF at 48%. Time to give up when you finally accept that the book failed to evoke any of your interest after 200 pages.
]]> The Wedding People 198902277 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781250899576.

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.]]> 384 Alison Espach Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.11 2024 The Wedding People
author: Alison Espach
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Underwater 21945590 “Forgiving you will allow me to forgive myself.�

Morgan didn’t mean to do anything wrong that day. Actually, she meant to do something right. But her kind act inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy. In order to move on, Morgan must learn to forgive—first someone who did something that might be unforgivable, and then herself.

But Morgan can’t move on. She can’t even move beyond the front door of the apartment she shares with her mother and little brother. Morgan feels like she’s underwater, unable to surface. Unable to see her friends. Unable to go to school.

When it seems Morgan can’t hold her breath any longer, a new boy moves in next door. Evan reminds her of the salty ocean air and the rush she used to get from swimming. He might be just what she needs to help her reconnect with the world outside.]]> 288 Marisa Reichardt 0374368864 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.04 2016 Underwater
author: Marisa Reichardt
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[They're Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd]]> 63047122
Award-winning investigative journalist Liz Collin sets the record straight. She uncovers what really happened on a street in Minneapolis that set off the riots, the demands to defund the police, and the skyrocketing crime across the country. Based on conversations with those who were there—including Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, and other Minneapolis police officers who’ve never spoken out before—Liz exposes how the media and the Left manipulated the facts to dupe and divide America.

In between, she explains how her life was turned upside down. Liz was a familiar face on the news in the Twin Cities. Her husband, Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis police union, was personally blamed for the rioting by Mayor Jacob Frey, the ACLU, and so many others. Liz and Bob were attacked by social media mobs and cancel-culture vultures. Amid all the chaos, she watched so-called civil-rights leaders, politicians, and activists protest on her front lawn.

This book also reveals some of the cover-ups, collusion, and hidden political connections in Minneapolis. It points out those who turned Minnesota nice into Minnesota naïve—and the “leaders� who could have stopped the insanity and given civility a chance. But most of all, it tells the truth about how the media and the Left have been lying to us all...]]> 275 Liz Collin Nicole 0 to-read, non-fiction-read 4.48 2022 They're Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd
author: Liz Collin
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, non-fiction-read
review:

]]> The Breakup Artists 201794248
August and Valentine, seventeen-year-old best friends, run a business called Summer Love, Inc. They hire themselves out to unhappy parents whose kids are in bad relationships, adopting fake identities and going undercover to break up these relationships by any means necessary.

Valentine, the brains of the operation, believes that they're making the world a better place by steering people away from a relationship precipice so they can someday find true love. But for August, every case is personal--another chance to prove that true love doesn't exist. He blames his sister's manipulative boyfriend for her death, and--unlike Valentine--he doesn't believe in soul mates. No, he thinks the idea of falling head over heels is ridiculous at any age.

But then August meets Ella, who suddenly turns everything he thought he believed about love upside down. The problem is that she's their new case, which means that everything he's told her about himself is a lie--including his name.]]> 368 Adriana Mather Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.07 2024 The Breakup Artists
author: Adriana Mather
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> In the Orbit of You 127305939
Sam Jordan has a plan for his accept his college football scholarship, date his girlfriend Abigail, and―most importantly―hide how much he wants to do something, anything other than The Plan� his parents and coaches have set before him. It doesn't matter if sometimes he finds himself thinking about the new girl he met in the cafeteria, a girl who reminds him of a past that hurts to remember.

When a school-wide personality test reveals Nova and Sam to be each others' top matches―not only that, but a match of 99%, the highest in the school―they begin to remember why they were such close friends, all those years ago. As well as the myriad of reasons this new-yet-familiar, magnetic, sparkling thing between them will never, ever work out.

In the Orbit of You is a story about the enduring and changing nature of friendship, of the strange struggle between who you are and who you want to be, and finding your voice after trauma.]]> 320 Ashley Schumacher 125088604X Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.67 2024 In the Orbit of You
author: Ashley Schumacher
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Calculation of You and Me 195886398 A calculus nerd enlists her surly classmate’s help to win back her ex-boyfriend, but when sparks start to fly, she realizes there’s no algorithm for falling in love.

Marlowe Thompson understands a lot of things. She understands that calculus isn’t overwhelmingly beautiful to everyone, and that it typically kills the mood when you try to talk Python coding over beer pong. She understands people were surprised when golden boy Josh asked her out and she went from weird, math-obsessed Marlowe to half of their school’s couple goals. Unfortunately, Marlowe was surprised when Josh dumped her because he’d prefer a girlfriend who was more romantic. One with emotional depth.

But Marlowe has never failed anything in her life, and she isn’t about to start now. When she’s paired with Ashton Hayes for an English project, his black clothing and moody eyeliner cause a bit of a systems overload, and the dissonant sounds of his rock band make her brain itch. But when she discovers Ash's hidden stash of love songs, Marlowe makes a desperate deal to unleash her inner romantic heroine: if Ash will agree to help her write some love letters, she’ll calculate the perfect data analytics formula to make Ash's band go viral.

As the semester heats up with yearning love notes and late nights spent with a boy who escapes any box her brain tries to put him in, Marlowe starts to question if there’s really a set solution to love. Could a girl who has never met a problem she couldn’t solve have gotten the math so massively wrong?]]> 304 Serena Kaylor 1250908701 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.88 2024 The Calculation of You and Me
author: Serena Kaylor
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The In Between 55643284
After bouncing around in foster homes for most of her childhood, seventeen-year-old Tessa Jacobs doesn’t believe she deserves love—not from her adoptive parents, and certainly not from anyone at school.

But everything changes when she has a chance encounter with Skylar, a senior from a neighboring town who’s a true romantic. Their budding relationship quickly leads to the kind of passion you only see in the movies. As her heart begins to open, Tessa starts to believe she might be deserving of love after all.

When tragedy strikes, Tessa wakes up alone in a hospital room with no memory of how she got there. And then she learns the horrifying news: Skylar is dead. As Tessa searches for answers, Skylar’s spirit reaches out to her from the other side. Desperate to see him one last time, Tessa must race against the clock to uncover the shocking truth of their relationship—a truth that might just lead to the afterlife itself.]]> 304 Marc Klein 031645771X Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.68 2021 The In Between
author: Marc Klein
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> The Shell Seekers 37095 The Shell Seekers, is now worth a small fortune, it is Penelope who must make the decisions that will determine whether her family can continue to survive as a family, or be split apart.]]> 544 Rosamunde Pilcher 051722285X Nicole 0 4.16 1987 The Shell Seekers
author: Rosamunde Pilcher
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, literary-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> The Fall 479669 442 Simon Mawer 0349116520 Nicole 0 4.00 2003 The Fall
author: Simon Mawer
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: to-read, literary-fiction-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[If Tomorrow Comes (Tracy Whitney, #1)]]> 14554 501 Sidney Sheldon 0006479677 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.07 1985 If Tomorrow Comes (Tracy Whitney, #1)
author: Sidney Sheldon
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Castle School (for Troubled Girls)]]> 53338683
On her first night there, Moira hears distant music. On her second, she discovers the lock on her window is broken. On her third, she and her roommate venture outside...and learn that they're not so isolated after all. There's another, very different, Castle School nearby―this one filled with boys whose parents sent them away, too.

Moira is convinced that the Castle Schools and the doctors who run them are hiding something. But exploring the schools will force Moira to confront her overwhelming grief―and the real reasons her parents sent her away.]]> 400 Alyssa B. Sheinmel 172822098X Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.88 2021 The Castle School (for Troubled Girls)
author: Alyssa B. Sheinmel
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Six More Months of June 198902268
Golden boy Caplan and bookish Mina have been unlikely soulmates since third grade. Bound by growing up in single-mother households on the same cul-de-sac in Two Docks, Michigan, their friendship exists miraculously outside their high school’s social order. Mina is class valedictorian, expected by her late father’s parents to attend his Ivy alma mater; Caplan is laughing off prom-king predictions and the fear that he’s peaking too soon.

When Cap’s skateboard-toting, detention-dodging best friend confesses his feelings for Mina, she is whisked into a social life she never imagined, bumping shoulders with the likes of Caplan’s queen-bee girlfriend. Caplan is determined that things stay just as they’ve always been, while Mina faces the perils and privileges of opening her heart just in time to say goodbye.

As the sun sets on senior year, everything glows. What will Cap and Mina discover in the last-chance light?]]> 304 Daisy Garrison 1250348676 Nicole 4 3.72 2024 Six More Months of June
author: Daisy Garrison
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: favorite-all-time, fiction-read, march, michigan, ya-best-of-the-best, young-adult
review:
I finished this in one day. That’s how good this was. I can’t remember the last time I did that. It’s early to say, but this very well could be my favorite book of the year.
]]> Not After Everything 18520658 A gritty but hopeful love story about two struggling teens�
great for fans ofÌýThe Spectacular Now, Willow, and Eleanor and Park

Tyler has a football scholarship to Stanford, a hot girlfriend, and a reliable army of friends to party with. Then his mom kills herself. And Tyler lets it all go. Now he needs to dodge what his dad is offering (verbal tirades and abuse) and earn what his dad isn’t (money). Tyler finds a job that crashes him into Jordyn, his former childhood friend turned angry-loner goth-girl. She brings Tyler an unexpected reprieve from the never-ending pity party his life has become. How could he not fall for her? But with his dad more brutally unpredictable than ever, Tyler knows he can’t risk bringing Jordyn too deeply into the chaos. So when violence rocks his world again, will it be Jordyn who shows him the way to a hopeful future? Or after everything, will Tyler have to find it in himself?]]> 245 Michelle Levy 0698162811 Nicole 4 3.94 2015 Not After Everything
author: Michelle Levy
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: 4-star, colorado, fiction-read, march, young-adult, favorite-all-time, ya-best-of-the-best
review:
Fantastic! This is the exactly the type of YA book I search high and low for. Definitely will be among my top favorites for sure. I’m so bummed this is her only book. I look forward to re-reading this again someday. Probably sooner rather than later.
]]> Cane River 5167 A New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick-the unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana.

Beginning with her great-great-great-great grandmother, a slave owned by a Creole family, Lalita Tademy chronicles four generations of strong, determined black women as they battle injustice to unite their family and forge success on their own terms. They are women whose lives begin in slavery, who weather the Civil War, and who grapple with contradictions of emancipation, Jim Crow, and the pre-Civil Rights South. As she peels back layers of racial and cultural attitudes, Tademy paints a remarkable picture of rural Louisiana and the resilient spirit of one unforgettable family.

There is Elisabeth, who bears both a proud legacy and the yoke of bondage... her youngest daughter, Suzette, who is the first to discover the promise-and heartbreak-of freedom... Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene, who uses a determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence... and Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, who fights to secure her children's just due and preserve their dignity and future.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Cane River presents a slice of American history never before seen in such piercing and personal detail.

]]> 522 Lalita Tademy 0446678457 Nicole 0 currently-reading 4.08 2001 Cane River
author: Lalita Tademy
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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

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

Miles sees right through her though. Turns out, he knows a lot about grief and, surprisingly, he offers her a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again� list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the Lou has left behind, but she begins to spend more time with Miles, Lenny is surprised to discover that, sometimes, losing everything is only the first step to finding yourself, and love, again.]]> 416 Cara Bastone 0593595734 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 4.23 2025 Promise Me Sunshine
author: Cara Bastone
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Perfectly Good White Boy 18588767 You never know where we'll end up. There's so much possibility in life, you know? Hallie said. Sean Norwhalt can read between the lines. He knows Hallie's just dumped him. He was a perfectly good summer boyfriend, but now she's off to college, and he's still got another year to go. Her pep talk about futures and possibilities isn't exactly comforting. Sean's pretty sure he's seen his future and its possibilities, and they all look DISPOSABLE. Like the crappy rental his family moved into when his dad left. Like all the unwanted filthy old clothes he stuffs into the rag baler at his thrift-store job. Like everything good he's ever known. The only hopeful possibilities in Sean's life are the Marine Corps, where no one expected he'd go, and Neecie Albertson, whom he never expected to care about. Carrie Mesrobian follows her critically acclaimed debut, Sex & Violence, with another powerful and wrenching portrait of a teenage boy on the precipice of the new American future.

-- "Journal"]]> 304 Carrie Mesrobian 1467765988 Nicole 0 to-read, fun-to-read 3.65 2014 Perfectly Good White Boy
author: Carrie Mesrobian
name: Nicole
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read, fun-to-read
review:

]]> Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) 15818151 There is an alternate cover edition for this ISBN13 here.

The second book in Lauren Oliver’s remarkable New York Times bestselling trilogy about forbidden love, revolution, and the power to choose.

In this electrifying follow-up to Delirium, Lena is on a dangerous course that takes her through the unregulated Wilds and into the heart of a growing resistance movement. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.]]> 375 Lauren Oliver 0061978078 Nicole 0 currently-reading 4.05 2012 Pandemonium (Delirium, #2)
author: Lauren Oliver
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty]]> 8609085
Over four decades ago, a diving accident left Joni a quadriplegic. Today, she faces a new battle: unrelenting pain. The ongoing urgency of this season in her life has caused Joni to return to foundational questions about suffering and God’s will.

A Place of Healing is not an ivory-tower treatise on suffering. It’s an intimate look into the life of a mature woman of God. Whether readers are enduring physical pain, financial loss, or relational grief, Joni invites them to process their suffering with her. Together, they will navigate the distance between God’s magnificent yes and heartbreaking no's and find new hope for thriving in-between.]]> 224 Joni Eareckson Tada 1434765326 Nicole 5 4.35 2010 A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty
author: Joni Eareckson Tada
name: Nicole
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2013/01/29
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: non-fiction-read, christian-nonfiction-healing, made-me-cry, christian-memoir, christian-nonfiction, january, december, author-read-2-books-or-more
review:

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